A/N:

In response to the lovely guest reviews,

You're welcome! And, they certainly can be. But, yay indeed for Beryl and her lovely sandwiches!

And, in response to the guest reviewer who has been wondering just what Mr. Carson had forgotten? The latter half of this chapter is for you :)

General author's note:

Who's ready to see who Mrs. Hughes and Mr. Carson have in mind? As well as discover just what has been bothering Mr. Carson since an earlier chapter?

_._

On Thursday morning, swarms of students entered the academy with trepidation.

Whether one had auditioned or not, there were still a hint of curiosity and excitement within the students. Rarely were solos given in the winter concerts, and rarer still that the auditions lasted longer than a day.

Yet, it wasn't those considerations that had the choir buzzing with speculation.

Rather, it was that, even though there had been a decision already made, the choir would have to wait a full 162 minutes before they could be privy to hearing the choice.

_._

226 minutes before the soloist's supposed to be announced:

"When it comes to the solo, I really would like us in agreement on the matter." Charles had said to her the moment she walked in.

"Mr. Carson, while I do agree with you, I haven't even taken my coat off yet."

"Right." He backed off, trying his best to wait patiently for her to take off her coat and the likes. Though Elsie wasn't truly offended by his impatience - she understood why there was nervous air accompanying him today.

Normally the soloist would have been decided a day in advance. But, after all those rehearsals and auditions, Charles had only taken one look at her before deciding that they would meet in the morning to discuss the details.

A decision that was completely fine by her at the time, but one that she felt was a mistake in retrospect.

"So, how many young women did you have in mind?"

"There's only one real audition that stuck out to me, Mrs. Hughes." He confessed, having been pondering the matter all night.

"What a coincidence - I also find myself drawn to only one audition." He smiled at this statement, reasonably sure now that they were thinking of the same soprano.

"Well, in that case, shall we speak of her at the same time?"

"What if it's not the same singer?" His smile grew, touched by her consideration. But, it only made sense for her to be drawn to the same audition that he had been taken in by.

"We'll cross that bridge if we ever get there." Elsie did not seem convinced, hesitatingly biting her lip as her eyebrows quirked. "Shall we then?"

She almost shrugged at this, before giving her consent.

"On the count of 3," It felt a little dramatic, but how often did these things happen for the choirs? "1-2-3!"

"Anna." "Mary."

She was not surprised by his answer, but he was most certainly taken aback by hers.

"But, Anna did not have nearly half the stage presence Mary carried within her audition."

"That may be so, but her voice certainly held it all. Listening to her, I almost forgot to play the piano. That's how much I was taken in by her rendition of the solo, Mr. Carson."

"Mrs. Hughes, Mary not only commanded the space masterfully, she also convinced me of her equally heartfelt emotions. I haven't heard such a clear voice contain such a lugubrious tone in quite some time."

"While I can concede that Mary had sung with some emotion, it did not feel as touching as Anna's. Furthermore, her face was holding back - it was a mask that stopped her from truly connecting to the audience."

"Her face's stillness revealed itself to be one that was desperately trying to remain above it all, as the depths of such a task before her are inordinately vital. The somber tone within the lyrics was complemented by eyes that held a weary determination - her eyes."

The debate continued, rising with volume from time to time, and certainly carrying itself through the ringing of the first bell.

_._

160 minutes before the soloist's supposed to be announced:

"Do you think our rehearsal will begin soon?" Henry Lang had been afraid to approach the two teachers for they were still in deep discussion with one another. Instead, he posed the question to a fellow singer.

"I honestly don't think they realized we've arrived just yet." Michael Gregson muttered in response, amused by it all.

_._

104 minutes before the soloist's supposed to be announced:

"Mr. Carson? Mrs. Hughes?"

"We'll be right with the choir, Phyllis. Please just make sure that everyone gets out 'Carol of the Bells' before we finish our discussion - it should only take a minute."

_._

57 minutes before the soloist's supposed to be announced:

"Since you've all done an excellent job today, ladies, you may begin to pack up and call it a day."

"Do you really mean it, Mrs. Hughes?"

"Yes, Ethel, I really do."

She gave the young ladies a minute to pack up before turning to her colleague,

"I think I may have a solution for our little problem, Mr. Carson."

"I'm listening, Mrs. Hughes."

_._

52 minutes before the soloist's supposed to be announced:

"Now, as I'd like this to be a productive rehearsal," Mr. Carson began, imperiously commanding their attention, "We will not be announcing our final decision regarding the solo until I have deemed this rehearsal to be a success."

