Hi everyone! I'm so sorry for the delay with this update but I had a sudden burst of inspiration last week and ended up rewriting this section, which took a few extra days. Regardless, here is the next chapter.
Thanks again to everyone who has been reading and especially those who have been posting comments! You guys are all the best and keep me motivated, so thank you! Please keep letting me know what you think! Enjoy!
I open the can of Diet Coke that Speed has just handed to me, taking a moment to enjoy its sugary flavor before settling back on the couch.
It's the night after the announcement about Nicole joining our songwriting program and I'm trying to relax and not get myself worked up over how my life is about to change. Instead, I'm sitting comfortably in the staff lounge with Karma and Speed, sipping a Diet Coke, and not listening to a single word they're saying.
"Jude? Jude?"
"Hmm?"
"Where are you right now? Did you not hear Speed's question?" Karma asks, glaring at me irritably.
"Sorry," I say, putting the soda down on the table in front of us. "What was your question?"
"I asked what you and the Jamers are planning to do for your day off," Speed replies.
At the risk of having a whole conversation on the disastrous situation I'm putting myself and Jamie into by riding home with Tommy and Nicole, I instantly decide to be vague.
"Oh, well, that hasn't really been decided yet," I say, stumbling over my words. "We might be heading home, I'm not sure. What about you guys?"
"We're going to drive up towards the mountains and…" Karma starts, glancing around her before lowering her voice to a whisper, "get a hotel room."
My expression immediately changes into one of amusement. "So…you're spending your day off…in a hotel room?"
"Not just the hotel, dude," Speed says, directed more towards Karma than me. "We're going to go hiking and ride horses. It's all…natural up there."
I turn towards Karma with my brows raised. "You are going to hike and ride horses?"
She smirks and shakes her head. "No way. That's why I only mentioned the room. Because that is where I'll be."
I laugh lightly at her response, but Speed eyes her skeptically. "We'll see about that," he says, wiggling his brows.
"Anyway…Jude," Karma says, ignoring Speed's comment and turning her attention towards me, "any news with the devil girl?"
"Devil girl?" Speed repeats questioningly.
"Yes…you know," Karma replies, giving him a hard glare, "the girl we talked about last night…the one who's dating a certain co-instructor of Jude's songwriting program…"
"You told him?" I ask, glancing between the two of them.
"Jude, it's Speed. Who's he going to tell?" Karma asks with an air of innocence.
"Ummm...Kyle? Wally?" I question in response.
"Dude, chill," Speed says to me. "The only way Kyle and Wally would care about what you two heard is if Nicole was naked at the time."
"Good point," I agree, sighing to myself before continuing. "The situation actually took a turn for the worse today."
"Worse? How can it possibly be worse?" Karma asks, her eyes growing wide. "Did you tell Tommy and he freaked out?"
"No," I quickly dismiss. "Nicole is officially joining our songwriting program until the end of the summer."
"What?" Karma asks in confusion, a reaction that slowly turns into understanding. "Oh my god…is she the primary counselor assigned to songwriting??"
I nod in response. "Isn't my luck just perfect?"
"What are you going to do?" Karma asks, her eyes softening in worry for me. She seems almost more concerned than I am about this.
"What can I do?" I ask in response. "It's basically going to be a slow, painful torture, but I really have no choice."
Karma pauses for a moment before muttering, "Maybe you can use it to your advantage."
I tilt my head at her, unsure of what she means. "For what?"
A grin slowly emerges on her face along with an evil glint in her eye and I immediately begin to feel scared. Whatever she's thinking can't be good.
"Well…it just seems like the perfect opportunity to expose her little scheme."
"How?" I ask, immediately intrigued yet extremely hesitant.
"Jude," Karma says, fully turning towards me, "you've got to think like she does. She's manipulative and conniving. So maybe you should be too."
"Okay…but what will that accomplish?" I ask, clearly still not catching on.
I can tell her mind is racing before she starts talking again. "Well, you know how she said that she wants to make sure that Tommy is talking her up to the right people? His producer friends?"
I nod, remembering Nicole's comment, as Karma's grin becomes wider and the pieces start to come together in her mind.
"Well, wouldn't you be one of those people?" she asks. "You are a producer. Not to mention a multi-platinum selling artist, songwriter, and someone that Tommy trusts."
Hmmmm…I hadn't really thought about it like that…
"Jude, you should be one of those people that she wants to get in with. She should want your help and support for her singing career."
"Okay…I guess I can see your point, but why would I want to be someone whose butt she kisses?"
"Because, once she realizes that she needs you, she'll be like putty in your hands," Karma says, still smiling and leaning back on the couch.
"Okay, you're seriously freaking me out now," Speed interrupts, eyeing Karma distrustfully. "Who are you and what have you done with my girlfriend?"
"Oh Speedy," Karma says, turning back towards him and grabbing his hand. "I'm just trying to help Jude. It's all for the benefit of the greater good."
Wow, she's good. That angelic smile has returned and I can tell that Speed is totally buying it.
"So," I start, turning the attention back onto me, "what you're saying is…you want me to play nice with her? I'm supposed to help her and…actually appear to like her and her music?"
"That's the plan," Karma confirms. "You know what they say. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."
Hmmm…an interesting point.
"So, we become friends. How does that lead to Tommy finding out about her plan?"
"Well, if you two are friends, you can get her to open up about her plans for a demo…and then we can get Tommy to overhear it," Karma suggests.
"We?" Speed and I repeat back to her at the same time.
"Of course," she offers with a sweet smile. "I'll help you."
