At the Nouveau Academy of the Arts and Sciences, all students are required to take either a music or art class before graduating. When Kennedy Marx is denied of her request to switch out of Music Theory, vivid details from her past as a piano prodig...
Everyone knows that Nouveau's dances go hand-in-hand with heartbreak. It's important who you come with, but it's even more important who you leave with. Rumor has it that Connor Deacon is steering clear of senior formal all together. Let's see if he'll actually be able to stay away from the social scene. We all remember what happened last time.
yours truly, Queen B.
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***
Becca was tracing the curve of her lips with cherry red lipstick when I stepped into the room, my black stilettos digging into carpet. The wooden floorboards creaked beneath my feet, a subtle reminder of the years we'd spent walking these halls. For the three years I had known Becca, her room never failed to smell like lavender mixed with a teaspoon of vanilla. With the air light and sweet, tonight wasn't any different.
"I'll be ready in two seconds," Becca told me over the sound of keys rewiring locks. She pulled out a pair of dangling diamond earrings from a jewelry box marked by her initials.
"Take your time," I insisted, taking a seat at her work desk. "Alden said he'll meet us down in the ballroom in ten minutes."
On the other side of the suite, Nathaniel Cross was sprawled across Becca's periwinkle bedsheets. He dropped his phone onto his stomach, his intense gaze searching the ceiling. I could tell that his mind was in translation of mismatched thoughts. The tie wrapped around his neck in a windsor knot was the lightest shade of teal, matching the color of his eyes and Becca's dress.
He acknowledged me with a swift flick of his chestnut hair and a glimpse of a smile after our eyes locked. "Kennedy."
"Nate," I reciprocated the half smile, "I never did ask. How was California?"
"Just glad to be back to a normal schedule. I got an offer from UNC and Yale, though."
He spoke about it casually as if we were speaking about something as mundane as the weather. The levelness in his voice threw me off because I was looking for a hint of emotion, anything that screamed excitement. For as long as I could remember, Becca's college plans consisted of following her parents' footsteps to New Haven. It took me a while to register that Nate had something else in mind.
"This must be, what, your seventh offer? Are you thinking of committing to either of them?"
Nate shrugged, unable to say the words that would shatter his relationship into smithereens.
Becca swiveled in her vanity seat, turning around to face us. Her silky brown hair fell in loose curls and framed her round face. "He's actually waiting for Stanford."
Her words were heavy, and suddenly the air around us didn't feel so light anymore. From the looks they shot each other from opposite sides of the room, I could tell that I had walked into the middle of a heated argument. There was an elephant sitting in the corner of the room that neither of them was willing to address.