Seeing as it was mostly her idea to delay the announcement, Mrs. Hughes couldn't help nodding along. After all, making the announcement at the start would result in teary eyed sopranos, catty glares coming from all angles, and endless attitude for fifty minutes.

Announcing it at the end also meant that the two teachers would actually have their students' attention for the whole class period.

_._

"They certainly want to drag it out, don't they?" A hiss came from the first soprano section.

"They're smart, that's what they are." O'Brien couldn't help but retort in kind, unusually grouchy.

_._

2 minutes before the soloist's supposed to be announced:

After what was seemed to be one of the most efficient rehearsals Mr. Carson had ever conducted - "Perhaps, we should consider doing this sort of piece again in the spring, Mrs. Hughes." "I'll be sure to wish Mrs. Butte good luck." "Oh. That's right." - it was finally time.

"As I'm sure you're all anxious to hear," For, even if they hadn't audition, every singer was at least somewhat curious. "It is time to announce our decision."

Several women straightened up, many began to slouch and look away, and a fair number still desperately tried to maintain a blank face - as though they hadn't been waiting ages to hear this.

"It's quite fascinating, really," Elsie watched her colleague drag out the announcement, wondering if he got a kick out of drawing the suspense. "We've never had an audition process quite this intense. Nor, has it ever been so close when it came to the auditions."

He really seems to want to explain the whole process. She realized, now understanding. And, he really has no idea what they truly want to hear.

Elsie could've groaned or rolled her eyes. Seeing as how she was standing right next to him, she did neither - settling for a strained smile. Questions of her own came forth at these thoughts, namely: How has Mrs. Butte maintained her sanity for however long she's been working here?

"In short," Sighs of relief emanated from more than one section at this. "We will not be having a soloist."

Jaws dropped, eyes bulged, veins twitched. And Jimmy couldn't help but cry out a strangled, "What?" - as though by some miracle Mr. Carson would have been announcing his name.

"Rather, the soloist will be split into two sections." The choir director smiled, "Let's give a warm round of applause to Mary Crawley," Much to her surprise, Elsie caught a faint look of wonderment underneath the soprano's poised expression. "And Anna Smith, for their wonderful auditions."

Anna hadn't been able to do much more than gape in astonishment, before grinning so much Elsie wanted to cheer herself. And luckily, she was seated right next to the one person who supported the most in this endeavour, John. It was at this point, her biggest supporter happily gave her a congratulatory hug for her efforts.

The class was dumbstruck, still applauding as they were told even though there was confusion at the compromising decision. Truly, no one had witnessed Mr. Carson make such a decision.

And, somehow, there was only one tangible reason for the change - one person who probably could've gotten the director to change his traditions - and she was standing right in front of them.

"Now, please, do remember," Elsie found herself speaking over the now dying applause, "That even if you did not get the solo this time, that does not mean that you should not keep trying these sorts of opportunities."

She looked directly at Edith for a few seconds before focusing on other singers that she knew had also struggled to perform.

"There will be future chances to perform. And, when they come, you should know that you have every right to audition for them - regardless of what you may believe of yourself or your voice's range."

While there were indeed limits to a person's singing range, if there were one thing that Elsie Hughes discovered over the last few decades it'd be this:

Setting aside the vocal range a person can have, if they simply give themselves permission to unashamedly express themselves, they can and will surprise themselves with their true power.

_._

It had only taken a few days for the Advanced Mix Choir to calm down once the "solo" had been announced.

And, as they all began to get back to an even keel, it became time to bring up a topic that could no longer be forgotten.

_._

"It's unusually cold, even for October." Granted, there was occasionally a year where it dipped into the single digits this early on, but it was always a shock when it did.

Fortunately, whether it was colder than he'd like or hotter than he could imagine, Charles Carson wasn't deterred when it came to bringing up this particular subject - especially since this was a subject that needed to be addressed as soon as possible.

"Mrs. Hughes,"

"Before anything else, let's warm up a bit, shall we?" She gestured to the radiators within the room, positioned in the back near the windows.

"Let's." He couldn't really argue, much as he'd rather get to the matter at hands. And, so, before they did anything else they wound up sitting down in some of the student chairs - huddled as closely to the radiators and each other as professionalism would allow.

"Is now a good time?" The choir director asked after a short while, offering a hint of his own cheekiness within the question. Her closed eyes crinkled at this, her hands that had been absorbing the radiator's heat now drifted unconsciously towards him, and her lips twitched in amusement at his tone.

