The Songs in Our Hearts Book One: Reaching Out

Chapter Four: The Daily Things

"So what dirt do you have on Adagio?" Coda heard Harmonia ask. The two were currently following their dad to the Contemporary Pop Music District for mage lessons. Picking on the town dirtbag, Adagio, was a favorite pass time for Coda and Harmonia.

"That dip, during a band rehersal, told every trumpet to play their note a few cents sharp," Coda began to explain. "But the chord they were suppose to be playing was major, so he really should've told them to flatten it," he snickered. Harmonia giggled too.

"Serves that moldy reed right," Harmonia jeered between laughs.

Coda hummed in agreement, "What an arrogant jerk." Harmonia always seemed so cheerful around him: telling sarcastic jokes or talking about her day. However, Coda could not understand why she was so uncomfortable around other people. He could recall a time when he was shy around other kids, but to many, Coda's slight awkwardness was what drew people to him. Surely it had to be the same for Harmonia.

Having been there for Harmonia all her life, Coda swore that he would do his best to take care of his sister.

"Ni, Coda, I've told you before," Andante scolded them. Both Coda and Harmonia snapped their heads to their dad. "Being petty doesn't solve every issue," the man lectured.

"Sorry, Dad," Coda apologized, scratching the back of his head. Looking off in another direction, the sixteen-year-old tried to think of another topic to talk about.

"How are things with Octavius?" his sister inquired, causing Coda's cheeks to heat up.

Stuttering, Coda answered, "Well, he said that he and Celeste had a little argument, and I told him they'd fix things up and that I was there for him," as he stuffed his hands into the pocket of his sweater.

"Octavius's bi, right?" the girl wanted to confirm.

"Yeah, so there's still hope," he joked, still blushing. Coda looked up at the sky, noticing that the clouds still had yet to clear up. The teen turned back to Harmonia and asked, "Ni, do you think there'll be a storm?"

"If the wind starts picking up, then maybe," she responded, keeping her eyes ahead of her. Coda hummed at her answer.

"There will be a storm," their dad stated. "Mr. Rubato foresaw it. You two better be home early tonight," he said sternly.

"All right, Dad," Harmonia replied.

Finally, they arrived at the Music Center. The Music Center was located at the outskirts of the Pop District since the Orchestra District didn't have its own area for learning. A bell rang as their dad opened the steel-framed glass door.

"Right on time!" the receptionist chirped as he began putting out the clipboard. "Coda, Mrs. Vivace just finished up with her previous student. Just go ahead through those doors," he explained, pointing to the entrance of one of the practice rooms.

After writing his name on the sign in sheet, Coda said, "Okay," and stepped into the room.

"Morning, Coda. How's it going with the warp spell?" the instructor asked as she tuned her violin.

Taking out his instrument, Coda shyly answered, "I still can't get even one target to move where I want it to," and began to tune as well. Since Coda had a blue timbre, tuning was both easy and tedious as the enhanced hearing often made Coda strive for perfect intonation.

"So, I suppose that's what we'll be doing for the next hour-and-a-half," she sighed before getting up to grab the jars they used as practice targets. "From your answer, I'm guessing you can play the spell," the woman assumed.

"Oh— yes. I can play it," he said eagerly, preparing to demonstrate that he could.

Placing a jar on the floor, Mrs. Vivace told Coda, "All right, try moving the jar the bottom right corner." Quickly, the teacher cast a spell that limited the warp locations to the room. Coda took a deep breath and began to play the song.

A dark blue light shined above Coda and took the shape of a bird. So far so good, Coda thought as he concentrated on what the target location looked like. The bird flew towards the jar, and as it made contact with the jar, both disappeared; only to reappear next to Mrs. Vivace.

"Uh... whoops," Coda coughed.

"Coda, do you know why this spell is important?" she questioned him.

"Because each band needs one member to transport them from here to the performance world," he answered.

Nodding, Mrs. Vivace continued, "Right, and if you don't get this spell down, you'll be sending all your targets to one of many infinite places. You'll have no control over where they end up." Coda murmured in agreement.

"I'll keep practicing," he declared, ready to finally get the spell right.

"That's the kind of response I'd expect from you," his teacher laughed. "We're just going to keep at this until you start getting more consistent results," she elaborated.

"Right," Coda interjected, putting his violin in playing position.

"And remember," the woman started to say. "Until you get this right, anything – or anyone – you try to transport can and will be sent to a random location, so be careful when you practice at home."