Chapter 3 - In the Park, Pt. 2

You don't have to be a great, just good.

The week passed and Teresa returned to the park to wait for Cynthia and her friends. As she waited, she reviewed her first meeting with Cynthia as she had many times these past few days. Teresa was probably being paranoid, but she came prepared just in case there was trouble: a cell phone, a can of mace, and a roll of quarters. Anything for an advantage in a fight.

“Teresa!”

From a distance, Cynthia waved at Teresa. With her were two other women in their early twenties. One had shoulder-length brown hair and had on a typical t-shirt/jeans combo and canvas shoes. As she came closer, Teresa noticed that her face had some Polynesian features. The other girl also had short hair; not in a crop but tomboyish. The sundress she wore came down to a couple of inches above her knees and fluttered in the light breeze. She seemed to have a happy bounce to her step complementing the big grin on her face.

“Hey, Teresa,” Cynthia gasped when they were close enough to talk. “I was worried we would be late.”

“Heh. Someone's out of shape,” the smiling girl chuckled.

“Not nice,” Cynthia panted.

The Polynesian woman spoke up. “While Cynth’s catching her breath, I'm Florence, and the snotty one’s Priscilla. Cynth played the video she made of you for us...”

“Yeah, that was amazing!” Priscilla interrupted. “Are you really a girl?”

“Priss!” exclaimed a shocked Florence.

“That’s okay. I promise I'm one hundred percent female.” Teresa laughed then cocked her head to the side. “In fact, I can prove it right now.” Teresa placed her thumbs on the inside of the front waistband of her pants.

Priscilla’s jaw dropped. “Really?”

“Sure. Give me a cotton swab; I'll give you a DNA sample, and you can see I have two 'X's just like you guys, I assume.”

Priscilla's grin grew even wider. “Ha! You're funny.” She turned to the other two. “We really need her.”

Teresa scratched her head and took a small step back. “Uh, look. I know this is about your singing group, but I’m not sure...”

Cynthia straightened up after catching her breath. “Like I told you before, we're trying to form a female a cappella group, and we have some hard-to-fill vacancies. Can we give you a sample?” Without waiting for an answer, Florence and Priscilla followed Cynthia's lead straightening up and focusing on each other and each other’s breathing. Then it began.

Because the world is round, it turns me on.

Because... the world... is round. Ahhh.

Because the wind is high, it blows my mind.

Because... the wind... is high. Ahhh.

They sang perfectly synchronized and with perfect harmony. Time itself seemed to stop and listen. There was something different about their singing Teresa couldn't put her finger on. It wasn't bad, just odd. If they weren’t standing in front of her, Teresa would have sworn there was a fourth singer, especially when the notes would travel up and down on the “ahhh”s at the end of each line.

Love is old, love is new.

Love is all, love is you.

Because the sky is blue, it makes me cry.

Because... the sky... is blue.

Ahhhh. [2]

As the song finished, Teresa blinked her eyes as if coming out of a trance. “Uh, wow. That was... wow!”

“Thanks,” said Priscilla. “The words are pretty dim, but the harmonic blend is simply amazing, especially when Flo does her polyphonic overtone thingy.”

Cynthia put on her best business face. “That's what we do, and we'd like you to join us. What do you say?”

Teresa put her hands in her pockets and took a deep breath as all six eyes focused on her. “I don't know what to say. I'm not a great singer.”

“You don't have to be,” said Cynthia. “There are only two things you need. One is to be a good singer, which you are. The other, be able to empathize. I can help you with some of the mechanics of singing, and Flo works with us on different ways to convey the emotions within the songs.”

“Kind of like method acting for singers,” said Florence.

Priscilla bounced up to Teresa, grabbed her shoulders, and looked her dead in the eye. “Think about it. Think of the odds. You were in this park when Cynth was. You sang a song that shows off your voice. You were meant to be with us. We were meant to be together, the four of us. This is destiny.”

“You're seriously creeping me out, but okay. I'll try it, and we'll see what happens.”

Priscilla screamed. “YES!” Without a moment's hesitation, Priscilla wrapped her arms around Teresa like a boa constrictor and jumped up and down for joy. Florence had to pull her off. Teresa just stood there wide-eyed unsure of how to react..

“Here's our address.” Cynthia handed Teresa a small piece of paper from a notebook. “The three of us are roommates, so there’s always someone there. Can you come by tomorrow evening?”

“I'll order Chinese,” offered Priscilla. “Is that okay, Teri? I can call you Teri, right?”

“Sure, that's fine, and I'll be there,” said Teresa, still overwhelmed by the attention.

“Great! See you then.”

As the three walked away, Teresa was left wondering what exactly she had agreed to.

[2] "Because" by Lennon/McCartney, © 1969 Northern Songs Ltd., https://youtu.be/df0WJw-u5mc

Author's Note

The goal is improvement, not approval. All constructive feedback, both positive and negative, is welcomed.