Pierce stood up straight, looking for all the world like he was about tounch <b>into </b><b>a </b>dramatic poetry recital.
Alessia let out a helpless littleugh. “Sit down, would you? Quit being ridiculous.”
“Heh, sure thing.” Pierce was always quick to take a hint.
“So, let me get this straight–you want A&P to mass–produce my painted T–shirt design as our ss jersey for this year’s sports day?”
“That’s why you’re top of the ss, Alessia–always sharp,” Pierce on thick. Ste, however, wasn’t having it.
ed,ying it
“You’re really something, aren’t you? Every other year Penny makes the design and we just have anotherpany print them. Now you want to switch it up?”
“Well, yeah, we always used Penny’s freshman–year design, but this time Alessia took first ce,” Pierce said, scratching his head.
“So you’re just gonna ditch two years of tradition because someone else came out on top? Seriously, Pierce, are you just looking for ways to keep Lessie busy? Would you be okay if you did all the work for two years, and then got benched just because you didn’t win thest round?”
Ste was so annoyed, she looked ready to give Pierce a piece of her mind right then and there. Realizing the misunderstanding, Pierce quickly raised his hands in
defense.
“Come on, Miss Laine, you really think I’d do something like that? This was Penny’s idea, not mine. I even tried talking her out of it, but she insisted I ask Alessia if she’d be okay with it. That’s the only reason I brought it up!”
“Seriously?” Ste eyed Pierce with suspicion.
Pierce looked exasperated as he scanned the room. Just then, Penny walked back in with a fresh cup of water,
“Penny!” he called, a little too loudly, making her jump.
She walked over, still holding her cup. “What’s up?”
“Can you please exin to these two that my conscience is still intact <b>and </b><b>they </b><b>can </b>stop threatening to teach me a lesson?”
Penny frowned, clearly confused. Alessia <b>filled </b>her in <b>on </b><b>the </b><b>situation </b><b>in </b><b>a </b><b>few </b><b>quick </b>
<b>sentences</b>.
“Yeah, it was my suggestion,” Penny confirmed. “Alessia’s design is great, and <b>this </b>is ourst year. I wanted something bold and youthful to mark the asion. It’s your prize, though, so I told Pierce to run it by you first.”
Alessia nced at Penny, then at Pierce. “Alright. Let’s do it your way.”
Penny nodded, as if she’d known Alessia would agree all along, and headed back <b>to </b>her seat.
Out of the four of them, Pierce was by far the most dramatic. He pressed his palms together in front of his chest and gazed at Alessia like she’d just d his life. “Alessia, you’re an absolute legend!”
Alessia rolled her eyes and turned away, unimpressed. Ste made a face and leaned in close to Alessia.
“So we’re really going through with this?”
Alessia nodded.
“By the way, check this out.” Ste pulled out her phone, queued up a video, and held it in front of Alessia.
The screen was ck at first, then flickered to life like an old TV. A long, elegant hand appeared, its knuckles defined and skin almost porcin, resting on a simple, worn guitar. The fingers plucked a string, and a mellow, haunting melody filled the air, immediately tugging at the listener’s heart.
Comments streamed across the screen–some praising the musician’s hands, others the melody, with a few naysayers sprinkled in but most were overwhelmingly positive.
About ten seconds in, a low, velvety voice joined the music. Paired with the melody, it felt like being swept away on a rainy night, waltzing through deserted streets under the drizzle, caught up in a quiet kind of romance.
Thements kept flying by, and even though the video had been up less than a day, it was already closing in on a million views.
“I knew it was your brother as soon as I heard his voice,” Ste said, grinning. <b>“</b><b>Look </b>at those numbers–he’s blowing up! Thirty thousand new followers <b>overnight</b>. That’s insane!”