The Song

Part Six

FLASHBACK CONT...

“You know, I knew you’d be back,” I said as I watched him push into the little music shop.

“Did you now?”
“Yup,” I replied, “My intuition never fails me.”

“Hmm…” he smiled, wandering around the shop again. His fingers traced along pianos as he circled the floor, taking everything in. I wasn’t exactly sure what he was looking for, but he seemed at ease amongst the different instruments.

“Can I actually help you this time?” I smirked as I stepped nearer to him.

“I was wondering about that piano lesson.”
“What piano lesson?” I asked, my brow furrowed. I was pretty sure I had not agreed to any such thing.

“I was sort of hinting at it last time, maybe you didn’t catch on,” he grinned.

“No I caught on,” I said, “But I thought I was pretty clear that I wasn’t going to teach you.”

“Why not?” he frowned.

“I teach children.”

“So?” he shrugged, “Just give me a five minute lesson.”

“Five minutes?” I scoffed, “You can’t learn much in five minutes.”

“Well… it’ll be a start.”

I looked around the store for an excuse not to teach him. To be honest I was a bit confused about why he was asking me of all people to teach him how to play the piano. He didn’t even know my name!

“Fine,” I replied, sitting down at my favorite piano and patting the bench next to me. “I’ll teach you a simple scale. Five minutes.”
“Ok,” Aston said.

I placed my fingers on the keys, “This is a C,” I said pressing a key with my thumb. “And then we go up.” I played through the scale slowly so he could see where I started and stopped. It was maybe the easiest thing ever, and a little insulting. But he’d asked me to teach him and this was the basics. And it was like I was going to bring out the sheet music!

“That seems easy.”
“Find your C then.”

I watched him stare at the keys down his way for a minute, finally selecting the right key.

“Ok now play the scale.”

Slowly he made his way down the piano, pressing each key deliberately to make sure he got it.

“See easy,” he said proudly.

“Now do it faster,” I replied, playing it about ten times faster than I had.

“That’s too fast!” he laughed, trying to play the scale at the same speed as me. His fingers stumbled over the keys as he went up and I could hear a few wrong notes.

“Focus.”

He tried it again, still mucking things up a bit.

“Well now you know what you need to practice.”

“How do you do it so fast?” he asked me.

I showed him my hand movements for a minute, allowing him to get some understanding of how I switched from the first few keys to the last few.

“I think I got it,” he said, his fingers moved up the keys quickly. He only made one small mistake, which had me rather impressed at how fast he picked it up.

“Well you need to perfect that.”
“What’s the next lesson?” he asked.

“Next?” I laughed, “What makes you think there will be another?”

“Oh come on! The shop is practically empty! Surely you can give me another five minute lesson sometime!”

“I’m really not supposed to be playing any of the pianos while I’m on the clock,” I scolded.
“That doesn’t seem to stop you,” Aston said, “The first time I came here you were in the middle of some grand symphony or something!”
“I can’t help it!” I replied with red cheeks, just as the bell on the door twinkled and an older woman came in, “Now excuse me a minute.”
I sold the woman a set of strings for a violin and then turned back to Aston. He was watching me intently, his eyes never leaving me.

“What?” I asked him.
“I don’t know,” he shrugged.

“You know, I knew you were a popstar, but I never pegged you as so strange.”
“Strange?” he laughed.

“What are you doing here?!” I exclaimed, still confused as to why he’d come into my shop of all places.

“Looking for inspiration,” he shrugged.

“You said that. Have you found any?”

“Not really.”

“Well then,” I smirked, not really sure what else to say.

“The piano lessons help.”

“Do they?” I asked. But I never received an answer as a loud ringing interrupted us.
“I should go,” Aston said, his phone blaring in his hand.

“Ok.”
“I’ll see you for the next lesson.”
“I don’t doubt you’ll be back,” I said, watching him leave the shop without another word.

There was something about him that confused me. I just didn’t understand why someone so famous was wandering in and out of the dingy little music shop I worked in, like it was nothing. Celebrities didn’t do that sort of thing!
“Jess, you can go for lunch now,” my boss said, pushing into the shop with a stack of papers about ten minutes later.

“Thanks Bill,” I smiled, grabbing my coat and purse and wandering to the Tesco to buy a sandwich and Diet Coke like I usually did.

I couldn’t help but feel like I was being watched as I paid for my food, but I brushed it off as I wandered back to the music shop. That afternoon I sat behind the counter and stared at the pianos as my boss ran through the budget with me. He never liked me playing the pianos that were on display and the few times he was in the store I was always bored out of my mind, longing to put my fingers on the keys and go back to my musical dream world.

As I went home to my flat down the road I couldn’t help but laugh at my day. I’d taught a popstar how to play a scale on the piano! How weird.