Why did she still have heels on? If Leona weren’t sitting on Edric King’s tour bus she would have already kicked them off, but she was new and didn’t want to be seen as the weird girl who didn’t wear shoes in public. She had been introduced to the rest of the band, the roadies, and other assorted personnel that traveled with them, but still didn’t feel comfortable with possibly exposing them to the smell of her feet. She felt the painful pinch on her toes and could only put on a smile of fake attentiveness as Luke sat next to her and tried to make small talk.


It was hard enough to concentrate on what he was talking about with the previously mentioned unpleasantness, but then there were other distractions such as the in-bus television that was on though no one seemed to be watching. One of the guitar players was strumming out the intro to one of Edric’s songs repeatedly without finishing, while she could hear Caroline and the girl in charge of Edric’s wardrobe discussing fashion from the other side of Luke. Through the opposite ear, she could overhear a lewd string of conversation between Edric himself and another band member that was followed by uproarious laughter.

“So now that you have another concert under your belt, do you feel more at ease performing in front of such big crowds?” Luke asked.


Leona’s concentration moved from the feeling in her feet and the noise around her towards the band manager, “Why do you ask?”

They had left West Clayton a few hours ago and were already on their way to the next city on the tour–taking her even further away from her home region.

Luke propped his elbow onto the back of the seat and leaned into it while giving her a studied look, “Edric mentioned that you seemed nervous before going on stage tonight–”

Leona felt a prick of annoyance at Edric, which was unfortunately not uncommon in the few days since they had been introduced. Who was he to make assumptions about her and then blab to others about it? She shifted her sitting position, pulling her legs underneath her, and leaned over to peer down at Edric with a frown.

“Hey!” She snapped and pointed at him, “I wasn’t nervous at the last concert!”


Edric had his legs crossed and propped up on the small dinette table with his hands behind his head. He gave a lazy little smile in response, “You were tapping your foot so fast I thought you’d bust out in a tap dance. Isn’t it a nervous tick?”

Leona gave an indignant huff, “It’s not. I was getting my feet accustomed to these high heels. You’d be tapping your foot too if you had to wedge your toes together like that.”

“Take them off if they brother you so much,” Edric suggested.


“Don’t tell me what to do,” Leona retorted and turned her back on him, returning her attention to the band manager. Anything was better than being forced to talk with Edric. “Anyway, despite what Edric says–I’m at ease whenever I perform in public. I’ve been doing this since I was in high school.”

“Yes, Naomi and I discussed your singing accomplishments–you came in first for the regional Battle of the Bands when you were just sixteen. Then went on to play for a few local gigs after that. Your band separated shortly after you entered Sim State University–why was that again?”

Leona didn’t realize Luke knew so much about her but she supposed it made sense when her agent submitted an audition tape. He’d had to vet her thoroughly if she was to sing and travel with someone as famous as Edric King. But if that was true, then he should have had a good idea of why her band had separated. What did he want her to say that he didn’t already glean from her agent? Did he suspect she had anything to do with the reason her band was no longer playing? She had to set the record straight if that was the case!

“My bandmates, they…” Leona began to say and was forced to think of Alarie and Illyana–about how they thought that she was so obsessed with her dream that she’d resort to sleeping her way to make it come true and with Edric no less! The nerve! It still hurt her that was how she was perceived but she would prevail and show them she could succeed in her own way. “They went in different directions, it was hard to schedule gigs and practices so I thought it best to strike off on my own.”

Luke nodded with sympathetic understanding.

What she didn’t tell him was how much Alarie liked to drink and party once she entered college and that resulted in her blowing off band practice a majority of the time, or how Illyana got her first serious boyfriend at age 18 and suddenly all her free time was spent with him instead of writing new music. Leona couldn’t keep it all up by herself and besides, her so-called ‘friends’ never wanted the fame as she did. The Raven Crowns dissolved, leaving Leona to pursue music as a solo artist.

