FALLOCH

Chapter 1

I WAS NO longer myself. I was the melody. I was each tune that was every tap my fingers made. Twisting hand over hand, my fingers danced over the others. The sound of the lapping keys slipped into music.

Becoming aware that my eyes had fallen shut again, I smiled. I knew this composition so well that I had lost the need in seeing the piano with my eyes. I let my ears and hands take over. This was a 'bad' habit, according to my instructor. But seeing as she wasn't here right now, interrogating my passion, I decided to be free.

The chorus was approaching. It was my favorite part. My heart thumped in anticipation for when I could get to that moment. It was like the climax of a movie. It was that spectacular moment when everything came together.

I loved it.

I loved every lingering second of it. If I was not such a perfectionist, I would just replay the refrain over and over. But like any worthy tale, the peak was not the entirety of it. The beauty was in the sum of all the melodies parts.

After touching the final keys, I held them down for a stretched serene second before opening my eyes.

"You're getting better and better every day, Bonnie! How about taking a break and watching a movie with Brice and me? I rented something for both of you." Lost in my own little world, I hadn't heard my mom open the door.

"I'm finished practicing, anyway," I answered her with a faraway tenor. My eyes didn't move from the keys. "I'll be in there in a minute."

Coming out of my daze, I leafed through the paper in front of me. I puckered my lips, debating on whether I had enough time to practice one more verse. I popped my knuckles and winced once I did. Locking up on me again. Admitting defeat to the keyboard, I stood up. I gathered the music sheets before hiding them underneath the piano chair.

Walking out of my bedroom, a happy squeal greeted me. "Bon! Look what mom got me!"

I knelt down to meet him at his eye-level. "What is it, Brice?" I asked, an octave higher than normal. He almost knocked me out with his forceful shove of the movie. Prepared for this, I fell back, giving my eyes enough room to catch the title. "Wow! She rented Cars... again." Looking away from Brice and at my mother, she shrugged.

The film was pushed back into my vision. "No!" My four-year-old half-brother Brice explained, "Her buyed it! Bon! It's my own Cars!"

Tossing my eyes at Mom now, I teased with fabricated joy, "Yay, now we get to watch Cars over and over and over..."

Mom snickered from the kitchen. "It's his favorite movie! Come on, you had one when you were little. Remember Peter Pan? Besides, I was shopping online and it popped up. I figured it would be a good early birthday present."

I mentally calculated the number of months we were from Brice's birthday. We were closer to his last than his 'upcoming' one. "Just like the dinosaur tent is his 'early birthday present'?" I glanced at the small camp in the center of the living room, inhabited by fire trucks and stuffed animals.

Mom wagged her forefinger at me while making her best attempt at a serious expression. "Hey now, I've bought you things too that wasn't just for a special occasion. Don't you like your straightener?"

Reminded of my dark curls, I put my hands up with fast defeat. "I take it back!"

"Speaking of birthdays, someone's due for one soon." Mom stepped into the living room with Brice and I and we took our usual seats on the couch. "Are you excited about turning the 'big eighteen'? My little adult. What do you want for your birthday? Anything you want, name it, and it's yours."