Melody

"Ugh," I groan as the annoying chirping from my alarm clock wakes me up. It's so early that it's still dark outside - my least favourite part about winter mornings. I stretch my arm out from under the warm covers and fumble blindly at it, hitting the snooze button. Just five more minutes, please.

Cole stirs a bit and sleepily pulls me back to him. He wraps an arm around me, enveloping me with his comforting warmth. I nuzzle against his chest, resting my face against his soft and smooth skin. I needily cling onto the last couple minutes before I inevitably have to get out of bed. I'm already dreading the preparation mom set up for me this week.

"They're gonna be here soon," Cole mumbles, voice heavy with sleep.

"I know, just let me enjoy this," I whine. Lucky him, he's on winter break now and gets to sleep in for the next two weeks.

I feel the slight vibrations in his chest against my cheek as he chuckles softly. "Alright." He lightly kisses my forehead and strokes my hair.

All too soon, my alarm starts beeping again. I curse under my breath and tiredly drag myself out of bed.

-----

I sit in the living room as I hear Mr. Carter letting my PR team inside. A sharply dressed man and woman come in, and I stand up to shake their hands.

The woman with tanned skin and wavy hair shakes my hand first. "Hi Melody, I'm Maeve." She looks quite young, late twenties at the oldest.

The man has lightly tousled jet black hair and olive skin. He looks slightly older, probably in his mid thirties. "Hi Melody, I'm Trevor. Nice to finally meet you."

Even though Maeve and Trevor have worked for me for nearly seven years, I've never met them in person. I recognize their names, but they mostly communicate with mom. At the very least, I know they're good at their jobs. I was not exactly the most well-behaved kid during the last couple months before I stepped out of the spotlight. If it weren't for their damage control, I definitely wouldn't have continued to be successful.

There's an unexpected visitor who comes in a few moments after them though. My stomach lurches when I see her.

It takes my brain a moment to register that she's actually here, the woman who has haunted my nightmares for years. I guess mom knew I would refuse if she had told me about this ahead of time.

"H-hi Ms. Daphne," I mumble.

She's wearing an off white blouse tucked into a long beige skirt. Her greying hair is pulled back into a neat bun. Small round glasses are perched low on her nose, attached to a long brown chain draping loosely over her neck. Her light brown eyes are cold and piercing. She's always had this permanently dull aura to her, it's as if she lives life with a sepia filter over it.

She looks pretty much the same, just older. There are more wrinkles in her face though, probably from all the frowning.

"Always mumbling Ms. Aria," she scolds me and shakes her head. It's been a long time since I've heard that unpleasant and jarring voice.

I haven't seen her in what, ten years maybe? Back when mom put me in her stupid etiquette classes. She was ridiculously strict and constantly made mountains out of molehills.

"Sorry." I don't even bother trying to sound apologetic.

"Here's the plan," Maeve begins to explain after we've all sat down. "We have three days before Saturday. Trevor and I will help you practice what you can say, while Ms. Daphne will help you practice how to say it."

"Along with other things," Ms. Daphne adds.

I grit my teeth and nod.

-----

Maeve and Trevor are incredibly kind and easy to work with. We work together on deciding what I'm comfortable with, rather than just giving me a script to follow.

Ms. Daphne on the other hand...

"I really don't think this is necessary," I grumble.

"Nonsense, now walk back over here," she instructs. She's even more difficult than mom to reason with.

I sigh and slowly walk back, making sure I stay along a straight path. The book balanced on my head stays completely level with little effort. I could do this in my sleep.

It's been a decade, but I still have vivid memories of doing this back and forth down the long halls of her house for hours and hours. She'd make me completely start over if the book ever fell. I can still smell the overly flowery perfume, picture the lace doilies on everything, and feel the soft fur of her cat, Mittens. After all that practicing, walking, sitting, and standing with perfect posture became muscle memory to me.

"That was acceptable." She nods approvingly. I try not to roll my eyes at her idea of praise.

I hear footsteps and quickly turn, desperate for a distraction. Despite my sudden movement, the book doesn't even wobble. Cole is walking by the living room but pauses when he sees me. I can tell he's trying not to laugh. The expression on his face is a mix of bewilderment and amusement.

Ms. Daphne snaps her fingers to get my attention. "You will not be distracted by boys, Ms. Aria. You remember the exercises we did to prevent that, don't you?"

I have horrible flashbacks of being forced to do tasks and ignore cute boys trying to talk to me. I give Cole a desperate look that says, please leave.

"Leaving, leaving." Cole raises his hands innocently and backs away from the room.

"Now let's practice your handshakes." She sits down on the sofa and I begrudgingly join her. She takes my hand and examines it. "Your nails are horribly un-ladylike. Unshaped and short." Her nails are shaped into smooth ovals and painted beige.

I stare at her blankly. "You realize I'm a pianist, right? My nails have to be short."

She shrugs. "That's besides my point."

She criticizes my handshakes for nearly half an hour.

