The Game

Chapter 2

High school had always been a bitter idea to me. It was just a pointless thing like so many others. Learning useless stuff we'll never use again... But well, it's not really like I had better to do of my days. The only pleasant thing about it was literature and this optional music class I was taking an hour per week. I really liked these.

So today was a succession of boring classes, impatiently waiting for this music hour. When it came, I sat at this sit against the wall on the left side of the room. Not in the back, not in the front, just in the middle where no one could really see me. I liked to be discrete, never bothering, staying calm and invisible. After a few seconds, the teacher got in the class and started talking. He was a small, quite old man with a white hair or rather what he had left from an protrusion baldness and a fitting beard and mustache. He walked to his desk, and, as the usual, rest on the piano next to him. So, like I said, he started talking

"Good afternoon ! So today before we start studying our Beethoven symphony, I would like each of you to stand up, say your name, the instruments that you play and your tastes of music. Don't make me a novel, you can just name an artist you like. It is only for you to get to know each other a little. We will start from the front to the back of the class. "You ! You start" he said, pointing the boy who was sitting just in front of him.

He got up so we could all see him properly. He was a tall, slim guy with big blue eyes dressed like skater. "Hi, I'm Adam, I sing and I play guitar and I like the Red Hot Chili Peppers."

Then the whole class passed, most of them were only pronouncing a succession of words like "Peter, sing, Eminem" or "Hayley, piano, Paramore." Then there was this guy, in the very back of the room. He was sitting alone, head low as he was playing with what looked like a plectrum, a strand of hair hiding his right eye. 

"Come on ! You in the back !" the teacher almost screamed. The boy looked up at him, confused. "Yeah you !" 

The boy suddenly stood up and spoke "Erm... My name is Tony, I play guitar and I like Blink-182". He was intriguing me. I couldn't say why...I had notices his lip piercings, they looked so badass. 

When my turn came, I didn't know what to say so I just went like "Hi, I'm Emily, I essentially play bass and I like Rage Against the Machine."

Once we were all done, someone asked the teacher what was the actual point of this and the answer made my day. "Good question ! Well, based on what you what you know about each other now, you will have to choose someone and make a project together. Let me develop. By teams of 2 musicians, you will have to write a song and perform it in front of us in about a month. It can be about anything, you can use any instrument you want and even add some if you need so. In this case, you can invite friends to perform with you on stage. But they can't write the song with you." The teacher explained.

People started talking, apparently very motivated by the subject. "But calm down ! This is not that simple. I don't only want 4 chords repeating along and some dumb lyrics ! If of course you don't make an instrumental thing ! But I want you to come back to the primal purpose of music. Can someone remind me of it please ?" He asked.

Then suddenly, about 10 hands jumped in the air and their voices whispered all the same thing "it's an entertainment !" I couldn't believe it.

But the teacher had chosen to ask the only one who wasn't paying attention... "Mr Perry ?" 

Tony looked up at the spell of his name, wondering what was going on. "What ?" He asked. 

The teacher sighed before repeating "What is the primal purpose of music ?" 

Tony thought a second and said as like it was obvious "Communicate. Music is meant to share feelings, opinions or emotions by sounds and words."

I turned around as I heard his answer. It was definitely it ! And I told myself "Damn ! He is the only one who understood life in here !" I starred at him until the bell rang. He had to be my partner for the project.