Music Teacher

Chapter 7

We arrived at a Motel 6. Its price for a room gleaming in bright red letters under its sign.

"$60.00," it read. We'd made about forty more after the first one, and that was all together. At the plaza, it seemed people thought is unworthy of their money. But, if I may quote one fashionably historical young woman, 'As if!' Not only was Max singing with such enthusiasm, but his guitar playing was better than ever. As for the other places, well, Max had lost some of his enthusiasm and my voice was starting to wear out, not allowing me to reach some notes.

"It's my fault," he would say as we walked. "If I wasn't so sure, and confident that we'd get just as lucky the rest of the day as we had earlier today, we would've done well. I jinxed it," he frowned.

"You did not," I tried comforting him, but my lack of words and experience of comforting someone was just...lacking. I don't think that even made sense. Point proven. Nevertheless, I tried to continue.

"Those people were just...snobby rich people who don't know how to appreciate. Max, you were great."

He lifted his head. "'Snobby rich people'?" He smiled.

"I don't know," I sighed. "I'm no good with...this," I said, motioning between us. "Comforting."

"You're doing quite alright," he chuckled.

"I guess one room it is," he said when we arrived to the motel.

We looked at each other and shrugged, before walking in to pay for it. We had enough for two, we had the exact amount for two, that was the problem. There would be no money left in the end. The receptionist gave us our key and room number, telling us the room was located on the second floor to make it easier for us. Or rather, for Max, considering the way she kept eyeing him like some piece of sizzling meat that seemed to be coming her way, but was instead for the person behind her. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her desperation, just I couldn't help running up the stairs in search for the room.

"Max, I found it!" I shouted.

"Ow! I'm right here!" He said behind me.

"Oh! Sorry!" I whispered in between a laugh. "I thought you were still coming up the stairs."

He opened the door and let me in first. The only light coming in was from the open door, so I rushed to a lamp on the night stand and switched it on, before Max could close the door and we'd be swallowed up in darkness.

The room was small, of course. One full sized bed in the middle, with two night stands on either side of it. Another room right across it.

"The bathroom," Max said when he went in.

Some of the walls' paint was chipped, the bed was the squeakiest thing I'd ever heard, but they did have a TV, atop one of the dressers.

"What? Only ten channels," Max frowned, after shutting it off the ancient box.

I was desperate for a shower though, and thankfully I had extra clothes with me.

"I'm gonna grab my stuff," I told him before going through his bag.

"Yeah, of course. Go ahead."

It took a while for the water to heat up, and by the time it did, Max was already knocking for his turn. I groaned my explanation to him and he groaned back, I could hear it fade as he walked away. But I quickly got in and quickly got out, in fear that there would be no warm water left for him when I was done. In the five minutes that I was in there, I could already feel the water wanting to shift from hot to cold. Or maybe that was just my paranoia again.