Chapter 5: Part 5: Strong
Alison
She was furious, she tried to convince the Professor to give her more time that she wasn't ready but he wouldn't budge, he just patted her on the shoulder and told her that he believed in her and that she shouldn't be scared to share her voice. Then to top it all off she didn't have any of her usual material for the new guy to use so she had to give him one of her personal songs, which she never does.
Then that new guy he was pushing all of her buttons, first when he asked her to sing she he could learn the timing, and for some reason instead of finding a way to not sing she did and she managed to do it without getting a panic attack, which she was still wondering about but what upset her the most was that instead of focusing on his audience while performing he turned around a couple of times to look at her and it was very uncomfortable. Then for some reason he tried to comfort her because she knew he had seen that she was upset but she didn't want that from anyone, the last thing she ever wanted was for people to feel sorry for her.
'This is why you keep away and keep to minimal interaction with people it's to avoid all this had it not been for Principal Wayburn she would be in peace but nooo he just had to interfere with her life,' she thought as she walked off to her dorm so she could pack for the weekend.
As she entered her dorm she placed her bag on her desk and hung her jacket then she changed into sweatpants and a hoodie, then she took out her mini travel case and packed her necessities then into one of her larger bags she packed her clothes. As she packed she folded each item with care and at the very top of her bag she placed her favorite strawberry scented perfume, as she closed her bags there was a knock on her door.
As she opened the door she was met with bright hazel eyes, as she blinked and realized who was at her door she tried to slam the door shut but he put his foot in the way blocking the door from closing. Then he smirked, HE BLOODY SMIRKED, she then did the first thing that came to her she told him to leave her alone then she kicked his foot and slammed the door in his shocked face.
'I swear what did I do? I stayed away from everyone and pushed others away. Why won't this one leave me in peace others would've given up by now.'
With that, she picked up her guitar and continued working on her current song
'How do I stay strong,
How do I hold it all in
How do I keep myself in one piece?
How do I do it all?
I have to stay strong
I gotta hold it all
I will be myself
I'm gonna do it all
Put the doubt behind
Be brave and courage
Doing my best to keep my word
I'm stronger than they think
And I'm gonna show them what I can do on my own
They think I'm useless
They think I'm dumb
They can't see what I can do
I promise I will stay strong
Mother, I will keep my promise and one day I will show the world what I am capable of.'
Dean
After Alison stormed off he waited a few seconds then he followed her to her dorm, when he reached the corridor where she last turned he was sure he had lost her until he heard a door slam shut he smirked and took mental notes on where her dorm's located so he could find it next time without having to follow her.
He turned around and decided he needed more information, and she needed to cool down, before he confronted her so he went off to find the person who somehow managed to get her riled up.
As he neared the teacher's lounge he heard some not so quiet conversations, " So tell me what reading do you get from the new kid?"
"He has a strong voice and potential but what shocked me most was the piece that Alison gave him to perform."
"What do you mean?"
"Ok so we have all heard past songs Alison has shared right, so tell me what are they mostly about, what feeling do they usually give?"
"Hmmm, usually they are based on feelings she interprets from books,"
"Or about the future one hopes for,"
"Exactly! The song she gave him referred to the past as in her past and it started bright and strong filled with emotion and ended as if the memories were bittersweet"
"She never shares anything that even closely relates to her, why would she do it now?"
"Well, I may have paired her with the new student and given them an hour before they had to perform."
"You are cruel but doesn't she always have backups I mean she always has for when we give her tasks where others perform her songs?"
"Yes, but Dean, the new kid, has a vocal range that differs from the others we all know Alison has a very large vocal range and can probably hit all notes but Dean's vocal range is not like the other students so the songs she probably has as backups wouldn't have worked for him so she had no choice."
"Did you know his vocal range Professor?"
"I may have listened to his audition tape"
"you sir are an evil genius"
"Not only that but the fact that she gave him that song proves that he has gotten farther than anyone else in this school and we've known Alison for years he has only been here for a day and look at his progress"
"So you actually think he will be the one to open her up?"
"Well, I should hope so why do you think I asked Alison to show him around yesterday?"
"Principal Wayburn, sir we didn't know you were listening"
"Well, I would like to know Alison's progress after all she is one of this school's brightest students."
