Living for the Music

After what felt like forever, I hit the save button. I quickly hit another button and the process of burning the CD began. Seth heard my sigh of relief and turned to look at me again. “Finished?”

I nodded slowly, letting the wave of relief wash over me. It was done. There was nothing more I could change. “Yeah.”

“That’s awesome,” He grinned.

“Yeah,” I replied. I ejected the finished CD, now titled Piece of Me by Sophia Mueller. I stared at the silver disc in awe.

Seth laughed at the expression on my face. He logged us both out of the computer and grabbed my backpack in one hand and my good wrist in the other. “Come on,” he encouraged. “Let’s go show Ms. Dunford.”

I gulped at the thought of playing it for someone. Before, I’d never been present when people had been listening to my stuff. Well, except for that time with Seth, and we know how well that turned out. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I shuddered, pulling back. “I’ll just drop the CD off.”

Seth shook his head firmly. “Come on, Sophie. I want to hear it too.”

I followed Seth downstairs, too tired to argue. Ms. Dunford looked up as we came in. Glancing at the clock she motioned us over to her desk. “You both have B lunch, right?” We nodded. “If you can wait a few minutes, you can stay down here and we can take ten minutes to enter it right into the contest. And listen to it, of course.”

I nodded quickly, before I lost my nerve. I sat down at my table, flipping anxiously through my notebook. I couldn’t just sit there. I had to do something – or at least be able to pretend I was doing something.

“Hey Seth,” I heard the girl behind me pipe up.

“Hey Beth,” he replied.

I flinched as the past hit me full force. I guess some people never gave up. “I have a question for you,” she asked casually.

“Yeah?” Seth replied.

“Well, I was wondering… do you still play guitar?”

“Yeah,” he nodded.

“So, I know you might not want to – you’re probably really busy – but I was wondering if you could help me with the guitar part in my song.”

I paused with my pencil poised above the paper, waiting for Seth’s response. “Do you play?” he asked curiously.

“No,” she laughed. “That’s why I need help.”

He laughed too, and I wanted to kick him. “Yeah, I could do that.”

“Awesome!” she cooed. I could see Seth, tipped casually back in his chair, and I could picture the amused expression on his face.

Deep down, I was disappointed. The music was supposed to be our thing, not something he went around doing for just anybody. A part of me felt betrayed that he’d actually agreed to work with this bimbo.

She’s not just a bimbo, my brain reminded. Doesn’t she have a perfect 4.0?

Doesn’t she have better things to do then stalk Seth?

They’re old friends. Just like you and him are.

We’re closer, I snapped back.

Are you sure? Maybe he kept in touch with her when he was overseas.

The bell ended this debate, but it had illuminated things I’d never thought about before. I grabbed my bag and walked up to Ms. Dunford’s desk. Part of me expected Seth to walk out the door with Beth, but he stopped next to me, grinning broadly.

Once the classroom was empty, Ms. Dunford stuck the disc in her computer. She quickly imported the song into iTunes and a moment later it began to play through the speakers.

Ms. Dunford leaned forward thoughtfully, resting her head on her hand. I couldn’t look at her, or at Seth. I closed my eyes, letting the music wash over me.

When it stopped, I glanced around. Seth was grinning at me. “It’s perfect, Sophie. Really great.”

“No it’s not,” I immediately objected. “Far from it. There’s a rough spot in the middle, and the ending was just pasted together. It could use a lot of smoothing over.”

I glanced at Ms. Dunford. Her opinion was the one that really mattered. “No,” she countered quietly, nodding slightly. “It’s good.”

“Really?” I asked nervously. “Don’t sugarcoat it. I can take it.”

“No, I really like it. You’re a very talented young woman. I agree that it may not be perfect, but it’s very well done, especially considering how you had to rush to finish it.”

“Thanks,” I murmured. I could feel my face growing red.

“So let me do this,” she said to herself, pulling up a website. “See, I send them the MP3 file. It’s all through the computer. This way, they can go through the songs easier and faster.”

“How fast?” I wondered aloud.

“Well, they say they’ll have it narrowed down to twenty finalists by next Friday.”

“Wow,” Seth remarked, eyebrows raised. “That is fast.”

Ms. Dunford nodded as she filled out an online form. “Sophia, could you type in your information?” she asked, turning the computer towards me.

I obeyed, quickly filling out the predictable boxes. Name, age, grade, address, blah, blah, blah. A moment later I slid the laptop back across the desk. Ms. Dunford attached the file and sent the form flying across the Internet.

“You’re all set,” she smiled.

I let out another sigh. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my chest. I could breathe again. “Thanks, Ms. D,” I sighed. “Thank you so much.”

“My pleasure,” she replied with a knowing smile. “I’ll let you know when I hear something.”

“Okay,” I managed. “See you Monday.”

“Have a good weekend,” she called as we headed out the door.