The Love Letter Game || The Music Freaks

Chapter 9 | An Old Friend

"Kingsley!?" Hailey exclaimed, quickly jumping up from her seat.

"The one and only," Kingsley giggled back, holding out his arms. Hailey quickly ran up to him, hugging the boy. He let out a breathless laugh in return.

"Oh my God! It's been years since I last saw you," She said, pulling away so their eyes met, his gentle gaze falling onto hers.

"I know! As soon as I heard Mr. Arrowood wanted to bring a student to come to meet you, I knew I had to take the opportunity to see you again," Kingsley explained, showing off an adorable smirk, "I missed you, Shortie."

Shortie; a nickname Kingsley had given to Hailey upon their later childhood, due to the latter's delayed growth spurt.

Her smile widening, the teal-haired girl's ebony eyes glistened, "I missed you, too, Patel." Similar to how she called Jake "Sterling," Hailey had always called Kingsley by his last name. Maybe that's why she had developed the same habit with Jake, an excuse to bring back memories with someone so close to her she had lost.

She had lost Kingsley, the boy her younger self always promised to keep close forever, the fact always broke her heart, and she thought about it sometimes. But he was back, right in front of her.

Looking at his facial features, Hailey couldn't help but note how well her childhood friend had aged. He was... *Very* good-looking...

"Alright, as sweet as this little reunion is, I'm quite a busy man, so how about we move this along, and you two can catch up later?" Jonathan's voice pulled them both out of their little moment.

"Oh, right, sorry Mr. Arrowood," Kingsley lightly apologized, as he and Hailey went to the table to sit down.

"Perfect! So, first thing's first, Hailey had some concerns." Jonathan spoke, directing his attention towards the young singer.

"Oh, um, right," She let out a small, rather nervous laugh, brushing some of her bangs behind her ear, "I know that school is expensive, plus I would need to pay for a dorm and everything, and I don't think my parents could afford it in the long term, even if it is just a year."

"Actually, if you do agree and sign off for me to be your manager, I'll pay for all school expenses." The magenta-haired man explained, a small grin forming on his face, "I could also get you into many performances to kick off your career later on. Take Mr. Patel, for example," He slightly turned his head, glancing at the scarlet-haired teenager, "Since joining Maple Hills, he's performed at several well-known plaza stages. He's made quite a few classical music magazine covers, as well."

"My music career has really been taking off since I joined the Academy," Kingsley chimed in, "One of my teachers likes to joke Paganini would've been proud of me," He let out a small laugh, covering his mouth as he did so.

"I forgot how much of a classical music fanatic you are," Hailey laughed, "You'd get along well with my brother."

"Oh, that's right! I forgot your dad got remarried," Kingsley blurted, "Even though that's the whole reason you moved schools and we got separated in the first place, no clue how I forgot that..."

Hailey gave him a small smile, before turning back to Jonathon, "Wait, so, you're actually gonna pay for all my school expenses?"

"If you sign off, then yes," The older man agreed, "Now, do you have any other questions?"

"Uh, yeah," Hailey murmured, "So, this school is supposed to be really good and focus on the arts, I was just wondering... What's it like?"

"I'm sure Kingsley would be more than happy to answer that for you, Ms. Austin," The two then directed their attention to the mentioned boy.