Shadows and Popularity

Chapter 03: Sad yet Relaxing

Chapter 03: Sad yet Relaxing 

Clarisse Shawn was a cheerful extrovert who seemed to have a knack in being sociable. During Maya’s freshman year where she was looking through the music rooms in one of the buildings in school, Clarisse was the only one to help her out. Though she wouldn’t have noticed her if they never bumped into each other, Maya had looked up to the junior ever since.

Maya, shy to a fault, tended to spend her free time doing multiple solo activities. Taking care of the pets in the store was a part-time job, but when she was really alone and had all the time she could get, she tended to read books or play an old acoustic guitar her father had left behind in his younger years and had forgotten. Maya had gotten the instrument while she was looking through the things in the attic of her house, and had since taught herself with a few tutorial books in the library as well as the internet.'

When she started high school, her uncle started keeping the shop open until eight at night, so no one was ever home until then. Maya decided to spend the free time she had after school by playing the acoustic guitar her father had unknowingly left behind for her. She left it with Clarisse, and she had since spent most of her after-school hours in the Music Department’s Main Building.

The Music Department’s Main Building, or the Musician Hangout for short, however, was an edifice for musically talented students and the like, as well as a place to find studios and recording rooms. Every time Maya were to go there, she had to survive a grueling battle of not getting bumped into bruises.

That day, however, she was met by very few students, and almost immediately found the musician girl she was looking for.

“C-Clarisse?” She said quietly, her voice merely a whisper.

Fortunately, the junior heard her, and looked up from the chords of her favorite guitar. A smile immediately raised her darkly painted lips as she recognized Maya’s existence.

“Yo!” She said, before setting her guitar aside on the wall and stood from the couch she sat on. “Good to see ‘ya again Maya! You’re lucky today, you know? Not a lot of students are here, even the dorm students are out and about. Come on, I’ll go get your guitar for you.”

Maya followed behind Clarisse, but had to jog a bit to keep up with her long legged stride. The musician girl was such a wonderful sight, tall and slender, long, silky hair that looked amazing even though she didn’t seem the least bit inclined to keep it together. Her skin was as fair as Maya’s was dark.

How she just looked up to her, literary. Clarisse was a very tall girl.

A little bit later, they had made it toward a wide hallway adorned by lockers on one side and a row of benches on the other. The sideboards were all stout and tall enough to reach the ceiling, mostly because it was where students kept instruments of all shapes and sizes.

Clarisse put in the code for one of the lockers, took out the lock and opened the metallic door. Maya peeped in just to see the four guitars inside. One was electric, and two were acoustic. One looked a lot newer than the others however, and Maya owned the oldest looking one.

Clarisse handed Maya her guitar.

“Your usual spot in the corner of the private rooms is open, but the lock there broke during the summer. I wouldn’t really worry about anyone barging in, but I can help you find a different one if you want to try some other room.”

Maya shook her head politely. “It’s fine. I’ll be all right with the usual place.”

“Okay.” Clarisse shrugged. “I’ll be off then. Have fun.”

They both parted ways then, Clarisse going back to where they had entered and Maya making her way to the other exit that led to the second floor of the building where the studios were founded.

She made her way up the steps, her guitar sling over her shoulder. She was used to the weight of her instrument, she wasn’t as weak as she looked like. During the school year, she jogs twice every week on weekends, and had been jogging every early morning throughout summer vacation. She wasn’t as slender as Clarisse was, but at least she wasn’t sickly fat either.

She made her way through the hall of closed doors. No one was in any of them, and Maya wouldn’t have it any other way. She was so meek, only Clarisse knew she could play an instrument, and even she didn’t know how well she played. It’s just that Maya always thought she was plain in everything, even in her playing, but even though she didn’t want anyone to know how plain she played, she never wanted to stop anyway. Her guitar playing was one of her very few joys, and she wouldn’t stop for anyone. But she still didn’t want anyone to hear her play, either

She walked in the studio, closed the door without bothering to try in locking it, and went inside the sound proof room. She sat on the tall stool, and adjusted the chords of her instrument.

A minute later, she was pouring her heart out.

Nathan stopped when he reached for the knob as an angelic strum of chords reached his ears. He gaped at the door in front of him where the sound was coming from. He had been in such a hurry all afternoon. When the bell rang to signal that lunch had ended and that classes were to resume, he asked Oliver to keep a look out for the wallflower he was looking for. He ignored the sophomore’s teasing smile, and went his way toward his own classes. When the last of his classes ended, he continued his search. He had to find her, no matter what, he had to find her.

It was a matter of face and reputation.

Half an hour later in searching and asking around the quad, a skater guy said he had seen who he was looking for. A small girl wearing a yellow blouse and a floral skirt, dark hair that reached a little bit pass her shoulders and dark brown skin. Nathan couldn’t have been happier to know that his search was officially coming to an end. He found out that she was headed for the music department across campus, and Nathan ignored the curious question on why a wallflower would go there.

He sped through school grounds, and was stopped half-way toward the Musician Hangout by a student governor who reminded him that he should slow down to reduce accidents. Just as he took the slip of paper as warning, a parkour vaulted over one of the nearby benches and the student governor left him in peace to subdue the student. He continued in a wade then, patiently looking over his shoulder to see if he still had the rule-keeper’s attention, and when he was sure he didn’t, he ran off like an experienced track and fielder. When he reached the building he was looking for, a classmate in home ec got his attention.

He asked for the wallflower’s whereabouts, the musician girl asked him her own set of questions as to why. He didn’t have the time to explain everything to her, he was in a real hurry then, and decided to cut to the chase and explained that her whole reputation was on the line.

The musician girl reluctantly gave him her whereabouts, and Nathan sped through the halls and onto the second floor. He never spent a lot of time in the building, but he was familiar enough with its twists and turns. He marched through the hallway, knowing full well that no one was in any of the other sound-proof rooms, and that was when he froze at the sound of a guitar playing.

Now he stood there, all of his sense of panic and rush slowly seeping out of him by the sad yet relaxing tone of the instrument in the room. No one was singing, not a voice of human sound was heard, but the strings spoke for itself. His palm dropped on the doorknob, but he didn’t open it. He was slowly starting to turn calm again. He sighed, collected himself, and opened the door wide.

Maya’s hand froze at the door opening, and the sad yet relaxing tone of her guitar practically seized to exist.