Author's Note: First, my utmost apologies at taking so long to post this chapter. AP testing hit me a lot harder than I thought it would. But, my tests are all over now, and the rest of the school year should get easier on me. That said, I still don't know that I'll be able to update on a regular schedule, but I'm aiming for once a week. I hope that's good enough! If you're looking for a more regular indicator of my progress on this story, I have finally succumbed to the blogging world and gotten myself a livejournal account; the link's posted under "homepage" on my profile. Hopefully, I'll post my progress on each chapter there.
As usual, a giant thank you to all of my reviewers. I actually have tweaked the storyline a bit due to some of your comments! I hope that you continue to enjoy (and that you continue to review).
Chapter 4: Singing in the Rain
By the time Ashley left her last class on Friday and headed for the school parking lot, it had started to drizzle lightly. She took a mental inventory of her backpack, comparing its contents to what she needed for homework and realizing that she didn't need to make a trip to her locker before heading home. She hurried out to the parking lot, walking all the way to the back of the lot furthest from the school, getting into her car just before the drizzle turned into full-on rain.
Ashley was proud of her pre-owned old-style powder blue Volkswagen Beetle, which she had bought using savings from freshman year onward. Some of her classmates from more well-off families had received expensive cars for their sixteenth birthdays, but Ashley was pleased to say that she had bought hers all on her own.
Ash drove through the rain, windshield wipers and lights on, thinking about her weekend. Next Monday would be the start of auditions for the musical, and Kate was coming over later today so that she and Ashley could find a song for her to audition with. In her head, Ashley began running through the songs she could play that fell within Kate's range, coming up with a few she felt were good choices.
She pulled to a halt at a stop light. Another car pulled up in the lane next to her, blaring some sort of loud music—Ashley could hear the bass beat from her car. She honestly didn't understand popular music; a lot of it didn't seem like much more than noise. Most of her favorite music was from musicals, or from something she'd played in orchestra.
Her Phantom of the Opera original London cast CD sat innocently on the dashboard. With a smile Ashley picked it up, popped it in the CD tray, and turned the volume up. The guy in the car next to her was suddenly startled by the Overture to the show, and Ashley laughed as she saw the look he gave her. But just then the light changed, and she sped off, still giggling. It's probably the only culture he'll be exposed to all week, she thought, turning the volume down a bit and listening for the rest of the ten-minute drive home.
Ashley was glad to be home at the start of what looked like a relaxing weekend. Her only homework was in Precalculus, and she knew that she wouldn't even think about doing it until after dinner Sunday night. Everything would go well.
Her dad was still at work, so Ashley had the house to herself for a while. She hated not seeing him around much during the week, but since he worked as an activities director at Harbor View High School, a few cities over from Silver Hills, he had to oversee all school activities such as sports events, plays, and dances. However, working at a school in the same district meant that he also had the same holidays as his daughter, and he was usually home most of the weekend.
She put her backpack down by the front door, then went into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of milk. Of course, since she was having milk, she had an urge to have cookies as well, but the only ones she could find were old store-bought ones. She sighed; they would have to do. Maybe later this weekend, if she found some time, she could make some of her own. It would be good to have homemade chocolate chip cookies again.
Once Ashley finished her snack, she rinsed her glass, washed her hands, and walked from the kitchen into the living/dining room. A great deal of the space was taken up by a grand piano that stood proudly in the corner, scattered with sheet music of all sorts. Ashley loved the piano in general, but moreso, she loved her piano. It had been in the family for ages, coming to Ashley from her grandmother, and it was old; the white keys were covered in actual ivory, from before poaching elephants for their tusks had been made illegal, and the black keys were similarly enameled in ebony. Despite its age, it was always kept perfectly in tune.
Ashley sat down at the bench and began to play an old blues piece from memory as a bit of a warm-up. Her fingers skimmed across the keys, the notes sounding as a counterpoint to the falling rain and the ever-present tick-tock of the clock on the mantel that had served as Ashley's first metronome. She loved having the house to herself, and never really felt lonely even when left alone; however empty the house was at times, all it took was the right music to fill it. The current piece had a nice rhythm that allowed her to loosen up and unwind after a long Friday.
Ashley didn't know what she would do without music. Her first memories were of her mother singing to her and holding her close. Even as a small child, music had enthralled Ashley; her mother's voice had had the power to put her to sleep, make her forget about the pain of a particularly bad stomachache, even dry her tears.
But no music could begin to stop the tears that pricked at the corner of her eyes even now. She stopped playing and wiped her eyes on her sleeve, careful not to let a single tear spill onto the polished wood of the piano.
