I turned towards the fifth 'Hey, Ivy' I'd heard since walking into the school with a sense of foreboding. It was another person that I had never met, but they seemed to be excited to speak to me. With my backpack strung across one shoulder and a book clasped in my left arm, I closed my locker carefully and dipped my head as I walked to my organic chemistry class.
Sally was back.
Her bright countenance beamed through the halls as she sashayed her hips to the rhythm of whatever was pouring into her ears from her AirPods. A smile opened her mouth as she saw me, and she brought her hand up to wildly wave at me. Using far less enthusiasm, I returned it before ducking into the classroom and finding my seat at the back.
She sat next to me, chucking her heavy bag to the ground as she opened her textbook to yesterday's homework page. The notebook paper was crumpled but filled with diagrams. Our eyes met, and she passed me another of her movie star smiles before speaking.
"Receive any good news today?"
Confused, I furrowed my eyebrows and shook my head.
"Huh? I thought that would be the first thing they did this morning. I mean, you are viral—practically a global sensation. Everyone is begging for them to choose you."
"Sally," I lowered my voice and leaned towards her, "what are you talking about?"
"What do you mean? Your audition is silly."
"Audition?" I questioned, my mouth stretching the word as it came out. "What audition?"
"For Mary Poppins?"
I laughed. "What are you talking about?"
"You can't lie to me, or anyone else for that matter; we've all seen it. You were phenomenal."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
She sighed, flipping her smartphone out of her pocket and lighting up the screen. Her fingers flew across the mini-keys to open a new web page. Suddenly, she flipped the phone around, popped out the kickstand, and turned up the volume.
"Here."
My blood ran cold as the video began to play. There, on the tiny screen, was my body standing behind the microphone on a black stage while singing. Fear shot through me as it continued to play. The song was recorded in its entirety.
Tears dripped down my cheeks as my mouth belted out the words, and emotion clouded my eyes. The video was taken from the second floor of the theatre and zoomed in to my position. A slow, painful breath wheezed out of me, and I deflated as the last note came out, ending the song. It was a struggle to speak.
I sat, unmoving, as the screen changed and a disembodied voice explained the video's origin. The title below the video lambasted across YouTube was 'Thungston High's Own Big Voice Mary Poppins', and the counter was frozen at 18 million. My hands began to shake.
"H-how..." I swallowed hard. "How did this get out? The audition is sealed."
Sally chuckled. "Is that what they told you? Sure, it's supposed to be, but that doesn't stop all the auditions from getting out."
"Shit. Shit. Shit." I mumbled, pushing my fingers through my dark hair. "Fuck."
"Blue?" Sally called, peering at my face. "Is everything alright?"
"I-I can't... I can't... maybe..."
Immediately, I went into survival mode. If I had seen the video, then the six probably had as well. Then I had to confront the possibility of Viber Technologies seeing it as well. My cover would be blown sky high.
The video began to play again as other students filed into the class. Kira stepped inside, anger clearly etched across her face. Her hurried steps to her seat halted when my voice echoed through the room again.
"You think you're so great, don't you?" She sneered at me. I ignored her, pinching my bottom lip between my teeth in anxiety. "Think you're hot shit? I am playing Kira, got it, freak?"
Sally spoke for me.
"She'll get the part if she wants it, Kira. Drop it."
"Stay out of this, Kirkland. I wasn't talking to you."
"You're talking to my friend, which means you're talking to me. I said, Drop it."
The brunette fumed for a few moments and went to open her mouth again, but Sally shut her up with a scathing glare. Her heart shape was pulled downward as her lips pinched and her eyes narrowed to threatening slits. At that moment, it didn't matter how small she was. Her glare was monstrous.
Kira sent me one last look, a promise, before settling in her chair and turning her back to us. I watched the exchange barely, my heart still stampeding in my chest. The shakes moved from my hands, up my arms, and began to drift my feet. Soon, my entire body was shaking.
Continuing to chew on my bottom lip, I closed my eyes and summoned all my courage to find my AI. Leni came forward, listening to the instructions as I pelted them out to her. She would engage house shields and close down all non-essential areas of my condo.
A thought suddenly hit me, and I turned to Sally with widened eyes.
"When was that video uploaded?"
She frowned, closing the video to find the page. Her hands cycled to the top, ignoring the droves of comments before turning to me.
"It says 18 hours ago."
I choked. "18 hours?"
"Yeah," she laughed, "what's the big deal?"
No. No. No.
Her smile dimmed. "Are you okay? If it's about what Kira said, just ignore her. She knows her place."
I grinned through my fear. "I'm glad you were here to remind her." A light blush bloomed on her cheeks.
"Ivy." I continued to stare at her as her voice softened and she leaned closer. "What's wrong?"
"I have to... I have to go."
"Ivy," Sally called again, "where are you going? You can't leave! Class is about to start."
"I'll.. I'll see you later. I suddenly don't feel very well."
Her voice bounced through the hall as I walked away. I held myself up, pressing my palms against the lockers to stay upright. My vision blurred, twisting the halls into a nightclub. Each breath was a pain to take, but I couldn't afford to stop.
I stumbled out of the parking lot, forcing myself to head to my waiting vehicle. When the startling purple of my Jeep came into view, I wanted to weep with joy. There was a stash of Vibvid-89 sunken into the floor boards of the backseat.
Stumbling around the side of a white Jaguar, my foot caught, and I fell face first onto the cold, hard concrete. A whimper bubbled out of my chest, and it hurt to stand, but I pressed on. I dragged my bag behind me on the ground, nearly at my limit of caring about it.
Blinking heavily, I rubbed my fists against my eyes and breathed a sigh of relief when they cleared partially. Smiling slightly, my eyes raised from the ground to find my vehicle. Gasping, I froze on the spot as the sound of my singing filled the air.
Leaning heavily against the front of my Jeep was Finch. His head was bowed, but a tablet was resting on the hood and the volume was blaring. No. No! No.
My breath fractured, and I stumbled back, trying to put space between him and me. My foot wrapped around my backpack, and I tripped, flinging myself backward. Thick, sinewy, heavily tattooed arms wrapped around my mid-section, yanking me into rockhard abs and a hot, hard erection.
Arousal coursed through me as I recognised the tattoos. Will was behind me, holding my shaking frame and glaring down at me with glowing red eyes. He blinked at me, smirking at my sad attempts to escape. His arms banded tighter as he glanced away from my face, centering his eyes on someone else.
Murphy stepped out and around a car, wearing a sneer on his attractive features. Half-white and half-Chinese, Murphy was dark-haired with golden skin and a neatly trimmed moustache. His eyes, so dark they were almost black, were focused intently on my face. I cringed under his glare, folding into myself.
"Ivy."
I avoided Finch's stare as much as I could, until Lewis crowded my vision and grasped my chin to face him. Finch and I locked gazes as he walked towards me. Angrily, his hands delved into my pockets and liberated my keys. Tossing them to Murphy, he pried me from Will's grip.
"What the fuck were you thinking?"
"I-I..."
"Leaving us? Hiding from us?" Finch spat, reaching forward to catch my throat in a possessive grip. "Fucking someone else?"
"I didn't. I promise."
"We felt it. We all did."
"I didn't... I couldn't." His grip tightened, pulling another whimper from my chest. "There is no one else. No one." I gripped his wrist in my shaky palm, fixing wide, unsure eyes on his.
"Now we'll just see about that."