Chapter 1

Piano

Lotti roams the empty halls of Pandora Academy. She missed her bus and so Doug Baskerville offered a ride once he got finished with his work in the library. She is making her way back to the library after a trip to her locker. As she passes the music hall though, she hears the tamper of the piano. The sound is fierce and strong and so perfect. Lotti decides to take a peak into the room that contains the single grand piano. On the stool in front of the piano seats a young man with white hair and suddenly, Lotti thinks of the name that matches such a description. He has yet to notice her, seemingly lost in her own playing. She creeps closer to confirm her suspicions and finds he's not looking at music nor his hands, or really at anything. But she knows who it is now and decides not to confront such a student. 'Xerxes Break, no way am I dealing with that kind of group today.'

As Lotti slowly backs away from the piano, she carelessly trips backwards onto the floor, knocking down two crates from a shelf against the wall as she does so. The sound of the piano stops and Xerxes seems slightly startled. 'No, not dealing with this dumbass!' "If your going to run out, could you at least pick up whatever it is you knocked over. I'm afraid I may trip over it later, you see I'm a little hard on sight." He says.

Lotti thinks quick for something to say in return. "The chord was hanging out! No duh someone was eventually going to trip on it!"

Then he turns around, a smile on his face and his right eye closed. Lotti finds it odd that if he's hard on sight he'd have his left eye completely covered by his pristine white hair. "You must be Lotti?" But she can't find words to throw back. "Am I wrong?"

"What? Am I supposed to feel honored or something that you know my name, creep?"

He opens his eye, the wine red color piercing Lotti's own pink eyes, His smile fades into confusion. "I only recognize you from one of your friends. And I am very sorry for the inconvenience of such a hazard, but really you weren't invited here in the first place. Not that I mind, of course. But why not let me know your lingering in here?"

Lotti becomes flushed with nothing to say. He wasn't trying to be rude from the sounds of it. And it wasn't her business to be in there in the first place. "I was curious what you were playing and who was playing!"

"So noisy." Xerxes gets up and walks to Lotti, holding out a hand to help her off the floor. She notices he isn't looking directly at her. "My name is Xerxes Break!" He says confidently with the smile plastered on his face once more. Lotti rejects his gesture.

"Yeah, I know who you are." She says getting up off he floor without his help.

"Well, would you like to be my friend then?" He asks, suddenly very amused by the conversation.

"No thank you."

"Oh? And why not?"

"I'm not befriending an ass."

"Your quite mean." The smile disappears again.

"Oh, grow up!"

"How could you think such terrible things about a person you don't even know?"

"I know your apart of the rich kids who use money to make their way into this school."

"My friends are fairly intelligent if you ask me. And they are very kind, I assure you whatever you of all people may think of them it's not true. I can also tell you I'm in no position to pay for this school. In fact, my adoptive family won't even pay for my medical bill most of the time."

"Yeah, right." Lotti turns to walk away.

"Miss Lotti, I would love to get to know you. I'm sure I'll see you again."

"I hope you trip on your way out." Lotti's rude suggestion ends the conversation there.

Xerxes listens for her footsteps to disappear completely before getting back to the piano.