Silver Violin

Chapter 2

I woke on my bed, my head planted on the pillow. I didn't open my eyes, just shifted my head, the soft fabric caressing my cheeks. I gently turned my head toward the window. There was no heat. It's still dark outside... But I'm wide awake...

I sat up, letting the covers fall off my body. Looking down at myself, I saw just how I wake up in the mornings. My red hair was creased and sticking out all over the place. I was wearing a pair of short black shorts, and a t-shirt that went down past my butt. I swung my legs out over the side of the bed, the grey carpet silky beneath my bare feet.

My room, in my opinion was pretty. The cornicing was black and the walls were a light grey, almost white but not quite. My bed cover was white, but a patterned yin and yang symbol was in the centre of the quilt. Across the room I saw my violin case. It was leaned up against my cupboard. I picked it up and opened it, lifting the violin out and laying it across my lap as I stared out the window. This is what Fal used to do. He would wake up early in the morning. Sit in his room and play, only gently, but I could hear. I stood up and walked out of my room, into Falcons. Our rooms were the only two that were upstairs, apart from a bathroom.

His room was still set up the same way he liked it. His bed was in the middle, the bedhead against the wall, a white bed cover, and along the bottom of the quilt was a line of black trees, their leaves extending up the bed. Sitting up against the pillow was a small teddy holding a violin up to its neck. I smiled.

After Fal had gone to the hospital, Mum got out his old teddy bear. I didn't know she still had it, but I remembered my brother never let it go until he was nearly ten.

I sat down on the edge of the bed and lifted the violin to my shoulder, no shoulder rest, just how I liked it. I felt as if that made the violin more a part of myself, because I could feel the heartbeat of the sounds. I pressed the bow to the strings. I didn't know what I was playing, I was only thinking, letting the thoughts come as music. Thoughts of my brother, happy and chirpy, with a stray sadness mixed in. Thoughts of the accident, angry and sharp movements across the bow. Thoughts of the hospital, sadness and tears. The key of the song switching to a minor.

The music went on, the bow gliding across the stings, the music ringing through the room. I softened it, remembering that my parents were trying to sleep downstairs...

I broke off when I heard a sigh. I pulled the bow off the strings and turned to the door. It was slightly ajar, my mum's foot in the corner holding it open. When she heard me stop, she moved back from the opening and turned, down the stairs.

***

I met Vic before school, she was still jogging, jumping her legs up to her butt when we stopped. She didn't even seem out of breath. Then had a thought... how does she sleep? I closed my eyes and shook my head, earning a side wards glance from Vic, but she didn't say anything. She was wearing a baby yellow top and her usual skins. I was in a black t-shirt and a pair of blue denim shorts. We grabbed our books and waved goodbye before heading to out different classes.

I had English first. Creative writing. Great. I couldn't write creatively even if my life depended on it. Some people like to write to deal with emotions, descriptive words coming into their head one after the other, like clockwork. Where mine is more like... Then I saw a dog. In the street. Peeing on a post. I prefer to take emotions out by playing the violin.

Thankfully, orchestra came around soon. I walked quickly, or a quick as I could get through the crowd of oncoming students. The smell of cologne and perfume filling my nose, as well as the smell of teenagers. Familiar, but horrible. I retreated to the safety of the music room, a great big auditorium. The walls were dark red and there were no windows. The roof was high and I know from experience the room has great acoustics, almost like when you're in a bathroom and the sound is loud and rings back at you. I smiled as I put my violin down next to my chair.