Limelight

Chapter Eight

~~Trying~~

Aaliyah had never had a professional music teacher before.

          Lauryn had only taught her the basics and taught her to read sheet music when she was twelve at the piano in the one place in the rec center Downtown, but Lauryn wasn't a professional, and her parents didn't care enough to pay attention to her abilities to spring for one. She could only learn so much from Lauryn, and Mr. Gonzalez focused more on guitar, so most of her knowledge came from observing dozens of famous pianists from old ones like Beethoven to more modern pianists like Billy Joel on the computers she used at her local library.

          She was mostly self-taught, so she was a little short of ready to combust when she walked into the wide soundproof music room. Dozens of chairs were placed in a semi-circle, littered with teenagers who clearly didn't get the concept of sitting down, around a music stand piled with booklets compiled of music sheets. Huge windows and posters of the school's musical achievements made up the back wall let in sunlight from the parking lot. Musical instruments of all families were scattered around the room. From string instruments hung along the walls before the balcony that made its way around the room stopping at the wall made up of windows, brass and woodwind instruments like the tuba, trombone, trumpets, and flutes, clarinets, and more were set up in the right corner at the back of the room. A Steinway piano sat in the corner opposite to the brass, and behind was several keyboards hung up carefully along the walls, and a set of percussions like the drums were stood around the room behind the chairs.

          The room was like a dream to Aaliyah, and she had to keep herself from being magically drawn to the piano and take a seat in the midst of her classmates.

          She realized that after this week surrounded by all these people, she was probably a little too mature for her age group. She had very little contact with other people her age growing up, and all the people she talked to on a regular basis were adults, she guessed she couldn't be surprised. She looked on in quiet dismay as kids swung on the backs of their seats, kicked their feet up on another chair, joking around with each other. A pair of boys were having a competition to see who could last longer getting punched in the gut really hard. That was a little painful to watch, but the boys seemed to be having a blast. Most of the attention was on the pair, but some of the girls were huddled into a corner talking about God knows what. Aaliyah wanted to join them, but they seemed to turn their chairs so that they were in a tight circle, like some type of exclusive club. She doubted she would be welcome.

         At this point, she wished that even Christian was in her class.

         "Morning class," Said her music teacher, Mrs. Brodeur, a small, slightly round brown-skinned woman with dark thick hair with thin grey hairs seaming through that she didn't try to hide. Probably because she believed that signs of age only meant wisdom, which Aaliyah respected. She adored her, she reminded her of Mr. Gonzalez, cheery for life and all it gives.

         Behind her came in someone she was less pleased to see. Madison.

         Despite her talk with Blair earlier in the week, Aaliyah still hadn't built up the nerve to talk to her again. She wanted to apologize for kind of humiliating her. In all fairness, Aaliyah didn't think what she said had been all that bad, but when she had come in the next day everyone was talking about how the "new girl" had completely "read Madison" and that if Madison knew what was good for her she wouldn't show her face again. People were giving her looks when she passed them in the hallway the next morning with Blair and Jacks, some pleasant looks, smiles of awe and respect, some a little afraid, and though Aaliyah tried to take it all in her stride, when she saw Madison next in their music class they had the unfortunate non-coincidence of sharing since they were both seniors and musicians, she had noticed everyone teasing her a little, and Aaliyah could tell she wasn't used to it. She was the center of everyone's attention, she was pretty much a superstar in Buchanan, and she'd been completely embarrassed by a nobody.