Duet: Death's Recital

by Lizzie Vega

  “Does anyone else see this?” Edward whispered. Alvin just shook his head, “I hope not.”

  Edward tapped the screen of his laptop to activate the sensor just ahead of the shadow. A white flare of static bloomed on his screen.

  ‘I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

  Suddenly a hand formed out of the root-like shadow and swirled toward the large clay pot where Edward had hidden the first device. As it reached up for the edge of the bronze planter, Alvin pointed at the indicator on Edward screen, quickly throwing his fingers across his throat, “Turn that one off. Turn them all off.”

  “Hang on.” Edward quickly cut the signal to the other wi-fi locations and the screen went dark except for the pulsating ball of static.

  The dark hand stopped its advance, the turned as a student made his way out of the corridor, its form blurring back to a wisp and settling back against the wall.

  “Turn on the one by the door, just that one,” Alvin whispered, “The guy didn’t notice anything. I hope we’re the only ones that can see this.”

  “Because we’re ready to?” Edward wondered as he touched the screen to activate the sensing element behind the trash bin, “Cuz I’d really rather not.”

  No sooner had he touched the screen, the shadow reversed course and began to move along the floor trim toward the doorway. “Let’s not piss her off, okay? Turn on one in the upper level.”

  Suddenly rattled, Edward hesitated, trying to remember which tab ran what sensor. As his trembling hand hovered over the screen, Alvin reached over and chose a random tab.

  “Jeezuz, I was gonna do it,” Edward complained loudly then stared at Alvin as he put his hand to his forehead to cover his brow. “Look at the wall, just be sneaky about it.”

  Discreetly turning to look out the windows, Edward cleared his throat then quickly glanced toward the raked concrete panels. The shadow had tripled in size and was billowing up at the side of the doorway. “Holy shit, she’s searching out the signal.” He looked up at Alvin, then found the digital tab for the upper level sensors. “We gotta get out of here. She might get aggressive and there’s another class getting out in a minute.”

  “We can get the other markers later,” Edward offered, keeping one eye on the mass growing in the building’s entry, “I didn’t think it would…oh, crap.” A group of students had just entered the first section of the entry. In another moment, they would be right in front of the belligerent ghost. “That one off, upstairs on.”

  The shadow turned again, flaring out in size, then flew along the wall toward the corridor entrance as two students, their arms loaded with books, walked into the Annex. The shadow veered and an arm rose out of the mass, striking one student’s arms to send an eruption of textbooks and papers up into the air before disappearing down the hallway.

  Edward stood, still looking at the hallway as he hurried to gather the handful of sensors they’d placed in the Annex lobby. He glared at Alvin, “We’ve got about a minute before she gets to them. I’m just going to leave them on while we get out of here.”

  Alvin had started to move toward the two affected students, when he saw them laugh and shrug at the sudden incident. He stopped short, then joined Edward as they headed out the door. Neither of them said a word until they reached the house.

  “So now what?” Alvin said after a few minutes.

  “Too easy,” Edward answered, “But we had a good sign of her location from Ethan.”

  “From Sara, you mean.”

  Alvin sighed, “Yeah…the accident. We need to talk to both Ethan and Sara. I get the feeling this is uh, accelerating, like its gonna bust open.”

  “I’ve felt the same way,” Edward sighed, “We’re not gonna make it to Ethan’s recital, are we?”

  Alvin nodded, “We need to prepare everyone, starting with Ethan. Kelli’s gonna…I dunno what Kelli’s gonna do. Mikayla is…” He held up his hands with a shrug.

  “Either a breakthrough or a break down. Kelli says her playing is going through the roof, but I think she looks worn out. She's hyper-emotional these days.”

  “So, Ethan and Sara first, then Kel and Mik? And, honestly, maybe Kelli alone.”

  “What if Good Sara confronts Bad Sara?” Edward asked softly.

  Alvin surprised Edward with a grin, “So it goes horribly wrong and we all haunt the school for eternity. No probs.”

  That night, it got worse.

