Eternal Symphony

6. Dark World

To her astonishment, Alice discovered that she shared some of the same classes as Elijah—like music—while she had Digital Art with Emil and Sophie-Anne. Save for in the library, Elijah usually sat away from her in class, alone, though Alice saw many of her classmates leaving him love notes that quickly piled up on his desk. However, he was completely oblivious and indifferent to their tokens of love, and whenever the professor dismissed them, he tossed them out in the garbage on his way out the door.

For Digital Art, her last class of the day, Emil and Sophie-Anne shared no qualms in sitting beside her, with Alice in between. Throughout their lessons, she watched with amazement as the twins quickly picked up Spanish in their spare time and began conversing with each other in a mixture of that and French; Alice, though amused, still mostly kept to herself. However, Alice's skin still crawled when she occasionally recognized what they were saying in French, but the impulse of the moment passed as quickly as it came, giving her a headache by the end of the school day.

What is wrong with me? 

She groaned and laid her head against the table, even as the other students were leaving; the confused Emil and Sophie-Anne only shrugged at her dilemma before waving goodbye.

When her father returned home that afternoon, Alice asked him when he found a moment to relax in his study, "Did I ever learn another language when I was little?"

James looked at her dumbly. "What do you mean?"

"Did I ever learn a language like French?"

"That's a strange question to ask." He stared off into space and grabbed his chin, falling into deep contemplation. "No, but I remember you sometimes spoke in French when you were little—just small phrases and a few words. I thought you learned from watching movies or the books you've read," he chuckled when he saw her serious expression, "You had quite an active imagination. Why do you ask?"

Alice shamefully forgot about her weird childhood; her cheeks flushed with embarrassment from her father reminding her. "No reason."

Sharing classes with the Tonnerres over the next several weeks was surprisingly tolerable; it wasn't until one day that Elijah approached the empty seat next to Alice near the front of the room and asked, "May I sit here?"

"You may." Alice looked over her shoulder when she heard the girls behind her laugh and snicker, whispering and murmuring to one another about how handsome he was.

Elijah ignored them. "Thank you. It's nice to be closer to the front."

She nodded and resumed pulling her books out of her bag, prepared with her finished homework. She reserved this seat for the same reason, and it was easier for her to see what the professor wrote. At first, she thought it was strange that Elijah wanted to sit with her, but she didn't overthink it; looking back, Alice saw that one of the popular girls had taken a seat behind Elijah, possibly to strike up a conversation with him Alice assumed, but he remained ignorant to her advances. However, while distracted by his doting audience sitting behind them, Alice didn't see how Elijah looked at her, completely and utterly smitten.

He stared at her helmet beside her backpack and nodded to it. "I saw your black and red motorcycle by our limo." Alice paused while writing her notes, intrigued and slightly unnerved that she somehow parked close to their vehicle without realizing it. He continued: "How long have you been riding?"

"Since my first year. Lia helped me pick it out—it's better on gas than a car."

Elijah only smiled, grateful for the opportunity to learn more about her, though Alice cut the conversation short by resuming paying attention to the lesson that went on as usual. The professor finished teaching fifteen minutes early, dismissing his students before leaving the classroom, but a few remained behind a bit longer to review the homework assignment. That was when Elijah scooted his chair closer to Alice and asked her for assistance. "You seem to understand what he meant."