Page 66 of The Other Side of Green

“What do you need me to do?”

He smiled. “Leave it with me. The only thing I need to say is that once you are staff you won’t be able to be part of the admissions board for the Collins scholarship.” He winked. “Some boring rules, meant to keep us all pure.”

I almost breathed a sigh of relief. “Honestly, that’s the best news I’ve heard all day. I’d probably do anything not to be part of that board anymore.”

Greene grinned and we stood to shake hands. As I walked to meet Miriam the future stretched before me, a golden paved road to somewhere unexpected.

Chapter Sixteen

Lyra

I swiped at my face, skin sticky and hot beneath my touch. “I don’t have anywhere to go. If I can’t stay here, then I have nothing.”

“Come back with us, Lyra. We can leave right now and be back in Boston in a few hours. We can get you a last-minute ticket on our flight. Anything to help you.” Eva clutched my hand. I’d never valued a friend so much in my life. Never had a friend like her in my whole life. Alex rubbed my back and I leaned back into his touch, grateful for any support I could get.

I wasn’t going to get any around here.

“Lyra, do you want to talk about this? What’s been going on?” Eva peered into my face, and I inched back in case she could read all my dirty secrets on my face. “And don’t give me any crap.”

My shoulder shuddered. “Well.” I stopped. What could I say?

“Start at the beginning.” Alex suggested, another soothing circle with his hand rubbing between my shoulder blades.

“Well, my mom. She’s a, she’s a…”

“Raving head case?” Eva squeezed my hand and grinned a crooked smile.

“Yes, and a junkie.”

Another squeeze. Another back rub.

“She’s always hated me. Luca is her favorite, but Grams always softened the blow, sheltered me, kept pushing me.” I glanced at my violin case. “Wanted me to play, wanted me to dream, wanted me to be free of this place.”

Eva gave me a soft smile. “Looks like she’s getting her wish.”

“How would she feel if she knew the only reason I got that scholarship was because of the color of my skin?”

A heavy tear rolled down my face.

“Truth is, I don’t even know what color my skin is. Luca has always been paler than me. Grams said we were a genetic mismatch.”

“I know. You’ve told me that before.” Eva nodded.

Alex’s heavy stare rested on my face, his lips pressed in a line.

“But… Mom, she says my dad is Jack’s, which means I’m half quarter German descent, quarter African American, a little bit Latino and who the hell knows what else.”

“Lyra! It doesn’t matter. You play violin like nothing I’ve ever heard. When you play, you are beyond anything. The fact you can play like that is a testament to your grandmother.” I loved Eva’s enthusiasm, even if it didn’t light a fire in my own heart.

“There’s a problem.”

“Another problem?”

“I can only play with Jack. He’s… I don’t know, tied to my music somehow. When… when he left four years ago I couldn’t play. It became mechanical. I fucked up my interview for Berklee; that’s why I couldn’t believe it when they called and said I’d got the scholarship. Like, why?”

Another tear, pathetic and tragic.

“Now I know.”