Sway

Wanderer

Leaving work felt odd.

After I had finished reading about all five of my students, I had a weird sense of duty. Like, their futures were now in my hands. As corny as it sounds, it wasn't entirely wrong. Although my summer class was only going to last for about a month and a half, I was determined to make it worth these kids' time. If they were willing to give up part of their summer vacation to study music production, it meant that they were serious about it and didn't deserve a shitty education. Despite not having an ounce of teaching experience, I had managed to convince myself at work today that I had exactly what was needed to set the foundation for their entire musical future. Phineous was right when he said I deserved this opportunity, but it wasn't just that I deserved it, it was also that... I was perfect for it! Making music was never about the potential fame or money to me. Instead, it was about passion and love. I knew what it was like to not understand things like, beat matching or chord progression. Starting from the absolute bottom was exactly what I had to do when I was in my teens with no one but YouTube to help me learn the ropes. Now was my chance to give these kids the help I wish I had when I was their age.

It was almost 4 in the afternoon and the weather was perfect. As I walked down the streets of the north side towards the train station, I shoved my earbuds into my ears and listened to the sounds of The All-American Rejects. Usually I'd want to enjoy all of the outdoor chaos, but today I had too much on my mind. My next class wasn't until Wednesday and that's when I'd finally have to actually be a teacher. As my feet skipped down the stairs towards the underground station, I waited amongst the crowd of random New Yorkers to board the incoming train. We all stood close to the ledge of the platform, gripping our belongings tightly and praying that no one saw us as a target. The key to surviving in a city like NY, is to be able to look like you're minding your own business. You don't necessarily have to be minding your own business, you just have to look like you are. If anyone catches you eavesdropping or scoping them out, your chances of encountering an unhappy situation have greatly increased. I think that's a part of the reason why we all just opt to wearing headphones or shoving our faces in front of electronic devices, it's the simplest way to mind your own business.

Eventually the train came and I boarded. Since there were no seats available, I had to stand in the isle with dozens of others. I could smell someone's obnoxious cologne and the sweat that was forming around my hairline proved that we were beyond stuffed in here. Honesty, I could've just taken an Uber or a Cab. Sometimes I liked to be authentic though, especially since my time here wasn't forever.

My liquid brown eyes kept checking the displays at the top of the train for the current stop. I knew mine was probably another ten minutes away. It didn't bother me though, because I wasn't going straight home. I had texted Charlotte before leaving work and she wanted to hang out. So I told her I'd meet her at Sarabeth's and wait in the restaurant until she finished up.

She and I hadn't seen each other since that night at the bridge. I don't think it was for a bad reason, just because we were both really busy. Despite not being able to hangout, we had been texting a ton. Like, every day. I was learning a lot about her that way, mainly small stuff like, her favorite color and lotion smell. It was nice to be able to just chat and not think too much about it, but it was also a little disheartening for me. I knew how little time I had remaining in the city and the urge to be around Charlotte Bixby was insane.

Finally my stop came up and I deserted the train. I had a little walk to get to Sarabeth's, so I took out my headphones and trudged down the different blocks. By now it was probably after 4, which was great considering Charlotte's shift didn't end till 5. After pressing several 'walk' buttons on light posts, I was approaching the familiar restaurant. From the window my eyes caught sight of metallic blonde and I couldn't suppress the tingles that broke free in my chest. A soft chuckle left my lips at the thought of being nervous just from the sight of her hair.