She turns to him. He nods slightly to her, not enough anyone should notice. He mouths, “You can do it.”
She takes another deep breath. Then she starts to sing. The audience melts away. So do Keshia and the rest of her classmates. It’s just her and Darren on the stage. It’s just her and Darren in the whole world right then, his piano and her voice in perfect harmony. The beautiful words of Mr. Porter about love become her words to Darren about their love, a love that will last forever.
At the end of the medley she sits on the bench, as if she really is singing to just him. She puts one hand on his head to ruffle his hair. During a pause she kisses him on the cheek and then leaps to her feet. With triumph she sings, “Anything goes!”
A wave of applause washes over her. She blinks her eyes a few times as she remembers there’s a whole audience there. The microphone slips from her sweaty fingers; she doesn’t bother to pick it up.
Darren comes up next to her and takes her hand. They take a few bows for the audience, which only drives the audience to applaud louder. Stacey can hear a few people shout for an encore. But there won’t be an encore; she’s much too exhausted for that. She clings to Darren for support as she stumbles backstage.
Jamie is there to help her over to a chair. “Oh. My. God!” Jamie shrieks. “You totally kicked ass.”
“Thanks.”
“You did too,” she says to Darren. “That was fucking amazing!”
Jamie’s teacher clears her throat. “Well it was!” she shoots back. She takes her phone out of her pocket. “I got it all right here. Just a few seconds and it’ll be on YouTube so everyone can see it.”
“Everyone?” Stacey asks. Her voice cracks as she remembers kissing his cheek. Billions of people will be able to see that now.
Jamie puts a hand on her shoulder. “You’ll be a superstar by tomorrow morning.”
“Great.” Stacey runs her hand through her sweaty hair. “I think I need a nap.”
***
They stay backstage through the rest of the presentation. Jamie does an OK job with her lines, but she doesn’t get any applause for it, except from Stacey. Her reading on the Berlin Wall won’t go up on YouTube either. Lucky her.
Before she goes out for her final remarks, Dr. Armey says, “I think everyone would appreciate it if you two went out for an encore.”
“Do we have to?” Stacey asks.
“I’ll make sure Ms. Lowry gives you extra credit,” she says.
Stacey looks to Darren. “What do we do?”
“It’s up to you.”
Stacey smiles at him. “I know a song we can do.”
His face pales. “Not that one.”
“Why not? I know the words. You know the music. It’s perfect.”
Darren stares at her for a moment and then nods. “OK.”
Dr. Armey goes out to deliver her final remarks. “We would like to thank all of you for helping to make this possible. St. Andrew’s couldn’t exist without all of the students, faculty, parents, and alumni throughout the last hundred and fifty years. We hope to continue molding tomorrow’s young leaders for another hundred fifty years and beyond.”
While the headmaster speaks, Stacey and Darren scamper across the stage to hide behind the piano. She can feel the nervousness in her stomach again. They don’t have to do this, but they could both use the extra credit, not to mention Dr. Armey’s gratitude.
“And now as a special treat, I’d like to reintroduce a couple of St. Andrew’s students with very bright futures. Our little songbird Stacey Chang and accompanying her on the piano, Darren Macintosh.”
Darren takes his place at the piano while Stacey goes over to Dr. Armey and accepts the microphone like a baton in a relay race. Stacey clears her throat; she hopes she can go through with this. “Hi again,” she whispers into the microphone. “We’d like to share another song with you, a song written by a very good friend of mine.”
Darren finishes his warmup. With a flourish he starts into a sunny, up-tempo beat. She doesn’t miss a note this time; she wants to make Darren’s song perfect. “Stacey, you brighten my days,” she begins. She blushes to sing her own name. “Like a summer sun’s warm rays—”
The rest of the audience disappears again as she focuses on Darren. He focuses on his keyboard; his cheeks burn red and not from the effort. This is the first time any of his music has been played in public. She just hopes he doesn’t trip over any notes.
