🎵 "Music of My Heart" - Gloria Estefan and *NSYNC

🎵 "Amazing Grace"

🎵 "I Wanna Be Bad" - Willa Ford

🎵 "U Drive Me Crazy" - Britney Spears

__________

TRACK #1 - SPRING

"Music of My Heart" - Gloria Estefan and *NSYNC

Winter was fading, and the days were getting longer and warmer. It seemed everyone at Bridgeview High was renewing in spirit. Just like the trees, I had a beautiful relationship with Noah blossoming before me. I awoke early that morning ready to take on the day. It was finally time for the moment Resident Grace had been spending all those long hours preparing for all winter: Battle of the Bands. I was slipping into full-on groupie mode when wailing sirens and bright, flashing lights filled the space of my bedroom. The pit of my stomach dropped. Why was there an ambulance stopped in front of my house?

I rushed down the stairs to find my mom hovering over my father. The door had been left open. EMTs flooded my living room to crowd around the couch.

"Mom? Mom, what's going on?" I panicked as people passed me to get to him.

"Aria! Your father is having trouble breathing. It's okay. They're going to take care of him." Her voice was steady, but I could see the fear on her face. "Why don't you go get dressed so we can meet him there?"

My heart pounded while I took the steps two at a time. I grabbed my computer mouse and shook my desktop screen awake. I frantically typed messages to both Emma and Noah.

Piano___Rock: dad's going to ER. can't make battle of the bands. So, so sorry.

And to Noah's, I added, "Good luck. xx."

I exhaled, then found a pair of leggings and a hooded sweatshirt to toss on. I threw my hair in a messy ponytail and grabbed my clutch before pounding down the stairs to rejoin my mom. As I stood in the stairwell, I watched while the EMTs wheeled my father out on a stretcher. My breath caught in my throat, and I swallowed hard. It was the first time I ever thought that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't going to beat this.

It was a long, quiet ride to the hospital as my mom and I parked, then went in to find my father. We spent most of the day in the waiting room while he was assessed and eventually admitted. After we sat through a series of tests, terrible cafeteria food, and tons more waiting, the doctor finally stood before us in my father's room.

"It seems the cancer metastasized," he said sullenly. I didn't know what that meant, but by the look on my mom's face, that wasn't good news. I choked back tears. "We are going to continue the aggressive treatment he's been receiving, but he's going to need to be admitted long term. We can't risk infection with his immune system so weak."

My mom nodded, and the doctor left the room. I sat stunned. Helpless. Speechless. My body was rooted to the chair. I closed my eyes, and the soft sounds of my mom humming filled my ears. I opened my eyes again to see tears soaking her cheeks as she whispered the lyrics to "Amazing Grace." The corners of my father's mouth turned up slightly and his hand tilted as if to welcome hers. She scooted closer to him, sliding her hand in his, and finished the song.

My mom and I got home late that evening. I took a long shower and ate a bit of the soup she had warmed up for me. The house felt empty without my father, even though I knew he was in the best place he could be. My soul was tired, but my bones were so awake. I decided to call Noah.

The phone rang a few times, and although I knew the line went directly to his bedroom, I nearly hung up when it got to the fourth ring. I didn't want to wake anyone, but I also didn't want to be alone.

"Aria?" His groggy voice rang through the receiver, instantly bringing a smile to my face.

"Hey, you," I replied faintly. "Are you a champion?"

"Second place," he laughed, and I heard him shift in bed to situate the receiver. "Still pretty good. We won some recording time. How's your dad? I tried calling you when I got home, but you must've still been at the hospital."

"They're going to keep him for a while. Something about more aggressive treatment. He doesn't look good," I admitted. The line was quiet for a moment.

"I'm so sorry, Aria. We're all praying for him," he assured me. I nodded as if he could see me. "I wish I could give you a hug." His voice was soft, like he was drifting off. I smiled.

"Me, too," I whispered. The phone was quiet again for a moment, and I could hear him breathing. "Why don't I let you go? You sound like you're falling asleep..." I couldn't help but to be content as I listened to him. I felt like I could listen to that sound forever.

"Mmmhmm..." he murmured on the other end of the receiver. I bit my lower lip to stifle a giggle. When I turned over to hang up the phone, I heard three more words slip from his lips in a soft whisper, "I love you."

