Chapter One

"Frau Schmidt, will I be expecting you two next week?" Roderich asked. He finished writing down this week's lesson notes and slid them across the music stand.

"No, actually, our family is going on vacation next week." Frau Schmidt rapidly replied. She shoved the notebook into her purse and grabbed her daughter's jacket, throwing it over the girl's shoulders as she finished packing up her violin.

"Oh, how exciting. Where are you going?" He asked curiously, glancing out the window at a bird or something that had flown past and caught his eye. When he looked back, expecting her answer, Frau Schmidt and her child had disappeared.

"Auf Wiedersehen!" She called as she ushered her daughter down the hall. She was always frantic to leave lessons, and hesitant to answer questions at all.

Roderich sighed, crossing his arms in frustration. He looked up to see a man sitting on the bench across the hall from his office. The man was leaned back against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest as well. He watched the woman and her daughter leave, their footsteps still clicking on the tile.

"Let me guess," the man said as soon as they were out of earshot. "Your favorite student."

Roderich turned to face him, raising an eyebrow. "On the contrary." He did not appreciate the man's eavesdropping. He turned to retreat back into his office, a hand on the doorknob. Now that his last lesson of the day had gone, he could pack up and go home. He was starving, and craving something with cheese….

"Are you Dr. Edelstein?" the man rather suddenly asked.

Roderich turned back, unprepared for a conversation. He noticed the man was now seated on the edge of the bench, alert and attentive. "Yes, I am."

The man quickly stood up to face him properly, extending a hand. The man was slightly taller than him, and even whiter in the face. Roderich couldn't see how that was possible. "My name is Gilbert Beilschmidt, I wanted to ask you about taking cello lessons."

Roderich shook his hand, but then frowned. "I only teach violin; I would suggest contacting Dr. Murray, his office is just down the hall…" he began to point to the direction of said office, but Gilbert interrupted him.

"I did, but he said he's on leave this semester…."

Roderich blinked, taken back by the man's abrupt manner of speaking. "Oh, yes. He is on sabbatical. I'm sure he would be more than happy to start with you in the spring…."

"…I can't wait until the spring, Dr. Edelstein. Dr. Murray said to speak with you in person."

Roderich looked at the man, feeling over all, quite annoyed. From the man's… Gilbert's… incessant interruptions, his insertion of himself into a conversation, to Dr. Murray's probably harmless suggestion, the entire situation was rather off-putting. He simply wanted to go home and have some dinner. He looked Gilbert in the eye, for the first time noticing the desperation behind his glare and his words. Something was urgent about his demeanor, but he couldn't place exactly where the man was coming from. There was rarely anything urgent about the desire to take private lessons, so why was this man so set on the idea?

He turned back to look into his office, feeling aggravated at Gilbert, and himself. There was no reason he couldn't teach the man cello, he had enough experience to do so, and he had the time in his schedule to make it work. Perhaps he was just hungry and cranky following the ill-mannered Frau Schmidt and her chronically unprepared daughter.

The professor sighed and turned to face Gilbert once again. "Are you a beginner?"

"Yes." Gilbert replied, the anxiety fading into assuredness.

"Are you a student at the university?"

"I was, but, I graduated several years ago."

"My rate for students outside the university is 45 Euros for each hour lesson. Is that something you can afford?"

"Yes. Absolutely."

"When are you available?"

"Absolutely any time."

"Any time?" Roderich asked again, unbelieving that this man would cut out literally any time.

"Yes, you name a time and day and I will be here."

Roderich thought for a moment, going over his weekly calendar in his head. He was so awful about writing things down. "Thursdays, at noon." That time should work, he thought.

"That's wonderful. Thank you so much." He reached out to shake his hand again. Roderich did so, quite confused but pleasantly surprised at just how easy this was.

Roderich reached into his pocket, pulling out his wallet. "Here is my business card, ignore the special event musician title, my mobile number is listed at the bottom." He handed Gilbert a card, watching him read over it diligently. "Feel free to text me if you have questions about preparing for your lessons. Bring your instrument, as well as a spiral notebook of staff paper. I've never taught a beginning cellist, so I will have to let you know what book to buy after I do a bit of research myself."

Gilbert grinned, eager and beaming with excitement. "Oh, sure, yeah."

Roderich smiled politely, reacting to Gilbert's own smiling face. "I'm about to head home, so please text me or email me if you have any further questions." He sighed, letting the information set in for a moment and feeling overwhelmed himself. He could only deal with strangers for so long. He stepped inside his office, beginning to sit down as he closed the door.

As the door slowly swung shut, Gilbert glanced up one last time before bolting down the hall, opposite the direction that Frau Schmidt and her daughter had gone. "Of course, and thank you, Dr. Edelstein!" he called out, the door closing just in time for Roderich to catch the last of his words.

The professor sighed and sank into his chair. The encounter had confused him, but he tried to look at the situation objectively. He hadn't many opportunities in the past to teach cello, which was a lovely instrument. This would be a learning opportunity for both of them. And with how eager the man sounded, there wasn't too much of a chance that he wouldn't show up for lessons like some of his less motivated university students. And it would be a nice break from his other private students, many of whom were unapologetically lazy children and teenagers. Perhaps the man's energy would motivate him to be a better teacher.

As he ran over the possibilities in his mind, he stood up slowly and grabbed his jacket from the rack on the wall. He shut the lights off in his office, picked up his violin case and his bag, and shut the door behind him. He shuffled through his pocket for his keys, hastily locking the door. He was anxious to get off campus. He was still hungry, and desperate for something to eat. His mind was so focused on food, in fact, that he hadn't heard his phone go off in his pocket.