Chapter Four

The next morning, I woke up at four a.m. so I could drive to L.A. for my voice lessons. It was a pain in the butt but it was worth it. Helen Matlock was the best voice teacher on the east coast. She was the only reason I got into Meryton. I arrived at her apartment at 6:30 and she happily opened the door for me.

"Lizzie, dear, it's so good to see you!" she exclaimed. "How's school going?"

"It's great," I answered with a smile. "Mr. Drew has me singing an Italian solo for festival this year."

"Mr. Drew has always loved his foreign languages," she laughed. "Why don't you sing it for me?"

"Is Jenny here? I asked. Jenny Albert was my accompanist whenever I had a recital. She had graduated from Meryton last year and had gotten into the best music college in the state.

"Yep," Helen replied. "Has she been working on the piece with you?"

"I can play the piano, Helen," I told her. "My sister Mary is pretty good too."

"I'd like to introduce you to some people in the music business soon, Lizzie," Helen said, ignoring my comments. "I've heard you some of the things you've written. You really have a chance to make it."

"Are you serious?" I asked. "Like actual music producers?"

"Yes actual producers," she smiled. "I've told them about you and they're interested."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I exclaimed and hugged her. This is what I've always wanted. She laughed and hugged my back.

"Come on," she said. "Let's go sing some Italian." The entire rehearsal, I was so excited I practically bouncing. Jenny noticed and threw me an inquisitive glance. I just grinned like an idiot.

"Thanks again, Helen," I said as I headed to the door.

"Anytime Lizzie," she said. "You tell Mr. Drew about what I said and then tell me what he says."

"Of course," I told her. "If he has a heart attack, I'll tell the police it was your fault."

"There's that sense of humor," Helen laughed. "Until next week then. Bye Lizzie."

"Bye," I said. I got outside and jumped up and down a little bit. I was meeting with producers! I had saved enough money from my job to pay for a studio session for a demo. This was it! I immediately called Charlotte when I got into my car.

"Oh my gosh!" I screamed. "I'm meeting with music producers!"

"No way!" she shouted. "That's awesome! When?"

"I don't know yet," I told her and started driving. So it was only a little illegal but it was for a worthy cause.

"This is great," charlotte exclaimed. "Just don't forget the little people."

"You're not a little person," I assured her. "Carly right?"

"Very funny," she said dryly. "Oh, John's home. Got to go. Talk to you Monday?"

"You know it," I answered and she hung up. I did the same and cranked up the radio. I sang along with Taylor Swift and dreamt of the day when some other hopeful girl would sing along with me.

"Jane, guess what!" I shouted when I got home. It was a Saturday so there was no need to be quiet. My mother had slept off her work hangover and was busy telling Mary to stop her "maniac pounding that didn't even sound like music". She really wasn't that bad but it got old fast.

"What?" Jane asked with a worried glance into the music room. I told her the news and we both squealed a little bit.

"What was that about music producers?" my mother asked. Her eyes were tired and her hair was already gray. Probably due to the fact she had five teenage daughters. I repeated my news and she smiled enthusiastically at me.

"That's great Lizzie," she told me. "Perhaps you'll meet a handsome, rich rock star."

"Mom!" I groaned. "How many times do I have to tell you that I don't want a rich boyfriend?"

"Of course you do, sweetheart," she said. "This is an excellent opportunity to do just that." I swear my mother is more boy crazy than Lydia. Actually I don't think that's even possible.

"Lizzie," Jane said, once our mom was gone. "I texted Charles."

"Really?" I asked. "What he'd say?"

"What'd who say?" Lydia asked from the doorway.

"No one," I replied. "Come on, Jane. Let's go to my room."

"Don't leave me out!" Lydia shouted. "Come on, just tell me."

"Go annoy Kitty," I snapped and pulled Jane with me. Once we were safely in my room, I locked my door.

"Tell me everything," I ordered.

"Well, I started by telling him who was texting him," Jane said. "Then we started talking. He rides horses and skis and swims."

"Wow," I said. "He's sounds like a cool kid."

"He is," she gushed and then looked down. She mumbled something I couldn't hear.

"What was that?" I asked.

"I invited him, Caroline, and Darcy to sit with us tomorrow," she told me.

"That's fine," I said. "I can see if he passes the sister test."

"Don't scare him, Lizzie," she ordered.

I smirked. "If he's the One, he'll have to be stalwart enough to handle me and my teasing."

"Lizzie!" she exclaimed in exasperation but she was smiling.

"Yes?" I asked innocently. She rolled her eyes and stood up.

"Don't you need to practice?" she inquired. "You have to perform for big L.A. producers."

"No pressure or anything," I muttered. "You're right. Go make sure Kitty and Lydia haven't destroyed the house. I'm going get out my guitar." She did as she was ordered and I got out my baby. I tuned it and started strumming one of my songs. After a brief introduction, I started to sing.

