Chapter 6

The next morning ran smoothly, Mom had gotten home late last night and was asleep so I got myself ready as quickly and quietly as I could. I kissed her before I left, and hoped she would have a good day. I didn't have work today, so maybe we could hang out after school. Today I was in a Frank Sinatra mood, so he serenaded me as I picked up Maggie and headed to school. As we drove I decided to tell her about the vocal coach.

"Maggie, you'll never guess what happened last night!"

She cocked an eyebrow "Try me" She said teasingly.

"Ms. Admick called me last night. Apparently this vocal coach, Erik Donovan, saw me perform one time and he wants to give me free lessons!" I babbled excitedly.

"No way! Kirstin, that's awesome! Way to0 cool! Have you told your mom?"

I shook my head. "She came in late last night and went straight to bed. I'll tell her when I get home"

She nodded, smiling brightly. "Good" We arrived and prepared to get out of the car right before Maggie grabbed my arm, stopping me.

"What are you going to do about Rory?"

I sighed shrugging. "I don't know. I'll just see how things go today."

She nodded and we got out. The halls were more crowded than usual but I managed to navigate to my lock without much trouble. I found Rory standing at my locker, a solemn look on his face. He smiled softly as I approached.

'Here we go' I mentally prepared myself for whatever onslaught he would throw my way today.

"Good morning, Kirsten" He said politely in a gentle voice. I smiled as I did my combination and got my things.

"Good morning Rory" He put his hand on my shoulder, stopping me.

"I'd like to apologize for what I did yesterday. The truth is, I get nervous around you and was pretending to be somebody I'm not"

I looked into his blue eyes, seeing the truth there. He wasn't just being sappy, he was being a gentleman and apologizing. I'd never seen him this way.

"Can you forgive me?"

I patted his hand "Of course I can. It's okay, Rory" I sent an encouraging smile his way.

He beamed back at me. "May I escort you to your first period?"

I nodded and he swept my books into into his arms before I could protest.

"Please allow me" He smiled gently. We walked together, but he stopped at the door. "Would you...um...like to sit together at lunch? Just so we could have a chance to get to know each other more?"

I nodded, "That sounds nice" He slid my books into my arms "See you then, have a good morning" Rory's face held a genuine liking towards me that I'd never seen before.

I slipped into my seat, going over the last 5 minutes in my mind. Rory Chandlen seemed to be genuinely interested in me and he was being quite the gentleman, and it wasn't for show. I was impressed and shocked all at once. Homeroom was a blur, my thoughts consumed with Rory. I never thought more of him than an acquaintance, an a distant one at that! But suddenly here was a boy being very sweet to me, and boys were never interested in me. I smoothed my hair, smiling to myself. I still needed to be cautious, Rory was right in saying we didn't know much about each other. I hoped he truly was the good guy he had shown me and that it wasn't just an act. Oh how I hoped.

Maggie caught my arm as we changed classes. "I saw you with Mr. Pretty Boy before first period. Care to explain, Kirstin Avery Doyle?" Her eyebrows were raised.

I chuckled "I will, Margaret Quinn Garret, after school"

Maggie winced "Shh! Not so loud! I hate my name" She grumbled then continued "AFTER SCHOOL!?" She squealed as she focused on what I had said "Why not at lunch?"

"Because" I replied, rubbing my ear. "I have a ummm, erm, lunch date with Rory"

Her grip on my arm tightened as she got excited "Really? Why?"

"Geez, Sis can you release the death grip on my arm please? I'll get bruises" I told her jokingly

"Sorry" She released me. "To answer your question, your second question, he just wants to know more about me. And I want to know more about him."

"That's great!" She squealed. "I won't sit with you, besides Marie wants to go over decorations for Homecoming" She squeezed my hand "See ya later, hon" and hurried into her class without waiting to hear the reply that sat on my lips. I sighed. I made a mental note not to let Maggie drink coffee in the morning.

Lunch rolled around and I couldn't help but let the butterflies flutter in my stomach a bit. I added another layer of lip gloss in my locker mirror and smoothed my hair before going to the cafeteria. Rory stood at the entrance, smiling at me when I came into view. I smiled in return.

"How's class going for you?" He asked as we stood in line.

"Oh fine. Pre- Calc makes me dizzy, but everything else is going well." I think back to my homework hour yesterday, how the numbers and symbols swam together in my head before I finally I threw my notebook across the room in frustration.

Rory chuckled "If you want help with it, I'm totally here for you. Say the word and I can be your personal tutor." Rory Chandlen, a math wiz? No way!

"Wow, thank you Rory! I really would appreciate it."

We moved through the line quickly and found a small table in the corner. "So tell me about your family, Rory" I said, starting to work up a conversation "Any siblings?"

He nodded between a gulp of his sandwich "Two sisters, Alli's 7, Shelby's 12. And you?"

I shook my head "Just me and mom. Dad left before I could even remember him" I gave him sad smile.

Rory took my hand in his. "I'm sorry Kirstin. A man is coward if he leaves his family like that." I nodded in agreement.

"It's alright Rory, it happened along time ago. It's history" He smiled and asked "Do you like music?"

"You have no idea!" I smiled "I'm pretty much the biggest music nerd you'll ever meet" I went on to describe my undying love of Phantom, Les Miz, Ramin, Hadley Fraser, and Sierra Boggess along with Micheal Buble and Old Blue Eyes.

"I'm pleasantly surprised at your taste." He smiled, then gave a mock pout "No One Direction?"

I giggled "Not a single note" He laughed. He went on to talk about his love of the oldies, Dean Martin and Bing Crosby, and I almost fell out of my chair. We were both sad to hear the bell ring and bid our goodbyes. I smiled as I left. Could this be the start of something really amazing?