Of course he doesn’t. His fingers are too well-trained for that. She doesn’t miss any notes either. Again she sits down on the piano bench, only this time because she’s so tired. Though she still sings into the microphone, she feels as if she’s whispering the words into Darren’s ear. “I hope you’ll stay,” she sings. She holds out the last word as long as she can. When she can’t anymore, she tosses the microphone aside to kiss Darren on the mouth. She doesn’t care if everyone can see her, not anymore.
Chapter 38
Darren’s uncle is the first of their relatives to congratulate them. He crushes Darren in a hug. “Your mother would be so proud,” he says and then tousles his nephew’s hair.
“Thanks, Uncle Bob.”
Dr. Mac keeps an arm around Darren’s shoulder as he turns to Stacey. “And you were amazing. I don’t think there’s any question about what you’ll be when you grow up.”
“Thanks.” Stacey looks down at her feet. “I couldn’t have done it without Darren.”
“Of course not. You’re a team. Like Simon & Garfunkel or Sonny & Cher.”
“Who?”
“Never mind. The important thing is that you two were brilliant.”
“Does that mean I can still come over to play with Darren?”
“You’ll have to discuss that with your grandmother.”
“OK,” she says. She gives Darren a hug. “I’ll call you later.”
“OK,” he says, back to the regular, shy Darren. “See you at school on Monday.”
“Right.”
She finds her family in the lobby. Everyone else has gone now, back to their cars or to wander around the rest of the campus. Maddy runs to her and almost bowls her over. Maddy’s arms clamp around Stacey’s chest. “You were great!” Maddy shouts. “I knew you could do it.”
“Thanks.”
Grandma pats her on the back. With far more restraint she says, “You were very good, dear. Just lovely.”
“Thanks, Grandma.”
Grandpa is next. He gives her a rough hug. “I’m so proud of you, kid.”
Then she sees the crazy lady over by a wall. Worse yet, the crazy lady is talking to Jamie. Jamie shows Grace something on her phone, probably her video of Stacey singing. “What’s she doing here?” Stacey asks.
“Grace came to see me,” Maddy says. “And you too. She’s our friend.”
“She’s not my friend.” Stacey pulls away from her family to stomp over to Grace and Jamie.
Jamie turns to her and says, “Why didn’t you tell me your cousin was so cool? We were just playing Angry Birds and—”
“She’s not my cousin.”
“She’s not? But she said—”
“She’s just some freak who thinks she knows us,” Stacey says. She takes Jamie’s hand to pull her away. To Grace she shouts, “Stay away from my family!”
“Stacey, please—”
“Shut up! I don’t ever want to see you again. You’re nothing but a mean old liar!”
They leave Grace there to cry. Jamie shakes her hand out of Stacey’s. “What the hell? That was way harsh.”
“I don’t care. She’s trying to ruin everything.”
“OK. Calm down. Don’t freak out on me.”
“I’m not freaking out!”
“Yeah, sure,” Jamie says in a tone that clearly indicates otherwise.
Stacey turns away from her and heads over to her grandparents. “Can we go home now?”
“Not until you apologize,” Grandma says.
“No! I’m not ever g
oing to apologize. I hate her!”
“Stacey Lynn Chang, I have had enough of that. You march over to her and apologize right now or you’ll be grounded for a month.”
“I don’t care! Ground me forever if you want.”
Maddy has a far different punishment in mind. She bowls into Stacey again; this time she knocks her over. They wrestle around on the floor; Maddy tries to hit her, but doesn’t succeed much. “Get off me!” Stacey shouts.
“No! Not until you apologize to Grace.”
“Never!”
They wrestle around for another minute or so, until Grandma and Grandpa separate them. Grandpa takes Stacey and clamps down on her wrist hard enough to make her wince. “That’s it young lady. I’ve had enough of your attitude. You’re going to apologize or I’m going to paddle your little ass until it’s red.”
Stacey tries to shake out of Grandpa’s grip, but he’s too strong. He drags her over to where Grace is still crying, her face even paler than before. Grandpa shoves Stacey forward. “Go on, young lady. Say it.”
Stacey looks down at the floor. “I’m sorry,” she whispers.
