The Sound of Music
Chapter Two
"I don't wanna live in a dorm." Chloe whined, sounding just a little like a spoiled child.
Brady smiled and chucked her chin. "Well too bad, cause this is where you're staying, for the next year at least, until you and Belle can get a place of your own."
"Thanks to that stupid rule about freshmen not allowed to live off campus, I'm forced to live in a tiny room with a bunch of people I don't know." Chloe grumbled, a deep frown on her face.
"Hey, cheer up. It will be just like summer camp."
"Never been."
"Girl Scouts."
"Ditto."
"Uh, the orphanage?"
Chloe rolled her eyes. "Lord, I hope not." The orphanage where she had spent a good portion of her life hadn't exactly been a fun place.
Brady gently gripped her shoulders. "It's not going to be so bad. You already know that you have one thing in common with your dorm mates: music. You're going to walk away from this experience with a lot of new friends. Trust me. Besides, it's too late to back out now; we're here."
Chloe looked at the oak door in front of her, her stomach fluttering with trepidation. She took a deep breath and knocked lightly on the door, and then slowly opened it.
"Um.hello?" she called into the room.
A pretty brunette emerged from a separate room. She smiled immediately and extended her hand to Chloe. "Hi, you must be the new girl, uh Chloe Lane, right?"
Chloe smiled in response. "Yeah, that's me."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Carlyn Spencer. And this," she said, motioning to another girl who had appeared from the same room, "is Steph. She doesn't live here though. Actually, it's just going to be the two of us, Chloe, and I'm away a lot, so hope you like being by yourself." Carlyn said with an apologetic smile.
Chloe just nodded, a little overwhelmed by the other girl's energetic personality. "Nice to meet you, both." She said softly.
Carlyn looked at Chloe and Brady as they nervously stood in the doorway. "Where are my manners?" she cried as she slapped her forehead. "Please, come in, both of you."
They followed Carlyn into the other room, which appeared to be the living quarters for the suite. Steph sat down in front of a computer screen. "You'll have to forgive Carlyn; she's just a tad scatterbrained." She commented wryly without looking up from the screen.
Carlyn dropped onto a plush leather couch and motioned for the others to sit as well. "I'd be offended if it wasn't so true. I have like, no short term memory." She smiled warmly at Chloe and Brady. She looked at Brady. "I'm sorry. you are?"
"Brady."
"Brady, interesting name. Don't think I've ever heard it used as a first name." Carlyn said thoughtfully.
Brady chuckled softly. "Yeah, well, I'm named for some interesting people."
"Will you also be going to school here?" she asked cordially.
"Uh, no. I'm Chloe's.friend. I'm here for the master class audition. Moral support and all that. We had time to kill and thought we'd check out the dorms."
Carlyn turned to Chloe. "So Chloe, what field are you studying?"
"Voice; I want to go into opera. What about you?" Chloe asked her new roommate.
"Um, I'm studying violin, piano, cello, guitar and I think that's it."
Chloe and Brady stared at her dumbfounded.
Steph laughed. "Carlyn's one of those disgusting child prodigy types. Been playing the violin since she was three. She can pretty much play any instrument. Disgusting, isn't it?"
Carlyn stuck her tongue out at her teasing friend while getting up from the couch. "Anyway, nice to meet you two, but we have places to be. Good luck on your audition, Chloe." She called behind her as she and her friend left the dorm.
"Well, that was certainly very interesting." Chloe commented to Brady, not quite sure of what to make of her new roommate.
"You're going to love it here." He assured her, gently clasping her hand in his.
"No I won't." she insisted softly. She couldn't keep the sad longing she felt from her blue eyes. "You won't be here." She whispered as she turned her head. She just couldn't look at him now.
Sadness tore at Brady's heart. He couldn't stand leaving her either. But it was the best thing for both of them. Chloe has dreams and aspirations; he couldn't stand in the way of that. He reached out and gently took hold of her chin.
"Hey, you're talking like this is the end. Come on, we've been through too much together for our.friendship to end now. You know I'm just a phone call away, and Dad's working on opening a BB branch here. And he's given me use of his private jet whenever I want. I can be here in two hours, whenever you need me. We'll have holidays and breaks, and weekends. I'm going to be here so much, you're going to be begging for me to leave." Brady joked with a smile.
Chloe gifted him with a small smile. "I guess so." She mumbled.
"That's better. Now we better get to your audition."
They stepped outside on the way to the adjoining building. They were surprised to see that the overcast sky had now grown dark and lightning flashed in the distance. They walked across the courtyard and entered the audition hall just as the bottom dropped out. They found their way to the audition rooms and learned that Chloe's audition would be recorded in a studio.
