Crash

Chapter 16

I was very happy for my best friend, don't get me wrong. But the thing was, she opened up a can of worms I had been actively working to avoid. Hearing even the name of the college sent shivers down my spine. It made me realise that audition invitations were beginning to be sent out. I very much could have received something like that at any given moment.

I really had to sharpen my music and develop a level of confidence that was suited for the college I had my eyes on. 

Berklee had no idea what was coming.

~~~~~~~

I walked into music with a fierce determination. It felt good to finally be in the class I knew was really going to help me with my future. While I had never really minded all my other classes before, today they felt like the only thing holding me back from where I really wanted to be.

Scott had a weird look on his face as soon as he saw me walking into the class. Maybe I needed to relax my shoulder. Yeah. And not look too different to my usual self. Nevertheless, he turned to address the class.

"Alright everybody," a couple of the girls in the class giggled amongst themselves and continued whispering animatedly. 

"Hey, hey! Settle down now."

Silence.

"Thank you. Today's lesson is basically just going to be free time for all of you to work on your pieces. So please, get into your groups and for the love of God, please do work. I'll be here if you need me." Scott finished his sentence with a clap - basically his way of telling us to get moving. And we did.

I turned to face James, only to find he was already facing me - a ghost of a smile graced his face. I blushed slightly. Then I heard someone clearing their throat and instinctually, I rolled my eyes. Looking past James, I locked eyes with Kyle, who took that as his cue to start talking.

"So, I had an idea about what we should write."

"How about you take your idea, roll it up in a ball and shove it up your ass." I smiled sweetly at him and batted my eyelashes. James snickered beside me and Kyle narrowed his eyes at me. 

"What do you think the most romantic city in the world is?" He continued, disregarding my interruption. James and I humoured him.

"Paris?" My answer was generic. I knew it.

"How generic. No." Kyle stared at me, unflinching. His gaze was so intense, I immediately had to look away. Luckily, James decided to speak up.

"Rome?" 

"Better," Kyle nodded, but he still wasn't pleased, "but again, it's generic. I'm pretty sure there's a song about that. Hold up." He raised a finger and pulled out his iPhone. James and I both groaned in response. We really just wanted him to finish making his point.

"Yup. Dermot Kennedy. What a great song. Carter, have you heard this before?" He played the song and I recognised it from my sister's playlist.

"Yeah. He's a great songwriter. But what's your point?" My patience was beginning to wear thin.

"My point is, I think we should do something like this. But we should personalise it - centre it on a city so plain, it's disgustingly authentic. So, when I say what do you think the most romantic city in the world is, I don't mean what's the most instagrammable place, I mean, to you, personally, what city reminds you of any love you have ever experienced?"

He was really forcing us to think, and as much as I hate to admit it, I was very curious to discover where his idea was headed. 

I began to think long and hard about what he was saying. Being from Arizona, I had always thought New York and Los Angeles were the most romantic cities, in the sense that they were beautiful places filled with endless opportunities. But I had no true emotional attachment to either cities.