The Silence Between

Chapter 11

Another Tuesday, similar to the others but not quite the same. Perhaps because October's mild sunshine had given way to November's gloomy drizzles, or perhaps because the trees had shed most of their leaves and now stood bare and dormant, waiting for better days, or perhaps because Brett wasn't his normal, carefree self. He wore a slack-jawed expression, with an absent gaze that carried just a hint of turbulence. His phone dangled from his limp fingers, forgotten, until it dropped to the floor with an unpleasant clank, startling its owner from his reverie.

Sophie peered at him over her laptop. "What's wrong with you?

"Nothing."

A lie, if there ever was one. But Sophie was patient; she could wait.

"Well," he said, after a second or two. "I guess there is something. It's not a big deal. But just, you know, what does it mean if—I mean, just hypothetically—if someone you knew—suddenly, like, kissed-you-out-of-the-blue?"

Aha. So that was it. Sophie suppressed a smile. "Wow, Brett, I did not know you were so innocent—"

"—Not me, just—"

"Ok, your hypothetical friend then. Still. What could it mean? This someone must like you, of course. Or your friend, rather. Who is it?"

"No one you know." Brett's eyes swirled around thoughtfully. "Anyway, that's not it. It couldn't be."

"Why not?"

"Because he couldn't possibly—this guy, I mean, who hypothetically kissed my hypothetical friend—isn't the type. He's never said anything. It was probably just a whim or something, now that I think about it."

"Uh huh. Sure. And, just out of curiosity, how does your hypothetical friend feel about it?"

Brett cleared his throat and looked away. "I—how would I know? That's not important." The splotches of red on his cheeks indicated otherwise, not that Sophie was so tactless as to point it out.

"Perhaps your friend should figure it out. And maybe talk to 'this guy,' whoever he may be."

"...Nah."

Ok then. Sophie sighed and turned back to her work. In her infinite wisdom, she knew that some things couldn't be rushed. Besides, the longer it dragged out, the more amusement there promised to be for her.

Their brief silence was broken by Sumina, who wandered to their table with a large cup of coffee, her soft brown eyes brimming with melancholy. "And what's wrong with you?" Sophie asked. Was it the something in the air?

"It's Ray," said Sumina, collapsing into a vacant chair somewhat dramatically. "He's stuck in Australia for the next month to rehearse with SSO."

This drew Brett out of his thoughts. "Australia? It's all about Australia these days, isn't it?"

"What? What else is about Australia?"

"Uh—nothing. Never mind. So what's the problem?"

"Long distance sucks, is the problem. Also, we're both so busy that we've barely got time to talk. There's the recital next week, and then I've got yearend competitions, which are all piled up before the holidays. Not to mention orchestra, and papers, and—ugh—I'm ready to tear my hair out."

Now this, Sophie could sympathize with. "Yes, especially the competitions," she agreed. "My instructor's already upped me to two lessons a week, which is—how do you say?—killer."

"Same," Sumina complained. "Chen's young, but he's no joke when it comes to competitions. I guess he's got something to prove, too."

Brett again perked up, though he didn't interrupt.