Learning to Give (Hawthorn Academy Book 4) by D.R. Perry

Author:D.R. Perry [Perry, D.R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: LMBPN Publishing
Published: 2021-07-14T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Open Mind Night

Dylan

On any other day, I loved the aroma of coffee and cookies—weird for a kid raised on tea and biscuits. But it was night, the kind with microphones at the Witch's Brew.

They’d packed the place to the rafters. Instead of five or six patrons rattling around like the last handful of peas in the tin, at least thirty people milled about.

I never minded being the center of attention. That was why I’d thought writing a spoken word piece and setting it against the backdrop of every power chord I could muster was a good idea. But the prose that came out wasn't my usual fare. Nothing humorous or even eye-rollingly corny visited my mind. Emo was more like it. Ugh.

Apparently, music magic was a thing. I couldn't use it, but once I saw the sizeable crowd, I thought maybe I should've tried learning it anyway. I hadn't bothered doing the research, and I’d called myself an overachiever back in London. So much for local coffee shop stardom. I'd flop, I knew it. Nothing felt more sure at that point in my life, less than a week after Grace Dubois had dumped me outside the Engine House, then sat there with our friends like the world hadn't ended.

There’d been no way to argue with her. I wanted to be with her, and I cared about her more than anyone I’d been with. She wanted to take things to the next level, and I’d kept her waiting on that for over six months.

Something about the idea of sex with Grace didn’t feel right. Mum always said that when Dad kissed her, the world went away. Nothing close to that ever happened when Grace kissed me. I told her I just wasn’t ready, but the truth was, I might never be, and I didn’t know why.

I'd avoided everyone since then except for Lee Young. He was the chillest person at Hawthorn, so it was nearly impossible to feel awkward around him. He'd never been particularly good friends with Grace either, unlike the rest of my school chums.

I glanced down at the sign-up sheet. Fortunately, two people had signed up before me, so I wouldn't have to open, at least. I wouldn't have to perform at all if I didn't want to. I still hadn't taken the essential leap—inking my name on the paper. Without that last action, I'd be off the hook.

I almost walked away. None of the locals or tourists in this place cared if this particular air magus got on the stage. I wasn't famous, though some of my regular customers from Walgreens nodded and smiled in greeting.

That was it, then. I set the pen down and almost let it go. Maybe I could practice for another week. Perhaps I'd even manage to write a piece with at least one pun for the following Sunday. Nobody would know or care, I thought. I was wrong.

Gale, my dragonet, snored on the coat rack. Maybe he had the right idea—sleep this impulse and my misery off.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.