Hollow

Chapter 16

~ ~ ~

"What is this called?" I asked, holding up the instrument. It was long and thin, and made of a shiny silver.

"It's called a flute." Sebastian told me. He was spread out on in a plush bench, his back leaning against the wall. He had one leg on the bench and a guitar in his lap.

I was walking through the room, asking him about anything and everything. He hadn't yet failed to supply an answer to any of my questions.

I nodded and picked up a different one. "And this?"

He glanced over at me. "That's a clarinet."

I set down both instruments and walked towards him. On my way, I picked up a small and thin metal triangle.

I sat down beside him and held it up. "What is this called?"

He looked over and cracked a smile. "That's called a triangle."

I blinked down at it, my own smile forming. "How unique."

He laughed. "That's one way to describe it."

This was day four of our lunch meetings. I had come every day since he had offered. It was an enjoyable experience, and around Sebastian, I didn't feel pressured to keep up a facade.

His fingers ran across the strings of the guitar. The sound was nearly perfect, but something about it was off. Sebastian twisted one of the small knobs at the end of the guitar before strumming again. It sounded better each time he did it.

Before today, I had no idea that instruments even needed to be tuned. Now I was watching someone tune an instrument right in front of me. Back at the agency, I could never have dreamed of being here.

"How do you know how to do that?" I asked him.

He strummed one last time, finally satisfied with the sound before meeting my gaze. "My mom. She was a musician back in the day. Had her own band and everything."

"A band." I repeated. "Like a rock band?"

I had just become familiar with the term recently. Since I had began spending this time with Sebastian, he was had been teaching me all about music. He knew so much; it was incredible, how many aspects there were to music.

"Yeah. Her band broke up when she was in college, though." He explained. "Now she's co-owner for this record shop in town and she's a vocal coach on the side."

"She must really enjoy music." I stared down at the triangle in my hands. It looked so simple, yet I had no idea how it was used.

"She loves it." He said. "We both do."

Love. There that word was again. You can love anything, I've found. I've heard Miranda say how much she loves to bake, Angela has told me about television shows that she loves, and now this. Sebastian and his mother loved music.

It was complicated to understand, like learning a new language. It sounded familiar, but the actual meaning was fuzzy. Someone could explain it, but it wouldn't help me fully understand.

"I wish I knew what that was like." I said, more to myself than Sebastian.

"You don't have any hobbies?" He asked me.

I paused before shaking my head. At home I spent most of my time with my parents or researching new things on the internet.

"Well, what do you like to do?" He set the guitar down and turned to me.

I tried to think, really think, of something that could possibly count as a hobby. There must be something that I enjoy doing that counted.