Chapter 1: The Building
Lena frowned at the austere-looking structure. It was too dull for her tastes, and quite frankly, looked like a prison. She flicked her short hair to the side and ran her eyes over it again. Sweet Amoris High had roughly three thousand students. This new block of cement and steel would be their home during weekdays, so the teachers and staff said. The government had recently instated a new law that every school had to follow, and this was the result.
It was just so different from the rest of the small, cheery town that she wondered if it was stern and grey on the inside too. The only redeeming features were the green roof (covered with plants, a virtual garden) and the numerous chimneys. There were probably rooms inside, then, that had fireplaces. Would she be allowed to use them?
"At least it's got some greenery," said Dajan beside her. He had agreed to jump the fence with her under the pretense of fetching a basketball. It was late, and hardly any staff remained on campus. The sun's reddish rays flared over Lena's skin, giving her a fierce, proud look. "Jade would be happy if he knew, but he hasn't been here in weeks." He gave her a strange look. "Why risk it, anyway? You're the one who'll get in trouble if we're caught."
"I risk it because it suits me. I just want to see what's inside, where I'll be living for the next two and a half years." As a junior, Dajan would graduate in a shorter time. She would miss her only close friend, but that was months away yet. He wasn't as picky about his living spaces as she.
"Duck! Faraize is coming!" She complied, her petite form huddled next to his large one. The top of his cornrows still stuck out above the film of green meant to shield construction from prying eyes. She sighed. Their size difference was one she would never get used to. He was nearly six feet and all lanky muscle, whereas she was more that a head shorter and extremely compact from years of martial arts training.
Her pulse quickened as the teacher's steps grew closer and paused just feet from where they hid. A long, exaggerated breath sounded, then the teacher walked away, presumably back to the school.
Lena dared look over the coarse green sheet and let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding in. "He's gone."
Dajan shot her a look. "Why do you do these things? You'll have grey hair before you're thirty if you keep it up!"
She smirked, chapped lips twitching and black eyes twinkling. "Shush, you. Let's go, before it gets dark."
They walked over gravel and discarded bits of metal to the large double doors of the new building. A half-full bucket of grey paint held one side open. She rolled her eyes. "District workers never get anything done."
"Why would they? The get paid for the time they spend," her companion joked back.
She looked around in the dim light. Columns rose from a dusty floor littered with more buckets, tools, and screws. A walk a little farther revealed a staircase that still had no railings. Together, they ascended, chucks and bare feet making little sound against the concrete. Apprehension curled in Lena's gut.
Her bare feet were callused, used to rough treatment. She wore shoes regularly, but preferred to go without them. As soon as the last bell rung and her numerous clubs were over, off they came. She liked to be connected with the earth.
At the top of the stairs was a long, winding hallway, each room on either side closed and labeled with a number or a name. Study rooms, game rooms, and other names did not catch her eye. Then she stopped and eyed one door in particular. "Music Room 1," she muttered excitedly. "That means there's more than one!"
A sunny grin broke out over her usually neutral features. "Do you think this might be where they moved that old Steinway baby grand?" Dajan shrugged. He was more interested in sports than music and art.
"Maybe. Then again, they could just be storing the drum sets."
"Doubt it. This is the room closest to the stairs. They wouldn't lug it up five floors and risk damaging such expensive equipment."
"There's only one way to find out." She took his signal and pushed the freshly painted door open.
She gasped upon entering. "So the rumors were true…"
"What rumors?" Dajan had not heard much of the local gossip, being from a rival school.
"That's real Steinway grand!" Lena squealed, jumping up and down like a tot at Christmas. "They'll have to clean up a bit at clear the crates out, but otherwise, this is- this is beautiful!"
Her friend's bewildered expression did not faze her. She ran for the leather-padded bench and sat down. The tension in her arms made her tremble as she lifted the cover and ran her fingers over the smooth, white keys. She had always loved the sound of a piano. It was just such a versatile instrument, more so than a guitar or any other instrument.
She looked at Dajan again, who stood in the doorway, rather amused. "What should I play? Pick something good, for the first song on this fabulous piano!" He grinned.
"How about that one you like so much?" She grimaced.
"I haven't practiced that one in ages!"
"The waltz? You know the music teacher wants you to perform it at the prom." She wrinkled her nose.
"Why anyone would want to hear a waltz that sounds like the author was on ecstasy when he wrote it?"
"It might wake the dead, that's true…" She giggled at his comment and flexed her fingers to warm up.
"Oh, whatever… I'll just play the one I wrote." He made a face.
"Now that just sounds creepy."
She ignored him and placed her hands on the keys. She blinked a few times, cleared her hair from her face, and began to play.