Brady noticed Chloe's apprehension. "Come on, you'll do fine. You've already made it this far, through so many obstacles. Come on, Chloe, you've faced death and won. What's one little audition compared to that?"
She smiled at that. She had come a long way. She turned to enter the studio but Brady pulled her back around to him. He placed a soft kiss on her temple. "For luck." He told her with a grin.
Chloe waited anxiously in the small room for her cue to begin singing. She had never been in a recording studio before. But Brady's calming words replayed in her mind. She could see him in the other room through the thick glass. He shot her an exuberant thumbs-up and she smiled in return, feeling some of her nervousness dissipate.
She jumped slightly when the studio lights suddenly flickered. {It must really be storming outside.} She shook off her nerves and focused on the music playing in her headphones. Her cue was coming up.
She took several deep breaths to compose herself. {You can do this, Chloe. This is everything you've ever wanted, everything you've worked for all your life. Here in this moment.} she told herself.
She was preparing to sing when there was suddenly a loud booming noise. The aged building shook and the lights sparked brightly before going out. Chloe was just beginning to wonder if the building had been struck by lightning when a bolt of electricity suddenly erupted from the equipment. It shot up the headphone wire with a blinding flash. Before Chloe could react, she was knocked off her feet as the electric bolt slammed into her head. She flew backwards, her limp body resembling a rag doll, before crashing hard to the floor.
Her head swam and her ears were ringing loudly. She blinked open her eyes and was quickly aware of pain all over her body, but mainly her face and ears. Fluid trickled out of her ears and as the backup lights kicked on, she could see that it was blood, flowing heavily down the sides of her face. She looked up to see Brady hovering over her calling out to her, but she couldn't hear him over the ringing in her ears.
Others stood over her, examining her. She couldn't really focus enough to understand what had happened but she knew something serious was wrong with her. People were calling her name, asking her questions, but she still couldn't hear over the ringing in her head. All she could see were their mouths moving rapidly. Her head spun and darkness pulled at the edges of her consciousness. She looked up at Brady with questioning fear in her eyes. She watched his mouth moved and she was relieved when the loud ringing in her ears faded away. But Brady's lips kept moving and she still couldn't hear him. She couldn't hear anything she realized as ice crawled through her veins. She swayed once and fell into dark silence.
Chapter Two
"I don't wanna live in a dorm." Chloe whined, sounding just a little like a spoiled child.
Brady smiled and chucked her chin. "Well too bad, cause this is where you're staying, for the next year at least, until you and Belle can get a place of your own."
"Thanks to that stupid rule about freshmen not allowed to live off campus, I'm forced to live in a tiny room with a bunch of people I don't know." Chloe grumbled, a deep frown on her face.
"Hey, cheer up. It will be just like summer camp."
"Never been."
"Girl Scouts."
"Ditto."
"Uh, the orphanage?"
Chloe rolled her eyes. "Lord, I hope not." The orphanage where she had spent a good portion of her life hadn't exactly been a fun place.
Brady gently gripped her shoulders. "It's not going to be so bad. You already know that you have one thing in common with your dorm mates: music. You're going to walk away from this experience with a lot of new friends. Trust me. Besides, it's too late to back out now; we're here."
Chloe looked at the oak door in front of her, her stomach fluttering with trepidation. She took a deep breath and knocked lightly on the door, and then slowly opened it.
"Um.hello?" she called into the room.
A pretty brunette emerged from a separate room. She smiled immediately and extended her hand to Chloe. "Hi, you must be the new girl, uh Chloe Lane, right?"
Chloe smiled in response. "Yeah, that's me."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Carlyn Spencer. And this," she said, motioning to another girl who had appeared from the same room, "is Steph. She doesn't live here though. Actually, it's just going to be the two of us, Chloe, and I'm away a lot, so hope you like being by yourself." Carlyn said with an apologetic smile.
Chloe just nodded, a little overwhelmed by the other girl's energetic personality. "Nice to meet you, both." She said softly.
Carlyn looked at Chloe and Brady as they nervously stood in the doorway. "Where are my manners?" she cried as she slapped her forehead. "Please, come in, both of you."
They followed Carlyn into the other room, which appeared to be the living quarters for the suite. Steph sat down in front of a computer screen. "You'll have to forgive Carlyn; she's just a tad scatterbrained." She commented wryly without looking up from the screen.
Carlyn dropped onto a plush leather couch and motioned for the others to sit as well. "I'd be offended if it wasn't so true. I have like, no short term memory." She smiled warmly at Chloe and Brady. She looked at Brady. "I'm sorry. you are?"
