"Golden Melody" is a tale of love, dreams, and resilience, exploring the power of music and memory as Zatariel fights to bring back the melody of their hearts amidst the challenges they face.
Will their shared passion for music be enough to bridge...
The five of us Mimi, Thyron, Marie, Kyliah, and I. sat crammed into the Principal's office, facing a row of stern faces.
The Academy Director, Principal, our soon-to-be advisor, and a couple of guys in black suits stood stiffly, like they were ready to lecture us about the meaning of life.
They were giving us the orientation, explaining how the school would be monitoring us with these new watch detectors.
The watch looked like a regular silver wristwatch, but it wasn't easy to take off.
They said it would be locked until graduation day. The way they put those things on hurts like hell, leaving a nasty bruise when you finally took them off, like it did to my sister.
I glanced over at Mimi.
She was trying not to cry, her right arm red and swollen. I wanted to reach out and comfort her, but Thyron beat me to it, his hand already on her shoulder.
"That's nothing compared to an ant bite, baby. Stop crying," Thyron said, his voice all smooth and reassuring.
Mimi just nodded, and Thyron pulled her closer, letting her rest her head against his chest.
I rolled my eyes.
Jealousy was eating me alive.
The Principal told us to head to the Green Garden. As we walked through the hallways, students were staring at us like we were celebrities.
When we finally got inside, I could hear the girls Marie, Kyliah, and Mimi going 'OMG' and 'Wow' every few seconds.
They were seriously impressed. The garden was huge, with all kinds of plants and flowers everywhere.
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In the middle of it all was this three-story building. We all went inside to check it out.
We took the elevator up to the third floor. There were five rooms, a classroom, a library, an activity room, a multi-purpose function room, and the faculty room.
"Ohh I wish there's a rooftop" Mimi said
The classroom was pretty big, with just five desks and a teacher's table.
There was a huge screen in the middle and a whiteboard on the side.
The library was packed with bookshelves and books, and there was even a librarian.
The activity room had everything you could need for art, painting, and crafting.
The multi-purpose function room had a mini-stage with antique grand piano in the middle and a bunch of musical instruments. The faculty room had six tables.
On the second floor, there were six rooms. Five of them were bedrooms one for each of us. Mine was next to Mimi's.
It wasn't as big as my room at home, but it was still pretty nice. It had a single bed, a study table, a cabinet, a bathroom, a small air conditioner, and a big window with gold curtains.
The sixth room was for our advisor.
The ground floor had a living room with a big flat-screen TV and a karaoke set, a dining room, a kitchen, a mini-bar (no hard drinks, though), a wash area, and a room for the people who monitor us. Outside, there was a pool and a gym. We also had two maids.
After the tour we unpacked our things in our rooms, I put my clothes and uniform in the closet. I glanced at the clock. It was already 11:06. Time to make lunch for Mimi.
I headed downstairs to the kitchen and found Mimi standing by the fridge, staring blankly. "Mimi, are you hungry? I'll whip up something quick," I said.
"Ah, hehe, thanks, Riel. It's so cool having my own personal chef every day," she said, her voice a little shaky.
I ruffled her hair, feeling a warmth spread through my chest.
"Don't mention it." I started digging through the fridge, looking for ingredients. One of the maids came over.
"I can handle this, you can go" I said and she obediently turn and walk away.
Mimi seemed kind of down. Maybe her dad had given her a hard time yesterday. I needed to check on her.
"Ahm, Riel? C-can I help?" she said, her voice a little unsure.
"Sure, come on, let's cut some basic ingredients," I said, trying to lighten the mood. I grabbed an apron from the rack and held it out to her. "Here, suotin mo ito."
She blushed slightly and took the apron, her fingers brushing mine as she did. I helped her tie the strings behind her back, lingering a little longer than necessary, my fingers brushing against her skin. I could feel her warmth against my hand, and a shiver ran down my spine.
She came closer, her eyes meeting mine.
I grabbed the garlic, onions, a knife, and a cutting board. I also put the frozen ground pork in the sink to thaw.
We were making stir-fry ground pork.
I showed her how to chop the ingredients, taking it slow, enjoying the way her fingers moved so delicately.
She started to cry when she was cutting the onions. "Here, try this," I said, handing her a piece of chewing gum. I always keep gum handy when I cook. it's my trick for avoiding onion tears.
Once we were done chopping, I seasoned the pork with pepper and salt and put it in a pot with some water. "Want to taste-test?" I asked, holding out a spoon with a small amount of the seasoned pork.
Mimi hesitated, her eyes wide. "Are you sure?"
I smiled. "Of course. It's not going to be good without your approval." I brought the spoon to her lips, and she opened her mouth slightly, her tongue tasting the savory blend. "It's good," she whispered, her eyes meeting mine.
I chuckled. "I knew you'd approve." I took a bite myself, savoring the taste.
We chatted about random stuff while we waited for the water to boil. The air felt charged with something unspoken, something that made my heart beat faster.
Then I started frying the pork. I also put some rice on to cook. Mimi was practically drooling, she looked so hungry. I chuckled and set the table for her.
