The Barefoot Violinist

Down the Rabbit Hole

"Muuum!" Bennett called from his bedroom, looking at the socks in his drawer. This woman was going to be the death of him, he thought still glaring at the neatly stacked rows of socks in front of him.

"Mum!" he called again as he walked down the stairs. The house wasn't big enough for them not to hear each other, so where can she be, he wondered poking his head into the kitchen. "There you are!" he exclaimed.

"What now?" Chrissie asked as she closed the fridge door.

"You messed with my socks!" he accused her.

"Well, honey, I washed them. But they should all be in your room." she frowned at him, wondering what had gone awry now that put Bennett in this unhappy state.

"That's not the point mum," he said in exasperation. "They're all messed up now and I can't find any to wear."

"Honey, they're just socks and I did put all the pairs together. I'm sure of that," Chrissie walked over to him.

"They're not just socks mum! They had a very specific order and now you've gone and messed it all up!" he pouted. "You've never touched my socks before, now they're all messed up. Why now?" he exclaimed moodily, feeling wronged.

Chrissie sighed, trying to hide the smile on her face. Bennett was about to go down a rabbit hole of finding fault with everything and being in a bad mood for days. She was all too familiar with his intolerance for when his perfectly ordered world went awry, as well as his almost compulsive need to have everything arranged just as he wanted. And when he couldn't get it the way he wanted, then he would mope for days not saying a word, locking himself away with his violin.

"Okay, I'll fix them later when I get back." she promised him taking his hand.

"That's not the point mum. They're all messed up now. It took me weeks to get them the way I wanted. What am I going to do now?" he moaned.

"Honey, you can either go to school without socks or pick a pair from your drawer, nobody is going to notice. Now go upstairs and finish up." She turned him around and firmly steered him toward the stairs. "And no moping! I swear you're becoming more like your father each day." she called after him.

Bennett left the house upset. His mother messing with his socks didn't help at all. Now he had to spend days sorting them so they were exactly the way he wanted. Cycling harder, he raced to school, still scowling.

At least I'm being left alone these days, he thought morosely, stowing his bag in his locker. Closing the door, he jumped back, when he saw Cody standing there, leaning against the lockers looking at him. Well, that didn't last long.

"What?!" Bennett snapped, briefly meeting his eyes. If he was going to get beaten up, then he might as well give them a reason to, he thought.

"Em, I just thought we should talk about the assignment." Cory frowned at him, wondering if he was always so short tempered.

"I'll do it and just dumb it down so you can get it. You can have it tomorrow." he impatiently explained.

"Right, that's the third time you've called me stupid now." He pointed out. "Are you always so grumpy in the mornings?"

"Look Cory, I really don't have the time or energy to have this conversation with you. So, if you're not going to beat me up, can I go?" he said in exasperation, not quite meeting Cory's eyes. He was brave because he was angry, but he wasn't brave enough to look Cory in the eyes. Today wasn't off to a good start and it looked like it was heading downhill from here.

"What's gotten into you today?" he asked curiously. There was something about this kid. He really wanted to know what the special case was the sub was talking about. He was also surprised when he discovered that Bennett had skipped a few years. That explained why he looked like a junior, he thought.

"Why are you so concerned all of a sudden?" Bennett asked out of curiosity, still not looking at Cory.

"I just want to know what's going on, since it could affect my grade." He reasoned with Bennett. He'd spent so much time making the kid's life misery, it was strange to be standing there talking to him. Maybe that's why he felt the need to know the whole story.

He also noticed that Bennett rarely looked him straight into the eyes. Almost as if he would be drawing too much attention to himself. Surely this couldn't be the same person who was playing the violin before? They seemed like two completely different people.

"Maybe we should meet up later to sort this out." He said after Bennett stood looking at the walls, purposefully avoiding his eyes.

"Sure." Bennett responded sourly. He didn't really want to prolong his interactions with Cory, but getting anything to stick to his thick skull could be problematic. He just had to find a way out of this disaster he was currently caught up in. Turning around, he left Cory standing by himself.

Well, that wasn't very helpful, he thought with a sigh, watching Bennett leave.

--

Cory had been looking for Bennett all morning, but he seemed to have disappeared without a trace. He had to admit that there was never any reason to go looking for Bennett, he thought as he walked into the cafeteria trying to spot him. Where are you little guy? He wondered, going to sit at his usual table.

Things had cooled down a lot since their falling out with Blue. Jake had been in hospital for a while with a broken jaw, broken nose, black eye and cut cheek, suffering a mild concussion. Blue had really meant to lay into them. He shuddered to think of what would have happened to all of them had they tried to take her on. He had underestimated her, he admitted. All he saw was a pretty girl, who looked like she belonged on the cheer leading team. But she certainly proved him wrong.

When he stepped into English class, he looked around for Bennett, but he wasn't to be found. Grabbing his bag, he headed toward the music room as a last resort. How difficult can it be to find one person?

Once he'd reached the carpeted corridor, he heard the moaning violin. Without noticing, he quickened his pace to stand in front of the door. Looking through the small window, he watched as Bennett played. His eyes closed, the happy smile on his face, while he swayed along with the music. This was a different Bennett that was standing here playing.

Just as before, the music seemed to call out to him. It seemed to fill a void that had always been there, that he's always ignored. The music seemed to make him feel lighter, the longer he listened to it. Just like before, he didn't want it to stop.

As the last notes sounded, he quietly knocked on the door, walking in. He watched as Bennett changed in front of him. Going from the confident musician to a scared, awkward kid that refused to meet his eyes.

"Em, we still have to sort out the assignment." Cory explained his presence, seeing Bennett's heavy frown. "Bennett, can you look at me, please?" he asked when he got no response.

Slowly raising his eyes, he was met with Cory's dark gaze. This was uncertain territory for him. He'd never thought he'd talk to Cory or even that Cory would speak to him and yet, here they were. He couldn't say that he was happy about the situation, but hopefully he could convince Cory to listen to reason and let him do the assignment himself.

Cory was floored for a minute when he looked into Bennett's eyes. Cute kid. The thought caught him off guard and he quickly shrugged it off, but it stuck.

"I can do it and make it sound like you helped." Bennett offered hopefully. But Cory seemed to be distracted at that moment, with strange look on his face. Not responding immediately.