My eyes widened, and the line went dead. For some strange reason, even though my heart was still hurting, I went to bed that night with a smile plastered on my face.

Monday morning brought a two-hour delay due to an overnight snow squall. I shuffled boot-clad feet as I waited for Emma to pick me up for school. We decided to stop at Bridgeview Bagels for their famous bagels and coffee since we had extra time and the shop was located near my house. With my father in the hospital, there was not a bone in my body that wanted to go to school, but my mom had been adamant. My hopes were now banking on a cinnamon bagel to make it at least a little easier. I huffed while I sat down in Emma's car.

"I have a proposition for you!" Emma's voice was way too excited for this to be a good thing for me, especially before I had coffee.

I hesitated before responding, "What...?"

"Talent show!" She bounced up and down in her seat, ready to burst about whatever scheme she was cooking up in that pretty little head of hers.

"No," I said flatly, knowing very well that she was going to persuade me anyways.

"Yes!" she told me rather than asked me as she pulled away from my house and headed towards the bagel shop. "I was talking to a few girls from the squad, and we want to do a fun routine for the show. Brittany and her cronies always do it and try to 'represent' the squad, but they don't even invite everyone. We'll leave it open to anyone who wants to join, and it'll be a blast! I promise! Please, please, please!" Emma begged. How is it that I became friends with someone so positive and peppy? I made a mental note to explore that later...

"I don't know... There is so much going on right now..." The apprehension in my voice was thick. Dancing in front of a competition crowd was one thing but in front of the whole school? And with my father sick? I felt like I wanted to pass.

"I know you have a lot on your plate right now, but I really think this will be a welcome distraction. There aren't too many practices, and it will be SO much fun. C'monnn... I can't do this without my best friend!" Although my heart soared at her referring to me as her best friend, and even though I knew we were, I couldn't believe she pulled the BFF card. Positive, peppy, and sneaky. Damn it, Emma.

"What song?" I considered the proposition before committing to anything.

"We haven't picked one yet. We're going to meet up after school today. Tryouts are next Thursday, so we need to put something together before then," she explained. The excitement in her voice was unfortunately contagious.

I smirked before lacing my response in thick sarcasm, "Let me check my schedule."

"ARIA!" she shouted, though from the corner of my eye, I caught her smiling as we pulled up to order our food. I think she secretly enjoyed me being difficult.

"Ugh, fine," I conceded after she ordered, wrinkling my nose. "But no stupid songs and no stupid outfits. I want a say in each."

"Deal!" she agreed eagerly as we rounded the little shop to the only window in the drive thru. It opened for Emma to hand over our money to the cashier. I took a deep breath while I inhaled freshly-baked bagels with a satisfying grin. I looked over at Emma, who was doing the exact same thing. As usual, we immediately burst into giggles. She was clearly the frick to my frack.

We were handed a paper bag and two coffees, then we were off towards the prison that was school. We stomped bits of snow off our boots on the mats they had set up in the lobby before making our way to the cafeteria, where several students were eating, talking to friends, or doing work during the extra time. We found a table and sat down, ready to enjoy our bagels.

"Come hereeee, my little baby," Emma grinned as she bit into her blueberry bagel. I unwrapped mine and enjoyed the first heavenly bite. Bridgeview Bagels really did have a phenomenal selection. It was hard to not make it a regular occurence, but with the two-hour delay and the way life was going, I felt it was a well-deserved treat.

We chatted while the cafeteria began filling with more and more students. I was busy laughing and enjoying Emma's company so much that I didn't even notice our little friend group approaching us until they plopped down at the table. Elijah immediately went to take a bite of Emma's bagel, which she teasingly pulled away from his ready and waiting lips.

"Good morning." I flashed Noah a smile after he looked up at me. He returned it as he chose the seat across from me, but I was fine by that. It was a better view.

I did a double take in my mind. Where did that thought come from? Maybe it was because I now knew that Noah's feelings for me were as intense as mine were for him. I bit my lower lip to help hide the grin that was breaking across my face. I must have been a sight to see because Noah raised his eyebrow at me. I wanted to tease him about his little snafu on the phone, but I held it in. That, I would reserve for another time.

"Noah, Elijah told me what you guys are cooking up for the talent show, and I'm so excited to see it!" Thankfully Emma's statement grabbed Noah's attention and snapped me out of my inappropriate thoughts. Were they inappropriate? Or completely appropriate? Ugh, Aria, get a grip.

