What If? by Anna Russell

Author:Anna Russell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: West 44 Books
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

the wrong path

I feel heavy, dark, like I’ve swallowed a starless night sky. I got a C on the essay. Not good enough for Dad. Not a grade Julia would have gotten. I think back to writing it: how I had to start over to get it to feel right, how I had to make it perfect but how I knew it never would be. My thoughts play on repeat: Any grade lower than a C- has to have a parent signature. This is not good. My stomach bubbles. My head aches.

harmony

The first day of winter break, Mage comes over again, this time with her own guitar. Together, we decide we’ll need Julia’s help, her keys, her voice, to really pull this off. (I’m still not sure if I can play in front of people.) Julia agrees right away, says, “Let’s show them what we’ve got.” She floats in and out of different songs while we try to choose what to perform. “A Beatles song, right?” Julia asks. Mage wrinkles her nose. “You don’t like the Beatles?” Julia says. (To her, this is betrayal.) “Well,” Mage says, her face scrunched up. “I grew up with more jazz and soul. Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin...” she says, her gaze going slightly out of focus, like she’s somewhere else. Not cross-legged on my bedroom floor. “They’re fuller,” she says. “Have more heart.” We start simple: a few chords, notes held out, a simple pattern on my drum. At one point, Julia and Mage sing in perfect harmony. “Whoa,” I say. The girls look at each other, smiles growing. I know what Mage will say before she opens her mouth: This is magic. We are magic.

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