A slow, haunting song was introduced, and then she began to sing along. There were no real words, just reaching the notes on an 'ah.' It still gave the basketball player shivers. He rubbed his arms. He could never understand what made her so attracted to music like this.
Behind a pile of near-empty crates, Castiel detected a sound other than his favorite band through his earphones. He took one out to listen. Who creeps up here but me? And who plays such depressing tunes? He removed the other earphone, stood up, and looked over the pile to see who it was.
What the… It was a teenage girl, face blank with concentration as she looked down at the keyboard. At the threshold stood a vaguely familiar person from the basketball club who seemed equally perturbed by the melody. The singing was definitely not his style, slow and smooth. He couldn't help but note that her voice was lilting and almost seductive in quality.
Castiel snorted and stepped out from behind the messy barricade.
"If you don't mind, I'm listening to my own music here."
Lena looked up and raised an eyebrow at the one she considered an intruder, and replied in kind: "If you don't mind, I'm playing my own music here."
Crap, Dajan thought. He knew Castiel wouldn't take kindly to receiving his own medicine. The last time someone had said something rude, the coach had had to break up the fight. At least she can defend herself.
The small girl stood up. The redhead smirked. There wasn't much difference between her height sitting down and standing up when that bench was as tall as it was. She was about… 4'10''.
"Why don't you play your own music somewhere else, then?"
"Because I don't want to," she shot back. "Why don't you listen to your own music elsewhere?" Dajan facepalmed. This is not going to end well…
Castiel's eyes narrowed with anger. "Listen, kid, get out of here. I'm not one of those wimps who don't believe in hitting girls."
"Neither am I," Lena answered. "I'm not moving. Not while this fabulous instrument is in the room, anyway." She ran a gentle hand over the polished wood.
She likes music…
"Are you trying to get in a fight?!" Dajan interrupted, anxious to stop the two before anything went too far. "Let's just go, Lena. He's not worth our time."
"Yeah, go, little girl. What are you doing creeping around this place anyway?"
She had had enough, but didn't show it. Instead, she casually plucked a pair of black fingerless gloved from her back pocket and began to tie her hair back. Dajan began praying to all known heavenly beings for mercy.
"Well? Get going before I make you." Lena ignored his comment, walked straight up to him, and looked up to make some serious eye contact.
Castiel buckled over as the wind was knocked out of him with lightning punch to the gut. Then she was walking away again. Damn…she's strong!
"Alright, now we can go." She moved to leave, but a hand grasped her shoulder and whirled her around. Her adversary moved to push her over, but she widened her stance and used his momentum to pull him by, tripping him with her ankle. "We're going no, no need to bother me any more," she snarled, looking down at the prone individual.
Just as she was walking by, Castiel grabbed her ankle and stood up, momentarily unbalancing her. She reoriented herself, twisted her leg from his grasp, and kicked upwards, hitting him square on the chin. "I said we're going now. Or do you really want a fight?"
Brown hands forced the pair apart, though the tension in the room did not dissipate. "Break it up. I don't want any preventable suspensions on my head, thanks." Lena huffed.
"Fine, but I'm not letting him go so easily next time." Her new rival sneered.
"You won't have to. I'd be all too happy to oblige you next time you feel violent."
…
"What was that all about?! You could've gotten expelled right there!" Lena made a face as she descended the stairs and walked out onto the gravelly ground. She did not reply.
"Hey, don't ignore me!" Dajan pulled her back. Black fury and indignation contorted her face. This is bad, very, very bad… "Alright, take a deep breath and tell me why you're so upset." He thought he saw the sheen of a tear in her eye, but it disappeared as she obeyed him and threw her arms around him in a tight hug.
He let his arms come to rest at her shoulders after a moment of surprise.
"He didn't even recognize me," said her muffled voice from through his jersey.
"Huh?"
She pulled back and sighed. "He was my best friend in middle school, but then I moved… I thought all his insults were a prank or something, but they weren't."
Dajan's dark eyebrows nearly shot off his face. "Wait, hold up- you knew Castiel?!"
"Yeah…" Lena looked off into the distance. "He had black hair then, and I was just a little twig of a kid. Maybe… maybe he's trying to push me away because he's outgrown me."
"No one could outgrow you, least of all him. He probably didn't know you because you cut your hair short and grew some curves."
"But how do you know?! You weren't there…" The conversation faded into awkward silence. At last, Dajan put an arm around her shoulders and steered her towards the gate they had come in by.
"Let's go. It's going to get chilly soon."
…
Back inside the half-furnished dormitory building, Castiel plugged his ears with his earphones and turned the volume up. Still, the feeling of déjà vu would not abate. He knew that girl from somewhere. And her attitude was so familiar…
Sighing, he shrugged to himself and ignored the nagging thought in favor of his favorite band's newest single.
