Sway

Golden Child

There's always that one kid in any class that shines a bit brighter than the rest. There's some hidden mystery about them, something that is unmistakably unique.

When I walked into my classroom early Monday morning, I was met with a surprise. Adam was inside, he had headphones over his white hair and his hand was directing the mouse of the computer around the DAW.

He got frightened when I walked further into the room to look at his computer screen. My eyes took in the beginning stages of a mix, and it was clear that he'd been at this for some time. I probably should've asked him how he'd gotten into the classroom, but I was too busy checking out the mix that was forming. Dropping my bag to the side, I pulled up a chair beside him and he watched with a little hesitance.

"You made this?" I asked, after pulling the chair close enough to the desk.

He nervously ran his fingers through his hair, and nibbled on his silver lip piercing. "I-Uh, yah. I sorta came early to play around with Ableton. Sorry for, not asking."

Ableton is a Digital Audio Workstation a.k.a DAW. It's essentially the place where everything pertaining to music production is done. There are tons of different DAW's, but I particularly like Ableton. It's got all of the typical software features included in other DAW's, but the thing I love the most is that it's great for live performances. You can literally make changes to your sounds during an actual concert or musical.

Adam was still looking a little scared, like he thought I'd be upset that he came into the classroom without me.

"It's okay, I wouldn't have turned you down if you'd asked." I said with a reassuring smile before turning my attention back to the work in progress.

"I, was just messing around. It's not really anything good," he scratched his head before pushing the mouse towards me. I used it to navigate through Ableton, checking out his beginning phases. They were really good, in fact, I could tell exactly where he was going with it.

"This is great, Adam." My band released the mouse and I turned to look at him sincerely.

His cheeks reddened from gratitude, "If you say so."

I stood, an idea suddenly coming into my mind. "What if you taught your classmates how to do something like that today?"

His eyes grew in size, "N-no, I can't do that. I don't even know what I'm doing, it's really just nothing, I wouldn't even know wh-"

"Adam, relax... I would help you with it all. You definitely know a little something about navigating Ableton." I picked up my bag from the ground and hauled it to my desk.

There were just a few more moments remaining before the other teens would show up, so I started setting up my computer. He still hadn't responded, probably dying a little inside because I was suggesting that he completely come out of his shell today. After the computer booted up and I had my version of Ableton open, I asked him again.

This time he took a huge gulp, "I- I guess I could try."

Just then, Mya and Julia walked into the classroom. I was secretly thrilled that they were becoming closer. Mya overheard Adams agreement and was curious, "You could try what?" She questioned towards Adam before sitting in her usual seat.

He avoided her eyes, "Ms Vega wants me to help her teach today."

The girls were quiet for a moment, most likely wondering why on earth I'd have him help me. The thing is, Adams little mix was headed in the perfect direction. He had all of the moving parts in the right places, which at the very minimum proved that he knew how to navigate the DAW.