Chapter 7 Him

• "Garden. 6 pm. Outfit on your bed."
• Elodie definitely knew how to save my time. I would rather get a text from her than to talk to her over the phone where she would rant an extra hour and I would be late for my last course of the day.
• The brisk afternoon had people laughing in groups, the swings moved left and right as kids stood up on top of the swings rattling the chains with the biggest smile on their faces. New York weather was a gem with the relaxed breeze making it known that it was going to be autumn soon. The little hotdog buses passed by the university with their mini radio playing hippy music to the bypassers.
• New York was a dream to every person hoping for freedom. I was in it but I was not free from my parents' choices yet.
• I finished my stroll in the Julliard campus yard and I was running late on my last course which was the most dreadful course ever.
• Musical Theater Piano course.
• I killed myself ten times in the head and I stalled and walked around to see any guitarist play but there was nobody in the hallway. Most people were academically advanced meaning they didn't have afternoon classes usually.
• You can do this, it's just one hour, how bad could it be? I tried to muse my brain but it felt like I was convincing a ten- year-old kid.
• Standing in front of the door, I sighed when I placed my head on the door, on the other side was Mr. Atkins screaming for people to concentrate then ranted about the importance of the competition. I didn't know how many times I sighed and my hand was kept on the door handle.
• I swivelled my head to meet the same caramel brown eyes I met a multiple times before. She seemed to be in her own headspace, placing her hand over mine then she got startled when she noticed I was right there the whole time, she pulled her hand away with a furious blush on her cheeks.
• We were both deeply diving into silence as I analyzed her face all over and she was intimidated by the way I looked at her. I broke eye contact and pulled myself away from the door so she could enter the class.
• She gave me an embarrassing small smile, her eyes still dazed and she got in swiftly like she didn't want to be around me. I almost laughed when she tripped trying not to turn around like a scared chipmunk.
• Kudos to her, I had the courage to finally get in class. Since the girl was new, she got a free pass.
• Except for me.
• "Xavier Adams, how wonderful of you to join us," Mr. Atkins bellowed and I wanted to stick a foot inside his mouth, he was awfully loud for a professor, "meet me after the course." He ordered in a clipped tone of voice and I wanted to bury myself under then I remembered that I could bail from the date.
• I tuned Mr. Atkins out when he played the piano in front of us, not really interested at all but one thing did interest me: that girl. Her long hair was in a messy bun, her hand under her chin as her fingers pressed on the pencil doodling around on the desk and looking over to the window.
• What piqued my concern was the small bruise that showed when she lifted the pencil and her sleeve came down a little to reveal the red mark under her wrist. I was a detailed person; I had a sharp eye and that red mark didn't look anything like food stain nor a red pen.
• "Listen up everyone, we will partner up to perform right this second," Mr. Atkin's nasal voice annoyingly interrupted my investigation on the girl and the fact that he was going to make me perform on the worst day ever made me all the agitated, "chop, chop, we don't have all day," he urged the people to stand up front as he called out the names.
• "Rayna Harrington and Xavier Adams." Mr. Atkins announced, it slipped my mind but hit me all together.
• Wait, the name sounds familiar-
• As if fate enjoyed laughing at me, my phone dinged uncontrollably as Mr. Atkins frowned at me, I opened my phone quickly before I joined the girl that was already on stage.
• "Don't forget her name, it's Rayna Harrington. No PLAYING AROUND, she's my new friend. If she blocked me, I will make sure you never touch a guitar in your life. Love ya xoxo"
• It was no wonder God wanted us to meet before our actual date. I actually did forget her name and Elodie knew that I would, she probably did realize just now that she forgot mine too.
• I joined the stage much to Mr. Atkins's disappointed glare at how slow I was to take on the stage. My sister's message was important than his wide ass.
• Life had a paradoxical way of showing me that no matter what I chose for myself, the choice was already made out for me.
• "What song choice do you want me to play on the piano?" I asked Rayna that held onto her microphone tightly, I could tell the jitters-before-the-singing phase affected her, I knew that because I had played the piano with singers before and it wasn't a pretty sight when they ran and threw up, tripped, not to mention messed up lyrics..
• The list was long.
• "Can you play 'all of me'?" she suggested meekly as she refused to make eye contact with me. As ironic as it was that I played 'all of me' to my mom the whole time, I went along with her choice.
• Her hair matched the sunset as the smoothness of the golden hue shone on her in contrasted to her skin giving it poise as her eyes were alight turning into butterscotch. The timing of the sunset was perfect for John Legend and Mr. Atkins liked sunsets so he wasn't going to give us a hard time for the play.
• I sat on the piano stool and opened the piano led as I cracked my fingers. I could play it with my eyes closed, my fingers went over the piano keys as I started watching her stand on the side of the piano when she began to sing.
• 'What would I do without your smart mouth
• Drawin' me in and you kickin' me out'
• Her tone of voice could make anyone sleep. In a good way.
• Our eyes made contact awkwardly for the song was too intimate but I felt like I had to see her sing then I decided against it as I gazed at my fingers taking in the piano sleekly.
• 'You've got my head spinnin', no kiddin'
• I can't pin you down'
• I focused on the notes as my fingers pressed on the B note on the piano then onto the B-B note, swiftly moving back to B then to A-B notes then onto B-A-G and G notes as she continued to sing along.
• 'What's goin' on in that beautiful mind?
• I'm on your magical mystery ride
• And I'm so dizzy, don't know what hit me
• But I'll be alright'
• A stray tear went down her cheek as her voice went onto her lower register making the song sound like Jazz. She easily wiped it away before anyone could see her but she understood that I saw her.
• 'My head's under water, but I'm breathing fine
• You're crazy and I'm out of my mind'
• She wasn't a quitter as she gave out a slow run at the end making the song her own and turning it into a challenge for me.
• Instead of forcing her into my piano version, I had to mesh the piano to match her voice which obviously kept me awake from the boring course.
• Mr. Atkins had other plans.
• "This is completely, utterly and whole-heartedly trash."