Summer Snow ~First Love~ (DROPPED)

The Two of Us

Here and there the Christmas' tunes increased. I was put in a trio for tuba and euphonium with some seniors, but for some reason they dropped out of it. I didn't want to take part in a private even like that one. But they made up some rule that the first year students were forced to attend.

"Hey William, it's just the two of us. Can we play anything with just a tuba and a euphonium?"

We were discussing our parts for the performance. I was told to perform with a euphonium since there wasn't much to do with just a tuba. I didn't dislike playing with Rosalinda.. actually, I honestly liked the idea. I slowly fell in love with her. But I felt it was one-sided so I held back my feelings. She was rumoured to have a boyfriend since junior high.

An adult man who sometimes came to pick her up by car after school. Going out with an adult since junior high.. I had objections, but it was her private life so I didn't have any right to say anything about it.

And so.. I spent my days in a mixture of happiness and sadness.

"A tune we can play together.. Thinking about it, "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence" has a score for solo euphonium, right?" I casually suggested it.

"Yes, there is. But it need to be played with a piano so.. I don't know if it works with a tuba."

"Well, I can play the piano. Why don't we do that?"

 Influenced by my mother who learnt piano, I took lessons myself when I was very young. To this day, I'm still forced to play it at my parents' house. Our house is small, but it allows us to look like a choir once everyone gathers around me. I'd play nursery songs like "Twinkle little Star" with the accompany of my grandparents singing it; sometimes they'd ask me to play classical music as well.

"You can play the piano? Why didn't you say that sooner?! Then let's do that." Rosalinda easily accepted my idea and we moved to a different practice hall with a piano. It was forbidden to use it freely, but that day we used it without booking it.

It was cold and I felt my hands completely frozen. I couldn't move my fingers. Looking at the score, I knew I could play it, but my fingers wouldn't follow the notes. Seeing that, Rosalinda stopped playing and moved closer to me.

"What...?" I nervously said.

"Your hands are cold right? I'm keeping mine warm with a pocket heater." Saying that, her slender hands overlapped mine.

Wrapped together, her hands warmed mine. How could she do such a thing so lightly? I was considerably quivering. Her face was close and her hands were clasping mine.

"...." Without saying a word, I let her hands warm me.

Warm...

How long had it been since I felt this warm from my heart? I thought I wanted her hands to touch me forever. But my words were the exact contrary of my feelings.

"Hey, just lend me the pocket heater.."

I wanted to clasp her hands longer, forever, but her face was too close so unable to bear it, I said those blunt words. Even if she touched my hands for just some seconds, I felt like she did it for a long time.

"Got it..." Her face looked a bit lonely.

Quickly, she removed the pocket heater from the pockets of her blazer and handed it to me. It was indeed warm, but it lacked her soft touch. I held the pocket heater she lent me, and somehow my fingers were able to move enough to accompany her.

"Bravo! Geez, of you are this good you could play a different piano tune." She said so as her gloomy face returned to her usual smile.

"I don't think playing the piano fits a man.. I'm really reluctant to play in front of others."

I felt out of place in the schoolroom where I learnt the piano because 9 out of 10 students were girls. However my mother was a demon when teaching me, so learning outside the house was the best choice.

"That's not true! A guy playing the piano... it's the best. William, you're cool.." After saying that, Rosalinda remained quiet.

Why... Why did she lose her words there?