Song 15

Sprawled out on the kitchen table, various papers were all taped together to make one bigger image. In the middle, the words are written in bold pink writing ‘PROJECT SECRET CONCERT’. Evelyn stood over the table, her cheek nestled in her hand as she shook her head. Her gaze repeatedly moved from top to bottom, side to side, taking in every little detail of the plan that Meloria had concocted. “Honey,” her voice full of concern as she approached the back of Meloria’s chair, placing her hand on the back of it. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” Evelyn leaned over and pointed to a part where it mentioned when the concert would be happening. “At the school’s early assembly is a big risk, sweetheart.”

“Not to mention I could lose my job,” Edward mumbled in the corner of the room, slumped over in his chair, face pale and buried in his hands.

“You agreed to take part,” Meloria giggled, her legs dangling from the chair. “Besides, Lucan and I are too small to move the equipment from the music library; we need an adult to help us.”

Evlyn sighed as Edward sank further into his chair. “Meloria, this is all so,” he paused for a moment, trying to think of the right words to say. “Eccentric.”

“Mama means you’re crazy for trying to pull this off,” Lucan explained bluntly as he pulled up a chair at the table, Evelyn’s jaw hanging open, speechless as to how her eldest son could speak so casually about such things. Lucan turned to Meloria with stern eyes. “Mama is right, this plan is crazy.”

“Which means you’re in, right?” Meloria grinned, giving Lucan a thumbs-up as he nodded. “Good, because you’re going to be the head of operations to ensure no one interrupts the concert. Looking out for anyone who might be suspicious of us.”

“Sure,” Lucan laughed. “Sounds like a good role for me. I’ll get the twins involved. I’m sure they have a few tricks up their sleeves.”

“Mama,” Meloria looked up to Evelyn with a soft smile. “You are in charge of outfits.”

Evelyn gasped, her brain gearing to come up with a sentence. “Since when did I get involved?” She stammered as Meloria held up a picture of her dream idol outfit. Small labels branched off different items of clothing that described what she wanted. Evelyn tilted her head, her previous worries tossed aside as she grabbed a pencil, drawing over the images to refine them, thinking about what old clothes she could recycle to sew up Meloria’s wanted garment.

“And that leaves papa,” Meloria giggled, looking at Edward with a large grin. “Who will be the muscles of the operation. Moving the music player from the library to the main hall.”

“I’m going to get so fired for this,” Edward mumbled again into his hands. Meloria pushed herself out from under the table, skipping over to Edward. She smiled softly, tiptoeing and patting his hair. With a low chuckle, Edward raised his head, his eyes looking defeated as he looked at Meloria’s determined face. He sighed, hugging her tightly, nuzzling his face in her hair. “Even conning your mother into this, you’re either something special or an evil genius.”

Meloria shook her head, holding Edward tightly. “I’m an idol papa,” she proclaimed softly. “Though I want to be your idol, Papa.”

Evelyn smiled from the corner, her eyes never leaving the drawing, her heart swelling. From the moment she heard Meloria sing, she knew she was in for a treat, but this was on a whole other level. Her daughter had ambition; she knew that for sure, yet she wasn’t sure how much trouble Meloria’s ambition would get them into.

Later in the evening, Evelyn sat in her plush velvet chair in the living room, accompanied by the bright light of the lamp, overseeing her sewing project given to her by Meloria. Her hands moved with practiced ease, focusing on each stitch, wanting to ensure it was tough enough should Meloria miss a step during her routine and step on it. The idea made Evelyn chuckle as the memory of Meloria treading on her birthday dress and tearing it popped into her head, remembering how big the hole was and that even Evelyn couldn’t mend it, needing to toss the dress in the end.

With a snip of the scissors, Evelyn cut the thread and tied it up, securing the final stitch in place. She flapped the dress out to rid it of loose threads. She had a prideful smirk, impressed with her handiwork in one afternoon. She had used one of her own dresses from her childhood to create Melroia’s dream concert outfit. The trim was decorated with beautiful lace and a bow on the back for added flair.

“Meloria,” She called out, standing up with the dress in hand. When she didn’t hear an answer back, Evelyn made her way upstairs, thinking Meloria must have been in her bedroom. Making her way down the hallway, Evelyn could hear shuffling and banging coming from down the hallway. Initially, she shrugged, thinking it must have been the twins playing a bit rough, but as she walked past their bedroom, she realised they weren’t in there. “Then what’s that noise?” she questioned, her pace quickening as she hurried to Meloria’s room.

Feet stuck out from the door frame, Meloria’s rear end prominent as she knelt on the floor, hunched over. Evelyn’s eyes widened, watching in horror as Meloria was pulling up the floorboards of her bedroom. “What are you doing?” She exclaimed, dropping the dress. “My floorboards! Meloria, what’s going on?”

Meloria turned, her face innocent as she held up the music player she had hidden in between floorboards. “I thought since we’re all in agreement, I don’t need to hide this anymore,” she smiled softly, completely oblivious about the state of the floor.

“Meloria,” Evelyn was lost for words as she fell to her knees, her hands shaking as she reached out, grabbing one of the floorboards. She held it up to her face, inspecting for any damage.

“Don’t worry, mama,” Meloria spoke calmly, placing the music player beside her alongside a pile of vinyls before taking the floorboard from her mother. “It fits back perfectly.”

As she said, Evelyn watched Meloria fit the floorboards back into their rightful place as if she were putting a jigsaw puzzle together. All this time, Meloria was hiding something so significant in such a prominent place. “You sure are full of surprise,” Evelyn chuckled, seeing the funny side in the situation, pulling Meloria close beside her, kissing her forehead.