Natalie sat on the bus, reading her physics book. Everything that had just happened kept making appearances in her head, but before Natalie could make it become too much, she made her eyes focus on the words in the book. She kept reading and reading, the same line, over and over. She squeezed her eyes together and opened them, looking out the window. What had she just read? She tried to remember the sentence….Nothing. She read again and again. Nothing. She gave up and closed her book. She pulled out her headphones from her bag. She pressed play….Nothing. Shit. She had forgot to to charge her ipod. She threw it back in her bag and rested her head on the seat, closing her eyes.

A boy sat in the seat across from her aisle in the bus. The bus was empty apart from the two of them. He couldn't help but glance at her. She always seemed stressed and lonely. He tried to think of a time when he had seen her laugh or with friends. He came up empty, before realising that other people probably thought the same thing about him, as he reflected on lonely lunch times and things he would rather be doing by himself. The boy coughed. He coughed again a little louder. 'What are you doing? This is a sad attempt at getting her atten-..' The boys thoughts were interrupted by something…

Natalie opened her eyes and sat up, looking over at the boy. Henry looked away, feeling himself going red. The bus came to a stop and Natalie grabbed her bag and rushed off before Henry could even comprehend what had just happened. He got his bag and slowly walked off the bus, making his way towards the school.

Natalie raced through the empty hall, practically running towards the practise room. Everything was still rushing through her head. Mom. Homework. Gabe. Mom. Homework. Dan. Recital. Mom. Mom. Mom. She ran into the practise room, not looking where she threw her bag. She started playing without a thought to what she was playing, letting the music take her thoughts somewhere else. Suddenly she found them intertwined. Music and home, her mind couldn't differentiate between the notes and her thoughts. She pressed her fingers to the keys harshly slamming her fingers on them, yet it still sounded perfect. Natalie couldn't even feel the pain, as she was playing so hard her fingers were becoming raw. Thoughts of Yale were coming into her head, fantasies of graduating and getting out of the school, where no one acknowledged her or understood the reasons why she isolated herself from them all. She kept on playing and playing until….

"Hey…..Sounds good"

Natalie froze, her fingers still on the keys. She lifted her hands off the keyboard and placed them nervously on her lap. Natalie did not recognise this boy. She was embarrassed, realising how harsh she was slamming her hands on the keyboard as the pain started to set in. She could't remember if she sounded good or not, she was only listening to her thoughts.

The boy waited for a response. When nothing came he said shyly "I'm Henry" And bravely, but awkwardly stuck out his hand.

"Natalie" She looked down, not wanting to make eye contact with this boy. Who was he? Why was he speaking to her? Was this a cruel joke from one of the guys in her class who found it so amusing that she liked her own company? Natalie looked at her hands. Bright red and blisters starting to form. She could see out the corner of her eye the boys hand, but didn't take it. The boy dropped his hand, casually trying to pretend it had not just happened. An awkward silence filled the practise room. Natalie's brain had frozen. She suddenly wasn't thinking about home or school anymore, but about the stranger who had just walked in on her practise session.

"Yeah…I know" The boy said.

"Thats…Creepy…That you know"

"We've gone to school together for like 6 years…" Natalie still looked down. She tried to remember a face, any familiar face from her classes. Nothing.

The boy could see she still did not know. "I sit behind you in like….4 classes"

"Thats also creepy"

The boy awkwardly looked down at his feet. "So…..Your in here a lot….Before school and after."

"Yes….Seven minutes" Natalie looked up at the boy for the first time. She felt a pain of guilt as she watched the boys face go from genuine interest to hurt and disappointment. Words rushed through her head as the boy who was now bright red, politely smiled and went to walk for the door.

"You give up WAY to easily" She nervously laughed and looked down embarrassed.

Henry turned around, no longer reaching for the door.

"Ermmmm" Was all he could say. "Your….Kind of a confusing person"

"You should meet my mother" Natalie laughed, not thinking about what she had just said. She began playing again, this time turning around to the boy whilst her fingers traced the keyboard. He walked over to her side as she played. Natalie broke eye contact and Henry pulled up a chair and sat next to her. She stopped playing and looked at him, smiling for the first time in months. Henry, seeing her reaction smiled and without knowing it, he was studying her.

Natalie looked at him, no longer smiling but nervous.

"What sort of music do you play? Besides classical that is?" Henry asked, realising that if was going to keep staring, they would have to talk.

"Just classical…For now….I am practising for a recital and i'm focusing on Mozart. What about you."

"Oh, cool." Henry said, not knowing what to say as it became apparent he didn't know anything about classical. "I like Jazz music. I like all music to listen too….But i play jazz. I like writing my own stuff too….Do you write?"

" No…I mean..I used too but….School and homework and my Mo-" Natalie thought she had said too much. Who was she to burden a total stranger about her family problems? She looked at the boy for his reaction. He was smiling. Really smiling at her and looking at her like no one had looked at her before….Like she was important or even special. This time, Natalie didn't look away and looked back at him.

"Yeah…" Was all Henry said, staring at her still. "It must be hard….I mean….Yeah.." Henry said, not really understanding. They kept on looking at each, Both shy, yet neither of them too conscious of the fact that they were just looking at each other anymore when the bell rang.

A look of disappointment shot across Henry's face, along with the panic that Natalie felt, although she was not entirely sure why. A line had started to form outside the music room, as a class would soon start in there. Henry searched for something, anything to say, as Natalie packed away her music, glancing up at Henry, waiting for him to say something. Anything!

"Tomorrow!" Henry yelled, not intentionally raising his voice. "We….Us…We can talk tomorrow….If you want…I will show you that i can play…I mean what i play…Jazz….I will play Jazz music tomorrow"

Natalie found herself unable to control her smile.

"That sounds great….Henry" She said, feeling awkward about saying his name for the first time. "I would love to hear you play"

"Great. I will see you tomorrow…Or around school…I'll walk you to your class…"

"Ermmm." Natalie suddenly felt awkward again. "You don't have to do that, but i will defiantly see you tomorrow and maybe later today…..Goodbye Henry" She smiled and walked out the room. The class began walking in as Henry stood there feeling quiet heady from what had just happened. A smile brushed across his face as he battled his way through the crowd and out the class.

Natalie got her books from her locker and pulled out three of her music books she had bought as practise. Classical, Classical, Jazz. She wiped the front of it off, as she had not played it in years, it had become a home to dust. She smiled as she held it. She used to love playing jazz. The words of her piano teacher came back into her head.

'If you want to go anywhere, if you want to succeed as a pianist, Classical is the way to go. Do you think these composers just made this stuff up? No. It takes hard work, you are going to work hard, do not throw it all away on Jazz music, that takes little talent' Natalie shut the book. Those words didn't seem so wise anymore. She put the books in her bag and went to her next class. All day was thought about music she loves, composers, artists and pieces in which she wanted to share with Henry. All traces of Diana had gone from her mind.