  Chapter 37

  As Kelli made her way back from the restaurant bathroom, she again saw Mikayla massaging her fingers. Sitting down, she didn’t comment. After a few minutes of silence, she watched the careful grooming continue and saw her friend wince as she touched her index finger.

  “Mik?”

  After a second unanswered prod, Kelli leaned across the table, “Give me your hand.”

  Jogged out of her thoughts, Mikayla realized the request and pulled her left hand back, instead offering her right.”

  “Hu-uh, your bow hand is healed,” Kelli snapped back at her, “the other one. We’re not playing this game.”

  With a deep sigh, Mikayla slowly brought her playing hand across the table. Kelli gasped so loud, a couple sitting next to them turned to look.

  “Jesus, Mikayla, you’ve split the callus. It’s just a little but that’s gotta hurt.”

  “It’s not bad, really,” Mikayla said softly, not looking Kelli in the eye, “I’ve put some ointment on it.” Thinking she’d successfully dodged Kelli’s inspection, she tried to pull her hand back. Kelli caught her by the wrist and Mikayla yelped loudly.

  “I thought so,” Kelli said as she gathered up Mikayla’s hand and pressed her thumb firmly into her wrist. Mikayla groaned again loud enough for the conversation to stop again at the nearby table. Kelli turned to the couple, “Occupational therapy,” she grinned at them, “Nothing to see here.”

  As she turned back to Mikayla, her happy grin quickly dissolved, “You’re playing way too much. Slow down or you’ll end up with having to take a long break.” A firm press on the tendons below her wrist caused another sharp intake of breath. “Or is carpal tunnel your goal here?”

  Mikayla shook her head, looking away, “No,” she whispered, “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t apologize to me. I’m not blind, “she paused, “Or stupid either. I know you’re not heading home at night to sleep. I think you’re sneaking off to practice.”

  Mikayla turned to her, tears in her eyes, “I can get a little carried away sometimes.”

  “Might be one of those times,” Kelli said quietly, “You have to be more careful with yourself, Mik. This gets out of hand and you could need surgery…your performance career would be in serious trouble. Why are you doing this?”

  Her answer came out as a confessional whisper, “I just want to be good enough.”

  Kelli’s touch shifted and she took her friend’s hand in both of hers, softly massaging her forearm, “You are top ten, no top five in the whole school. There are, what, sixty other students that worship the ground you walk on. Good enough, my God.”

  “I’m sorry,” Mikayla choked out, “I’ll take it easier. It’s just…it’s just hard to explain. I get obsessed about stuff once in a while. Don’t be mad at me.”

  “Most things are around here these days are a little hard to explain…wait a minute,” she said out loud as her eyes narrowed. She leaned across the table, “It’s the Mozart piece isn’t it?”

  Mikayla’s eyes darted away giving Kelli her answer.

  “How many times have you played in the last week, not including class and your other class requirements?” Another minute of silence only emboldened Kelli. “You know it’s really better if you talk to me cuz the whipped puppy expression on your face says way more than you want it to.”

  “Too many to count,” was the exhausted answer, “But parts of it are really coming together. He says that I play with more passion than he does.”

  The minute the words left her mouth she drew back knowing that
Kelli would come unglued. Except, she didn’t. She only shifted her hand to quietly work on another part of Mikayla’s arm, “Your flexors are like iron. You’re gonna feel this all the way up to your elbow.”

  “That was last week, I’ve tried to cut back some, but the pad split last night. I put some stuff on it, just a little.” Her hand was shaking as Kelli lessened the pressure of the massage.

  “I get it,” she said, finishing the therapeutic touching with a tap of her finger, “Stuff, that’s a technical term, right?” She dug in her bag for a minute, handing Mikayla a small bottle, “Tea tree oil. One drop, twice a day. Zero violin for the next three days. Maybe we talk music theory or something while you heal up.”

  “Thank you for not yelling at me.”

  “Just so you know, and it’s not like we talk about you behind your back, we really don’t...but Edward nailed it the first night you met the guys. Your talent is obvious,” Kelli paused, “It just gets overshadowed by the compulsions you find yourself in on occasion.”

