I keep thinking about music all through the day and into the night. My dreams consisted of flying musical notes. People were climbing on them and singing, flying away. But try as I might, I could not catch one. I was left on the ground, trying to sing to the people in the clouds.
What a weird dream.
I awoke this morning and hastily ate my breakfast, eager to get to school for once. That's where my music sheet, hastily stashed in my locker, is.
I sneak out the door before someone can insist they drive me.
The sun shines down on the tan building. It's a beautiful day, full of life and warmth. The cool air inside the building rushes in my face as I enter. I walk down the nearly empty hallway, and stop in front of my locker. After entering my combination, I swing the door open and shuffle through the loose papers inside. Finally I see it, stuffed in the back.
I smooth it out on the surface of the locker. "Kokoro" is what I had named it. The door to the locker gently clicks shut, as I remember the rhythm and beat to my song. All I have to do is write the lyrics.
Eagerly, I take a seat at my desk and pull out a pencil. I'm lost in thought, thinking of how I should portray the story into the song.
More people start to arrive, and I start to get nervous. What if they laugh at me? Or even worse, take my paper away and taunt me? Would they really do that? Or just keep looking at me as if I'm not there?
I decide to keep working on it until the teacher comes in. I just can't seem to put it down. It feels so good to write music again.
Sensei Meiko arrives, and immediately launches into a lecture. Sighing, I put the fragile paper back in my bag, to work on it another time.
/
One more class until lunch. I walk down the halls, thinking about my music once again. I'll have a chance to work on it while I eat. Still, I want to look at it once before then. I take out the paper and glance over the notes and few words I have written. A small smile spreads across my face as I walk down the hall.
Suddenly, a group of people pushes past me, deliberately knocking into me. The paper escapes my hand, and I hear a few people laughing. I don't see who did it, I'm frantically searching for my paper. Students flood the hallways, and the paper is lost among their midst. Desperately I jump up and down, but no matter which direction I look, the paper is gone. I hear even more laughs as I hop in the middle of the hallway.
"Stupid rich girl." Someone says.
Snickers and giggles can be heard all around.
Tears start to form in my eyes. It's bad enough that I lost my music, but now people are mocking me. I run to my next class, English. I take a seat in the back and put my head in my hands, blocking out the world as I wait for lunch.
/
The teacher dismisses us for lunch, and I grab my meal wrapped up in a sack. Hanging my head, I start to go outside.
Since Miku is two years older than me, our lunches are different. So I tend to sit by myself during lunch. I'm used to it though.
But now I could really use Miku's positive and happy personality. Maybe she could cheer me up. I doubt it. But it would still be better to have her by my side than to be alone.
So I stand outside in the warm sunshine, waiting for the bell to ring again. I don't feel like eating.
That's when I see him. Sitting in the shade of a giant tree. Len. His head bent over another sheet of paper. Only this one's a little crumpled and wrinkly.
I can't help myself. Curiosity gets the better of me, I have to see if he's writing music again.
I walk around the side of the tree, one hand resting on the trunk. I look down and see that he is holding a music sheet. But he's not writing on it. That's when I see the title is "Kokoro."
He looks up and notices me staring. His ocean blue eyes are curious.
"W-where'd you get that?" I ask.
He glance down at the paper, then looks back at me.
"I found it in the hallways." He replies.
My heart starts to pound. He had found my music. And was reading it. Would he make fun of me as well?
I think he sees something in my eyes, because then he asks, "Did you write this?"
I lower my head and nod slightly, staring at the ground.
"It's really good."
My head snaps up, surprised. "W-what?"
"It's really good." He repeats, "Your good with music." He smiles.
I laugh a little, relieved. He likes my music.
"Would you like to sit with me?" he asks, his smile cool and uncaring.
The pounding in my heart becomes a flutter. I lower myself onto the grass beside him. The shade from the tree provides protection from the relentless sun. He starts asking me questions about my music, and I ask him some questions in return.
We stay like that until the bell calls us back into the school.