“Hey, Miss Arithmetic!” She heard her new nickname shouted from below. She peeked over and frowned, non-verbally indicating that she disliked it, but giving him her attention nonetheless.

Edric had gotten up from where he was lounging, most likely to stretch his legs after sitting the past few hours. He swayed slightly with the movement of the vehicle as he held his balance on a handrail, “You’re awfully cranky. You should get some beauty rest as soon as we get to Mesa Flats.”

Leona shot up and the movement caught the attention of nearly everyone in the small space. The strums of the guitar and the chatter all stopped; the only noise left was a commercial from the television.


“Maybe I wouldn’t be so cranky if you called me by my actual name,” she made her way down the few steps from the elevated seating area to face him head on, “Maybe I wouldn’t be so cranky if–”

“If you weren’t wearing high heels?” Edric suggested and crossed his arms.

Leona clamped her hands to her hips and glowered at his interruption, starting again, “Maybe I wouldn’t be so cranky if the guy I’m singing for didn’t cut me off when I speak and steal my hotel key cards.”

Instead of looking ashamed or embarrassed for being called out, he just seemed mildly perplexed, “You’re still mad about that? That was so long ago.”

She threw her arms down, “It was less than forty-eight hours ago!”

“You need to stop living in the past.”

“Stop it, both of you,” Luke’s clear, annoyed voice split through the tension. They looked to him and saw him holding the side of his head with an exasperated expression as if he’d developed a headache—as if he were dealing with children. Leona was taken aback because it wasn’t fair that she was being chided when Edric had started it!


“But–”

“Everyone on this bus is a team,” Luke declared as he swept his gaze around the immediate vicinity and stood, “We will be in each other’s company for many weeks to come, will be working long hours practicing and traveling with little sleep to pull off successful shows. That chance of success goes down every time an unkind comment, or a petty disagreement surfaces.”

He looked back to Leona and Edric, at the middle of it all, and narrowed his eyes, “So be nice to each other.”

Leona felt her breath build up in her cheeks with frustration before letting it out in a stream of air; she hadn’t been mean to Edric at all! He had baited her ire by acting like an arrogant man-child and if no one called him out for it, then he would never stop.


She opened her mouth to protest once more but Luke held up his finger, “Miss Hillenburg,” he seemed to sigh and speak in a lowered tone, “Please, remember that you are not the person people are paying to see at these shows.”

He didn’t have to say anything else, because that particular string of words was threatening enough. The team talk that Luke had just spewed was cheap; everyone knew Edric was the star. Everyone on that bus would have to deal with his antics or risk being fired. She turned an eye to Edric who just smirked knowingly.

Leona threw Edric a disgusted look that told him she wasn’t going to be complacent in his asshattery. She did drop it though because she wasn’t in the mood to be further lectured by Luke; she felt a growing weight in her chest because she had signed onto this voluntarily, not knowing the type of person she was working with, but too stubborn to quit it now that she had her foot in the door.

She grabbed her cell phone that had been charging by connection to one of the outlets in the bus and made her way to the back of the bus to the lavatory that was currently unoccupied. She locked the door and took a lean against the wall—her frustrations finally crowded into her expression as sadness. She turned her head and looked at her reflection in the mirror above the lavatory sink. She looked awesome, just having come from a concert, fully made up but her face didn’t match all that glamorous fun.


She had to tough it out. There was no other choice–she had signed a contract. She unlocked her phone and found a string of missed calls from her father.

He was the first person she called when her phone recharged after Pandora. He was suspicious of the quick process that had roped her into touring. Leona tried to explain and, in the end, told him to call Naomi if he had any questions. He just worried too much. She did smile for a moment thinking that at least she didn’t get married in Pandora like he originally feared–ridiculous as it was.

Before her father’s barrage of calls, there was a missed call from Antoine. Leona stood straighter as it caught her eye. She hadn’t gotten a call from her ex for over a year and must have missed it when she was rushing about for the West Clayton concert. There was no voicemail.

