Fly Away | Spruceworth 6.2

Chapter 28: The Pianist

Chapter 28: The Pianist

~Grant~

       Even though Ollie told me and August not to bring up LM Conservatory of Music anymore, I was very tempted to. There had to be a reason why he didn't want to go. He was so sad when he lost his scholarship and he was so worried he wouldn't be able to attend post secondary because of his criminal record.

       Yet here he was, given a second chance and he was turning it down.

       It definitely couldn't be because he didn't want to go there anymore. I know he did. It was his dream school. Even now whenever it was mentioned, he seemed sad about it. Shouldn't he be happy to get a second chance when not everyone might?

       While Grant and I were eating lunch, I kept looking at Ollie, hoping he would soon get fed up and wonder why I was constantly looking at him without saying anything. Then I could sneakily ask him about the Conservatory.

       Well, not really sneakily but it was better than just asking him right now why he was turning it down.

       Eventually, Ollie did get tired of me just glancing at him. He sighed heavily. "What, Grant?" he asked.

       "I just... I'm curious about exactly why you're turning down the audition," I said. "LM Conservatory of Music is your dream school."

       "Not anymore," Ollie said, getting up from the table and walking to the kitchen sink to place his now-empty bowl in there after rinsing it off. "And I said I don't want to talk about it either."

       "I just want to understand, Ollie," I said. "Literally on the first day of school, you were upset thinking about how you lost your spot."

       "And that was a few weeks ago so again, things change," Ollie said.

       "So... You're just not going to tell me?" I asked.

       "There's nothing to tell," Ollie said. "I'm over it. I don't want to go. It's not my dream school."

       I was hearing way too much doubt in Ollie's voice to believe him but I didn't know what else I could say to get him to tell me exactly why he didn't want to go to LM Conservatory anymore.

       Maybe I could try guessing the reason.

       "Is it because it's not in Spruceworth?" I asked.

       "It's only half an hour away," Ollie said. "I wouldn't have to live on campus so no, it doesn't have to do with the fact that it's not in Spruceworth."

       "Then what's the reason?" I asked.

       "Grant, there isn't one," Ollie said. "I just don't want to go. Can you please drop it and stop asking?"

        "I keep asking because you're not telling me the reason," I said. "And yes, I know you well enough to know there is some underlying reason about why you don't want to go there anymore. There's no way you just randomly decided that you don't want to go there, despite once telling me it has been your dream ever since you were eight. Dreams that long don't just change."

       "They do when it comes crashing down," Ollie said.

       "But you're given another chance so I don't see how it's still crashing down," I said.

       "I'm not saying that it is," Ollie said. "I'm saying that because it came crashing down over a year ago, my dream to go there changed over a year ago."