Infinity

Chapter 11: Mason

You know the feeling of walking into an unknown place, when you're alone and you have no idea what the next moment will bring, but you know that the next step you take is going to change your life forever? That was what it was like, standing outside of the Music Room that day. But as I looked over at Eleanor, I could feel any anxiousness and nervousness melt away like a Popsicle on a hot summers day. I felt an inexplicable urge to take her hand in mine, to walk into that room as if we had known each other forever and were going on some wild adventure, where no matter who joined and who left, we could be the two constants. But, I barely knew her. I didn't get it, why these feelings were so insanely strong, and I didn't want to question it at the time. Instead, we simply walked in, and though there was no physical connection, I could feel our minds and our hearts beginning to acknowledge each other, and I knew that this was going to be the start of something beautiful.

We walked into the room to be faced with one of the oddest sights I have ever seen. On the floor, Nathan was sitting in the middle of the room, a large wooden tube against his mouth that he was blowing into, the obvious source of the odd noise we had been hearing. Devin was frantically digging through one of the cabinets of instruments, laughing his head off as Penelope started shaking a tambourine, slapping it against her hip rhythmically and attempting to do some type of tribal dance. As soon as she saw us, her face lit up even more than it was (if that's even possible). I laughed nervously as she ran over and pulled us deeper into the room, Nathan giving us a thumbs up from the floor.  

"Yes! You guys are here! Lets jam!" She yelled, laughing. Devin suddenly pulled out a set of bongos, raising them in the air triumphantly letting out a cry of satisfaction.  

"Yes!! Finally!!"  

Moments later, he was sitting next to Nathan and tapping out a rapid beat on the bongos, hands flying over the skins so fast you could barely keep up. Before I could protest, Pen was shoving a pair of maracas in my hand, and the tambourine she has been playing into Eleanor's, then ran over to the cabinet to grab a small metal instrument.  

"Just play a beat! Do what feels right!"

She said, laughing as she started poking at the instrument as if it were a cellphone, an plucking noise coming from it. I laughed, feeling almost hesitant, but then slowly started tapping out a simple beat with the maracas. I turned to Eleanor, who looked highly uncomfortable, but started shaking the tambourine in an rapid, short beat. It didn't take long for us all to lose ourselves in the music, a rich tribal beat that you could feel in the very depths of your soul. Before we knew it, the tempo was speeding up, and soon we were flying across the notes, all of us laughing, and even though Nathan was playing whatever instrument he was playing with his mouth, you could see the enjoyment in his face. It was extraordinary.  Until Nathan pulled away from the instrument, cutting off the sound, and the spell was broken.  

"Awe come on Nathan!" Pen yelled, laughing and punching him on the shoulder. "You couldn't have played that for a little bit longer?"  

In response, Nathan laid down on the floor, instrument resting on his lap as he attempted to catch his breath.  

"You try playing a didgeridoo for 30 minutes straight!" He said between breaths. "Circular breathing is HORRIBLE."