Moves Like Jagger
Hi all, after some mulling I realized that the school name "Ackee" stuck in my head better than "Ackree". Initially I wanted Ackee but I thought it sounded like 'icky' :P But now that I'm so used to saying "Ackee", I shall conveniently change it so. =P
So yes… the school name is Ackee Fine Arts Academy, or AFAA or Ackee :) Is it important? That depends… but it's too early to reveal anything so for now… just sit back and enjoy!
Chapter 4 – The Problem
"Are you sure that this is your final product, Elena?" Professor Lucrecia Crescent raised an eyebrow at her student.
Elena flushed and answered truthfully, "I did my best."
Lucrecia Crescent glanced at Elena's oil painting, an undeniably a good job but something was amiss. It was as though as Elena was only given 3 days to do her painting. The pretty professor frowned. If the other students had submitted such work, she wouldn't have second thoughts, but this was Elena's oil painting. Being one of the professors who hand-picked her to further her oil painting education in Ackee, Lucrecia expected better.
She crosses her arms and stared at her student. "Elena…" She asked gently. "Is there anything that happened recently that maybe I should know about?"
Her student looked at her, her eyes showed that there was more than what met the eye. Nevertheless, Elena kept mum. "Dr. Crescent, I appreciate your concern. I assure you that there is nothing for you to worry about." She patted her painting. "This is not my best painting, I admit." She smiled sadly. "I'll do better next time."
Lucrecia wanted to probe further but decided against it. "Please put your painting in the corner over there." She pointed at her adjoining storeroom. "Your painting will be graded after the exhibition tomorrow." She turned back to her papers. "Have fun tomorrow."
Elena carried her painting, covered with blank newsprint, into the professor's storeroom. Then she walked out of the office, sighing at her unspoken injustice.
To Elena's surprise, the art exhibition passed without disturbance. Elena checked her painting hourly for any sabotages on her painting, but there were none.
"Maybe this is the last that I'll hear from them." Said Elena to Cissnei. "After all, their plans to stop me from submitting my painting did not work out." She smiled cheerfully. "After this performance I'm returning to my quiet life and I'll no longer be a threat to the Laser Lou fan club."
Cissnei looked thoughtful. "I hope you're right, Elena. For your sake."
To the surprise of the Arts students and Elena herself, Reno, Tseng and Rude visited the exhibition as well, a little after lunchtime. Tseng and Tude were considerate enough to not draw attention to themselves, but Reno, when he saw Elena in the short distance, waved excitedly and called out her name.
"What a surprise to see you here." Elena exclaimed as they walked up to each other. She tried to avoid the curious glances from her coursemates and smiled at Tseng. "No practice today?"
"We took a break to visit you." Answered Rude. "That's the very least we can do to show our support." Elena beamed and thanked them.
"Laney, where's the original painting?" Reno asked, standing in front of her oil painting. It was a simple classic lip design painted with psychedelic colours. "The painting that we did together was a hot chick sticking her tongue out like the Rolling Stones design."
The blonde narrowed her eyes at him. "The way you described my painting makes it sound so sleazy. Anyway…" She clenched her teeth briefly. "I didn't like it, so I redid it."
"You've got to be crazy." Reno shook his head. "I liked that one much better."
Elena shrugged. It was time to change the topic. "Cissnei's work is just over there." She jerked a thumb to the right. "Go check it out."
"We sure will." Rude nodded. "And say hi if she's around." Reno frowned, but followed after the bald student. Elena was about to follow about them when Tseng held her back, pulling her arm gently.
"What is it, Tseng?" She asked, shrugging out of his grip.
"Something is wrong." Tseng frowned. "What is the problem?"
Elena gave a sheepish smile. "Was I obvious that I was changing the subject?"
Tseng gave a nonchalant look. "I understand that you have your own problems, but I hope you remain as professional as possible."
"Of course!" Elena grinned. "Not to worry, Tseng. Once the performance is over, I'll return to my original life and all this won't be a problem anymore."
The keyboardist narrowed his eyes at her. "Are you getting into trouble because of us?" He asked. "Or do you really not like to work with us?"
Elena was stunned by his question. "I…"
"Yo, Tseng!" Reno called out to them. "We're leaving soon!"
Tseng turned to Elena. "I do hope that you stay in Laser Lou." He nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow for vocal training."
With the arts festival safely out of the way, Laser Lou and Elena focused their attention on practicing their performance. Elena was impressed with their professional attitudes and how they knew what they were doing.
Elena on the other hand… though the guys hardly say it, she knew that she was not up to their standards. Tseng is the only one who could teach her vocally, however he is not a teacher either. He could only point out pitching problems (having perfect pitch, he does that easily) and point out what is wrong with her singing, but he couldn't help her improve.
With almost two weeks before the performance, Elena felt frustrated and helpless at the same time. She may not be a professional singer, but she is a professional artist, and she knew the disappointment and hindrance she would become if she didn't buck up and improve.
She sat in her dormitory room, staring at the white ceiling above her. She hummed the song again and again but she felt no satisfaction in her voice. Her efforts soon digressed and Elena found herself singing "What A Girl Wants" again. Then, as if a switch was flipped on, Elena sat up on the bed, her heart beating fast at her novel idea. Jumping out of the bed, she walked towards her table, picked up her phone and dialed a number that she never remembered to delete.
