Gently, my fingertips glided across the slick keys of the piano. Jumping from white to black, and back again to keep a beautiful rhythm, I created a beautiful melody that could hush young ones into a peaceful slumber. Satisfied with my work, I let out a sigh of relief. I became involved in my piece; making sure to follow the up and down motion of the notes as my eyes fluttered passed them each. I heard the chords ring out throughout the large room. The sounds bounced and echoed off each wall, only to travel back in my ears and to my brain. My whole mind was completely focused in on this song. Nothing else in the entire world existed; only me, the piano, and the music that erupted from the pressure of my hands against the keys.
I glanced up once again to keep my place in the music. The song was coming just to a gentle end, so I slowed my pace with the beat, ending with a strikingly wondrous chord. It felt as if an arrow of love and desire shot through my chest. The love of the song, and the desire to play on, yet the beautiful ending was perfection in its own way, and meant to be over. My hands rested against the vibrating instrument as the last sound vanished into silence. My eyes stared down at my shaking fingers, both nervous and delighted. And soon a smirk appeared upon my face. I was impressed with my practice.
"And what do you call that exactly, August?" she asked, her voice high pitched and snooty as always. Shyly, I peeked out from behind the large piano to meet the intimidating stare from my teacher. Her glasses placed snugly on the bridge of her long and up turned nose. Her thin lips were left in a frown. Yet all the while, her icy gray eyes stared back into mine, sending shivers down my spin. Her thin fingers gracefully removed the glasses from the resting place on her nose. She held them daintily to the side, raising one eyebrow at me, waiting for a response.
"Um, well, I haven't exactly given it a title yet, you see? I just thought I would play it for you to maybe give me some pointers. Did you enjoy it at the least?" I asked her, twiddling my fingers in my lap. She sighed, and bit the ends of her glasses in deep thought. She stared at the ceiling. Dabbled with religious portraits of gods and heroes, the roof above our heads was quite a sight to take in. She turned back to give me a smile.
"I couldn't disagree it wasn't ear shattering," What a kind comment… "But there is always room for improvement, yes? It's a lovely song August. Continue to work on it. Who knows, one day it could be a brilliant masterpiece." She rose from her seat and placed her hand on my shoulder. "I hope you understand that you are one of my best students. I have faith you will do wonderful wherever you go."
I couldn't help but smile at my crude teacher. The years of punishment, cruelty, judgment, and critical opinions have finally come to an end. The large clock inside the church rang out loudly through the large room, which signaled my last piano lesson in my hometown. I rose from the plush leather seat. One last time, I let my hands run over the keys of the piano. I smiled and turned back to my teacher.
"It's been a pleasure learning everything from you. I'll definitely miss it." I told her, placing my hand on her shoulder. She gave me a tearful smile, and pulled me into a sufficiently awkward hug. I couldn't help but hug her back though, since she taught me all I wanted, all I know now. She tore away, patted my shoulder, and turned from me back to her clipboard.
"I know you'll do great, wherever you're going to. Have faith, and you will be brilliant." She said to me; her final words to me. I grabbed my bag and headed towards the large double wooden doors. With one last glance to each other, I left the church building. With a sigh of relief, I knew I was on my way to a new beginning.
My bags were packed, my final goodbyes were given, and my patience was wearing. I sat in the uncomfortable waiting chairs in the airports waiting station. I glanced at the clock, waiting for eight o'clock to come around. I placed my giant headphones over my ears and feel into a pleasant state of dreams. I let my dreams dig into my thoughts, only to have me ponder through what was ahead of me.
Starting from the beginning was best. How did I ever start this path to a new life? Well, for one, my current school was a horrible place. The students mainly consisted of stoners, future hookers, and the 1% of the kids who actually wanted to learn something. Personally, I wasn't looking into a lifestyle of spending my work hours on a street corner. Therefore, I decided to transfer. My parents insisted that I should go to a proficient school. Therefore, they decided to send me halfway across the planet, to a very high class private high school. Ouran Academy was known for its expensive architecture, filthy rich students, and a guaranteed to go into any profession if you'd graduate from there with exceptionally good grades. And so, my parents sent me away to pursue my music career. I guess I've never really paid attention to our family's wealth, since they did hide it very well. I was brought up as an ordinary middle class girl, which I had no issue with at all. But apparently, my father had a good stash of money saved in the bank. I had no complaints about my recently discovered wealth.
But now I had to tear away from my old life and enter a new one. It was no problem saying goodbye to my old high school. I was friends with just a few people, but mainly hated the rest of the students, so saying goodbye wasn't hard. Yet, saying goodbye to my family was difficult. I promised I'd call whenever I had the time available, and visit when I could. I was staying with my world traveling aunt who decided to buy a home in Japan since she adored the country. Not to mention, her house was conveniently in the same city as my school to be. I'd mastered Japanese, hoping that I wouldn't sound too odd with my English accent. But, even though the difficulties, I was ready to go.
After what seemed hours of waiting, the overcome spoke out, alerting that my flight was finally boarding. Grabbing my piles of bags, I headed into the airplane.
Ouran Academy, here I come.