Why do I get the feeling that this is no longer just about my situation?
"Right…so what exactly do you want from me in return?" I ask immediately, sniffing her bluff.
"What do I want from you?" she repeats, feigning surprise and ignorance. "Oh, well, I never thought of that…"
She's totally lying. She's pretending to think to herself, while I simply roll my eyes and wait for her to request whatever favor it is that she needs.
"You know," she starts quietly, "when we get back to Toronto, I'd hate to see my producer spending too much time with anyone other than me."
"You want Tommy?" I ask in confusion.
"Not like that, Jude," Karma clarifies, smiling reassuringly at Speed. "Just for my album. I want his focus to be with me and my work. Now that you two are all friendly again, I just want to make sure his priorities are straight."
"So…you want him to work more on your album than on mine?" I ask, making sure I understand.
"Precisely," she responds.
She must be an idiot because Tommy hasn't worked on my album in months. Kwest is my producer…although I will admit, the thought did cross my mind to swap them out. But regardless, this sounds like a request I can manage.
I nod in agreement, bringing my hand out to meet hers. "It's a deal."
"Great!" she replies, shaking my hand.
"So," I start, taking another sip of my soda, "how do we do this?"
Karma smiles her devious grin and leans forward to start telling me exactly how she plans on bringing Nicole's secret out into the open.
- - -
On my way to the rec hall the next morning, I'm feeling a weird mix of excitement and nervousness. Karma's plan is truly genius, but I can't help but think that I might not be convincing enough to pull it off. Tommy always sees right through me – he has this sixth sense about me and lying. But I have to stay focused on the task at hand…and I'll just continue to avoid him as much as possible.
I open the front door and hear quiet voices off in the distance. As I walk closer towards the entrance to the main room, the voices get louder and I can tell that they're coming from a male and a female, who distinctly sound like Tommy and Nicole.
I take a deep breath and walk fully into the room, spotting the two of them standing at the front, near the stage. Tommy is arranging the instruments along the edge of the stage while Nicole is attached to his side, holding the edge of his shirt and giggling into his ear.
Okay, I am now officially revolted.
I can't do this. I can't act like her friend. I can't be happy for them. What was I thinking?
Just…smile. Smile and look happy. Think of Karma. Think of her scheme. Think of poor Tommy. Think of Nicole's face as she realizes that Tommy knows her secret.
I put on my widest grin and proceed to walk towards them. They both look up as my footsteps draw closer, interrupting their moment of flirtation.
"Morning," I say, hearing the high pitch of my own voice. I quickly clear my throat to cover my over-enthusiasm, placing my bag on the edge of the stage near the instruments.
"Morning," Tommy replies, his eyes following me for a moment before he continues to organize the instruments.
Remembering my plan for Nicole, I smile gently in her direction and ask sweetly, "How was your night last night?"
She shrugs, her eyes glancing at me before returning to Tommy. "Fine."
"That's good," I say, watching her take a step towards him. He's obviously trying to finish organizing everything before the kids get there and she's obviously trying to distract him. He's not being very responsive and I can tell he's starting to get a little frustrated by his slightly tightened jaw.
"So," I start, attempting to help him by getting her attention back on me, "I was talking to Kwest last night and he mentioned that you have a really great voice, Nicole."
Her eyes immediately widen and she turns in my direction, excitement written all over her face. "He did?"
"Yeah," I agree with a quick nod. I can see Tommy peak his head in curiosity but resume his organization process.
I casually take out my notebook from my backpack and say, "So I started thinking about how I've never heard you sing before."
"Oh…well, not many people have," Nicole says timidly, her eyes lingering back to Tommy. "I mean, it's not like I'm some international superstar or anything."
"Not yet, at least," Tommy volunteers, offering her a sideways grin.
"Right," she says in response with a small smile.
I immediately want to roll my eyes but decide against it in order to keep my demeanor positive.
"Well maybe we can change that," I say, leaning back against the stage. "Maybe I could hear you sing sometime."
She thinks for a few moments, her eyes darting to Tommy, who turns around and looks at me questioningly. Crap. Does he think it's weird I've taken a sudden interest in his girlfriend? Or that I'm being so nice? Crap. I need to say something – fast.
"I'm just curious," I say innocently, my eyes on his briefly, before turning away and taking a pen out of my bag.
Without glancing upwards at either of them, I then say the line I know will make them both convinced.
"If she's really that good, maybe we could get her into the studio."
I raise one eye up to gauge their reaction to my words and I see them looking at each other, Nicole's eyes wide in anticipation.
Before he has a chance to doubt my over-friendliness, Nicole's voice resounds throughout the room. "That would be great!"
"Great," I say, turning back towards her to see her eager expression. "What off period do you have today?"
"Fifth," she says quickly, not even bothering to look at Tommy.
"That's perfect – me too. Do you want to maybe get together for a bit? I can hear you sing and maybe give you some feedback," I offer.
"That sounds great," she says, her voice clearly echoing her enthusiasm.
"Great," I say in agreement, noticing that Tommy has stopped organizing the instruments and is now glancing between the two of us incredulously.
"It's a date," I finish, turning back around and avoiding Tommy's intense gaze in my direction.
Before he has a chance to openly question me, the front door to the building opens and I hear voices start to get louder as the kids arrive for our first class.
I sigh in relief as the thirty kids enter the room and start sitting on the floor before us. As I turn around to begin the class, a small smile grazes over my face as the realization sets in that Operation Expose-Nicole has officially been set into action.