"As good a time as any."

Charles nodded to himself, taking in some of the heat for himself and enjoying the moment as it was.

"It's just that Mrs. Butte is the one who would typically get the privilege of deciding the finale pieces. I, of course, always must approve of the selections. But, she was the one who would get to initially choose." Elsie cracked open her eyes, bringing her hands back to the cozy radiators.

"I had been wondering about that, and was going to bring it up this week." He nodded appreciatively, no longer surprised by her thoughtfulness.

"Although we do have a fair amount of time left,"

"It's the finale songs that typically require the strongest confidence." Mr. Carson smiled once more, pleased that he never really had to spell anything out for her.

"Exactly."

She looked over at the music library, with its shelves that stand so proudly in the corner of the room. And for a solid minute, she was content to simply contemplate the possibilities.

"Was there a particular list of songs that you gave her?"

"Not really."

Elsie got up at this, drawing Charles's attention to just how the drafty building was impacting her appearance today: her cheeks were just a bit rosier and her eyes shined with a determination he would happily observe for hours on end.

But, perhaps said determination was coming from the task at hand.

"So long as it came from our music library and was deemed appropriate for a finale, I usually approved of her suggestions."

"Good to know."

She then walked over to the shelves, sorting through his system without managing to destroy it in the process - and, truthfully, she was one of the only people in the building who could accomplish such a feat.

Now, she had asked for patience and so patience would be what she received. Still, after quietly waiting for a fair amount of minutes, his curiosity grew to the point where he could no longer remain quite so silent.

"I take it you had something in mind?"

"You'll see," Was the cryptic response. Though, the enigmatic quality was somewhat muffled by the shelving units she was now surrounded by.

Naturally, Mr. Carson didn't really have a response for that.

And, as such, he had to make do with more sitting in silence and observing his colleague while waiting for her return.

"Are you sure you don't need a hand?" She was struggling to reach a shelf, after all.

"Quite sure, Mr. Carson."

He watched her go up on tiptoes to reach an impossibly high shelf for the fifth time and finally decided that enough was enough. Rising to his feet, Charles found himself striding over to the particular section she was currently inhabiting - quietly arriving at the spot in seconds.

"Perhaps I can be of assistance." He felt her bump into him, having been startled by his unexpected presence. And, though he should have been focused on retrieving the music, he was more drawn to her in this moment. After all, it was her bumping into him that told him that he found the warmth emanating from her to be far more inviting than what came from the radiators.

Elsie turned slightly, to try and face him properly. But in the cramped space that the shelves had given them, there really wasn't much leeway for turning.

There wasn't much leeway for anything, to be quite candid.

"Perhaps you can." It was only when her voice had taken a somewhat breathy quality that he realized that this was probably not the most professional of situations.

Strangely enough, Charles found he didn't mind. Something that would have normally had the alarms ringing in his head, but something that he also could dismiss by focusing on the task at hand.

"What were you trying to reach?" His own voice had softened considerably as well. Now that they were so close to one another, there wasn't a need to speak louder than sotto voce.

"Well, if you must know," She had stilled, turning only her neck back to him so as to not bump into him once more. "I had been trying to reach 'O Holy Night'."

He came to a stop at this confession, having been skimming the shelves to determine what she would have been interested in. But, upon hearing that statement Charles found himself abandoning the search in order to fondly recall their first meeting.

"Based on your system, it should be on that shelf." But the shelf she indicated, which was indeed the correct shelf, was also definitely out of reach for Elsie.

"Allow me." It was quietly murmured as Charles maneuvered his arm around hers. Soon enough, he was able to reach out a hand and grab the stack of music sheets she'd been looking for. He brought the stack down to her eye level, so they could both look it over.

"Well," The choir director contemplated it for a moment, having not looked at this particular arrangement for quite some time. "This could work."

"It's certainly a grand enough piece for a finale." Her statement coaxed a nod of agreement, which in return delivered a shiver of something in response. But, he was too caught up in the music now to notice.

"And, there is a hint of sentimentality." Charles added knowingly, now allowing the nostalgia to guide his hands as his continued turning the pages.

"There is indeed that."

They stood in a comforting silence, he flipping through the pages for her as she took in the notes that'd had been penciled into the sides of piece - the suggestions from previous directors and conductos.

