Four thirty-three

Chapter 5

The next day was a rather dull one, if compared to the one of his arrival at the Conservatory. With all his friends (well, basically Ibo) and roommates off to work or study, he was left to wander around the place on his own. He decided he'd use the time to walk around a bit, to familiarize himself with the complex.

Obviously, it didn't take long for him to get lost. He was in some corridor on the floor where the practice rooms were, or was he? He had not really gone down any flights of stairs, had he? Well, maybe one or two, and some corridor that kept going down at some point, but he couldn't be that far in, now, right? Right?

"Yang!" someone said, "What in Beethoven's name are you doing down here?"

He turned around to see the man that had helped him escape the prison walking towards him, his brow furrowed. What was his name, again ?

"Oh! Hi! I, uh..."

"Are you here to see Michelle?" He wiped his face with a towel he was carrying. He was drenched in sweat, Brett noticed, and looked worn out, like he'd been working out for a while.

"Huh?"

"The clinic. Are you here to seek medical assistance? Are you hurt?"

"What? No! No, I, erm..." Brett hesitated. Then, "I got lost."

The man huffed. Brett blushed, but glared at him.

"Hey, don't give me that look. I'm not the idiot who took it up to himself to go wandering around and ended up where he shouldn't. Come, I'll show you out." He walked off, and he was so tall, Brett had trouble keeping up with his long strides. He noticed and rolled his eyes, but slowed down so the other could catch up.

"Your cheek looks better," Brett said after a few minutes of awkward silence.

"Mhm? Oh!" The man touched it absentmindedly. "Yeah, well. Not the worst I've had."

They kept walking until they reached the library.

"Has Katie been to see you?"

"Who?"

"Well, obviously not. Well, I think she's got lessons today all day, so maybe she'll be in touch tomorrow. I've got to go now. Don't go wandering off again, I can't keep saving your sorry ass forever."

"Hey, I never...!" Brett started to say, but the man had already sauntered off without so much as a goodbye. He huffed and crossed his arms. What the hell was wrong with that guy? He'd seemed so nice yesterday! He shook his head and entered the library. He said hello to the librarian, who didn't even acknowledge him, and went to explore the shelves a bit. At the back of the room he found some actual books, most of them music-related, but also some novels and some manga. He picked one of them and sat in one of the comfiest chairs there were, and spent the time until dinner reading.

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The next day he was getting dressed with some clothes the Conservatory had provided him with when one of the guys in the dorm (Shaun, was it?) tapped his back with his finger.

"Hey, Brett? Katie's out there, she wants to see you."

Brett put his t-shirt on and was out of the room in the blink of an eye, eager to meet this Katie person.

"Hi, Brett! I'm Katie, one of the flute teachers," she introduced herself with a smile.

"Uh, hi. I'm Brett Yang. Well, you know that, of course, but. You know." Brett wanted to slap himself.

She laughed. "Yeah, I know. Nice to meet you. Listen, meet me at the doors of the library right after breakfast. There's something I've got to show you."