Even though the performance was two days away, Reno didn't look frantic or stressed out. In the comfort of the music studio, he strummed his guitar leisurely as Elena was practising her part. Suddenly, from the corner of her eye she saw Reno place his guitar on his lap. "Elena?" Reno's voice was puzzled. Elena looked at him quizzically, prompting him to continue. "Your voice… it has improved." He said quietly.
She blushed at the compliment made. "Thanks."
"No, I mean it." Reno sat up straighter. "Your voice control and pitching has become more refined." He peered at the blonde. "What did you do?"
Elena raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You could tell?"
"Nothing escapes the Almighty Reno." He boasted smugly. "Now, you obviously had vocal help… and it's not from Tseng."
Deciding not to argue with him on his self-claimed title, Elena replied. "I looked up my voice teacher. You know… the one who taught me when I was a kid?" Reno nodded, his face now understanding. She smiled. "I want to improve myself… not be the one ruining Laser Lou's sound. She was nice enough to help me for the last two weeks, so I sought her out when you guys are busy with your other commitments."
The redhead broke into a smile. "I like your diligence, Elena." He remarked. "And it's bringing good results. Your singing is much mature and closer to what we want."
Elena shrugged. "Elmrya is a good teacher."
Upon hearing the name, Reno's jaw dropped. "Elmrya? As in Elmrya Gainsborough?"
Elena stared at him. "You know her?"
"Know her?" Reno exclaimed. "Everyone knows her!" He jumped up from his couch. "She's one of the best vocal teachers around, who personally trains Aerith Gainsborough!" Looking at her stunned expression, Reno cocked his head a little. "You do know who Aerith is, right?"
Elena nodded. "She's the daughter of Elmrya. She often sat in my vocal les-"
"Aerith," Reno stated with emphasis. "Is the lead singer of the famous pop-rock band, AVALANCHE!" He held his head with both hands and sat down. "Absolutely mind-blown! To think, one of Elmrya's students sits right under my nose!"
"So Aerith is a celebrity now?" Elena said, incredulous. Elmrya didn't mention Aerith, they didn't have time to catch up at all. She grinned. "So… Someone is a fan of Aerith?" She asked cheekily.
Reno laughed. "Not me, Tseng is a big fan of hers. Rude likes Tifa Lockhart, the keyboardist." He glanced at her. "She's a student in Ackee as well, I'll point her out to you sometime soon."
Elena snorted. She couldn't imagine the two serious-looking students having something as frivolous as a celebrity crush. "What about you, Reno?" She teased. "Any celebrity crushes?"
Reno leaned closer towards Elena. "I feel nothing for celebrities." He said gently, pulling his face closer to Elena's. "I prefer people who are real, not people whom I can only admire from a distance." He smiled, reaching out to finger her long blonde hair.
Pulling away from his touch hastily, Elena stood up. "I'm ah… I'm going to the washroom." She stammered, hoping hard that Reno would not notice how red her face has become.
Reno simply smiled. "Who's stopping you?" He gave a cheeky grin. Elena took that as a cue to quickly run out of the room before Reno decided to tease her further.
What is wrong with me? She thought, pressing her hands onto her cheeks. For a moment, I thought that Reno was going to kiss me. She quickly walked down the corridor, feeling her fast-beating heart. The worse part was… I didn't seem to mind.
In the bathroom, she splashed cold water on her face. Don't be stupid, Elena! She chided herself. Reno is just being a tease. He always flirts like this with the other girls too. I'm being paranoid, there's no way Reno will like me. I'm just a singer in Laser Lou.
But he was the one who spotted me, and insisted that I sing in Laser Lou…
"Elena?" As she looked up, she saw Christine, one of her classmates, along the corridor.
Elena smiled. Even though Christine was not a close friend, she was one of the few students who talked to Elena. On top of that, Elena often helped her with her work. "What happened, Christine?"
"Dr. Crescent wants to see you in her office."
"Oh," Elena said. "Do you know what it is about?" Christine replied that it is to retrieve their respective paintings, now graded and ready to be returned. Elena thanked her and without bothering to inform Reno, she headed in the opposite direction.
It took a while before Elena reached the office of Dr. Lucrecia Crescent in the Arts Building. The hallway felt eerily quiet. Shaking any feelings of worry aside, Elena knocked on the door. "Dr. Crescent?" There was no response, but Elena found her door was not locked. So Elena entered her office. "Sorry to interrupt…" She murmured. "Dr. Crescent, I heard you were looking for me…"
The office was empty, but in the adjacent storeroom Elena thought she heard noises and smelled cigarette smoke. Walking over to the storeroom, she called out for her teacher again, but her heart sank when she heard the door click shut and bolted behind her.
Full A/N in my blog: aichioluv (dot) blogspot (dot) com
Less than 2000 words? Wow, I haven't wrote such a short chapter since I returned back from my hiatus!
Chapter 3 and 4 was done with special thanks to Belize, a friend of mine who takes art.