My next class, theatre history, was pretty calm, which was such a relief after the chaos that was Sikowitz's acting class. My teacher, Ms. Glendale, had already been told that I was deaf, so she gave me a spot at the front of the room and made sure she didn't talk when her back was turned. The others might have liked Sikowitz more than any other teacher at Hollywood Arts, but for me, Ms. Glendale was the top runner for favorite.

After theatre history, André took me to the music room where the piano class took place. I had been looking forward to it all day.

"What's this teacher's name again?" I asked André as we waited for the bell to ring.

"Mr. K-i-n-g-s-l-e-y," André said, fingerspelling his name. "He's really cool. I'm sure you'll like him."

Just as André finished speaking, a man who I assumed was Mr. Kingsley entered the classroom from a closet. He stood in the front of the classroom and began to speak, so I figured the bell had rung.

"Good morning," he said to the class. He smiled when he caught sight of me. "You must be Tori! I heard you play at your audition. I've been wanting to introduce myself to you."

"It's nice to meet you," I said. He had been talking really fast, and I had gotten a little lost towards the end, but "It's nice to meet you" is always a safe bet when I'm first meeting someone and they haven't learned how to talk to me yet.

"I want to see what you can do, Tori," André said. "Go play something."

"I think that's an excellent idea," Mr. Kingsley agreed.

"Right now?" I asked, suddenly feeling extremely nervous. I had never played in front of more than the three people at my audition, and the class had eighteen kids.

"Don't worry, Tori. You'll be fine," André told me as he squeezed my hand. I took a deep breath before I nodded. I grabbed my bag, walked to the front of the room, and sat down at the grand piano. I got my own metronome out of my bag and put it on the ledge. That's how I keep time when I'm playing; I have a special metronome that uses a light instead of sound. I set the metronome, watched it for a few seconds, then started to play "Arabesque" by Debussy.

I tried as hard as I could to forget about all of the people staring at me, but for the first few minutes, it was all I could think about. I couldn't concentrate on the music at all, which is particularly problematic for a deaf musician. The pressure was on; I had to prove to these people that even though I couldn't hear, I could still play the piano. Unfortunately, I had no idea if I was succeeding. But once I was about halfway through the piece, I started to relax. I was able to focus solely on the piano. The people around me disappeared, and all that was left was me and the ivory keys.

When I finished the piece, I looked out at the class. They were just staring at me. I swear, I was about to start crying, I was so nervous for their reactions. Finally, André and Mr. Kingsley ran up to me, a grin stretching to the tips of their ears. They both started to speak, moving their lips at a mile per minute.

"…incredible technique…fingering…impeccable," I caught from Mr. Kingsley.

"…insane…never heard…good as you," I managed to get from André.

"Slow down, slow down!" I said. "I can't read your lips when you're talking that fast."

"I'm sorry," André said. "We said you're amazing!"

I let out a huge sigh of relief. "Really? It was good? I-I thought I messed up a few parts in the middle, and I stopped watching the light so I might have been going too fast and—"

"You weren't. It was perfect," André assured me.

"Really? You're not just saying that?"

"Not at all. You were fantastic." He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a tight hug. The embrace was unexpected, but not at all unwelcome. I was delighted that André felt comfortable enough around me to give me a hug.

My delight only multiplied when I felt my heart flutter in my chest, and how great it was when I felt his flutter against mine.