The Melody They Never Heard

Chapter 6Another Humiliation

There are times in life that change everything.

You do not realize it at the moment it is happening.

Not at first that is.

At first it just feels like a day.

Another embarrassing moment.

Another reason to keep your head down and try to be invisible.

Later when you think back on it you realize that something inside of you has changed.

That day started out like any day.

Which should have been a warning sign for me.

The universe has a way of hiding things behind ordinary mornings.

By the time lunch came around people were whispering about me in the hallways.

This was not unusual though.

Whispers had become a part of my daily life at school.

Usually I just ignored them. Tried to go about my day.

Today however the whispers felt different.

People kept looking at me. Then quickly looking away.

Some of them were laughing.

Others looked excited like they knew something that I did not know.

This feeling stayed with me for the rest of the afternoon. Just kept getting worse.

By the time the final class of the day ended I had a feeling in my stomach.

Something was wrong I just did not know what it was.

As I walked with the students to the main auditorium I saw colorful posters hanging on the walls.

There was going to be a school assembly, which was just great.

A big crowd of people was what I did not need.

I thought about skipping the assembly. I knew that attendance was mandatory.

Course it was.

So I followed everyone into the auditorium.

The room was buzzing with excitement.

Rows and rows of students filled the seats and teachers stood by the exits.

The stage was brightly. I quietly slipped into a seat near the back.

This was my place to sit, far enough away to hopefully go unnoticed.

So I hoped.

The principal got up on stage. A microphone let out a loud squeal.

The room quieted down. The principal started making announcements.

There were the things. Upcoming events, sports achievements and fundraisers.

I started to relax a little thinking that maybe I had been worrying for no reason.

Then Vanessa Pierce walked out onto the stage. My stomach dropped.

Vanessa never did anything without a reason. I had a bad feeling about this.

The audience erupted into applause. Vanessa smiled modestly.

I knew that everything Vanessa did was a performance.

The principal handed her the microphone. She said, "I have organized a special showcase to celebrate student talent."

The crowd. Something cold settled into my chest.

No please no I thought.

Vanessa clicked a remote and a projector screen came down behind her.

Images started to appear on the screen. Photos of students participating in clubs and activities.

The audience seemed to enjoy it. Everything looked harmless.

Then my photograph appeared on the screen and the entire auditorium went silent.

My heart. I felt my face burning with embarrassment.

It was a school photo, one that I hated.

I looked nervous and uncomfortable in the photo. I just wanted to disappear.

What was happening I wondered.

Vanessas voice echoed through the speakers. She said, "And now our newest singing sensation."

The crowd laughed,. Not because they thought I was funny.

They laughed because they could not imagine me on a stage singing.

My pulse was. The next slide appeared on the screen.

It was a zoomed-in image of me tripping during gym class two years ago.

The audience laughed louder and my chest felt tight.

No, no no I thought.

Slide after slide appeared on the screen each one showing a moment or awkward photograph.

Every insecurity I had was on display for hundreds of students to see.

The auditorium was roaring with laughter. I could not breathe.

I could not think.

I could not move.

My eyes were blurry. It was not from tears.

It was from shock.

Pure shock.

I heard people whispering and pointing. The sounds all blended together into one giant wave of humiliation.

Then Vanessa delivered the blow.

A video appeared on the screen. My stomach turned.

I recognized it immediately. It was a recording from school.

It showed me trying to sing during a talent show. My voice was cracking from nerves.

The students in the recording were. Now the students in the auditorium were laughing too.

Hundreds of people were laughing at me years later.

The sound was like a wave crashing over me.

I could not stay there.

I had to get out.

I stood up. Tried to walk out but it was not easy.

Halfway up the aisle someone laughed loudly behind me.

Then another person. Another.

Each laugh felt like a stone being thrown at my back.

My limp was more noticeable when I was upset. I hated that.

I hated giving people another reason to stare at me.

Finally I reached the auditorium doors. Pushed through them.

When they closed behind me I was hit with silence.

It was a silence and I just kept walking.

I walked faster and faster past classrooms and lockers until I reached the music building.

Then did I stop.

My breathing was uneven. My hands were trembling.

The humiliation kept replaying in my head. The photos, the video, the laughter.

Especially the laughter.

I hated that it still hurt after all these years.

Why did it still hurt I wondered.

The answer was simple. Because I was human.

No matter how strong I tried to be some wounds never completely healed.

I went into the piano room and the familiar sight almost broke me.

The old piano was waiting quietly in the corner, unchanged and faithful.

It was a place and I sat down at the piano.

Then I finally allowed myself to cry.

Not big dramatic sobs,. Silent tears.

The kind that come when you are too exhausted to fight them.

Minutes passed, longer and eventually I wiped my face.

I put my hands on the keys. Started to play.

The music sounded different today. Raw, painful and honest.

Every note carried a piece of what I could not say out

Every chord released some of the hurt trapped inside me.

The melody grew stronger and stronger until it filled the room.

For a while I forgot about the assembly and Vanessa and everyone else.

The music understood me. It always did.

When the final note faded away I noticed something. A folded piece of paper resting beside the piano.

My heart skipped a beat.

Another note I thought.

Slowly I picked it up. Unfolded it.

Then I read the message. "The people laughing today are not your audience."

My breath caught. I felt a lump in my throat.

The handwriting was familiar. The mysterious handwriting.

Below the message there was another sentence. "One day they'll sit in silence while you sing."

For seconds I could not move.

I could not breathe.

I could not look away.

Because for the time all day someone believed in me.

Deep down, where pain and hope often lived side by side a tiny spark flickered to life.

Vanessa had wanted to humiliate me to remind me who I was. The girl, the joke, the nobody.

Instead she had unknowingly awakened something dangerous. A reason to prove her wrong.

For the first time in a very long time I found myself wanting more than just survival.

I wanted my chance.

I wanted my voice to be heard.

Somewhere, beyond those walls completely unaware of the storm she had created Vanessa Pierce had just made the biggest mistake of her life.