Lisa's father reached out his hand and clasped Danylo's firmly. "How was the testimony today?" he asked.
"Good," replied Danylo.
"It was better than that," said Orysia. "Mr. Vincent has presented my father's case very thoroughly."
"I am glad to her it," said Dr. Nguyen, then he turned to Danylo. "Lisa tells me that you will be on the witness stand tomorrow."
"Yes," replied Danylo.
"I shall do my best to attend," said Dr. Nguyen. "Every bit of moral support helps."
Danylo bowed his head in gratitude. "Thank you," he said.
And then he and the Nguyens and Orysia ambled towards the school together, leaving Kat and Lisa by the car.
"Did you remember Ian's knapsack?" asked Lisa.
"I did," said Kat. Then she opened the trunk of the car and grabbed out the knapsack containing the mutilated parachute. "I don't think he'll want it now, though." Not that she wanted it in the car. It gave her the creeps.
"I've got an idea," said Lisa. "Bring it with you."
When they got into the auditorium, Lisa made a beeline over to the principal. Kat stood within hearing range, but kept her distance so as not to look like she was butting in.
"... and if he goes on first, he can get home and rest," Lisa was explaining.
Dr. Bradley nodded in sympathy. "Yes," she said. "It will be a bit disruptive for the others involved, but this is an unusual circumstance. I'm sure no one will complain about these last minute changes."
Lisa smiled grimly, then thanked Dr. Bradley, who quickly walked off, no doubt to inform the other students. "Come on," she said to Kat, motioning for her to follow.
Kat looked over her shoulder and noticed that the families were sitting together: Danylo, Orysia, Lisa's parents and Ian's parents. Kat almost laughed out loud. What an unlikely group. What would they ever talk about?
She followed Lisa onto the stage and then watched as Lisa unzipped the knapsack and unfurled the ripped parachute. "Here, take the end," Lisa directed.
Kat took the one end, and just as they had practised many times, she draped it across the curtains and fastened it. Once it was hung, they both stepped back. It looked terrible. Ribbons of hacked khaki coloured material dangled limply from the deep crimson backdrop. It was worse than no set at all. Kat walked back to pull down her end, but Lisa held her arm. "Just a minute," she said. "Let me think."
Kat shrugged her shoulders. She was too emotionally drained to think anything more about it, but if Lisa had a better idea, that was fine by her.
"Let's turn it upside down," said Lisa.
Kat was about to disagree, but then she understood what Lisa was doing. The parachute had been cut in strips, and by hanging how it was now with the narrow end at the top, it looked forlorn and straggled. Lisa pulled a ladder to one end of the stage and Kat dragged one over to the other end. They each held a bottom corner up high to see what would happen. Instantly, instead of looking forlorn and bedraggled, the strips looked intentional. The backdrop was suddenly transformed with fluttering jagged stripes. The hacked khaki strips of parachute stood out brave and proud.
Kat grinned at Lisa from her perch on the ladder and gave her the thumbs up sign.
There were seats in the orchestra pit for both Kat and Lisa to sit in while Ian played the piano. From that vantage point,
they had a skewed, though close view of the stage. When the lights darkened after his piece, it would take moments for them to jump up and pull down the parachute.
Kat watched as parents and students streamed into the auditorium and found places to sit. She noticed Michael and his family come in, so she waved frantically to get his attention. Before sitting down in his own seat, he walked down the aisle and kneeled down in front of the pit.
"I'm coming to the hearing tomorrow," he said. "Dad agreed to let me miss school."
Kat was touched. "Thank you," she said. "I know my grandfather will appreciate it.
"Talk to you later," said Michael, scampering to his seat before the lights dimmed.
As she watched Michael walk back to his own seat, Kat noticed three familiar burly figures slouch in and sit in the back row. Kat nudged Lisa. "I noticed," said Lisa. It was the three jocks who had beaten Ian.
"I wonder what they're doing here?" whispered Kat.
"Getting a little culture, I guess," replied Lisa with sarcasm.
Beth and Callie also came in together, sitting in front of the three burly teens. Kat noticed that they turned and giggled flirtatiously. It seemed ages ago that these two had been friends of hers. Kat hadn't realized until this moment how distant she felt towards them.
The lights dimmed. Dr. Bradley stepped up onto the stage and announced the changes in the program.
Lisa switched on the spotlights she had arranged for Ian's entrance. The whole stage was plunged into darkness except for the piano in the pit. The ribbons of torn parachute cast an eerie shadow behind the pit and did seem fitting. The auditorium was silent with expectation. Suddenly, a figure burst through the curtains. A collective gasp rose throughout the auditorium. Ian had completely shaven his head, and the black stitches looked like a slash across his scalp. Instead of wearing the long black coat as he had planned, Ian had on his torn and bloodstained shirt and pants from the beating. The most astonishing thing about Ian's appearance was his expression. Ian was the gentlest person Kat knew, but right now his face flashed an angry scowl that was frightening in its intensity. Ian surveyed the audience and his eyes seemed to lock on the three sitting in the back row. Kat followed his gaze and noted with satisfaction that they seemed to squirm.
Ian strode over to the piano and sat down on the bench. As his fingers made contact with the ivory keys, all the anger drained out of his face and was replaced with a look of total concentration.
As the familiar ballade began to unfold, Kat tried to fill her mind with nothing but the music. She searched the faces in the audience and found her grandfather. As the music began, she saw her grandfather's eyes meet her own, and then he looked above her, to Ian. Perhaps he could lose himself in the music and forget about his burden just for a moment?
Danylo looked down at Kataryna's friend on the stage and sighed deeply as he felt the music wash over him. How was it that such beautiful music could come from such an unlikely source? When Kat had phoned Danylo to tell him of Ian's accident, he was horrified, but not really surprised. People tended to hate what they didn't understand. What did surprise him was the strength of this thin pale boy. Not only in the fact that he was able to come out in public like this after such a brutal beating, but that he had the strength and the gift to produce this intricate music.
The ballade began with a pounding intensity that brought to Danylo's mind a vision of violence. He wondered if it had the same effect on Ian? Was he beating the piano just as he had been beaten by those boys? The experience was so sharp that Danylo found himself gripping onto the armrests of his seat. A sob caught in Danylo's throat as he noticed a slight reflection of wetness on Ian's cheek. The boy was weeping.