Five Minutes

Silence. Silence. Silence Silence Silence. The time ticks down in my mind. Five minutes. Five fifty-nine. Fifty-eight. The minutes, the seconds. They tick in my mind until I'm consumed with only these numbers. Five minutes forty-six seconds. The silence in this room is overwhelming. Most people like silence, like when it's quiet. I fear it. The silence is too loud, too many things to think about. I was supposed to have my headphones, have my music, but they broke on my way here. I wasn't happy about that.

I sit uncomfortably in my chair, fidgety, waiting for the others to get here. Four fifty-six. Most people are still sleeping. Sleeping comfortably in their beds in their houses. Not me. I haven't slept in a few days. There are dark rings under my eyes, but when aren't there? Four fifteen. A loud sound causes me to look up. A girl was moving her chair and it fell.

She gives me an embarrassed smile, her face flushing red. I turn back around. I don't like it when people look at me. Three forty-nine. The noise. I heard the crash the chair made. I need more. I need another noise. Another sound.

The silence. The silence is suffocating. I stand and make my way out of the room. I don't pay attention to where I'm going. My feet move by themselves. Three thirty-three. Thirty-two. Thirty-one. Sound sound sound. I need sound. My feet echo against the walls but it's not enough.

Cello. The sound of a cello is hard to miss in this suffocating silence. I follow the sound until I'm in front of a private practice room. I lean on the wall opposite of the closed door. I know this piece.

Evening of Roses. My favorite piece. Two minutes twenty. The sound stops. I don't want it to stop. Please don't stop. The door swings open, a guy standing in its place. My mouth opens slightly.

Blue eyes. Not like the ocean. No, more like a Prussian blue. He stands there looking at me. Two ten. "Are you okay?" he asks. No, I'm not okay, you stopped playing. "Yeah, I'm good. Just listening to you play." He nods his head and turns around, leaving the door open, before sitting back in his chair and picking up his instrument. He flips a few pages before taking a deep breath and letting it out. Two five. He plays the first note.

I like the way he plays. It's beautiful. It makes me think of another time. The silence is gone as the sound of his cello replaces it. The minutes and seconds in my head disappear as I sit across from this blue-eyed boy and his cello. As I listen to this beautiful sound and let any and everything disappears from my head.

My phone vibrates, letting me know I've got a notification. I open my phone and see a message from Lilliana. I look back at the boy before replying.

Lil: I brought you a pair. Where are u?

Me: Music room. I'll meet you in front of the building.

I shove my phone in my pocket before standing up, shouldering my small bag. I give the boy one last look before beginning my walk to the front of the building. As soon as the cello's sound is out of hearing range the numbers start over. Five minutes. Five fifty-nine. Five fifty-eight. Fifty-seven. I make it to four minutes by the time I get outside. Lilliana is sitting on the steps already waiting for me. She stands when she sees me, pulling the headphones out of her bag. 

"What's your time now?" she asks. I give her a shrug of my shoulders before replying. "Four minutes thirty seconds". She shoves the headphones onto my head and starts one of the playlists on my phone. Lilliana knows me best.

"Okay" by Chase Atlantic fills my head. We walk in silence oddly enough. I have my music and my best friend by my side and that's all I need.

I walk next to Lilliana thinking about the boy, his blue eyes, and his cello wondering if I'll ever hear him play again. I hope so. I want to hear him play one more time before I leave.