"That's only because they have a stupid new rule this year about having to actually be attending this school to enter," he grumbled before grabbing my coffee and taking a sip out of it. My eyes followed the cup in shock. Whether it was because he took some without asking, or if it was because we were suddenly sharing a coffee, I wasn't sure. "The band was really looking forward to playing," he informed us as he set it back down in front of me. "We really killed it at the Battle of the Bands. We were hoping that the talent show would be the first stop on our inevitable tour."

Everyone laughed at his comment. I was late to the party and offered a small smile while everyone else's chuckles were petering off. Emma, of course, didn't miss it, and immediately zeroed in on me. Apparently, I was going to have some explaining to do.

"How's Papa Gray?" Kody asked.

"He's okay," I responded with a nod. "Stable. They're going to start a more aggressive treatment." I felt like I was going through the motions now, repeating the same rehearsed lines to anyone who asked. Noah leaned in to press a gentle kiss to my cheek. It warmed me. The rare public display of affection from Noah Walker had to be savored.

School thankfully went by in a flash, and I soon found myself standing in the auxiliary room amongst five other color guard girls discussing our talent show routine. Our group consisted of me, Emma, and Mia, as well as three other girls from the Honeybears: Nicki, Rochelle, and Penelope, but everyone called her P.

"We have to do something different," Mia began speaking seriously. "Brittany's group always does a routine that looks like something we'd do for hip-hop. Ours has to be unique."

"Does anyone sing? That would make us stand out," Nicki suggested with a shrug. Emma's eyes slowly shifted towards me.

"Oh. Oh, no..." I protested, hands raised as I shook my head. "Come on, I barely agreed to dance! I am not singing a suggestive pop song and shaking my body on that stage. What if my parents come?" The thought made me stop in my tracks. What if they come? What if they can't come? My shoulders slumped at the thought. Emma gently touched my shoulder in comfort.

"We can agree on a song that is sexy without being slutty," Rochelle chimed in. "I know there are plenty of options."

I considered this for a moment before shrugging. "I have never sung pop music in front of a crowd, but if we can find a song I'm comfortable singing, then I'll consider it." This seemed like a fair compromise.

"So, I guess my original idea of 'I Wanna Be Bad' by Willa Ford is out..." Emma joked. I responded with a violent shake of my head.

"What about Britney?" P suggested. "I know it's not going to win us any awards with vocals, but the lyrics are at least singable. Plus, we can wow them with a pretty strong dance behind it."

"What about 'U Drive Me Crazy?' That remix from the movie Drive Me Crazy? That song is dope, and there are at least a few decent vocal runs at the end that you can play with," Mia explained. The wheels in my brain began to turn as I considered the suggestion.

"I could probably make that happen." I ran through the lyrics in my head, trying to figure out if there was anything that would make my parents uncomfortable, should they actually be able to see this performance. I began humming them as I recalled, a few of the girls joining in while I continued. A moment later, we were all singing the song together. I grinned when we finished. Maybe this was going to be fun after all.

"Are we all in agreement?" Emma looked at everyone to get input. The girls seemed genuinely surprised since that was not the usual leadership style in guard. Everyone nodded in unison.

"This is going to be good," P smiled contentedly. "Britt never lets us join. This was such a good idea, Emma!"

"Thanks!" Emma beamed. "Now, we need to figure out how to elevate the performance. How many of us tumble?" All of the hands in the room went up except for mine.

"Well, good thing I'm singing now," I laughed before biting my lower lip comically. Emma gave me a playful push in the shoulder.

P's eyes became serious as she stood to turn around the metal folding chair she had been sitting on. "What about–" She laid her forearms flat on the chair and brought her legs to a handstand. My eyes widened as I watched the display.

"Oh, oh– I have an idea, too!" Mia took the chair from her and cartwheeled over it, using the base of the chair to grip while she twirled her body upside down.

"Chair dancing, huh?" Emma considered, watching the girls all take turns doing tricks on the metal folding chair. I eyed Emma apprehensively. "Don't worry," she smiled her reassurance. "We'll make sure these tricks happen when you're impressing the audience with some awesome vocal runs. I'll come up with some choreography, and we can meet up for practice tomorrow. Keep those good ideas coming!"

