A Thousand Lies

09 | A little revelation

UNEDITED

It was early morning next week when I walked towards the principal's office, my eyelids drooping already despite the fact that I had slept 10 hours last night. It was either that or no sleep, so I considered myself lucky.

Mrs. Cornwell, the principal, had told me to come in - the message relayed by a very tired Jane, who was dragged to the class by Avery, who seemed to be full of energy. As I got closer to the office, I bumped into several students, muttering apologies as I paved my way through the crowd. I rubbed my swollen wrists; they were starting to hurt.

Since I hadn't even had coffee yet, I groaned as I sluggishly made my way there. As I got closer, I could hear voices from the principal's office. There was yelling, followed by the sound of the door opening and slamming shut, a very furious Alan walking away, not even noticing I was there.

What were they even talking about?

After a while, I knocked on the door softly, still surprised at what I had witnessed.

"Come in," Mrs. Cornwell answered.

I opened the door and let myself in, slowly shutting the door behind me and taking a seat once Mrs. Cornwell gestured towards one of the chairs infront of her desk. The strange fish like creature she named Bob was still there, and I resisted the urge to shudder. Mrs. Cornwell appeared to be tired, visible from the dark circles under her eyes and several cups of coffee cluttered on her desk.

"Did you see that, Livia?" She asked as she took a sip from another cup of coffee.

"Yeah."

She sighed, taking another sip of coffee, placing the cup down once she was done.

"I'm sorry you had to see that. I didn't think he would lash out."

"I don't understand," I said as I furrowed my brows.

"Have you heard of the showcase?"

"Yes. Its the one they hold every four years here, if I'm correct."

"I asked Alan to perform for the showcase."

"What?" It was what I had least expected her to say. By now she had finished her coffee and had placed it down next to a pile of papers. She had a grim expression on her face as she sighed again.

"His mother- she passed away soon after Alan was born- she was a friend of mine. We studied music together, here, at this school. She herself was very good at the piano, like Alan." Mrs. Cornwell smiled bitterly, as if remembering the times they had spent together. "She was supposed to play at the showcase, where there were many companies and piano masters gathered. She could have had so many opportunities if she had."

"She didn't play?"

"She couldn't. On her way here she got into an accident, she lost her hearing. She was never the same since."

"And you want Alan to play?"

"I'm afraid that like her, he's slipping away too."

"What do you mean?" Alan couldn't have got into some accident, could he?

"He refuses to play the piano."

"But why?"

"He lashed out when I brought it up and went just now. I want to help him, I really do." Her eye brows drew closer and her fists were clenched. She took some papers from one of the drawers and handed it to me. "Here's the material your teacher wanted. That's why I called you up here."

I took it and stood up, feeling like I had taken a glance of Alan's past. I stopped walking near the door, and turned around.

"Mrs. Cornwell," I called out, holding the door knob. "do you think she would have wanted him to play?"