Before I Sprouted

(4) What Do You See?

This chapter contains depictions of hallucinations. Viewer discretion is advised.

1:40 After School at Mr. Louis's Music Theory 2 Class
Lloyd

My mother's side of the family is from Lebanon and my dad's is from Italy. I have 4 siblings, my twin sister Lauren, my little sister Lucy, and my little brother Leo. I have pretty tan skin compared to Finn's. My hair is wavy and dark brown. Lauren and I are fraternal twins. She has straighter hair than me, and she wears glasses. I've known Honey Bliss since I was 5. She's Dominican and her hair is a honey color, hence her name. We've been going to the same school for forever now. Then, I became friends with Finn when he transferred to our middle school.

Honey and I had our last class together, Music Theory. We're learning about pitches, beats, and rhythms. Our teacher, Mr. Louis used to be in a band in college. He would tell us stories about the bars his band performed in. Sometimes he would digress and talk about the women his bandmates hooked up with after their gigs. I highly doubt that he's allowed to tell us this.

"Alright, I got to get to practice, but I'll see you tonight!" Honey and I perform in our church band. We've been doing it together since we were 8. She sings the hymns while I play the guitar. I remember when I got my first guitar for Christmas when I was 6. My parents got me a blue Yamaha Pacifica. My dad is the reason why I fell in love with music. He always played his vinyl records around the house, and the classic rock station in the car. The sound of an electric guitar makes me ecstatic.

"I had dreams of being a professional guitar player. I secretly played the school's guitar, but my parents wanted me to focus on my school work." That is what my dad told me.

I take out the sheet music I need to play for tonight and practice the hymns. I suddenly hear someone coming. I turn around and see Finn standing in the doorway. I stop my guitar immediately and unplug it.

"Too slow today! I heard it." He announces. He marches into the music room. "What were you playing?"

"Church song. I'm practicing for tonight. Honey is going to be there."

"Why are you going to church on a Thursday night?" He folds his arms.

"It's for confirmation."

"Alright..." He pulls up a chair and leans back. "I'll just wait with you." Mr. Louis walks out of his office.

"Lloyd, don't forget to lock the room when you leave." He leaves the classroom. I continue strumming my guitar but hesitate for a second. Finn hates music, not my music but music in general. He swears that he doesn't mind when I play, but I can tell it irritates him. Whenever he hears music, he tends to stim by scratching his scalp. Sometimes he doesn't realize that he's stimming. I've always been scared to play guitar in front of him because when we were kids, he watched me play. However, he was scratching his scalp so hard, it started bleeding.

"What time does your church thing start?"

"7 PM and it should only last " Finn isn't religious. I don't think he has a belief. I used to invite him to church when we were younger, but he always refused.

"If God is real, then why did he never help me!?" That is what he always asked me when we were younger. I never had an answer for it. I used to try to convince him that God did help him because he is in a better place now, but I understand what he means.