Melanie arrived to class late, her expression showing that she couldn't care less. Music, the only place where my viola gets to pretty much live. How fun. She took her viola out of its case, bringing out her music, her actions mimicking those of a robot. She didn't even seem to notice that Alex was in the same room as her as she begun to tune quickly and then practice her sheet music. Alto Clef: the rarest Clef in the world that's pretty much only used by me…
Alex pulled out a music folder full of sheet music, but didn't open it as he carefully went through a couple of scales. He played the flute perfectly, his fingers dancing to make the notes come just right. He suddenly noticed Melanie on the other side of the room, but he didn't say anything as he watched the teacher come in.
The teacher, Ms. Feige, came in. She had her hair tied up in a messy bun and a yellow flowy dress with black leggings on. "Okay, class! Now, since the term has just recently started, I don't have many plans for today, but I do have a little pop quiz that I'll be handing you just to test how well you know about clefs, notes, accidentals, and the sorts. No phones, please, and when you're done, you can do work quietly. Once everyone's finished, you can all start practicing your instruments again!" She seemed way too cheery for the morning, in Melanie's opinion, but she dismissed it and was handed the pop quiz, a one-sided piece of paper that had only ten questions on it.
Oh, kill me now. I don't feel like doing anything today… Melanie sighed as she filled out the quiz in twenty minutes-her usual time would be ten-but the quiz was relatively easy on her part.
Alex sighed, he knew how to play, but he didn't actually know much about the theory. Sighing he started to work, flubbing most of it. When he was finished handing it in he sat back down in his seat, fiddling with his flute. Soon he began to play unbidden, his tune was soft, but beautiful. The melody was unlike anything anyone there would have heard before, and the notes fell together perfectly.
After everyone was done, Melanie, without even thinking, played along with him, drawing out her bow strokes and slurring her notes. She wasn't perfect, but she complimented Alex's tune with her lower pitches. Everyone else was either in awe or smiling peacefully, swaying to the song. Some even did both.
Alex heard Melanie's tune, carefully adjusting his song to match it, growing a bit louder. His notes mixed as he performed complex harmonies, seeming to weave several different songs together at once. He never missed a single note, knowing full well he was cheating with a little magic, but he was enjoying the duet.
Melanie had an idea. She played slower, being a bit dramatic for only a few seconds before speeding up, sometimes stopping her bow in the middle of playing a note. The effect was expressing agitation, but it only lasted momentarily before she resumed, playing on her lower three strings. Alex was perfect, and he was playing with-not a novice or a new person, but with someone who wasn't as skilled as he was. Melanie was slightly nervous because of this.
Alex heard her little trick, and copied it with his own. He took a particular harmony and played it in a higher key, and faster too. This caused a feeling of being rushed as he smoothly dropped back to his original melody. Finally, he let his song die, fading it out then lowering his flute.
Melanie glanced at Alex after they had finished. She didn't know if he had heard her subtle cry of help. She didn't bother to ask before she cite-read her new sheet music, playing a lot slower than the tempo was, making mistakes often. He's just a guy Melanie. Nothing more. But she knew she was lying to herself.
Alex sighed, he'd noticed how her music had a tang of sadness in it. He carefully looked over the new sheet music. He didn't play again as he studied it. I'll ask about it later at lunch he thought.
Melanie practically jumped when the bell rung, and she rushed to put her instrument and music away, grabbing her stuff and heading to her next class, Calculus, which was relatively easy. They were doing a study guide for their test the next day. Melanie finished it in the first thirty minutes of class, and spent the last twenty minutes typing her story.
(I'm thinking after Melanie's Calculus is Lunch. That okay?)
(Works for me. Alex will probably track her down then)
Alex quickly grabbed his things and headed to history class next. The assignment was on a fictional kingdom. They were supposd to map out It's timeline, complete with rulers, wars, and the rise and fall of prosperity. Alex worked quietly for the entire class, working on mapping out a real kindom that every wolf pup knew of.
Melanie didn't flinch when the bell rung. Lunch. She dragged herself to her locker, fetching her lunchbox before she entered the Cafeteria, finding a seat in a corner of the room. She opened her lunchbox and snatched a sandwich in a plastic bag, eating like a drone or robot than a human.
Alex went to his locker to transfer books, but he had no lunchbag to grab as he headed down to the cafeteria to find Melanie. Normally he would spend the lunch hour hunting in the woods, but today he needed to make sure Melanie was alright. Coming into the Cafeteria he quickly scanned the crowd. Spotting Melanie he quickly headed her way.
Melanie looked at Alex from the corner of her eye and nodded, still eating. "Hi."
Alex set down his flute, sighing when he realized that he'd forgotten to put it away. "You ok? That song from earlier.. it seemed a bit off on your end."
"Hm? Oh, yeah. I'm just…I don't know where to start. Or even if I should, really." Melanie looked at his flute. "You played very well."
Alex sat down next to her, "Actually I was kinda cheating on that" he said sheepishly. "And you don't have to tell me anything, I just thought I'd ask."
"It's fine." Melanie hesitated before asking, "So, does this mean we're friends? Or am I still supposed to hate you?" A small grin crept its way on her face.
"We can be friends." Said Alex with a grin. "Or you can hate me." He said wryly.
"Why not both?" Melanie's mood seemed to lighten, and a smile came more easily.
"That too" said Alex with a grin, ignoring the fact that he was actually very hungry and had nothing with him.
"Um," Melanie noticed he had nothing to eat. Do you usually buy? Or did you forget to bring lunch? I can share if you'd like, I'm not insanely hungry." Melanie asked him mid-bite.
"Actually I normally spend my lunch hour hunting." He said gratefully stealing a sandwhich.
"Oh. Yeah. That too, I guess." Melanie tossed a juice box in Alex's direction, not bothering if he caught it or not, then pulling out and started eating an apple.
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