"Brady."
"Brady, interesting name. Don't think I've ever heard it used as a first name." Carlyn said thoughtfully.
Brady chuckled softly. "Yeah, well, I'm named for some interesting people."
"Will you also be going to school here?" she asked cordially.
"Uh, no. I'm Chloe's.friend. I'm here for the master class audition. Moral support and all that. We had time to kill and thought we'd check out the dorms."
Carlyn turned to Chloe. "So Chloe, what field are you studying?"
"Voice; I want to go into opera. What about you?" Chloe asked her new roommate.
"Um, I'm studying violin, piano, cello, guitar and I think that's it."
Chloe and Brady stared at her dumbfounded.
Steph laughed. "Carlyn's one of those disgusting child prodigy types. Been playing the violin since she was three. She can pretty much play any instrument. Disgusting, isn't it?"
Carlyn stuck her tongue out at her teasing friend while getting up from the couch. "Anyway, nice to meet you two, but we have places to be. Good luck on your audition, Chloe." She called behind her as she and her friend left the dorm.
"Well, that was certainly very interesting." Chloe commented to Brady, not quite sure of what to make of her new roommate.
"You're going to love it here." He assured her, gently clasping her hand in his.
"No I won't." she insisted softly. She couldn't keep the sad longing she felt from her blue eyes. "You won't be here." She whispered as she turned her head. She just couldn't look at him now.
Sadness tore at Brady's heart. He couldn't stand leaving her either. But it was the best thing for both of them. Chloe has dreams and aspirations; he couldn't stand in the way of that. He reached out and gently took hold of her chin.
"Hey, you're talking like this is the end. Come on, we've been through too much together for our.friendship to end now. You know I'm just a phone call away, and Dad's working on opening a BB branch here. And he's given me use of his private jet whenever I want. I can be here in two hours, whenever you need me. We'll have holidays and breaks, and weekends. I'm going to be here so much, you're going to be begging for me to leave." Brady joked with a smile.
Chloe gifted him with a small smile. "I guess so." She mumbled.
"That's better. Now we better get to your audition."
They stepped outside on the way to the adjoining building. They were surprised to see that the overcast sky had now grown dark and lightning flashed in the distance. They walked across the courtyard and entered the audition hall just as the bottom dropped out. They found their way to the audition rooms and learned that Chloe's audition would be recorded in a studio.
Brady noticed Chloe's apprehension. "Come on, you'll do fine. You've already made it this far, through so many obstacles. Come on, Chloe, you've faced death and won. What's one little audition compared to that?"
She smiled at that. She had come a long way. She turned to enter the studio but Brady pulled her back around to him. He placed a soft kiss on her temple. "For luck." He told her with a grin.
Chloe waited anxiously in the small room for her cue to begin singing. She had never been in a recording studio before. But Brady's calming words replayed in her mind. She could see him in the other room through the thick glass. He shot her an exuberant thumbs-up and she smiled in return, feeling some of her nervousness dissipate.
She jumped slightly when the studio lights suddenly flickered. {It must really be storming outside.} She shook off her nerves and focused on the music playing in her headphones. Her cue was coming up.
She took several deep breaths to compose herself. {You can do this, Chloe. This is everything you've ever wanted, everything you've worked for all your life. Here in this moment.} she told herself.
She was preparing to sing when there was suddenly a loud booming noise. The aged building shook and the lights sparked brightly before going out. Chloe was just beginning to wonder if the building had been struck by lightning when a bolt of electricity suddenly erupted from the equipment. It shot up the headphone wire with a blinding flash. Before Chloe could react, she was knocked off her feet as the electric bolt slammed into her head. She flew backwards, her limp body resembling a rag doll, before crashing hard to the floor.
Her head swam and her ears were ringing loudly. She blinked open her eyes and was quickly aware of pain all over her body, but mainly her face and ears. Fluid trickled out of her ears and as the backup lights kicked on, she could see that it was blood, flowing heavily down the sides of her face. She looked up to see Brady hovering over her calling out to her, but she couldn't hear him over the ringing in her ears.
Others stood over her, examining her. She couldn't really focus enough to understand what had happened but she knew something serious was wrong with her. People were calling her name, asking her questions, but she still couldn't hear over the ringing in her head. All she could see were their mouths moving rapidly. Her head spun and darkness pulled at the edges of her consciousness. She looked up at Brady with questioning fear in her eyes. She watched his mouth moved and she was relieved when the loud ringing in her ears faded away. But Brady's lips kept moving and she still couldn't hear him. She couldn't hear anything she realized as ice crawled through her veins. She swayed once and fell into dark silence.
