Always Been Yours (Tessa and Nicholas)

“I think you’ve misunderstood me, Miss Hathaway. I’m not saying that I would like to go on stage. I just thought that I could gain some experience through learning from others since Kathleen isn’t here today. I would like to gather some experience for the future—I know that there’s a lot more I need to learn.” Tessa wore a sincere expression as she explained herself to Hathaway.
After contemplating for a moment, Hathaway finally agreed to Tessa’s request. Although she wasn’t prepared for an actual performance, it would be good for her to train with the other members just to get some experience. That way, Hathaway wouldn’t have to train Tessa’s performance skills in the future.
Kathleen only showed up sometime in the afternoon. When she entered the theater, she found Tessa standing in her position and rehearsing with the other members. Kathleen lost her temper immediately. “Who gave you the permission to stand in my spot, Tessa?!” Kathleen barked. She didn’t care if the rest of the members were halfway through their rehearsal—she immediately threw her bag in Tessa’s direction.
Fortunately, Tessa’s reflexes were quick enough—the bag would have smacked her in the face otherwise. Unfortunately, Tessa’s reaction only made Kathleen more furious than ever. “How dare you dodge my attack, b*tch?” Kathleen glared at Tessa angrily. “What is it? Are you annoyed after what I said in the morning? Do you think you can take my spot in the performances just because you’re standing in my position now?”

“That wasn’t my intention at all.” Tessa suppressed her annoyance to explain herself when she saw that Kathleen had misunderstood her. However, Kathleen didn’t seem to hear what she was saying at all. “Why would you stand in my position if that wasn’t your intention? Don’t you think you seem really pretentious now?” Kathleen glared at her disdainfully.
Tessa took a deep breath to contain her anger. She believed that she had to clarify things with Kathleen, as she knew that things would get messy otherwise. She could tell by Kathleen’s expression that Kathleen would undoubtedly create a fuss. “I’m standing in your position because you didn’t come for the rehearsal, and I wanted to take this opportunity to gather some experiences in preparing for a performance. I really look up to Hathaway Philharmonic’s maturity, and I appreciate every opportunity I get to learn from them,” Tessa explained.
The rest of the members couldn’t stop themselves from speaking up for Tessa at this point. “Tessa was just learning from us. You shouldn’t overthink it,” one said. “Yeah. You know what Tessa is like. She would never look down on you. Your spot was empty since you didn’t show up for practice, so what’s the big deal with allowing Tessa to learn some stuff?” another one said.
Kathleen’s face darkened upon hearing these individual’s words.
“She has no right to stand in my position, even if I’m not around,” Kathleen hissed. She scanned all of her team members with a threatening look in her eyes. Although some of her members thought that she was being irrational, they didn’t have the guts to speak up as they were inferior to her.
Kathleen gave Tessa a contemptuous glare before scoffing. “I don’t care what your true intentions are, but you’re far from replacing my spot in the orchestra. Do you think you’re protected just because my mother watches over you? If I see you standing in my spot one more time, I’m going to turn you into a cripple!”