Leona moved to sit on the toilet–not because she actually had to go but because her feet were hurting again. She did end up kicking off the shoes and tried to ignore her urge to cringe at realizing her bare feet were on the bus lavatory floor. Antoine was a good enough distraction.

Her phone read 11:30 p.m. and she weighed in her mind if that was too late to return a call. It was a weeknight…but Antoine had said he took the week off from work. She wondered if he had gone searching for an apartment yet. She decided, it wouldn’t hurt to try and besides, she missed his voice.

“Songbird, you finally returning my calls?” his deep, rich, baritone greeted her, and that prick of frustration she had just felt immediately lessened.

“I’m sorry, things just got a bit hectic and my phone wasn’t charged,” she apologized but couldn’t help but to smile because she could tell he was anything but angry. Antoine was very laid back and there always seemed to be some kind of humor on the edge of his voice.

“So, I hear you’re now touring, that must be an experience. They’re not working you too hard, are they?”

She thought of Edric and snapped, “More like working my last nerve.”

“Uh oh.”

“It’ll be okay…I guess, I just thought it would be easier,” she explained, thinking of how she didn’t anticipate not getting along with those she worked with. She had always seemed to be pretty good in that department.

“The road to success never is. You know as well as anyone you have to work hard for it. It may even mean you have to give up friends and relationships to achieve it.”

She didn’t have to be reminded. She had already given up Antoine once so he could chase his dreams and he was forever closer to achieving them because he didn’t have Leona to drag him down. He would deny it of course, claiming he could have kept dating her and doing his work but maybe, she was also shielding herself from the inevitable heartbreak of him choosing his job over her. Not to mention, even if that had worked out, she would have still been distracted from her own goals.

His words also reminded her of her two closest friends. The girls had been close for a very long time but those times weren’t perfect–once and a while they hit a bump in the road, occasionally a big bump and it never helped that Leona was as steadfast, Alarie was quick to judge, and Illyana held onto grudges like a vice. Leona didn’t want to give up any of her relationships with those she loved but then again, those she loved didn’t make it easy either.

Love was work.

“I sincerely hope I don’t have to,” she sighed and closed her eyes, feeling tired. It had been such a long day, “By the way–I hope you aren’t mad that I can’t come look at apartments with you.”

“Not mad, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed. I can’t begrudge you too much, you got what you wanted–a contract to sing, and with someone quite famous at that,” he replied and she hated that she disappointed him of all things; he was still good enough not to make a big deal out of it, though that edge of humor in his tone vanished, “Besides, ‘Lanna came apartment hunting with me and I’ve already picked a place out–moving my stuff in early tomorrow.”

“That’s great! What’s the place like?”

“One bedroom, one bath–it has raised ceilings and a terrace. It’s right next to the park so lots of trees and shade.”

She knew she couldn’t have her cake and eat it too but she really wished she could have been there, to experience it and him to herself. She could imagine waking up in his arms like she used to when he was still studying at Academie Le Tour. Was she in love with him still?


Well, it was hard to deny the feeling of overwhelming happiness and relief when she heard his voice.

“Sounds amazing, I can’t wait to see it.”

“And when will that be?”

“I don’t know, I’m locked into the contract for four years–surely we‘d meet up before then. I’ll have to ask the manager about time off and scheduling–” she began to ramble but got cut off by his voice which seemed, now, just as tired as she was.

“Sounds like your time is at a premium now. Anyway, I got to go, I have an early day of moving stuff. Just please…if you can manage, answer my calls–because I will call and keep calling until you tell me not to. I’m your biggest fan, Songbird. Don’t forget it. Goodnight.”

His new, melancholy, tone didn’t escape her notice and she felt the same sensation encompass her at his parting words. She would love to stay up late like she did in high school, waiting for Antoine to call her so she could pick up quickly and not have her father become suspicious. However, in love with him or not, with her new opportunities before her, she knew it was nothing but foolish optimism to think they could ever be like they were, again.