Overlap

Chapter 37-B: Stepping into Serenity

<01/04/2011 - 14:45 | Saffrin Middle School (Music), Austell, GA, USA>

"These guitars are so lame, and they break too easy." I can't stand having to practice with these basic acoustic guitars. I wasn't expecting anything too special for a middle school music class, but when I think of guitars, only the hard rock electric guitars excite me. I've practiced with these class substitutes instead, and I'd feel the same playing a banjo. Not only that, but the strings on these things really do break way too often. I bet real rock stars don't have to put up with that cheap quality crap as often as this.

"Well what about... Hey! Is that a real piano?" Lumina almost confused me with the way my eyes drifted like that. She's curious about this music class, even though it has little to offer. In the center of the class, right where the teacher sits, there is this large piano just sitting at the front of the room.

"Don't get all excited for that electric piece of crap. You can't call something like that a piano."

"So then, it's not a piano?"

I'm amazed she hasn't learned this much already. "It may look like a piano, but a real piano has several elevation levels. The proper term is grand piano. When you ask for something acting like it's all exquisite, it needs to be in the same class as a grand piano." I only care for one reason. Those who lived around the 1800's and early 1900's were people of refinement, people who wore excellent fashion of clothing, decorated living spaces better than anyone I've ever seen, and mostly upheld honor. I learned this much on my own, not from some memory transfer crap Lumina pulled earlier. The grand piano is not something to be mocked, but the electric piano does just that, less it be called a kid's toy.

"I'm not that stuck up! Why are you so hung up on a piano anyway?"

"I happen to appreciate proper instruments... Sorry if that offends you." My sarcastic side showed itself again, just to tell Lumina I really wasn't sorry. It's her fault for not knowing something so basic.

"Okay, no need to dork out on me... Hey, you should sit down there and play something."

What, now? In that seat? "But that's the teacher's seat. Besides, I barely know any of the keys."

"Oh, so you can't play the piano, but you'll leverage its history against me? Some connoisseur you are."

"Shut up already!"

"Your teacher is late anyway. What's a couple of keys going to hurt?"

I glanced around, slowly moving my feet towards the stool for the piano. I was a bit blown away by how easily Lumina made short work of my attempt to sound all smart and classical. She'll pull no punches to either make fun of me or embarrass me, but never in a way where it would do permanent damage. It's more playful than anything. I try it on her every time, but fail nine times out of ten to push her buttons.

"You're doing it? What song are you going to play?" Lumina sounds way too excited for my imminent performance. I just told her I don't know how to properly play yet, and she thinks I'm going to just Beethoven my way through this? We'll be lucky if I can play Pop Goes the Weasel.

"I don't know. The only tunes I can remember how to play are easy game tunes, that and the theme for the Halloween Movie, the scary one."

"I don't know that movie though."

"Play something Reed!"

I straightened my back, realizing that I was already sitting down on the stool, attracting half the attention of the class. People were now anticipating that I was going to just start randomly playing the piano, which I was. Either way, I felt a little strange being up here now, with Malica cheering me on from a distance.