The Third Message novel · Chapter 13 of 24

Chapter 13: The Front Office

Miles was setting the opening of my solo on the black box floor when my phone began to buzz.

It lay on the lip of the stage between his clipboard and my water bottle.

The screen said Ridgemont Geology Department.

I had blocked Burke, Bree and the lab.

I had never thought to block the front office.

"Do you want it?" Miles asked.

"No."

He nodded and said nothing, and I went back to my mark with my arms in fifth.

The phone buzzed itself dark. Then it started up again.

"Eight counts," I said. "From the top."

He gave the count, and I danced.

The phone rang through the whole phrase, and I never once lost the line.

When it stopped, a voicemail icon appeared. I left it unplayed.

"Number," Miles said.

"Two."

"That's your fine voice."

"My hip is a two. My head is louder."

He did not push. He handed me the water bottle and waited.

The side door banged open, and June came down the aisle from the booth with her phone held out in front of her.

"Don't be mad," she said.

"That is how every bad sentence starts."

"Burke called me."

Miles went still beside me.

"He has your number?" I said.

June winced. "He texted me in September. I never answered. I kept it."

"You kept it?"

"In case you needed evidence! I'm a person with a safe."

I almost laughed, and then I saw how white her face was.

"He wanted me to be his post office," she said. "I told him I'm a lighting designer, not a mailbox. Then he said the word, and I stayed on the line."

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