Too fast

Too slow

Too firm

Too soft

-----

After everyone has finally left, I drag myself into the kitchen. Cole is sitting on one of the barstools at the kitchen island, while Mr. Carter is standing on the other side. They're talking about hockey. Funny enough, Mr. Carter is actually from Canada.

"Hey Mel, how'd it go?" Cole asks as I sit on the stool next to his.

"Not great," I groan and let my head rest on his shoulder.

My mood brightens the slightest bit as he gives me a gentle kiss on the cheek. It fills me with a fervent, yet tender warmth. He somehow always has the power to make me feel all happy and fuzzy inside. I know I'm never going to get tired of that.

I'm definitely in a better place now, most of my worries have melted away. But our lives have gotten so hectic lately that I've barely had time to enjoy the fact that Cole and I are together. I'm hoping things will settle down soon, and I'll finally get to enjoy my life like a normal person.

"It'll all be over soon," he reassures me.

-----

Ms. Daphne sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. "No, your smile looks too forced."

That's because this is a forced smile. My cheeks are sore from practicing how to smile for nearly an hour now. "Like this?" I try changing my expression again.

She shakes her head.

It's taking a lot of effort and self-control to not go over and bang my head against the wall. I finished prepping with Trevor and Maeve today - a day ahead of schedule. However, according to Ms. Daphne, I'm not done with her yet.

There's a knock on the door and I hear Mr. Carter answering it. A minute later, two movers come in pushing a large box on a flatbed. One of them eyes me curiously and scratches his head. "Didn't we pick up a piano from you last week?"

"It's a long story," I say. I felt like I'd been slowly going insane this week. I just desperately needed a way to let my feelings out, and I've been much too exhausted to go all the way to campus to play.

So I bought another piano.

He simply nods and the two of them set the box down in the same corner of the living room.

They swiftly unwrap it, exposing the glossy black piano that gleams under the setting sun. I really splurged on this one.

"Wow," I murmur, gently resting my hand against the rim.

Ms. Daphne comes up next to me and looks at the piano. "Well? Let's hear you play something." I still remember her inviting her snooty old friends over during my etiquette lessons. She literally bought a piano just because she wanted to show off how talented one of her students was.

I think for a moment, scouring my brain for the least lady-like song in my repertoire. An imaginary lightbulb lights up above my head. Prokofiev's Piano Sonata No. 7 in b-flat major, Op. 83 - a disorderly and random sounding song to an untrained ear. I sit down on the new bench and crack my knuckles, I know she hates when I do that. Before she has a chance to scold me for it, I begin playing.

She furrows her eyebrows and her lips slowly pull into a frown as I progress further and further into the song. "That's quite enough," she exclaims over the loud music.

I hear a quiet laugh. We turn and see Cole leaning against the entrance to the living room. "That sounded chaotic as hell, Mel."

Ms. Daphne frowns and eyes him suspiciously for a moment. "You're...that boy from the magazine."

"That's me."

She clicks her tongue and gives him a disapproving frown. "How irresponsible of you to do that to her. You should be ashamed."

My eyes widen. "Do not talk to him like that," I snap.

"Ms. Aria, a lady does not raise her voice," she scolds.

"But-" I begin.

Unsurprisingly, Ms. Daphne doesn't bother listening to me. "Plus, you should be with a man who isn't so... below your level." She looks at Cole with her lips pulled into a straight line.

Cole obviously hasn't taken it personally. In fact, I can tell he's trying to hide an amused smile. Me, on the other hand, not so much.

I furrow my brows. "Excuse me?"

I feel something inside of me snap.

Why am I just taking this? I'm not the eight year old girl who was forced to take lessons with her every weekend for years anymore. The shy and naïve girl who was terrified of being scolded and subsequently punished by this woman. The Melody who was miserable and being trained to be a perfect little girl. I'm an adult who can act for herself.

I march up to Cole. He raises an eyebrow and watches me as I rest one hand on his cheek. Standing up on my toes, I press my lips against his and run my hand through his soft hair.

He immediately gets it, I feel him try to suppress a laugh. He even reaches around to grope my butt. I deepen the kiss more than I normally ever would, parting my lips to let his tongue slip in. I forget what I'm doing for a moment, my mind turns to mush from the overwhelming feeling of him.

I'm in a bit of a daze when we pull apart. His hair is a mess and I can feel that my cheeks are flushed. Cole gives me a devilish grin. I turn around and as expected, Ms. Daphne's face is bright red.

"M-Ms. Aria! That w-was unacceptable!" she stutters, trying but failing to keep her composure. "We're-"

I raise my hand to stop her. "I think we're done here Ms. Daphne. Have a safe flight home." I keep my voice airy and sweet, just like how she taught me. Malicious compliance, as they say.

"Why I never!" She storms out of the room in a huff. I hold my breath, waiting for the sound of the front door, praying that this was the last time I'd ever see her again.

We both burst out laughing when we hear the front door open, then slam shut. Cole holds me in his arms and grins. "That was hilarious Mel. You're going to do great on Saturday."

--------------------

I am not "lady-like" at all lol 💁‍♀️

Thanks for reading!