The week went quickly as the talent show definitely succeeded in distracting my brain. We committed to practicing after school every day until Thursday's tryouts and managed to get the full dance choreographed. Emma made sure to include everyone's input with everything, ranging from the dance steps to our costumes. My top was set to be a glittery pink tank with thick straps and a high crop. The rest of the girls' were going to be the same, only green. With low rise, slightly wide-legged black dance pants and black jazz sneakers, we felt like we would look the part.

Our confidence level was high as we all sat in the lobby Thursday after school, waiting for our names to be called to demonstrate our talent to the show organizers. Noah and Elijah sat on folding chairs in the middle of the lobby, both holding guitars and singing various songs while they waited. Girls gathered around them to watch, and I shot Emma a cautionary glance. She shrugged as she continued to stretch. "They know what they've got," she said confidently. A smile spread over my lips. That's my girl.

I was glad to find that when our names were finally called, I got to test their sound setup. I wasn't sure what kind of microphone was going to be available to me but was pleasantly surprised when they hooked a wireless mic to my waist, allowing me to move freely and dance as I sang. I asked for a standing mic as well for when the girls were doing tricks, figuring it would make it look like I was actually doing something while they flipped.

The organizers gave us a thumbs up to participate. We cheered and high-fived each other before we were ushered off the stage. Emma and I tried to stay behind so that we could watch Noah and Elijah when they were called, but unfortunately the techs did a great job of keeping the area secure.

Deflated but not defeated, we waited in the lobby for them to be done. Our heads picked up when Noah and Elijah approached us.

"How'd it go?" Emma asked as she placed her hand on Elijah's arm.

"We're in." Elijah nodded smoothly.

Noah rolled his eyes. "I missed a note, though,"

"What note?" I tried to pull their song choice out of him. Noah knew what I was doing.

"Don't try it," he warned. "You'll find out soon enough."

"Ugh, it's killing me! Tell me what song you're singing!" I yelled teasingly.

"Nope, gotta go. Band practice," Noah said with a gentle smirk. He gave me a quick hug as Elijah leaned into Emma, and then they both turned to leave.

"Emma! I demand you tell me what song they are singing." I turned to her, eyeing her accusingly. "Why is no one telling me?"

"I was sworn to secrecy. Sorry." A smile was planted firmly on her lips while she made a zipping motion across them.

It was my turn to give a hard roll of my eyes. What were they planning, and why wouldn't they tell me?

That evening I made my way home in good spirits. I arrived to the smell of pasta sauce filling the entire house. It smelled like my father's recipe. I raced into the kitchen to find my mom at the stove.

"You're making Papa's sauce?" I raised an eyebrow as she quickly turned to face me.

"I thought it'd be a nice treat for him," she smiled. I returned the gesture and slid into a seat at the dining room table. She joined me. "How did tryouts go?"

"Great. We're in. It's going to be such a great performance! I just wish..." I trailed off. I knew it was inconsiderate, and I caught myself before I finished the thought, but the damage had been done. I quickly apologized, "I know. I shouldn't be selfish."

"It isn't selfish to want your father to see you perform, Aria. You know he'd love to be there. We'll just take it one day at a time. If the doctors will allow him, maybe we can make it happen." She reached her hand out to place it on mine. I took a deep breath.

"I just want him to get better," I admitted.

"He will. For now, you have enough to worry about. You have school, a talent show, a birthday coming up... Focus on the positives. Everything will be okay," she stated calmly.

"How do you know?" My voice was timid, afraid.

"Aria, your father has a faith that I have never witnessed before. He knows in his heart that no matter what happens, God is going to take care of him, even if that means leaving this Earth. I have never seen anyone face their own mortality with such grace. Every time I am there, sitting beside him, I know that it's going to be okay. If he is at peace with this process, then I think we should be, too," my mom explained.

"I just... I struggle with that," I began slowly. "All of these people around me have such strong faith, and I... I want to have that kind of faith, too. But it's hard."

"So do I, sweetheart. So do I." My mom wrapped her arms around me tightly.

We sat like that for a long while, both of us still. My shoulders were entangled in her tight embrace as she pressed a kiss to my temple. I eased into the gesture and let it wash away my worry. There were things bigger than myself that I just didn't understand, but for now, relishing in my mom's embrace would have to be enough.

__________

⭐ Wondering which song Noah has in store for Aria? Good thing we started posting these weekly then now, huh? ;) Show the love and SLAP THAT STAR!