Maybe Then...

Chapter 3: if I were gifted at music

If I were gifted at music,

and playing an instrument came naturally to me, 

maybe then, I wouldn't take up so much of peoples' time.

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Daniel knocked on my open door frame to get my attention. As soon as my focus was brought to him, my eyes instantly shifted to the guitar case in his hand. "Let's go." 

I jumped up and speed-walked to my dresser, throwing on a pair of white knee-high socks. I laced up my sneakers, snatched a few ponytails, grabbed my phone, and darted downstairs. Daniel was already upset that I had to come with, and I didn't need him ticked off at me for making us even a few seconds late. 

We drove a road I didn't recognize, but then again, I didn't recognize a lot of roads in this town since I'd never really explored it. We pulled into a long driveway and, seconds later, were lead inside by Dolan.

"We usually play here at my house, since it's kinda hard to move my drum set," he explained as we walked down into a basement. "But sometimes we'll practice at Cooper's."

I nodded, standing awkwardly next to a couch. I felt like I was getting in the way. 

"Where are Cooper and Kyle, anyway?" Daniel asked.

"Kyle's almost here, and Cooper's in the bathroom. Oh! That's right, I just remembered I'm supposed to be getting some sodas from the fridge! I forgot about that 'cause the door bell rang and, yeah," he gave a half smile as he headed towards the stairs, Daniel trailing not far behind him.

Gosh, Daniel, way to abandon me. 

I paced around the room uncomfortably, checking my phone for notifications to keep myself busy. I eventually found myself standing in front of the piano, absentmindedly pressing each key as I went to the other side of it. 

"Bravo, Beethoven!" Kyle slow-clapped as he and Daniel walked down the stairs. Dolan and Cooper trailed down behind them a moment later with sodas in hands.

I rolled my eyes. 

"We got the goods!" Dolan announced holding up a few soda cans.

"Really? I thought you left the weed at my house!" Kyle joked.

"Yeah right, your pothead brother would have smoked it all up by now," Daniel said.

"You're welcome to take a seat," Cooper handed me a soda. He must have noticed me walking around aimlessly.

"Yeah, and you can watch us too," Kyle added. "Just try not to fall in love with my good looks while I do my thing."

"Oh, don't worry, that definitely won't be a problem. I don't even have to try." 

Cooper choked on a sip of Dr. Pepper, snorting it out of his nose and into his hand. 

"Breathe, Cooper!" Kyle demanded. 

"What do you think he's trying to do?" I retorted. 

Dolan smirked. "I like this girl."

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"Kyle, it's a simple tempo, and it's only a few notes!" Daniel said. Once again, he took the bass and played it for him, naming off the chords as he went. He tapped his foot to the tempo, his head bobbing along with it. 

Short temper much?

"Here," he pushed the instrument into his chest. "Just try and keep up with the tempo, okay?"

He positioned the bass on his arms once again, began tapping his foot along with Daniel, and just like the other times before, was stopped by Daniel. 

I was scrolling through Facebook on my phone, half focused in on their conversation. All they've done so far was try to teach Kyle to play the bass or see how individual practicing sounded when put together. They only played bits and pieces of one song, and though each sounded pretty good when playing solo, they always ended up clashing the sounds together when attempting to play in unison.

They were a hot mess, to put it simply.

"We aren't gonna have any gigs at this rate," Dolan said.

"We don't need a piano, and Cooper already knows how to play the bass, so why don't you just make him play it?" Kyle fussed.

"Because I want to play the piano, and plus, I don't own a bass," he said simply.

"Well why don't we have her do it?"

My wide eyes peered up from the screen. All of theirs were on me.

"No way!" Daniel cut in before anyone else could take it any further. "She isn't gonna have to follow us around by the end of this week, so it's not like she can join the band or anything!"

"Says who?"

"Says me!"

That was enough now. "Guys! Stop it!" They snapped their attention over to me. "I'm not going to join the band, okay? Besides, I can't even play the bass."

"Who said you have to join it for us to teach you?" Kyle said.

"Well, I'm not teaching her if that's what you're thinking," Daniel huffed.

"I can teach her," Cooper offered. He looked over to me. "I mean, if you want."

I glared at Daniel for permission. He looked ticked off, his arms crossed stubbornly over his chest, but eventually threw them up in surrender. "Fine, whatever."

Cooper grabbed the bass from where it leaned on the couch and handed it to me.

He explained the names of the strings, and how to hold it in position to play.

Once I felt confident that I knew where the notes were, he started naming off notes to play. My mind froze, and I suddenly forgot where to place my fingers. I stared at the neck of the bass, trying to recall what the names of the strings even were.

It's not that hard! There are only four strings, just remember the name of at least one!

"See? There's no point in teaching her! We're just wasting our time!"

"Shut up, Dan!" I snapped. "I've never played any instrument before, so give me a break, would ya?" 

"Here," Cooper cut in. He came over and stood behind me, aligning his hand on mine and adjusting it on the neck of the bass. He brought my fingers in position, pushing it into the string before strumming the chord and letting go of me. "Like that. And then every note after that one is one letter higher, until it reaches G. After G, it's A again, and then just repeats."

I nodded.

"Oh no no no no!" Daniel shook his head. "You are not going to do some sort of romantic movie scene type of shit right in front of my face!"

I looked him dead in the eyes. "Last time I checked, he's just teaching me how to play an instrument that you refused to teach me."

"OH!" Kyle and Dolan cheered in unison.

He didn't have any further complaints for the rest of the ten minute lesson. He did seem ticked off at me for the rest of the day, though that wasn't anything out of the ordinary for him lately. I just hoped that lately wouldn't be forever.