*I've been dreaming.

I've been wishing

For my very own

Fairytale.

So tell me…

Are you my prince

Are you the one

Who'll sweep me

Into happy ever after.

Are you my Knight

In shining armor

Or are you just

My fool?

I played the last few chords and started into a new song. Soon it was time to go the Lucas' for dinner. Every couple of weeks we would do this because our families had been friends for so long. Of course, I was in for a big surprise. When we got there, I noticed there were two more cars than normal. Who else had they invited to dinner? I had forgotten that Mr. Lucas always invited new students and their families to a dinner so they could get to know the principal. That meant…

"Jane!" Charles exclaimed when we walked in. A young couple greeted us politely and I deduced these must be the Hursts. Caroline was throwing herself at Darcy while he looked uncomfortable with her attention.

"Hello," Jane said demurely. Charles immediately started talking a mile a minute while Jane smiled shyly at him. I noticed my mother motioning to me.

"What?" I asked as I walked over.

"Is that Charles Bingley Jr.?" she hissed as if it was some big secret. "The billionaire's son?"

"Yes," I answered warily.

"He certainly likes Jane," Mrs. Lucas said. I shot her a "don't encourage my mother" look which she ignored. Charlotte's mother had never liked me much which was just fine because I didn't really like her either. She reminded too much of my own demanding, occasionally petty mother. Apparently I was a "bad influence on sweet, innocent Charlotte." Please. Charlotte was the instigator of almost everything or at least a willing and active participant.

"Really?" my mother exclaimed loudly. "Wouldn't it be nice if they got married?" I closed my eyes and took a fortifying breath. Pleasant conversation between a single guy and girl suddenly leads to marriage. That makes perfect sense. Lydia's screech pulled me from my thoughts. She and Kitty were laughing loudly as some of the younger Lucas boys chased them through the house. I scoffed under my breath. Freshman.

"Martin, give my phone back," Lydia ordered and I resisted the urge to hit my head against something hard.

"You okay, Lizzie?" Charlotte asked.

"My family is an embarrassment," I muttered. "If it was just us, I wouldn't care but I really want Charles to like Jane."

"He doesn't even notice," Charlotte assured me. "He's too busy talking Jane's ear off. She's looks happy."

"I'm so excited for her," I told Charlotte. "This is the first time she's really like someone. I think she's half in love with her already."

"And Charles?" Charlotte asked. "Is he falling for her?"

"I think that he likes her a lot," I replied hesitantly.

"Then she should definitely let him know exactly how he feels," Charlotte said. "If she wants to keep him, she needs to show him exactly what she's feeling. Maybe even more."

"Jane's not like that," I said. "She's shy and if he doesn't like her for herself, then he's not the right guy for her."

"What about his friend? He seems to look at you a lot." Charlotte gestured to the corner where Darcy was standing. He was indeed staring at me.

I snorted. "Please. He only looks at me to find a weakness he can make fun of."

"Good thing because I'm going to make you sing for us," Charlotte smiled. "Let's see him try to make fun of you for that."

"It's not that hard to do," I said. "I really don't want to sing."

"That stinks," Charlotte said and dragged me to the piano. "Don't sing one of your originals. People will ask for the sheet music and I won't be able to give it to them."

"What do you expect me to sing then?" I asked.

"The Titanic theme," she smirked. I rolled my eyes but sat down at the piano.

"Is Lizzie going to sing?" Mr. Lucas asked. "How wonderful." I smiled to myself and started to play the song. Luckily, Charlotte had the sheet music and I was pretty proficient at playing the piano. Not as much so as Mary because I didn't practice as much as I should. I looked up to see Darcy staring intently into my eyes. My fingers faltered slightly but I covered it well. Don't think about it, Lizzie, I ordered myself. He's just a jerk. An arrogant, rude, aloof, handsome… I stopped myself. This was getting out of hand.

Finally, I just closed my eyes, lost myself in the music, and forgot everything else. I was definitely not Celine Dion but I didn't have a scholarship for nothing. When I finished, people gave different degrees of applause. Charlotte, Jane, Charles, and Mr. Lucas clapped enthusiastically while Mom, Mrs. Lucas, and the Hursts clapped somewhat distractedly, like they really didn't listen. Caroline, Darcy, and my younger sisters didn't clap at all. Mary was anxious to take my place and I gratefully let her.

A few hours later, we were back at home and preparing to go to sleep. I had just put on my pajamas when Jane knocked on my door and walked in.

"Hey," I said and patted the bed. "Come gossip with me." She smiled and joined me on the bed. "So how's Charles?" she promptly gushed all about her new beau. It made me happy to see her happy. If Jane was content and happy, so was I.

*These lyrics are written by me and kinda sorta stink, so don't judge me too harshly.