" And here you guys always complain about me being late!" Serena whined as
Lita began to pace around the room again, a concerned look on her face.
It wasn't like Amy to be late; she was usually the first to arrive at a scout meeting. Lita, Serena, and Mina had informed me earlier that she hadn't been at school either.
" I tried calling her three times already, Raye, but she's not at home and neither is Mrs. Mizuno."
Looking at my watch again, I noted that she was half an hour late by now. Terrible ideas began to run through my head as to what could have happened to cause her tardiness. I walked outside the temple and gazed down the steps, hoping to see her come running up. No such luck. Tired of waiting around and doing nothing, I went back inside.
" You guys wait here. I'm going over to her house to see if she's there," I announced to the group as I grabbed my red coat and sprinted back outside.
* * *
I knocked on Amy's front door and took a step back to see if she was up in her room. Hearing footsteps, I became more relaxed. The door opened and to my great surprise, a young man was standing there. I took a few steps back and checked the address of the house. The guy looked at me for a moment before saying something. I couldn't understand a word he was saying until I realized that he wasn't speaking in Japanese. Then, Amy stepped in front of the guy, a look of realization striking her face as she saw me.
" Raye! Oh my goodness; I forgot to tell you guys that I couldn't make it today!"
" Um. three questions. Who is he? What is he trying to say? What the hell is he doing in your house?"
" Maybe I should go to the temple and explain it to all of you at one time."
* * *
The four of us sat on one side of our study table while Amy and the guy sat across from us. The guy appeared slightly uncomfortable under our staring eyes. We all seemed to be thinking the same thing: Could this be a boyfriend Amy's been hiding from us?
" Well, hurry up and tell us, Amy! What going on between you and him?" Mina questioned intensely, her eyes bright and shiny with anticipation.
" Mina! No, you guys don't possibly think that.Oh, I guess the idea isn't too far-fetched. Well, this is Alex Carter. He's from the US and will be staying in Japan for a while. His manager is a friend of my mother's and thought it would be a good idea if he could be around people more his own age."
" Manager?" Lita questioned aloud.
" Yes, manager. Any of you ever heard of Alex Vilares?" Amy questioned back.
I watch Alex as Amy mentioned his name. His eyes drifted over to her and then towards us as she mentioned the second name. His eyes locked with mine for a few seconds before wandering down to his hands, which were resting on the table. The color of his eyes was an unusually dark, smoky blue, which were quite the contrast to his golden skin.
" Vilares? Isn't that the name of some famous pianist or something?" I asked.
" Right you are, Raye. This is he, thus the manager. Alex's is playing a few concerts here."
" Wow, that's you? I always thought you were so much older! My mom totally loves you!" Mina squealed.
Alex looked up at Mina for a minute, a questioning look on his face.
" What's wrong, Alex?" I asked as he turned his attention over to me.
Amy suddenly rested a hand on his shoulder and started speaking rapidly to him in another language. He nodded his head and spoke back, gesturing at Mina and I. She pointed at each of us and said our names.
" I'm so sorry. I forgot to mention another thing. He only speaks English. He said he's glad to meet you and sorry that he can't understand what you're trying to say."
" How.different.someone who doesn't speak our language."
" You'll get use to it Serena. Now, if you will excuse Alex and I, we need to get back to my house so he can practice. He has his first performance in a few days and from what he's told me, his trainer is mighty strict."
" Can I still come over later, Amy, to practice for choir try-outs?"
" Yes, Raye. See you then. Bye girls."
* * *
I arrived at Amy's house with my sheet music later that evening. As before, Alex answered the door. He waved me in with his hand; his smile showed recognition of whom I was. Once we reached Amy's large living room, he gestured towards the couch, then towards the clock, holding his pointer and thumb close together. Alex sat down on the bench in front of the Mizuno's large, black piano and began to play one of his more popular songs, "Death of the Soul." His brown, spiky hair and regular street clothes with some foreign name brand written on them didn't seem to match with what I had imagined a professional pianist to wear, no matter what age the musician was. He was quite gifted with the ability to play the piano like many of the legendary greats. Halfway through the song, Amy came in the front door, throwing a few grocery sacks on the kitchen counter closest to the door.
" Hi, Raye. Sorry I'm late. There was a bit of traffic coming home. You ready to start?"
" I haven't been here long and yes, I have the music right here. Next step is to get it down pact for next week's choir show auditions."
I followed Amy upstairs to her room. She looked over the sheet music for a while before handing it back and asking me to sing it. I started off fine, but once I got through the first few lines, I lost track of how the melody went. Amy looked over it again in attempt to find it, but wasn't having any more luck than I had.
" I know. These are notes for the piano, correct? Why don't we just go ask Alex if he would mind playing it?"
" Are you sure, Amy? Maybe we shouldn't bother him."
" Oh nonsense. I'm sure he'll be more than happy to play something new."
Author's Note: I've had so many odd ideas running through my head lately. Was wondering if anyone liked this one or not. If you do, tell me and I'll continue it. If not, I'll pull it down and try my other idea with Alex. Please review so I know. Thanks so much! Oh, and if somebody already has been using the name Alex Carter, I apologize for using it and didn't mean to steal it. -Raye/littlepenguingrl
It wasn't like Amy to be late; she was usually the first to arrive at a scout meeting. Lita, Serena, and Mina had informed me earlier that she hadn't been at school either.