"Will do sir."
And with that Dean walked away heading towards Alison's dorm room, his mind filled with questions. 'Why would she give him a personal song? How could everyone say she's one of the best when they say she doesn't sing for them? Why did she sing for him? And most importantly why won't she let others hear her sing?'
When he finally arrived at her dorm room he internally debated whether or not he should confront her, what if she had personal reasons, what if she ignores him, or which she probably will do, slams the door in his face. In the end his curiosity won and he knocked on the door, he was expecting to find a still fuming Alison but as the door opened he saw a questioning look appear on her face but as soon as it was there it was gone because she had realized who was knocking on her door. She half - yelled at him to leave her alone and tried to slam the door shut but before she could he put his foot in the way. After she realized what he had done instead of opening the door to try to push him out of the way like he expected she kicked his foot causing him to pull it back and she took the chance to slam the door and he could hear the sound of the lock being placed.
Dean knew that she would have to leave her room at some point so he sat next to the door and leaned his head on the wall. As he waited he heard the faint sound of a guitar being played, knowing that it could be coming from any of the rooms found on the corridor he had hoped that it would be coming from Alison's so he placed his ear against the door just as she began singing.
As she ended the song 2 lines kept playing over and over in his mind,
'I promise I will stay strong
Mother, I will keep my promise and one day I will show the world what I am capable of.'
The lady at the store mentioned she has a father and a brother but she never mentioned the presence of Alison's mother. Were her parents divorced? Did her mother abandon them? Why does she keep mentioning a promise she made?
Dean moved back to the wall and waited for her to open the door but as he waited he noticed it was getting really late so he knocked on her door but she didn't open it, he thought she probably fell asleep so he gave up and went to his dorm room hoping to see her the next day so he could ask the many questions he had.
Alison
*beep, beep, beep*
Alison woke to the sound of her alarm, it was 6 am, she stretched then got out of bed to take a shower then she got dressed because she had an hour of driving to get to her Father's house. She dressed in a cream tank top and shorts with matching shoes and she grabbed her handbag and shades and last but not least she put up her hair in its classic ponytail.
And with that, she took her two traveling bags and she left her dorm and made her way to her car. She put the bags on the back seats and put on her shades and she took off in the direction of her father's house.
An hour later she drives into the driveway of her father's house, well her family sees it as a house but in reality, it's a mansion. Her father was a successful businessman and loved to invest in his family and such explaining the mansion.
As she parked her car the front door of the house opened and the head maid came out and took Alison's bags into the house, and Alison followed but she stopped at the entrance, "Dad I'm home," she shouted and her father walked out of his study.
"Good morning my shining star how was your drive?"
"It was good there wasn't much traffic, so are you ready to go for breakfast?"
"Ah yes let's go shall we, I'll drive"
At that, she chuckled and followed her father. As they left he began asking her about school and she told him everything except about Tina, Dean, and the Professor. When she began talking to him about the songs she was working on her eyes shined with passion and her father smiled. Her father loved her deeply but after the incident 5 years ago he noticed the shine in her eyes were no longer always there, it only showed with music she was just like her mother in that sense they shared the love of music but Alison became closed off but he was grateful because ever since Alison started at the Arts Academy whenever she spoke about music the shine in her eyes returned.
They soon reached the restaurant and they chose a table on the patio and with that, they ordered their food and as they waited Alison asked her father about the business, but he quickly changed the topic.
"Alison, remember I wanted to introduce you to some of my old buddies?"
"Yes I remember clearly Father, why do you ask?"
"Well we will be having dinner with them, before you try to protest it won't be anything fancy you don't have to put on makeup or anything it will be a casual dinner but can you please not wear long pants I love you and the way you dress but perhaps if you wear a skirt or something I already called Anna and she will come to the house for lunch and she will help you with your outfit."
"Why are you doing this?"
"Alison I know you don't wear skirts or dresses but you're a young lady you will need to wear them eventually so you can start now."
"But dad."
"No buts Alison."
"Fine dad"
"Don't worry I got you a couple of novels from your list of books you want to read. You will find them on your bookshelf in your room."
At this she squealed, "Thank you, dad, wait so in exchange for wearing a skirt I'm getting books?"
"Yes"
"Okay I can work with that," she smiled and her father laughed.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone