Chapter 5 5

The Final Preparations

Carolin's POV

Weeks later, I felt dizzy.

Not butterflies. Not stage fright.

Dizzy like the ground kept shifting, like my bones weren't quite holding me together anymore.

My stomach twisted in odd, persistent waves, and even the smell of Mabel's mango shampoo from across made me gag.

I sat on my bed, my North Star Music Festival invitation taped proudly to the wall above me, but I couldn't focus on it.

Two days.

In just two days, I'd be standing on the biggest stage I'd ever faced. But right now, the only thing I could face was the inside of the bathroom sink.

I splashed cold water on my face, blinking at the girl in the mirror.

I looked pale and tired.

Not the dazzling rising star everyone thought I was.

My fingers drifted to my lower stomach. The nausea wasn't going away. It had been over a week. My chest ached in a different kind of heaviness. And I couldn't ignore the calendar anymore either.

I was late.

Too late.

The knock at the door jolted me back to reality.

"Carolin?" Mabel's voice was cautious and concerned. "The principal called. He said you're singing at the assembly tomorrow morning-it's like a final run-through for North Star."

I swallowed hard and opened the door.

Mabel's eyes narrowed the second she saw me. "You look like death with a songbook."

"Thanks. Just what I needed to hear."

She followed me into the room, arms crossed. "Are you sick-sick, or stress-sick?"

I didn't answer.

She sat on the edge of the bed. "Carolin."

"I don't know," I whispered.

"You've been like this for over a week. You don't eat much. You look like you're about to faint every time you stand up."

I tried to laugh it off. "I'm just nervous. That's all."

Mabel leaned in, voice softer. "Did something happen? With... ?"

The way she said it made my skin prickle.

I sat beside her, unable to lie. "We slept together. The night of the afterparty."

She didn't speak at first. Just breathed out slowly. "You didn't tell me."

"I couldn't. I didn't know what to say. I thought it was just... one night. But now I don't know what to think."

Her hand found mine. "And now you think you might be-"

I nodded, slowly.

Her face softened even more. "Carolin. You have to find out for sure."

I nodded again, my throat tight. "Not now. Not before the assembly. Not before North Star."

Mabel didn't argue. She just hugged me. The kind that doesn't ask for explanations. The kind that holds you up when you're falling apart.

The next morning, the school felt like a fishbowl.

Everyone already knew I'd be performing at North Star. The whispers had been following me through the halls like perfume for days. But this was different.

This was me and me alone. At the center stage. With every student and staff member staring like I was about to either soar-or crumble.

The assembly ground was already full when I stepped out, guitar case in hand, heart pounding against my ribs like it was trying to escape.

The principal waved me forward with a proud smile. "Let's give a warm round of applause for Lancaster Academy's very own-Carolin Mark!"

The claps were louder than expected.

Too loud and too much.

I squinted against the morning sun. My head was swimming, my stomach was turning again.

And then I saw him.

Adrian.

Sitting in the third row, head down, then up-looking right at me.

Not smug. Not performative. Just... silent and intense.

Like he was holding something too.

Our eyes locked.

Something shifted in my chest, and for a moment, I couldn't breathe.

Then I sat down on the stool, adjusted the mic, and tuned the strings of my guitar with fingers that trembled slightly.

"Hi," I said into the mic. "This is a song I wrote called 'Almost.'"

I didn't say more.

I didn't need to.

The first chord rang out-clear against the breeze.

🎵 "You almost saw me

You almost stayed

I almost mattered

But you walked away..." 🎵

The field hushed.

Even the birds seemed to pause in the trees.

🎵 "I almost said no

I almost held back

But I gave you all

And you didn't look back..." 🎵

My voice shook-but not with fear.

With truth.

Every word was my heartbeat, my regret, my ache and my choice.

And even though I tried not to-I looked at him again.

Adrian.

He hadn't moved.

But his face...

It was wild open. Not crying, not smiling and just shattered.

Because he knew.

He knew this song was about him.

And maybe he finally understood what I couldn't say either.

The applause after was thunderous.

But it sounded far away.

Because the minute I stepped off the stage, the dizziness hit again.

The world tilted. My knees buckled.

Mabel rushed forward just in time to grab me. "Whoa, whoa-Carol! Hey, hey, I got you."

I tried to stand, but everything spun.

And then... darkness.

I woke up in the nurse's office with a cold cloth on my forehead and Mabel pacing like a lion.

"What happened?" I croaked.

"You fainted," she said, sitting beside me instantly. "Scared the life out of me."

I closed my eyes...

"I think I need to take the test."