Melody to my Harmony

Bryson 2

I sat in the SUV, watching Kali pace back and forth just outside. She seemed frantic. Nervous, even. Like a child who screwed up bigtime.

As I continued to watch her with a worried expression, the driver turned back to face me. "Don't you worry none about Miss Kali," he told me, his green eyes twinkling in contrast with his dark skin. "She gets like this quite often. A little worry wart, she is."

I laughed nervously and nodded at the driver, continuing to watch Kali pace. Watching her pace did nothing to calm my nerves. We were stopped in a Walmart parking lot about five minutes into a trip, the call Kali recieved seeming too important to take in the SUV.

Prying my eyes away from Kali's pacing figure, I looked out the back window. If I just craned my neck far enough to the left, I could probably still see my house far in the distance. I looked down into the trunk, smiling at my suitcases. Only three small ones in total. Two were clothes, and the third was stuff like toiletries and a framed photo of my family. Simple basics.

I did my best to stretch, stiffling a yawn in the process. The notebook in my lap shifted. Rejecting my choice to stretch. How dare that notebook reject. With a sigh of defeat, I picked up the notebook and began flipping through the pages. Tons upon tons of song lyrics greeted me with each turn of the page. No notes, no rhythm, just pages upon pages crammed full of words.

The driver turned back to his normal position, greeting Kali as she reentered the SUV. As she sat down, she began frantically patting her hair. "Oh I feel a mess my hair feels so messed up do I look okay?" she fretted. She glanced between the driver and I, waiting for a response from either of us.

"You look wonderful, Miss Reiner," I said with a shy smile. Kali looked back at me and smiled in return. The driver looked in the mirror and smiled at me in amusement. The driver restarted the car, slowly pulling out of the parking lot.

I stared out the car window, watching the houses and shops fly by as we drove. More and more, until it got to the point where I recognized none of the buildings. It had hardly been half an hour we've been driving, and already everywhere I've ever known was behind me. I rubbed my eyes and leaned back in my seat. Part of me was super ready to go there and meet new people.

But.

Meeting new people.

Not really a strong suit of mine.

I'd be lucky to call atleast one person my friend here at this new school.

Kali cleared her throat. "So, um... Bryson," Kali mumbled, "Do you wanna know what your RSVP letter would have said?"

I pulled my hands away from my eyes and looked at her. "Sure," I replied.

"So basically it just gives you what your class schedule would be at the top, and then it goes on to explain the rules of the partnership contract, and after that-"

"Partnership contract?!?" I said suddenly, physically feeling my voice crack. Kali covered her mouth, her eyes going super wide.

She turned away from me and unbuckled, grabbing a bag from the floor in front of her and climbing over her seat to sit next to me. Pulling a few papers out of the bag, she handed me one and recited, "For one of the classes at AIMA, the finals isn't a test but is a project given to you on the first day. You are given the entire year to complete the project. But for the project, the teachers will assign two students together in a partnership for that project."

I gulped. Steadying my voice, I whispered, "I have to have a partner?!? What's the project?!?"

"Well the project itself changes year by year, so I really don't know what it would be," she responded nervously. I nodded, letting my head drop into my hands. Kali inhaled a bit, cautiously patting me on the back. "Sorry," she whispered, her voice cracking a teeny tiny bit.