Fable (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale 3)

The girl laughed. It was soft and melodic. “I’m Melissa.”

“Mina.”

“Are you an alto or soprano?”

“Uh…what are you?” Mina asked.

“Soprano.”

“Me, too,” Mina lied.

“Then you can come sit by me and Bekah. We’ll help you blend, and we’ll poke you if you go off key,” Melissa teased.

Mina followed Melissa to the second row and hesitated. She didn’t want to sit this close to the front of the class. She would have rather have sat in the back, but someone filed in behind her, and Mina was forced to keep moving.

Melissa pointed to the girls on either side of them. “That’s Julianne, Makaylee, and, of course, Bekah.” Each girl waved when she heard her name mentioned and smiled.

“Are you going to audition for the musical?” Makaylee asked.

“Musical?”

“Mrs. Colbert always picks a fairy tale. Last year it was Princess and the Pea, the year before, Rapunzel. I wonder what it will be this year?” Bekah wondered.

“I hope it’s not Red Riding Hood,” Julianne answered.

“Uh, definitely not.”

“I’m sure there’s a kissing scene.” Melissa shuddered. “You never know who would get cast as the prince, and that could be very awkward.”

All the girls nodded in unison, but there was a wishful look behind their eyes.

Mrs. Colbert walked into class and took her place behind the piano. She called out to the class and began to do warm-ups. Mina was altogether shocked by the voice that came out of the Fae teacher. Constance wasn’t kidding when she said she was a muse. She could really sing, and it was obvious that the Fae loved singing. Her face lit up with joy, and she didn’t notice the extra student sitting in on her class.

Music binders opened, and Mina watched Melissa’s carefully to see what page they turned to and tried her best to hide behind the music. They were working on a piece from Phantom of the Opera, and Mina stopped singing to stare at Melissa. The teen girl had closed her eyes and was hitting every one of the notes with ease. Mina was slightly envious and tried to follow along, but her voice cracked, betraying that she was indeed an alto. Melissa opened her eyes and made a poking motion with her finger. Then she smiled widely and winked.

Mina found herself smiling back and thinking how she could see Melissa and Nan being great friends. Halfway into the second song, Mrs. Colbert finally noticed the new addition to her class. She froze for a second and then recovered beautifully. She raised an eyebrow in question at Mina but continued with the rest of class. She ended early and gave the final instructions about the auditions.

“You’ve heard that our musical has been announced. This year we are doing Cinderella. Auditions will be in three weeks after school in the main auditorium. Please come prepared with a solo piece to perform. That is all.”

Since the class ended early, Mina had hoped the students would all disappear from the room, but that wasn’t the case. With the excitement of the announcement of the musical, everyone wanted to stay and talk.

Mina excused herself and squeezed out of the row, and left the girls talking excitedly about the play.

“What are you doing here?” Mrs. Colbert asked, a forced smile on her face. “Is something wrong?”

“No, not really. It’s just that a lot has happened since the other night. Jared destroyed the seam ripper, he’s not talking to me anymore, and I haven’t jumped or whatever in my sleep. I don’t know what to do.”

Mrs. Colbert took off her blue wing-tipped glasses and her glamour faded a little, making her look like the muse Constance more than ever. “Mina, listen to your heart. When the time is right, you’ll know what to do.”

“No, I don’t. I’m too close. I can’t find my way, and Jared’s not helping me.”

The students continued talking amongst themselves, and Mrs. Colbert sat on her piano bench and motioned to the music in front of her.

“Remember what I said about technology not working on the Fae world? Man-made things can’t transfer over there. We don’t know why—it just can’t. It’s a rule, a law of some sort that can’t be changed. And just like that rule, another one always seems to surface in regards to stories.”

She waved her hand over the sheet music, and the notes and lines began to merge and dance across the white paper. She began to play the piano, and the lines and notes formed a story. The more she played, the more the picture continued.