Old Mr. Bagley didnât show any sympathy He scrunched his brows and said, âShe hurt her foot, not her throat! A couple lines of singing would just prove her ability Donât worry, she wonât wear herself out Haillie was on the fence, âUhâ
âEnough with your excuses! Old Mr. Bagley was clearly over it and didnât bother with Haillie anymore.
His icy gaze swept over Patricia and then Ellinor.
âSing! Which one of you is going first?â
Patricia knew she was stuck between a rock and a hard place. She put on a brave face, smiled, and said, âWell, it doesnât really matter who goes first! Ellinor, who do you think should start?â
Ellinor looked at Patricia, who was smiling but seemed to have eyes that were filled with fear and threats. Clearly, she was warning Ellinor not to spill the beans, or else!
Ellinor found this amusing Patriciaâs reputation was on the brink of ruin, and she was still trying to scare her?
Whispers started to spread among the guests.
âWhose kid is that? How dare she try to steal the limelight from Ms. Howard?â
âI donât know. Iâve never seen her before!
âShe claimed that she sang the part earlier, is that true?â
âI highly doubt it Ms. Howard has always been talented, itâs not surprising she can sing so well.â
âYeah! That performance was probably something Ms. Howard practiced specifically for Old Mr.
Bagleyâs birthday. As for the girl weâve never seen before, who knows whose daughter she is? Sheâs probably just trying to steal credit and suck up to Old Mr. Bagley.â
âGirls these days are so cunning, and they donât even think! Old Mr. Bagley isnât someone you can fool easily. Look, heâs making her prove herself by singing on the spot! Sheâs probably scared out of her wits!
Amid the chatter, Ellinor calmly said. âIll go first then.â
She wasnât going to let Patricia get her way, she was going to show Patricia that she couldnât just pretend to be someone else! Especially when that person was her beloved mother!
Ellinor cleared her throat gently and then sang a line with her clear voice It was a challenging line, as lively as the one sung by the person on stage earlier.
The onlookers impressions of Ellinor changed instantly Old Mr Bagley already knew the truth, he admired Ellinor, and his doubts were completely cleared, but he still gave Patricia a cold look.
âMs. Mendozaâs performance is over, itâs your turn now Start your performance!â
Patricia felt extremely embarrassed and forced a couple of laughs. She reluctantly prepared to start, but just as she was about to, she pretended to have a sore throat and stopped to make an excuse. âI may have gotten too carried away performing earlier, my throat feels a bit dry, Iâm afraid I might not be able to perform.