Chapter 7

Is This What It's Like?

She stared at the glimmering surface, paying no heed to the apologizing voice in her ear or the cautious hand on her shoulder. Her violin was useless. All the work she'd done to prepare a piece, all the practice she'd put into place... Done. Gone. All of it. Was it her fault? Yes, it had to have been. Trent didn't knock her down on purpose, and she was only entertaining her whimsical side by following the strange bird.

Thus, in the end, all the blame lay on her shoulders. "I have to go," she whispered.

"Althea!" Trent shouted.

She snapped her head at him. Before she could stop it, her sharp tongue got the better of her and lashed out, "What? Haven't you already done enough? Just let me go home, Trent. Goodbye." Althea turned on her heels and strode toward the mountain path. She'd find a way to fix it. She was sure of it.

She had to find a way to fix the violin. She could get Kai to swim down and get it, and... And... She'd have to send her violin to somewhere she could get it repaired.

Furious tears bubbled at the corners of her eyes.

"Trent, you at least have to help me, somehow! You had some part in its, ah, destruction, ok? The least you can do is help come up with ideas or... Something! The show is in two days!" she cried, slamming her palms on the doctor's desk. She could hear Elli's surprised gasp from behind the door.

The man merely scribbled down a few more notes, placed the paper neatly on a stack to the side, and began writibg on another. "I asked you to call me Doctor," he responded placidly, "And, I'm too busy with work to help you, Miss Skylark." He ceased his dogged writing to slide back in his swivel chair and open up a drawer.

He retrieved a pen light and placed it on the desk. Sliding his chair forward, he turned his icy cold glare at her. "If you'd like, I can at least check you out to make sure you don't have a concussion," he offered.

"That's nothing compared to the state the violin is in! I don't give-"

Trent stood up, rounded his desk, and led Althea to the door by her arm. "I must ask you to leave, then," he ground out.

She halted the movement right before the gray door. What happened to the Trent she'd met? She gently pushed away his hand, to which he obliged, and turned to the door. Her hand slipped over the knob. "I suppose I'm sorry for asking, then," she mumbled. She exited the office and left the young doctor to himself.

She noticed Elli quickly busying herself with paperwork on the counter. The nurse looked troubled, to say the least.

Althea decided to make for the door immediately.

"I'm sorry for your loss," a gentle voiced piped from behind.

Althea turned, a soft smile on her face. "Thank you for your concern, Elli," she replied, "but please don't worry about it. It'll be okay." As if. She managed to get the words out without her voice cracking or trembling, though.

Elli frowned. "Oh, but it seems so important to you. I know how it feels to lose something important, Althea, so you don't have to hide it. At least you can get your violin back," she assured her. The smile she wore seemed so melancholy; Althea wondered what loss she endured.

She supposed Elli was right. "Yes, I can. But that leaves the show, and the fact that if I don't perform soon, I won't have the money to fix my violin," she argued, realizing the gravity of the situation at hand. She continued softly, "And now that I don't have an instrument, I... Can't really perform." Her eyes widened. Borrowing money was not an option, lest she create a beggar's reputation. How would she even retrieve the instrument?

Elli's eyes sparked with a flaring determination. "Well, I don't have much to offer, Althea. I'm positive you'll find a way to save the show, though!" Elli exclaimed, with enough conviction to scare Althea a little.

"Thanks, Elli," she responded wearily, "but I really should be going."

Elli gave a soft giggle and waved goodbye. "See you later, Alto," she said with a wink.

Althea quelled the urge to shudder and stepped out into the Summer heat.

For the first time in a long while, she had absolutely no idea where to go or what to do. Claire was too busy with farm work, Kai was getting ready for the festival along with Ann and Doug, Rick and Popuri were occupied with an ill chicken, Elli obviously couldn't do much, and Trent...

She stopped her train of thought. Her throat choked up and her heart started to beat abnormally. Her stomach felt as if it was tying itself into a thousand knots. What's going on? she thought. In her absence of mind, she'd walked to a nearby bench and sat down.

"Ugh," she grunted, holding a hand to her stomach. She needed to get away from that man, and fast. Luckily he seemed to always be busy with medical research and other such work. It'd be easy to avoid him. Althea could stay out of the mountains on Wednesdays, and on festivals she could simply skirt around the young doctor.

"Is this what it's like to have a complex about someone?" she groaned, holding her face in her hands.

So, my friends, we have the next chapter. I regret that this is so short, and that it's more of a "filler" chapter... So I hope you guys are still liking this story.

And now it's time for some reader choice! :D

I can:

A. Write about Elli's misadventures on the next day (just what is that sneaky little crap up to? u_u) , or

B. Skip straight to the festival where some heavy plot action happens.

Leave a review or PM me about it! :D

As a last thought, this story will most definitely not end after the festival, for obvious reasons. Stay tuned! ;)