Stars' Song: Clef

Chapter 2 : Reminisce

2-1

The bell rang one final time, signalling the end of the first day of school. The three were eager to leave the room, as they did not wait for me to pack up. Cyril grabbed my guitar for some reason, leaving a faint ''too slow'. He has strange ways to joke around, I got to admit. Since there was no one for me to delay their leave, I took my precious time organizing the contents of my school bag.

"June, ya comin'?" A girl's voice called. "Catch up, 'mmkay?" She sounded like Chloe, who I assumed was the owner of the voice.

"Sure, sure..." I mostly said to myself. Seriously, what was the rush? It has been a long and slow day—people need to settle down!

Last year, me, Chloe, and the three guys resided in different classes, forcing our schedules to differ. Our timetables were situated in a particular way where we had to wait for someone before leaving. For instance, Chloe and I go home together, while the three head off in the opposite direction. There was a day were Cyril, Keith, and I finished our classes earlier than Chloe and Ronin, so we had to wait for them. Another situation existed where Chloe and Keith had similar times for their classes to end, compelling them to stand by for us. There was not a single day where we had convenient schedules. It was comically unlucky for us to be in such a predicament. We decided on the main building rooftop as our meeting slash waiting place, and I am currently heading there.

No one comes to the rooftop despite the pleasant view, making it a fantastic place to wait around. To be honest, a lot of good came from having conflicting schedules. Up at the rooftop, we would catch on some sleep, do homework in advance, or just hang out.

Before my foot could land on the first step of the stairs leading to the rooftop, a quiet lullaby made its way to my ears. I peered out the closest window to where I was, and there I saw a familiar figure on a bench. The source seemed to be the wavy maroon hair. Before deciding on what to do next, I was already going down a set of stairs instead of up. I found myself at the back of the establishment, where the person was located.

They sat on one of the few benches in the area. It was a questionable decision to build those here since no student comes here in their own accord, except if they are heartbroken, feel worthless in life, got a low score in Math or Science, or are just not comfortable around people. In this particular case, if you want to sing, I guess.

At this distance, a girl's voice was discernable. Her voice echoed around the isolated part of the campus. Birds accompanied her, but I was mainly focused on her elegant singing. She was most likely singing along with the music lent to her by the pink earphones.

The scene unfolding in front of me was like a painting. The subject, sitting on a bench, segregated from everything around her. The orange gradient created by the setting sun added the feeling of warmth and comfort. The still trees and the tiny figures of the birds seen in the distance acted as the final touches. Such a picturesque scene was similar to something I saw earlier, and funnily enough, the subjects were the same. I frantically brushed my hair up to get a better view.

Her soft voice was entrancing. I took my chances and walked closer, hoping her voice would get more explicit with each step. I was allured, her sound drowning my thoughts.

But all my hopes were lost after an abrupt pause to the music around me. Her upper body twisted around, and for a couple of seconds, the two of us were in a staring contest. When she noticed the slight movement of my upper body, she removed her earphones and stood up.

"M-may I help-!" She stopped midway as her eyes widened. Eventually, those eyes turned away. "you...?"

Wait. Who is she talking to? Huh? Why is she closer to me? Just a few moments ago, she was just sitting on a bench, and... oh. "O-oh! I was just about to head to the rooftop, but then I heard your voice!" My voice trembled, "I w-wanted to ask what you were singing!" I hope it wasn't obvious how hard I'm trying to sound as confident as possible.