“Say it like you mean it,” Grandpa snarls.
“I’m sorry I’ve been so mean, Grace,” Stacey says. “I don’t hate you.”
“That’s better,” Jake says.
“Thank you,” Grace says. “That’s very grown up of you.”
Stacey turns to her grandfather. “Can we go home now?”
“In a few minutes. Why don’t you say goodbye to your friend?”
“OK.”
She trudges over to Jamie, who isn’t crying, but looks almost as pale as Grace. “I’m sorry about that,” Stacey says. “You must think I’m a total freak now.”
“Kinda.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Hey, whatever. It’s fine.” Though Jamie’s voice sounds so hollow that Stacey knows it’s not fine.
Stacey reaches for her necklace. “You should take this back. I don’t deserve it.”
“Come on, Stacey, don’t be like that. You’re still my best friend.”
“You mean it?”
“Of course.” Jamie sounds more sincere this time. They hug for a few moments. Then Jamie pats her on the back. “I got to go before Caleb drives Daddy crazy with his whining. I’ll text you later, OK?”
“OK.”
There’s one last person to apologize to. Stacey goes over to Maddy, who clings to Grandma. “I’m sorry, Madison. I’m sorry I was so mean.”
Maddy sniffles, but says nothing for a minute. She finally peels herself off Grandma’s leg. “I forgive you,” she says. “But you have to accept that Grace is my friend. My bestest friend in the whole world.”
“I understand.”
“You’re still my big sister, though.”
“Thanks.” They hug and then everything seems back to normal.
At least until Grandpa comes back, his phone against his ear. “We’ll be there in about an hour,” he says. He hangs up the phone and then looks down at Stacey and Maddy. “Dr. Palmer wants to see you girls at her lab right away. She says she has some really good news for you.”
“Good news about what?” Stacey asks.
“About making you big again,” Grandpa says.
“She’s going to make us big again?” Maddy says. She starts to jump up and down. “Oh boy!” Then she races across the lobby to Grace. “Grace, did you hear? The doctor’s going to make me a big girl again!”
“Now don’t get your hopes up,” Grandma cautions. “What exactly did she say?”
While her grandparents talk and while Maddy continues to celebrate, Stacey shivers as if a blizzard has suddenly blown in. What if Dr. Palmer really can make her a grown-up? What would happen with her and Darren? She looks over at Maddy and Grace for the answer. Except she would be the grown-up and Darren the kid. They couldn’t be together anymore or else people would think it was creepy, like one of those bad people they warned her about at school. She couldn’t kiss him or hug him or hold his hand again—
Stacey makes it through the doors before anyone can stop her.
Chapter 39
There are still people out front by the admin building to make small talk like adults do. Stacey sees one of those people is Mr. Borstein. Maybe he wants to get more clients for his business. At the moment she doesn’t care because it provides the perfect chance to escape.
She finds Jamie and Caleb in the backseat of Mr. Borstein’s car. Jamie screams when Stacey thuds against the side of the car. Out of breath from running so far, Stacey can only stand there and pant while Jamie rolls down the window.
“Stacey, what the hell? You scared the crap out of me.”
“Sorry.”
“What’s going on? Why were you running?”
Stacey isn’t good at lying. Her grandparents, teachers, and the reverend all say lying is wrong. In this case, she feels it’s necessary. Jamie will never believe her crazy story; not even Stacey really believes it.
“My grandparents are going to get rid of me,” she says. “They’re going to send me and Maddy to a foster home. Back in California.”
“What? No way! Your grandparents wouldn’t do that.”
“They can’t afford us,” Stacey says. Now that she’s begun, it’s easier to lie. “This new family is richer.”
“Oh my God,” Jamie says. “When?”
“A couple of days.” It doesn’t take much effort for Stacey to cry. “I’m not going to go.”
“Then what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to run away. Me and Darren. We can find somewhere to hide in the city.” Stacey leans closer to the window. “They’re going to be looking for me here any minute. You got to get me out of here. Please.”
