Prom and Prejudice
Page 22

Charlotte smiled weakly. "I don't blame you for being surprised, but I'm not a romantic, Lizzie. I'm practical. I want to go to prom, and he asked."
"I'm sure you are going to have a great time. I can't wait to see your dress."
"Thanks. Well, I better ..."
"Of course, have a great night."
I watched Charlotte as she ran down to greet Colin, who had a heart-shaped box of chocolates hidden behind his back. They both seemed happy, albeit a little awkward with each other. Colin tried to go in for a double kiss on the cheek, but ended up kissing Charlotte's ear.
I went to the dining hall, collecting food to take back to the room. Since the "Lydia Incident" (Lydia, of course, wasn't embarrassed about the video; she was happy that people knew who she was), both Jane and I had been going through the motions.
The upcoming long weekend for Presidents' Day was a welcome respite. Most of the campus would be empty. While my parents were hoping I would come visit, I wanted to get my work done and knew the Java Junction would be slow, so it would be a great way for me to earn money and get some reading done.
Plus, Mrs. Gardiner had a surprise for me that Friday during my piano lesson.
"I think it is time we had a little chat about the spring recital," she said. She had a mischievous grin on her face, which I knew meant trouble.
I nodded. "I assumed I'd be playing the Rachmaninoff." We'd been working on the eighteenth variation of Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.
"Yes, I think you should play it -- but the whole thing, with the orchestra. You'd be the featured performer."
I was stunned into silence. The entire Rhapsody was nearly twenty-five minutes long. "I don't think ..."
Mrs. Gardiner got up from her chair beside the piano in the music suite. "You aren't going to be able to do it if you don't think you can do it. You can! And you will!"
This was why I was at Longbourn, to challenge myself. She was right. I needed to believe in myself.
"Elizabeth, I've never had a student as gifted as you. I want your performance to be the wonderful coda of the year."
"Okay." I flipped through the entire piece, studying the runs. "I can do this."
She clapped her hands together. "Excellent! That's the spirit I was looking for. I was getting worried about you."
"Why were you worried about me?"
Mrs. Gardiner gave me a weak smile. "You just haven't seemed like yourself the last couple of days. I know you have had some difficulty adjusting, but you seemed to finally get your stride."
"Oh," I replied. I couldn't think of anything else to say. I'd always tried to leave whatever was going on in my personal life behind during my lessons -- but clearly I hadn't done the best job of it.
"I don't mean to pry," she said apologetically.
Most teachers at Longbourn enjoyed the student gossip as much as the girls. But Mrs. Gardiner was the only teacher who seemed to be looking out for me.
"It's fine," I told her. "It's just that my friend is going through a hard time right now."
"Okay, dear." She patted me on the back. "Have a good long weekend. And by a good long weekend, I mean you should practice as much as you can. This piece is going to be a killer."
I was happy for the distraction. Diving into a challenging arrangement would give me something to do besides sit in silence with Jane each night. I would be studying and she would have a book in front of her, but I was pretty sure she wasn't studying. To make matters worse, her mother still insisted they go in for a consultation on her prom dress over the break. The last thing Jane needed was a reminder of what had happened -- or, in her case, what hadn't happened -- with Charles.
16.
THE CAMPUS WAS QUIET ALL WEEKEND. I WAS ONE OF THE few people who remained in the dorm. Even Charlotte went home to Maine. I should've been used to an isolated existence at this point, but I really missed Jane. And Charlotte, even though things had been a little uncomfortable between us since she agreed to go to prom with Colin.
I worked Monday afternoon, since we didn't have class. It began picking up in the late afternoon as students started returning to campus.
"Miss me?" a familiar voice called out as my back was to the counter.
"Where were you this weekend?" I asked Wick. I was disappointed that I hadn't seen or heard from him.
"In Manhattan." He playfully pulled on my visor.
"Oh, big-city boy, are we?" I started making his regular drink. "And what were you doing there?"
"You know, the usual."
"Causing trouble?"
"Only for the people who deserve it."
Even though I was annoyed that he hadn't told me he'd be away, I couldn't hold a grudge against him. We were too much alike.
"Lizzie!" Lydia ran up to the counter. "I'm so happy to see you. This weekend was awful -- Jane still hasn't forgiven me. She's being so unreasonable." She paused for a brief second. "I want a tall, frozen mocha latte with extra whipped cream and chocolate."
I grimaced. Lydia knew what a pain those frozen drinks were. But she didn't care. And why should she? This was my job, after all.
As I scooped out the ice, Lydia turned her attention toward Wick. "Hey," she said as she eyed him up and down. "You go to Pemberley?"
"Lydia," I interrupted. "This is Wick."