  “Lovely,” Mikayla half-smiled not knowing whether Kelli was being serious.

  “I super-crushed on a guy in high school,” Kelli offered suddenly, “Made a complete fool of myself in the cafeteria one day.” She shuddered as she remembered, “I confessed my undying love to him in front of most of the senior class.” She started to laugh then snorted and lost herself completely, “I forget his name now and then. It was almost a week before I had the nerve to come back to school.”

  “Wow,” Mikayla said softly, “How did you work up the nerve to say it? What did you say?”

  Kelli’s jaw dropped, “Hey no, wait a minute. That’s not the point I’m trying, unsuccessfully, to make here. You need to recognize this as destructive behavior and…and, ah jeez, Mik, I suck at this.” She looked away for a moment, “And I didn’t have otherworldly competition.” She closed her eyes and sighed, “Shit, I didn’t mean to say that either. How much of this is about you and how much is about Ethan.”

  “I love him, Kelli.”

  “At your own expense? It’s not really the best timing, right? Please tell me you get that?”

  “Probably not. You’ve seen her. Watch how she looks at him.”

  Kelli nodded, “Kinda hard not to. She sets that bar pretty high, doesn’t she?”

  “And if something goes wrong and he gets hurt, what’s gonna happen?”

  “Then we help him, I guess,” Kelli said unconvincingly, “Alvin has a few theories and is doing some side-research. Maybe that helps. Worst case scenario, he drops out and we, um…what do I know?” she added, “I’m just making it worse for you.”

  “No, it’s okay. I have to figure this out and not get farther behind than I already am.” Mikayla held up her split finger, wiggling it, “I can just be around to talk to him, like you do for me.”

  “His juried performance is only a month away, Mik. Under his special circumstances, you know he’s gotta be uber-stressed about it.”

  “Performance,” Mikayla repeated, “We can’t be calling it that. Not for a long time, I think.”

  “His weird little appearances in the Union are beginning to get talked about. I don’t think he realized it would be seen as such a big deal. Ashley and Amanda were calling him a performance artist the other day.”

  “Is it my fault?” Mikayla asked, her furrowed brow instantly worried Kelli, “I can’t do anything to make it worse for him. Maybe I should just back away completely. I’m not helping him, I guess. This is bad.”

  “Will you stop?” Kelli shot across the table, “I’m more worried about you than him right now. You have your own recital coming up at the end of the year, God.” She snapped her fingers, pointed back at Mikayla’s hand, “Give me that back,” she said with a stern look, “We’re right back where we started.”

  Chapter 38

  Kelli took one look at Alvin’s expression, “Oh shit, what’s going on.”

  “Jesus, you’re creepy good at that,” Edward commented as he sat down next her, “No secrets from you,” he added with a small nod toward Alvin. He took a deep breath, “We found Bad Sara.”

  It didn’t register at first, “Are you okay?” she asked, eyes wide in concern for them. When neither answered back, Kelli repeated the words as she looked at the architectural plans on the dining table, “Oh God.”

  “It’s too coincidental not to be true,” Alvin said quietly, “With what our Sara has told Ethan and what he’s told us.”

  “I made a couple of calls and reached out to the contractor that does a lot of the renovations at the school,” he pointed to a floorplan of the Annex. “I don’t get the design part of this, but we definitely found Bad Sara today. She’s in the Annex.”

  “It was easy,” Alvin added, “Almost too easy.”

  Kelli sat down in a dining chair, “Does Ethan know, or Mikayla?”

  “Not yet.”

  “And what if we don’t tell them,” she asked haltingly. Edward could tell she was on the verge of tears, “What would it matter if we never say anything,” he asked, “My head tells me that it should stay a secret, it only dredges up the whole thing again for everyone concerned.”

  “Especially, Sara,” Alvin said, “Both of them, actually. And her family, of course.”

  Kelli took a practical route, “Get Ethan past the recital, I don’t think he…” She stopped, looking at both Alvin, then Edward, “He’s changed so much. He’s not the church mouse we saw at the Union.”