“Of course I will. But you can’t ride in the car. Daddy will see you.” Jamie looks around. Then she leans over the seat, to open the glove box. She punches a button along the side. “Climb in the trunk.”
“The trunk? I’ll suffocate.”
“Only if we leave you in there for a couple of days,” Jamie says. “It’ll just be until we get home. Then I’ll let you out. I promise.”
“OK,” Stacey says. She doesn’t see much of an alternative. She lifts the trunk. It’s not very big, but big enough for her to squeeze inside. Jamie gets out to close the lid for her.
She looks down at Stacey for a moment and then says, “I’ll ask Daddy to get us out of here right away. Once we’re home and everyone’s upstairs, I’ll sneak down to let you out. Try not to panic or anything until then. Just relax.” Jamie hands her phone to Stacey. “Here, you can use this. Just don’t post nasty messages on other people’s walls with my account.”
“I won’t. Thanks.”
“Anything for my best friend.” Then Jamie slams the lid down and Stacey is alone. The only light comes from the screen of Jamie’s phone. Stacey takes a deep breath and tries not to think about how small the trunk is or wonder how long she can breathe in here before she suffocates.
She isn’t sure how long it is before the car starts to move. At least Mr. Borstein hasn’t opened the trunk to turn her over to Grandma and Grandpa. As she listens to the purr of the engine, Stacey tries to piece things together. Why would they want to make her a grown-up? There is a part of her that would like to be grown up, so she can do whatever she wants, but not without Darren. She doesn’t want to wait eight years or longer for him to grow up too.
The hum of the engine and the darkness, combined with her exhaustion from the busy night, lull her to sleep. She wakes up with a startled cry as the trunk lid pops open. She braces herself for Mr. Borstein to ask what she’s doing in there, but it’s not him. It’s just Jamie.
“You all right in there?”
“I’m fine.” Stacey smiles. “I took a little nap.”
Jamie holds up a duffel bag. “I brought you some clothes and shoes and food. There’s some money in there too from my piggy bank to help get you started.”
�
��Jamie, no, I can’t take your money.”
“You have to, Stacey. I don’t want you eating out of dumpsters and stuff.”
Stacey has to admit Jamie has a point. She and Darren will need some money for food and maybe for somewhere to stay. “I’ll pay you back. I promise.”
“Forget about it.” Jamie sticks out her hand to help Stacey out of the trunk. Once Stacey is out of the car, Jamie hugs her. “You just let me come visit once you find somewhere, OK?”
“OK.” Jamie’s done so much already that Stacey hates to ask, “How am I going to get to Darren’s house?”
“I already called a cab. It’ll be here in a few minutes.”
“Are you going to get in trouble?”
“Me? Nah.” Jamie reaches into the trunk for her phone. “Daddy thinks I came down here to find my phone. He won’t miss any of the other stuff.”
“That’s good.” Stacey looks down at her feet and feels suddenly shy around her best friend as it comes time to say goodbye. “I can’t thank you enough. You’re the bestest friend anyone could have.”
They hug again. Jamie sniffles and then says, “Damn it, now you’ve got me crying. Why do you do that?”
“I’m sorry.”
“You let me know you’re safe as soon as you can, all right?”
“All right.”
They walk up from the garage, out to the front of the building. The taxi pulls up a couple of minutes later. Jamie hands the driver a wad of bills. Then she leans in Stacey’s window. “See you later.”
“Later,” Stacey says. She wishes she could say more, but there’s no time.
She turns to look back at Jamie on the curb; her best friend waves to her. She waves back. Then the cab turns a corner and Jamie is gone.
***
The taxi drops her off a couple houses away from Darren’s uncle’s house. Jamie thought of everything. She’s way smarter about this stuff than Stacey. “Thank you,” she says to the driver and then climbs out.
Stacey figures by now her grandparents have probably called Dr. Macintosh to ask if she’s turned up there. They probably called Jamie’s dad too. She hopes Jamie doesn’t get in trouble for helping her. No, Jamie is too smart to get caught, not unless Stacey gets caught and confesses.
Chances Are Omnibus (Gender Swap Fiction) Page 53