"The accompaniment would be easy enough to pick up on," She murmured to herself but, with his reverie controlling his thoughts, Mr. Carson wasn't paying much attention to the accompaniment. Rather, he was now being struck with an idea of sorts. An idea that wouldn't be able to acted on for quite some time, and certainly one that would need to be thoroughly thought through. But it was also one that he would be sure to act upon nevertheless.

And with it, came another idea.

Luckily, this was one that he could act on within this moment.

"I think I may have found our song for the second finale piece. If you don't mind my making the selection, that is."

"I certainly don't mind." He could feel the soothing vibration of her voice wash over him, being absorbed into the air. And, quite honestly, Charles did not want to leave this enclosed space. For though he could not quite describe what exactly he felt for his colleague, he knew that he did feel some form of fondness for her.

In any case, the song he was looking for called for a form of separation - much to his slight dismay.

"Now," He felt disappointed by the sudden loss of warmth, but continued on nevertheless. "I know it is a holiday song. However, sometimes it's not really considered a 'Christmas' song, even though it is sung during the Twelve Days of Christmas. Fortunately, people do consider it appropriate enough to sing at Christmas parties from time to time."

"I'm not convinced I followed all of that. Or that I even know which song you're referencing."

"Yes, well, Mrs. Hughes," He found the piece surprisingly faster than he intended. But that merely gave him permission to return to her - in order to present the music, of course. "I'd be hard pressed to believe you don't know it, to be honest."

_._

When the seventh period choir - also known as the Beginner Women's Choir - came to class, something seemed off.

Firstly, Mr. Carson was nowhere to be found.

Secondly, upon asking their choir teacher if anything was amiss, her response was rather odd:

"He's off making more copies of music." A simple enough explanation that was typically accepted as a "normal" response. What was unusual was the inordinately soft tone from Mrs. Hughes - who, for whatever reason, carried a faint smile all the way through the class.

And, really, while that statement isn't abnormal for a choir student to hear, it was the manner and delivery that threw them off.

Suffice to say, something was certainly up.

_._

"Thomas? Have you come to sing with us today?" He'd been busy talking to Jimmy right in front of the entrance to her classroom - that is to say, Room 403.

In any case, seeing as how everyone in the choirs knew this was when and where a cappella rehearsals occurred, it was easy to assume that he'd finally changed his mind.

However, judging from the glance Thomas sent in her direction, she already knew what he'd essentially be saying.

"Only came to wish Jimmy good luck. I heard Journey was going to be brought into the mix." She almost rolled her eyes at that, wanting to put an end to this unnecessary dilly-dallying. If it wasn't for the fact that she knew he wanted to sing with this choir and she knew he'd thrive within this choir, she'd just send him on his way.

But, Elsie could hardly do that. Nor did she really want to, as gratifying as his inevitable shock would be if he received such treatment.

"Well, if you ever want to take some of that luck for yourself, you're welcomed to do so." He faintly nodded, before bidding his friend goodbye as he strutted out towards the stairs.

Your loss, came the uncharacteristically disrespectful thought. But, she regretted the thought as soon as it came to mind, sweeping it away in favor of the announcement she had to make.

"Now, students," She was pleased to see that practically everyone was already situated in their seats - even though they still had a minute before rehearsal officially started. "There's one more song I'd like us to try singing."

"But, Mrs. Hughes-"

"No, 'but's, Andy. We only have three songs we're working on this semester and I normally require my ensembles to learn at least six." The students blanched at this, surprised by her standards.

Though, by this point, they really shouldn't be.

"What will we be learning, Mrs. Hughes?" She smiled at Sybil, before walking over to the piano and picking up a stack of sheet music.

"It is a lovely piece you might recognized called 'Irish Blessing'." All eyes immediately went to Tom who, much to his credit, calmly stood his ground. "And it's a barbershop arrangement."

All eyes instantaneously went back to her.

"What's barbershop?" Her smile became a little strained at this, her age apparently making itself present without her consent.

"Barbershop is an old-fashioned sort of singing."

"The type Mr. Carson would've sang when he was our age?" She really couldn't help the snort that came out at Daisy's question.

"Perhaps, Daisy. Though you'd have to ask him that yourself." This got laughter out of most of them. "In any case, if you remember that video I showed in the beginning of the year, that was a form of barbershop."

The women who knew what she talked about immediately put a stop to the laughter.

"What video is she talking about?" Anna shook her head at Alfred's question - he was in the Men's Ensemble, after all.

"We'll show you later." She whispered to him as Mrs. Hughes reigned them all back in with a brisk, "Now, are we getting to work or not?"