" I tried calling her three times already, Raye, but she's not at home and neither is Mrs. Mizuno."
Looking at my watch again, I noted that she was half an hour late by now. Terrible ideas began to run through my head as to what could have happened to cause her tardiness. I walked outside the temple and gazed down the steps, hoping to see her come running up. No such luck. Tired of waiting around and doing nothing, I went back inside.
" You guys wait here. I'm going over to her house to see if she's there," I announced to the group as I grabbed my red coat and sprinted back outside.
* * *
I knocked on Amy's front door and took a step back to see if she was up in her room. Hearing footsteps, I became more relaxed. The door opened and to my great surprise, a young man was standing there. I took a few steps back and checked the address of the house. The guy looked at me for a moment before saying something. I couldn't understand a word he was saying until I realized that he wasn't speaking in Japanese. Then, Amy stepped in front of the guy, a look of realization striking her face as she saw me.
" Raye! Oh my goodness; I forgot to tell you guys that I couldn't make it today!"
" Um. three questions. Who is he? What is he trying to say? What the hell is he doing in your house?"
" Maybe I should go to the temple and explain it to all of you at one time."
* * *
The four of us sat on one side of our study table while Amy and the guy sat across from us. The guy appeared slightly uncomfortable under our staring eyes. We all seemed to be thinking the same thing: Could this be a boyfriend Amy's been hiding from us?
" Well, hurry up and tell us, Amy! What going on between you and him?" Mina questioned intensely, her eyes bright and shiny with anticipation.
" Mina! No, you guys don't possibly think that.Oh, I guess the idea isn't too far-fetched. Well, this is Alex Carter. He's from the US and will be staying in Japan for a while. His manager is a friend of my mother's and thought it would be a good idea if he could be around people more his own age."
" Manager?" Lita questioned aloud.
" Yes, manager. Any of you ever heard of Alex Vilares?" Amy questioned back.
I watch Alex as Amy mentioned his name. His eyes drifted over to her and then towards us as she mentioned the second name. His eyes locked with mine for a few seconds before wandering down to his hands, which were resting on the table. The color of his eyes was an unusually dark, smoky blue, which were quite the contrast to his golden skin.
" Vilares? Isn't that the name of some famous pianist or something?" I asked.
" Right you are, Raye. This is he, thus the manager. Alex's is playing a few concerts here."
" Wow, that's you? I always thought you were so much older! My mom totally loves you!" Mina squealed.
Alex looked up at Mina for a minute, a questioning look on his face.
" What's wrong, Alex?" I asked as he turned his attention over to me.
Amy suddenly rested a hand on his shoulder and started speaking rapidly to him in another language. He nodded his head and spoke back, gesturing at Mina and I. She pointed at each of us and said our names.
" I'm so sorry. I forgot to mention another thing. He only speaks English. He said he's glad to meet you and sorry that he can't understand what you're trying to say."
" How.different.someone who doesn't speak our language."
" You'll get use to it Serena. Now, if you will excuse Alex and I, we need to get back to my house so he can practice. He has his first performance in a few days and from what he's told me, his trainer is mighty strict."
" Can I still come over later, Amy, to practice for choir try-outs?"
" Yes, Raye. See you then. Bye girls."
* * *
I arrived at Amy's house with my sheet music later that evening. As before, Alex answered the door. He waved me in with his hand; his smile showed recognition of whom I was. Once we reached Amy's large living room, he gestured towards the couch, then towards the clock, holding his pointer and thumb close together. Alex sat down on the bench in front of the Mizuno's large, black piano and began to play one of his more popular songs, "Death of the Soul." His brown, spiky hair and regular street clothes with some foreign name brand written on them didn't seem to match with what I had imagined a professional pianist to wear, no matter what age the musician was. He was quite gifted with the ability to play the piano like many of the legendary greats. Halfway through the song, Amy came in the front door, throwing a few grocery sacks on the kitchen counter closest to the door.
" Hi, Raye. Sorry I'm late. There was a bit of traffic coming home. You ready to start?"
" I haven't been here long and yes, I have the music right here. Next step is to get it down pact for next week's choir show auditions."
I followed Amy upstairs to her room. She looked over the sheet music for a while before handing it back and asking me to sing it. I started off fine, but once I got through the first few lines, I lost track of how the melody went. Amy looked over it again in attempt to find it, but wasn't having any more luck than I had.
" I know. These are notes for the piano, correct? Why don't we just go ask Alex if he would mind playing it?"
" Are you sure, Amy? Maybe we shouldn't bother him."
" Oh nonsense. I'm sure he'll be more than happy to play something new."
Author's Note: I've had so many odd ideas running through my head lately. Was wondering if anyone liked this one or not. If you do, tell me and I'll continue it. If not, I'll pull it down and try my other idea with Alex. Please review so I know. Thanks so much! Oh, and if somebody already has been using the name Alex Carter, I apologize for using it and didn't mean to steal it. -Raye/littlepenguingrl
