Melissa Laurent is my best friend. We've been friends since we were 13. She's the only friend I have. The only one I've ever really had. We have similar backgrounds as both our dads are part of the music business. In fact they're business partners. They run their own music label - B & L.
We both have absent mothers. Her mother having left her and her dad when she was 9 and my mom just being - well absent. We both had no siblings so pretty much we only had each other.
But where she's confident, I'm shy and unsure. Where to me she seems fearless, all I ever do is fear the worst. We balance each other out and look out for each other. She helps me with being more confident and I help her with being more careful.
More importantly she doesn't judge me on my little quirks and she is the one of the very few people who gets that unlimited amount of words deal. Yes. She is special.
Although, I do have to stay on my toes. So more often than not, I like to make a game of it and use as few words as possible with her. The less is better - a challenge.
Like today. Today is a 3 word day. It's fun pissing her off with a no more than 3 word answer.
"Ready" Melissa asks while touching up her mascara in the mirror.
Melissa's look is unique. Every year she changes it. Last year, she was a strawberry blonde preppy. This year she has a grunge-emo thing going for her. She's chopped her hair chin length with sharp layers and her now dark black hair has light pink streaks in it. Her first day of school outfit consists of a black tutu over grey tights, combat boots, pink tank top with a picture of a skull on the front and a grey military type jacket over it. It's cute. I like it.
"YuP." I drag out popping the P. She hates it. I smile.
"Don't sound so enthused Jane." She says sarcastically rolling her eyes at me. "I mean, it's only our first day as Juniors!" My turn to roll my eyes at her.
She hands me her lip gloss like she alwasy does and I hand it right back to her without using it like I always do. She sighs then shrugs her shoulders at me.
"Jane this is going to be our year. I have a really good feeling." She goes to hand me her mascara, looks over at me, thinks better of it, shrugs then puts it back into her purse.
"YuP" I blow out a big bubble with my gum and tap her on the shoulder so she could see just how big it's getting. Holy smokes! I wonder if I could blow it big enough to fly me away. I could fly to the Eiffel Tower......"
Melissa interrupts my dreaming by popping my bubble and says, "There goes your enthusiasm again. Wow, I feel so hopeful." She says rolling her eyes at me.
"Ok. YuP. " I say again popping the P. I smirk.
I love irritating her. It's so fun. Heheheheh.e...
"ARGH! Ok, Forget it. Come on lets go."
We get to school in 15 minutes.
Sheldon High is named after the city we live in. It's a typical school with the different clicks. Jocks & Cheerleaders being at the top of the food chain, down to us. Well, me to be more precise. So yeah, unfortunately just because everyone's heard of my name, doesn't mean I'm popular. Far from it.
But according to Melissa, 'This is our year!'. She thinks I'm pessimistic. But I like to think of myself as a realist. I mean, really - believe me- really- she says every year is our year.
We're juniors this year and for the last 2 years, we've signed up for the same elective together -Theatre. Melissa is an actress with great talent and dreams of being in movies one day. I know she will. That's how good she is.
I, on the other hand have no acting skills. I'd always been a part of the back stage crew. Taking care of props, sets, lights, costumes. Pretty much a gofer for the actors. Note the sarcasm, I'm sure you can tell it wasn't much fun for me. I signed up for Melissa.
But this year, kind of on impulse I signed up for Music Composition and ran out of the room as soon as I dropped off my choices so that I wouldn't change my mind and I didn't tell Melissa about it.
I've never taken music before. Weird - I know. You would think that being the daughter of a Rock Star, it would have been a part of my life growing up but other than going to the studio with my father occaionally, my parents never even asked if I had any interest. They kind of assumed that just like with everything else related to them, I wouldn't be good at it. So, no. We never sat around singing together not even a Chrismas carole, not even the Happy Birthday song.
With my parents being gone most of the time, along with it never occuring to them that I had any musical inclinations, it would surprise them to know that I actually do. I love music and I'm good at it. But of course, since they never asked. I never told.
Truth be told, not even my best friend knows. There are only 2 people on this planet who know about my musical abilities. My new music teacher, Mr. Marcy being one of them. When I signed up for the class, I had to audition. I played piano for him. The class is not for beginners and most of the students have taken music for years if not most of their lives. I on the other hand haven't. This would be my first time.
I can't even read a note. But, I do know music. I love to sing. I can play piano, the guitar and the drums. But I would like to know the basic concepts. That's why I signed up for Music Composition. I don't really have any aspirations to become a musician. I'm a realist. But I do know it's what I love. So, I couldn't go on not wanting to learn all about it - I feel it's something I have to do.
When I was younger, my Dad used to drag me to the studio with him. While he recorded, I would sneak away into one of the other rooms and play with the instruments. That's where I met the only other person who knows my secret. Mr. Hastings - the janitor at Dad's studio.
He found me there and taught me to play the drums. He marveled at how I could catch on so quickly and encouraged me to learn more. Before long, I picked up other instruments. I taught myself how to play the guitar and the piano. I can't read the notes but with a little fiddling around, I can re-play most songs.
I love it. I enjoy it and want to learn everyghing I can about it.
Melissa pulls me out of my reverie and towawrds the auditorium where we have to pick up our schedules.
"OMG! Wow! Look at that guy passing out schedules at the Senior table. Yummmm. I mean, just - just Wow!" She stutters and let's out a sigh, fans herself and I swear she's starting to drool. I look over at where she's staring at and find what she's talking about.
I can't help but swallow a gulp.
"Hmmm. Who is he?" I ask
She turns to me with her eyebrow quirked and smiles. "Wow. Hot guy got you to say more than3 words to me. That is practically a vocab miracle!"
"Just 3." I challenge.
She rolls her eyes at me. "Whatever Jane."
"Hmmm not word." I say making sure I don't actually say more than 3 words, I laugh at my brilliance.
Again she rolls her eyes at me. "Well he must be a new guy or something cause I've definetly never seen hin around here before and I know I would have definetly noticed before."
I look over this guy again and admit to myself that he is...ok. I guess. He has dark brown hair that falls over his eyes, I can't tell what color his eyes are from where we're standing. But I would imagine deep brown eyes to go with the sharp features of his face.
He's smiling at the flock of girls that have surrounded the table he's sitting at. I see from the irritated looks of the guys standing behind them that they're holding up the line.
