Alone •Shawn Mendes

Chapter 3: Friends

Alone ~3

Claire Johnson

"Momma! Can we go to the music shop when we get there?" A boy asked his mother. I awed at the little boy who looked no more than six years old. He sat in a seat next to his mother and she looked down at him. He seemed very excited and it sparked my interest to listen to what his mother had to say. I wonder why he'd like to go there.

"Of course we can," His mother smiled at him. "Why are we visiting the shop today son?" The boy noticed me staring and I waved awkwardly towards him. He waved to me.

"I want to get a new piece to play for dads birthday!" I closed my eyes slightly as I felt the pain of the mention of him talking about his dad. I still wish my dad were still here. It has been almost four months now that I had lost him and my mother was still not the same. The thought of them pained me and this was the reason I had pushed everything away. I was now trying to fight the pain and push past it all and try to live on. It was something I have been trying to cope with.

"Do you know any good cello pieces I could try?" I opened my eyes to see the boy looking at me with wonder in his eyes. The boy played the cello? This has made my day. His mother was confused to why he was asking me and apologizes for her son.

"Zach, I don't think she knows," Her mother said to him gently.

"It's alright ma'am," I answered softly and looked towards the boy who I now was very fascinated to know he was cellist himself. "I actually play the cello myself." His eyes widened and he looked at his mom with excitement before looking at me again.

"Really?! That's so cool! Are you a professional musician?" I weakly smiled and shook my head.

"No, but I hope to be someday. I'm hoping to go to school for music next year."

"That's amazing," Zach beamed in fascination. "So that means you had those big scary auditions? What are they like?"

"Yes, I did have a few auditions to prepare for. I had several of them. They can feel scary, but it's one of the best feelings in the world. You get to play in front of the music department and everything feels very professional. The piece I prepared to play for all of them was something I started preparing for several months. In fact, I think it took me a few weeks to decide what piece I had wanted to play at first. I practiced a lot and in the end I thought it was worth it."

"That's amazing! Did you apply to Juilliard?!" I smiled faintly at his cuteness. I noticed the bus would soon be approaching the mall to let us off. How quickly a trip can be when you engage in a conversation.

"I did. Do you have any ideas what you'd like to play?"

"I want to play something Star Wars for him. My dad is a huge fan." I nodded as we began making conversation even as we were getting off the bus and making our way into the mall. I have learned that he was a level five cellist and it amazed me when his mother told me that he took private lessons. I remembered just several months ago when I was with my private teacher preparing my piece to play for my music auditions for the schools I applied to. Some I had went to the school to audition in person and others I sent a video in.

As soon as we stepped into the mall, I realize how cold my face and my fingers were. Instantly, my fingers began to warm up again. Zach now realized that we were probably going different directions and he hoped to see me again. I wished him the best of luck preparing his music for his dad and his future with music. He waved goodbye to me as he took his mother's hand and started walking in the opposite direction I was going. I waved to him. I knew that I was going to the opposite direction unless the food court was moved to a different location. I began walking and looked around for directions for the food court where I hoped there would be a bathroom. The food court was located upstairs and I took the escalator up. It was midway up that I could instantly smell food.