In Spite Of...

The Past (1)

Her father decided to throw one of those dinner parties again. The ones where some of the AP teachers would come wearing fancy outfits. The type of parties with people Blair had seen once or twice at school events.
As the principal of Bradbury Prep School he tried to make the best impression possible. And having his daughter, Blair, attend such a prestigious school meant she had to at least try to be more mature. Instead of being her twelve year old self, Blair had to change her mindset for the night to impress the guests.
On nights like these Blair spoke to many of the teachers. Mrs. Kinney who taught advanced English, Mr. Brooke who was far to passionate about U.S. History, and more. They were all teachers she'd never spoke to at school before considering she wasn't smart enough for their classes.
And she sat on the couch in her living room listening to them chatted on and on. Blair recieves praise for being on her best behavior by a few of them. Blair smiled politely throughout the night. She didn't feel right talking about herself and she couldn't help feeling like she was interrupting a conversation. So she kept quiet.
She swung her legs back and forth on the couch and listened quietly. The clinking of glasses, the tapping of heels on the hardwood floor, even the dishes being out in the sink. All the noise melded together into one, it was like a weirdly chaotic lullaby.
Blair yawned and relaxed into the couch. As she felt herself start to drift off the sound of gentle piano notes fought through the noise. They were slow, unsure, and out of order.
She stood and left the living room and headed for hr father's study. He'd bought a grand piano a few years back, before her mother had left. He planned to play it but never touched it.
A boy was sitting in the seat when she walked in. His small figure made the seat and piano look giant.
Blair crept up behind him slowly. She listened to his attempt at on of her favorite songs, Nocturne Op.9 No.2. Although she wasn't aware of the name, she knew of it from a game she'd played once before.
The boys fingers struck each key hard. The music came out choppy and uneven. Blair found it to sound terrible. As she came closer it was obvious he was enveloped in the music. The look of hard determination made the music sound much better.
The music came to a stop after a moment and he sat still. His face turned just as Blair came up beside him.
"Ah!" he yelled falling from the seat. "Wha--Why are you...?"
"Sorry." Blair giggled. The boy looked to be her age, maybe ten or twelve. He had short blond hair and bright blue eyes. He looked like one of those porcelain dolls her mother used to collect. "I heard you playing earlier. It sounded...well it was okay."
He seemed taken aback. "Ah, I'm still...I... Uh..."
He seemed nervous, almost embarrassed.
Blair put her hand out. "My name is Blair."
When he didn't take it she took his hand and shook it.
"It's polite to greet someone like this you know." she told him.
He let her shake his hand a bit moebefore yanking away. "Uh...I'm...My--My name is Clark."
Blair sat up on the seat and let her fingers hoverover he piano keys. She'd never played before and wasn't even allowed to touch he piano. It was honestly a risk even being in the study.
"Do you like the piano?" Blair asked tuing to face Clark.
"Hm...my older brother plays it so I...my dad thought I would like it too."
She reached forward and pulled him up to sit.
"I wish I could play. I was watching his TV show the other day where this Ballerini was dancing to piano music. It was so pretty," Blair gushed. "Do you think you could ever play for ballerinas? No wait, if I became a ballerina would you play a song for me?"
"I think my brother could." Clark responded pressing on a few keys. His eyes followed his fingers and soon he was replaying the song from earlier. "I don't think I'm good enough at piano yet."
Blair thought of the time she'd played her game. The song was hard to learn at first but the more she played the easier it became.
She looks at Clark and smiled. "If you wanna get better you have to keep playing. Then when I become a ballerina you can play for me. If you want to."
He shook his head. She wasn't sure if it was to what she said or about playing for her as a ballerina. Either way she shrugged choosing not to push it.
A moment later Clark's name was called from the front of the house. He stood instant to go but paused when Blair grabbed his arm.
"If you're here that means you're parents must live around right? Does that mean you go to Bradbury too?"
He pulled away slightly. "Yes, I'm supposed to start going. Me and my family just moved here."
Blair let him go. She pursed her lips and swayed her head.
"When you start going I'll show you around so don't talk to anyone okay?"
He nodded and hurried out of the room. Blair watched his back until it disappeared down the hallway.
Clark returned shortly after, tromping back in her direction. He wordlessly handed her a slip of paper with a phone number on it.
"This is for if you...uh, talk?"
And before she could respond he ran away again.
Blair looked at the number and smiled. He could be her first actual friend in time.