“Is that so? I actually have a younger brother. He’s 26, probably about your age. Let me find a photo of him for you to see.”
Tina pulled up a picture and showed it to Teresa. He looked fairly average—not as handsome as Teresa, and not very tall either, maybe around 5’7”. “That’s my brother. He’s got a great situation—two BMWs, a fully paid downtown apartment, and two storefronts. He’s super honest and hardworking. These days, it’s rare to find someone with such good prospects. If you marry him, life will be easy.”
Teresa got the hint and replied coolly, “No, thanks.”
But Tina wouldn’t let it go. “Just meet him. Who knows, maybe you’ll click. Just meet up and see how it goes.”
Teresa repeated, “No, really. I’m not interested in dating.”
“You’re at the age to settle down. How can you not date? Don’t be so reserved. I’ll get in touch with my brother now,” Tina said, not even waiting for Teresa’s response before leaving.
Teresa frowned, feeling annoyed. She couldn’t stand people with no sense of boundaries, especially coworkers.
Teresa thought, ‘Are we even close? Why does she think she can set me up? We’re clearly not friends, but she acts like we are. Whatever.’
In the afternoon, the teachers took the students to rehearsal. Thursday was the school’s fifteenth anniversary, and with many important guests coming, everyone had to perform.
The music teacher placed Teresa in the center, the “face” of the group. The problem was, Teresa couldn’t sing. Still, the teacher insisted she stand in the front row, saying she was there for her looks.
The second she opened her mouth, her lack of talent was evident. She was tone-deaf.
So the music teacher moved Teresa to the edge of the second row. That way, she’d still be visible but wouldn’t have to sing.
Teresa was perfectly fine with that. As long as she wasn’t near a microphone, she was happy.
After three days of rehearsals, Thursday arrived quickly. The celebration started at ten in the morning, and the teachers’ performance was scheduled early.
Everyone changed into matching outfits and lined up. Teresa hadn’t performed in ages, and she thought, If Michael sees this, he’s definitely going to laugh at me!
Teresa pictured Michael teasing her and almost laughed, but the smile vanished instantly.
She glanced down and spotted Jonathan sitting in the front row, his eyes on her. She quickly looked away, but she could still feel his gaze.
Jonathan immediately turned to the person beside him and asked, “Which school is this again?”
“Mr. Lynn, this is Everport Experimental Primary School,” the man replied.
“Thank you.” Jonathan’s eyes remained on Teresa, his expression unreadable.
Standing next to Teresa, Ivy nudged her. “That handsome guy keeps staring at you. Seriously, take a look.”
Teresa asked, “Who?”
“Right in the middle of the front row, next to the vice principal. He’s super good-looking. Come on, just look!”
“Well,” Teresa said she’d look, but she didn’t dare glance at Jonathan. She was too embarrassed.
The introduction music started, and Teresa and Ivy took their positions. The first verse was sung by a teacher with a great voice, and Teresa only opened her mouth for the chorus.
She was nervous, her hands clenched tight like when she was a child, scared to perform. Some things never change. Worried she’d mess up, she didn’t actually sing, just mouthed the words.
She couldn’t help sneaking a glance at Jonathan and saw him smiling slightly.
‘What’s so funny?’ Teresa thought, fighting the urge to roll her eyes.
The man sitting next to Jonathan asked, “What’s up? It’s not every day you smile.” After all, this was the young CEO who’d donated sixty thousand to the school. He almost never smiled, but at that moment he looked genuinely amused.
Jonathan covered his mouth, coughed lightly, and said with a straight face, “One of the teachers is lip-syncing.”
“Yeah? Which one?”