The Piano Knows Something I Don't Know

What's a Greek Friendship Society?

What's a Greek Friendship Society?

One week later, I found myself in the common room in Flack Hall, practicing my Advanced Piano Studies music with the grand piano sitting in the corner of the room. It wasn't anything like my piano at home, but I could tell that it had a few secrets of its own. I wasn't sure what the piano had seen or heard that it was trying to hide from me, but there was some kind of secret between the keys that I just had to tease out.

Some of my fellow students walked by, either ignoring or appreciating the music that I was trying to create. After about an hour, I grew sick of the piece that my professor had assigned to me and decided to improvise a little. I played wild, unscripted notes, hoping that a few of them would come together to form a beautiful harmony. I suppose that's how the world works, after all. We're all isolated musical notes, looking for another note that will help us create a perfect chord. Sometimes it works, though most of the time it doesn't, but that's all fine as long as we enjoy the search.

"Ryan?" I heard someone say.

I turned around and saw Patrick standing behind me with a smile on his face. "What is it?" I asked him.

"You're really a talented pianist," Patrick said.

"Thanks, but it's all just for fun," I said as I continued to play. "I don't think I'm all that good. I'm probably the worst person in my Advanced Piano Studies class."

"You're still extraordinarily good," Patrick said.

All of a sudden, someone interrupted us. "Hi Gerard," I said as I slammed on the piano keys. I hadn't expected to see Gerard in Flack Hall, especially at this time of day. Normally, the Greek Friendship Society would already be in their house, partying the night away.

"Hey Ryan," Gerard said. He turned to Patrick and asked, "Are you a freshman too?"

Patrick nodded and said, "I'm Patrick Stump."

"Nice to meet you, Patrick," Gerard said. "I'm Gerard Way."

Patrick stared at Gerard's dyed black hair, guyliner, leather jacket, Greek Friendship Society T-shirt, and skinny jeans for a moment. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I just wanted to ask you guys a simple question," Gerard said.

"You know I'm all for answering questions," I said. "Questions are the heart of any real argument. What's your question?"

"We're throwing a party at the Greek Friendship Society house tonight so new members can see what our organization is all about," Gerard said. "Would you two like to come?"

"Sure, why not?" I said.

"What is a Greek Friendship Society anyways?" Patrick asked, a little bit more skeptical of Gerard's offer than I was.

"It's exactly what it sounds like," Gerard said. "It's Kale's one and only gender-inclusive Greek organization. I'm surprised that you haven't heard of us. We live right next door to you guys."

"I've definitely heard of you," Patrick said. "I just wasn't sure exactly what kind of fraternity you were."

"WE'RE NOT A FRATERNITY!" Gerard screamed. "Fraternities are just for men, but Delta Omicron Gamma is inclusive of all genders!"

"I'm sorry," Patrick said nervously. "Please calm down."

Gerard took a few deep breaths and said, "I just want to make it very clear that we're not a fraternity. So do you want to go to the party or not?"

"It will be fun!" Frank exclaimed as he entered Flack Hall.

Patrick thought about it for a few minutes and then said, "I'll go if Ryan's going."