Neighbors (Avin)

Chapter Two: 15/16

*** I hope you guys are enjoying this! I had an easier time writing this chapter than I did the last one and I'm not as tense about this one. I actually had a little bit of fun. This story is going to be fun to write I think. ***

Kevin's room window faced mine, so we would always glare at each other while studying. Thanks to Kevin's younger sister, Candice, I found out that he was going to a private middle school uptown. Kevin and I had spent the bulk of our elementary school years competing for the highest grades, always flip-flopping for the number one spot in the country. Kevin was a grade above me, so technically we were in different categories, but I was always pushing to be better than him, even from a year behind in learning. When he transferred to another school, I thought I'd lost, but I vowed to get into a private academy some day and fought to keep my top spot.

In middle school, I fell in love with choir and took up singing opera, as well as folk. I learned guitar, piano, and drums. I was having so much fun with music that I lost my top place, but so did Kevin. We both moved down to fifth place, nationally. It was at that point that I stopped paying attention to the scores altogether. I figured I would never see Kevin again. His family still lived next door, but I never saw him studying in his window. He would always come home and go right to sleep, if he wasn't playing his cello, with the window open, away from the window where I couldn't see him. Was he even studying?

I decided I didn't care if he was or not. I focused on what I needed to do and in my first year of high school I was offered a scholarship to one of the best private high schools in the country, with the best competing choir. I accepted and the next school year, I transferred schools and broke up with my girlfriend at the time. Nothing was harder than being a lost sophomore. I had already been lost for a school year. This was supposed to be the start to my upper classmen ridicule stuff!

Most of my classes were pretty easy, but I kept getting lost everywhere. The school was like a college campus. I made quick friends with this blond haired, blue eyed kid in one of my classes and he helped me around.

"Oh! By the way, my name is Scott. You?"

"Avri-... Call me Avi."

We shook hands and he took my schedule from my hands again. "Choir?! I'm in choir! Follow me."

I walked at Scott's side for most of the way, until a smaller girl tackled him, knocking him to the ground. "Scott! I haven't seen you all summer," she shrieked. She was super cute actually. She had the longest brown hair and short bangs covering her forehead.

"I'm sorry! I was on a road trip with my dad." Scott stood up and brushed himself off before chatting away with the girl. "Oh! This is Avi. Avi, this is Kirstie."

"He's cute! He your boyfriend?"

"Kirstin, I think it's good to remember I know where you live."

Kirstie and I started laughing. Before long, Scott opened the doors to the crowded choir room where another person ran up to Scot, but it was a normal hug this time.

"Scott! Hey! How was your tri- Who is this?" He spoke in a higher voice than I'd expected, but it was beautiful. He must have the most beautiful singing voice.

"I'm going to assume there was a who in there and say this is Avi. Avi, Mitch."

"Hi. Is it always this crowded in here?"

"100%. What part do you sing?"

"Bass and Baritone, but mostly Bass."

The trio exchanged glances in shock, like my speaking voice didn't give me away. The teacher noticed me and waved me over to her. I snuck away and stood in front of the small woman as she furrowed her eyebrows at me.

"You don't look like a bass."

"I don't know what that means, ma'am."

"Would you mind singing something for us?"

"I'm not warmed up, but I don't mind it."

"Great!" She walked to the front of the room and started a chorus of warm ups and cool downs before introducing me to the class. I borrowed one of the other student's guitars and sung my own arrangement of Summertime by George Gershwin. "You really are a bass..."

"I am. Thank you." I smiled and took the empty space next to the tenors of the group, placing myself next to Mitch from earlier.

During our breaks, Mitch and I talked and became quick friends, which worried me since my last quick friend was my enemy now.

"There's someone I want you to meet after class. Are you free?"

"I am! It's not a girl is it?"

"No! It's a friend of Scott's. Me and Kirstie just met him at lunch, but you two seem like you'd really get along."

The bell rang and the members of the choir filed out the room a gaggle at a time until it was just Mitch, Scott, Kirstie, and I left. We made our way to the orchestra room where I would meet this friend of theirs. I was quickly distracted by one of the pretty violinists trying to get my attention, but I heard a familiar laugh and turned slowly to see him.

"Kevin."

"Avi?"

"You know each other?"

"We're neighbors," Kevin and I chimed in unison, an obvious tension rising in the room and a fire igniting in us that would have ended up in another broken cello if we weren't respectable of band/choir/orchestra rooms.