Musical Lovers

Chapter 3

Val felt stupid. He thought sitting in front of a piano with his big fingers and his broad shoulders he looked and felt stupid. He was too robust to be sitting in front of a delicate piano. He wanted to leave and just quit but, the way Carrie Ann was looking at him made him a little bit more afraid to get up than he liked to admit.

"Would you quit looking at me like that?"

"Sure just as soon as you get out of your head." She tapped on the wood of the piano. "It's nothing to be afraid of. I'm asking you to play what your other teachers taught you."

"It sounds bad when I do it."

"Did I ask you how do you sound?" Just as he was about to reply she cut him off with a harsh, "No! Look I just want to hear how you play. Then I can teach you."

He tapped a key and stood abruptly, "No I can't do it...why don't quit trying to teach me? I'd rather hear you play."

Carrie Ann sat idly still, completely calm, placed her fingers on the keys began to tap away as she played. She began to sing the letters, "E, Eb, E, Eb..." But then habit took over and she was full on performing. She had stopped her singing and simply moved her fingers tapping the keys from white to black then white to black.

Val stood over her shoulder watching her fingers. They moved so effortlessly, they seemed to just know. The song she played was a soft and slow. Carrie Ann seemed to be feeling it then as her finger held on one key for a moment, she reached for Val's hand and began to force his finger to play moving them from key to key. He pressed the keys as she silently told him to but couldn't seem to keep the rhythm she desired.

She pushes off her keys, "Okay clearly you know nothing about this."

"Did you think you were telling me something I know?" He asked his words dripping with sarcasm.

She smiled, "I just needed to know...I really said it for myself." After she realized he had nothing to say she began to think over a way too help him. That's when the idea hit her.

"Okay let's start from the beginning." She signals for him to sit beside her but he makes no effort to sit down. She stares up at him, how could she teach someone who seemed to think he was unteachable. For some reason, maybe it was the handsome way he stood or the way his hair fell onto his face, she felt like she had to teach him. After seeing the way she was staring at him he figured it would be the best time to ditch this entire thing. But the very same reason was also his reason for staying. Though she was looking at him funny and was slightly dorky he felt like she could teach him. If she couldn't he was going to give up the piano all together.

He sat before her, "You better be a damn good teacher." She didn't say anything in response she just began to teach. For Val that wasn't a thing commonly done to him. Other girls would have squealed or giggled or said something really corny.

"I'm sure you know this but your hands are numbers when it comes to the piano. Starting with the thumb and ending with pinky. Thumbs are one." She said as she wiggled her fingers in his face. "Pinkies are five. Making the ones in between pretty obvious."

She didn't like the way he was looking at her. He was looking at her differently like she was the craziest person he had ever met. But then she thought on it, she probably was the craziest person he had ever met.

"So each sets of the keyboard are in sections you have four sections. And as you know each key has a letter. The letters ranging from A to G."

She began to show him each letter and each key and then she explained how the C worked and why the C was the most important in playing the piano. When she asked for him to show her again he coward away from the piano.

Towards the end of the night she had managed to run through all of basics and managed to actually get him to stay at the piano instead of running off.

"We can try again tomorrow. Meet me here after my lesson, say five o' clock?"

He nodded a smirk playing on his lips, "Okay..."

She stepped away from the piano walking down the steps with her violin in her hand. He watched as she played with the heel of her shoe. Before he decided he wasn't sure he was ready to be left alone.

"Where are you going?"

"The play tonight, Singing in the Rain."

"Oh...right." He said not bothering to say what he really wanted to say.

"See you tomorrow." She said walking out of the auditorium.

"See ya." He muttered with a flick of his wrist.

She walked into her dad's office only for him to keep his head down rubbing at his temple. "This play...."

"I know."

"My star isn't prepared."

"I'm sure it will be fine daddy. If you want I can practice with him on overdrive."

"Could you? I have so much to do still."

Carrie Ann smiled, "Sure, no problem."

Leaving his office Carrie Ann found his star, Edmond Phillips. He was playing the lead part and had been absent a little too many days.

"Edmond! Front and center!" She shouted in her best impression of her father.

He looked quickly and rolled his eyes subtle for her not to see, though she had. Carrie Ann knew that he didn't like her. Mostly because she had denied him twice. But he liked to say it was because she was dorky and annoying. She didn't care, on most days but sometimes what he did and said easily affected her.

"I'm here to help you prepare for tonight seeing as you are the star of the show and all."

"Not that I need it." He added.

She smiled, "Yeah. Sure."