The doorbell rang, dispelling her thoughts. Ash grabbed a tissue and blew her nose on the way to the door. She took a quick look in the bathroom mirror as she passed; her eyes were only slightly red, and she didn't look like she had cried. Peering through the front window, she saw Kate huddled under the eaves, just outside the door. Ashley unlocked it and opened it, letting her friend in.
"This weather is crazy," Kate said as she shrugged out of her raincoat, dropping it on the floor in the entryway and setting her umbrella down on top of it. "I swear it was sunny this morning."
"Well, it is still winter, sort of," Ashley said, smiling at her friend. Kate was definitely a warm-weather person, comfortable in summer sun and short skirts, whereas Ash tended to favor autumn and winter, when she could go about in jeans and a sweatshirt.
"Spring," Kate corrected, "and it has been for nearly a week."
"Fine, then, have it your way," Ashley laughed, glad for the company of her friend. "So, are you ready to get started?" she asked, motioning to the piano.
"Sure," Kate said in a resigned voice.
For the next hour and a half, the two girls fooled with the piano, Ashley playing song after song for Kate to accompany. Ash tried to objectively judge her friend's singing voice, but found it a little difficult; after all, objectivity around friends always was. But Ashley felt that Kate sang well, certainly well enough to garner a singing part in the show. As time progressed, things became less serious, and Ashley started playing sillier songs, Kate singing loudly (and sometimes badly) along with. Ashley smiled. Days like this made her remember just how good it was to be someone's friend, to have someone to giggle absurdly with.
By five-thirty their practice session had degenerated into more of a laugh session, not that either girl cared. But finally, "It's kind of late," Kate noticed.
"Did you need to be home for dinner?" Ashley asked. "You could eat here."
"Ooh, and we could watch a movie!" Kate said. "Let me call my mom."
As Kate used the kitchen phone to dial her house, Ashley tried to organize some of the sheet music that had been haphazardly spread about the piano. After much deliberation, Kate had decided to actually audition using Angel of Music, singing Meg's actual part. Ashley thought her friend would do a good job, if she didn't chicken out or doubt herself.
When she'd managed to put away at least some of the music, she walked into the kitchen where Kate was just finishing up with her mother. "Yes, mom, I promise. No, I won't drive if it's raining too hard. Yes, my lights are working. No, I won't be out too late, and I know to be careful on the freeway. I love you. Bye." She hung up the phone, sighing. "Mothers." A wealth of background was contained in that single exasperated word. Kate's mother worked as a nurse in a nearby children's hospital, and in the line of her profession had come across examples of the more gruesome things that could happen to kids. This being the case, she was somewhat overprotective at times.
"You can always stay the night, if your mom doesn't want you driving in the rain," Ashley said, half teasing.
"That's what I told her," Kate said. "I might take you up on that." She cleared her throat. "But that's for later. What's for dinner?"
The girls fished around in the freezer, coming up with half a pizza from a few days ago. Ashley put a few pieces in the oven to heat while Kate started rummaging through Ashley's small DVD collection. She emerged with a copy of the newest Phantom movie in hand. "Whaddaya think about this?"
"Definitely appropriate," Ashley agreed. Kate turned on the TV, popped the disc in the DVD player, and started it just as the smell of pizza told Ashley that their dinner was done.
They ate on the couch and watched the movie, chatting through all of the scenes and talking about everything from how their school could duplicate some of the more important effects to how much fun it would be to wear some of the Masquerade costumes. When Ashley's dad arrived home from the high school basketball game he'd been supervising, he found his daughter and her friend deep in conversation, with Point of No Return playing on the television in front of them.
"No way Andrew could sing that with a straight face," Kate said, gesturing to the screen where the Phantom was singing, as if that proved her point.
"No way anyone would want to sing across from him," Ashley added as Christine began her part.
"Especially sing that." Kate shuddered. "I hope Damien's as good as you say—someone needs to beat Andrew."
"Yeah…" Ashley said, transported back for an instant to the sound of a different Phantom, singing a different song.
"Ooh, you know what I heard?" Kate said, pulling Ashley out of her thoughts. "Shannon in my drama class has math with him, and she said he transferred here from some sort of performing arts high school. She said he said his family had to move here because of his father's job."
"That could explain a lot of things," Ashley said, not paying much attention to the movie any more. "You think he took singing lessons?"
"How would I know?" Kate replied. "You're the one who heard him sing. You tell me."
"I guess we'll both get to hear him Monday," Ashley said.
"I guess we will," Kate replied. Just then, Christine on the TV screen pulled the Phantom's mask off, and the two girls were once again riveted to the action of the movie. Ashley's father smiled and walked into the kitchen to get himself some dinner, pleased to see his daughter so happy. When she smiles, he thought, she looks just like her mother.