  Alvin laughed, startling them, “Ed said the same thing about an hour ago. Sara’s brought him out of his shell. None of this is coincidence anymore, I think we should tell him.”

  “And Sara?” Kelli wondered, “our Sara, ur, his?”

  “After the recital,” Edward cautioned, “Just in case it’s too much for him.”

  “Bad Sara went after a couple of students at the Annex this afternoon. I don’t think we dare risk it. Our Sara is as cheery as usual…”

  “Maybe more so,” Kelli interrupted, “She and Mik are having a play date today.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Right?” Kelli snarked, raising up jazz hands, “See them Live, the dueling debutantes.”

  “Oooh,” Edward remarked backing away from Kelli, “Someone is a feeling a wee bit left out.”

  “Oh, puh-leeze,” Kelli objected sarcastically, “Sara invited both of us. I just thought it was best if Mik faced up- well Sara’s talent is otherworldly y’know.” She glared at Edward, “Jerk-face.”

  “Excusem moi,” he shot back innocently.

  “Kids,” Alvin interjected, raising his voice, “and this is why we can’t have nice things.” He turned to Kelli, “they do this play date thing…a lot?”

  “Actually,” Kelli said, with a final evil eye to Edward, “Quite a few times. Sara has given her a bunch of pointers. Why?”

  “Nothing, that’s cool though and that you don’t feel left out.”

  “Not at all.” She leaned across the table to inspect the drawings, “So, where is she?”

  Edward pointed to an angled wall that ran parallel to the Music building hallway. A beam jutted out from the original structure to tie in the more geometric shape of the Annex. “This would line up with what Ethan has told us.”

  “The second level walkway is above where the entry wall caps off and the hallway is the right angle.”

  “The third level is way higher, just pointing that out,” Edward added. “I never thought of it that way cuz the handrails are up. You can see the dorms through the window wall.”

  “When was that?” Kelli asked immediately.

  “Last week,” Alvin quick answered, “You and Mik were…in class and until now, it didn’t make too much sense.”

  “Mmm,” Kelli surmised, “Until today. Okay.”

  Edward continued, “We set up the wi-fi monitors and Sara came right out of this wall. First here,” he pointed, “then she moved this way. That’s when we got her to move upstairs.”

  “S
he didn’t see you? That was lucky.”

  “Yeah, that,” Alvin said, “She did run over a student on her way upstairs, I feel bad about that. We took that as our cue to leave the building, so now you know as much as we do.”

  “We have less than three weeks left…now what?”

  Kelli rubbed her temples, “Get Ethan through his recital would be my first choice, but,” she shook her head, “I’m worrying as much about Mikayla as Ethan these days. She’s quieter somehow like she’s trying to shoulder some of Ethan’s fears. Evenson’s asked her to play in something at the end of the year. Now she’s obsessing about that too.”

  “Ever since the dorm thing with Bad Sara. I gotta say I understand it.” Alvin agreed as his phone vibrated on the table. “Timely,” he said quietly as he picked up the phone.

  Listening intently, he nodded twice during the brief conversation, “Okay, I’ll let everyone know,: he said then hung up and looked at Edward and Kelli, “Seems we’re all off the hook to make any decisions. A meeting has been called. All of us.”

  “Who was that?” Edward asked.

  Alvin shook his head, “It was Sara. Ethan has told her about the dark shadows and about Mikayla’s run ins.” He sighed deeply, “She wants all of us to meet at the Annex tonight.”

  Chapter 39

  That night, the five of them gathered at the far end of the Union building. Edward was the first to voice his objections.

  “Just for the record, I don’t like this,” he began, but looked at Sara’s earnest expression as she hugged tightly onto Ethan’s arm, “but I don’t think I understand, either.”

  Ethan tipped his head toward her, “She’s not gonna let it go. Believe me, I’ve tried.”

  Sara nodded, then stunned them, “I think the timing is right, I’m helping Ethan face his fears,” she began, “And I don’t know if it’s the right thing to do, but it’s time for me to face this on my own.” Her constant smile had vanished, then quickly returned, “So, don’t argue with me.”