Mutated Music
by Lamie
----+----+----+----+----+--Chapter 3--+----+----+----+----+----
It turned out that Seriana was right, that her leg wasn't broken. She just had a pretty bad sprain. It was wrapped up in a flesh colored ace bandage. At least it was supposed to be flesh colored, it was much darker than her own skin. Seriana's great grandparents had come from Ireland, and the fair Irish skin tone had been passed down to her. She hated it. She always returned from band camp looking like a stop sign. She didn't understand the point of making the bandage the that color. Were they trying to make it blend into the skin? It was kind of silly considering that when you wear it on your ankle, over swelling even, it makes your ankle about three times larger than normal. She wasn't allowed to walk on it, so she pulled out the crutches she used last time she hurt her ankle and adjusted them to match the three and a half inches she had grown since she used them last.
Seriana began getting ready to leave home as soon as she got home. She got out her biggest suitcase and set it open on her bed. It still had an empty can of silly string in it leftover from band camp. She threw the can out and began putting all of her clothes into it (the suitcase, not the can.) When the suitcase was full, she ran across the hall to her dad's room and began to search in the messy closet for his suitcase. She eventually found it and emptied its contents onto the piles of junk that were already in the closet. She had to fold everything up really small so that it would all fit in the two suitcases. Seriana was so excited that she was finally going to leave, that she didn't account for the fact that she's be staying home for about a week before leaving and that she shouldn't pack all of her clothes. When she needed to change her clothes, she grumbled as she opened the suitcase. All the clothes she had jammed in there sprung out when she opened it.
She needed to get to the music store to tell the owner that she wouldn't be able to give any more lessons. She glanced at the clock, 9:00 AM. There would be no way that Jack, the guitar teacher, would be awake yet. He normally gave her a ride to the store for work when her car didn't work, but the odds of him being awake before noon were like a zillion to one. She decided to call him anyways. The phone rang fourteen times. She was just about to hang up when a groggy male voice answered the phone.
"Jack?" Seriana asked.
"Urr...."
"Can you give me a ride to the music store?"
"Unh..."
"I'm on crutches and I'm not allowed to drive."
"Eh.... I'll be over in ten minutes, Seri."
She heard a click as he hung up. She was kind of surprised he could tell who was calling, especially since he just woke up. Almost a half hour passed and no one showed up. She called back. There were 8 rings before an answer. "Sorry, " he grumbled. "I fell back asleep."
"Yeah, well, are you awake now?"
"Most likely."
"Jack, just get out of bed, put some pants on, and get in your car. You remember where I live?"
"Uh, a house, right?"
"On Belmonte street."
"Yeah, yeah, I knew that. 10 minutes." And the phone clicked again as he hung up.
Eleven minutes and 44 seconds later there was a knock on the door. Seriana was surprised; Jack usually just stayed in his car and honked the horn. She hobbled to the door and opened it. "What are you doing on the porch?" she asked him
"Oh no," he said, still looking like he was asleep. "Don't tell me I dreamed you called me, and I came o-"
"No, I called you."
"Oh, good. Cause this wouldn't be the first time I dreamed someone told me to do something and I did it while I was awake."
Seriana really didn't want to know what he had done. She limped out of the house, and began to reach to close the door, but Jack had done it for her. "What are you doing?"
"Helping. Your foot's broken or something, right?"
"Yeah," she said suspiciously.
"So I'm helping."
"You're freaking me out."
Jack laughed. "Come on, I'll get you some breakfast on the way there."
----+----+----+----+----
Seriana was clinging to the door handle with one hand, and her McDonald's coffee with the other. Jack wasn't exactly the best driver in the history of the world.
"Aren't you going to ask me why I need a ride?"
"Do you want to tell me why you need a ride?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It seems that you want to show of that you're going there for a reason."
Seriana scoffed. "No," she said in a disbeleiving tone intended to hide the truth.
"Alright. Your call."
There was almost a minute of silence.
"It's cause I'm quitting." she took a sip of her coffee.
"What?" The car swerved a little.
"I'm moving to New York."
"New York? What's in New York?!" Jack looked extremely hurt.
"A school."
"A school? School. You have to go to New York for school."
"Yes." Seriana noticed that the car's speed was gradually increasing.
"Why? What's so great there that you can't get here?"
"Well, um, it's kind of... different. There isn't really a place like it around here..."
"What, you mean... Is it like a music school?"
Seriana didn't want to have to get into a long explination, so she just said "yes"
"Jesus, Seri. You gotta lighten up about your music. You take it too seriously, and it's not fun anymore.
"It's something you wouldn't understand, Jack." She glanced out the window and saw that he had pulled into the parking lot of the music store. Jack parked the car and got out before walking around to help Seriana get out. She had already opened the door and was trying to get the crutches out. Jack grabbed them and held them up for her. He tried to offer his hand to help her out, but she refused and insisted on doing it herself.
"Look, Seri. You can't leave. You're my only girl friend." He quickly corrected himself after receiving a harsh look from her. "I don't mean girl friend, I mean... girl.. friend... Friend girl."
Seriana stood on her good foot and grabbed the cruches. She started to hobble to the small building. Jack opened the door for her. The bell rang as she stepped into the air conditoned store. When you first walk in the shop, there are rows of guitar amps to the right. To the left, about 10 different drum sets were arranged in a way that made it seem like they weren't arranged at all. Behind the amps was the counter, where reeds, guitar pics and other small accessories sat in jars. Band instruments like trumpets and clarinets sat on display in the glass casin of the counter. Flier advertising instruments for sale, band gigs, and wanteds for tribute bands were taped to the glass case. At first glance, this seemed to be all the store had to offer, but to the left of the counter, there was a doorway leading to another room. On the left wall of this room were guitars of all varieties. Seriana didn't have a guitar of her own, but whenever she'd practice and Jack'd teach her, she would always choose the same one from the wall, a dark green electric guitar with silver tuning keys. The owner, Mike, always let her use it, even though he had a sign up that read "5 minute limit on guitars". To the right of the room, sat 5 or 6 keyboards, all extremly elaborate. They all sat on stands and had benches along with them. The keyboard Seriana owned was nowhere near as fancy as these ones. On the back wall, behind the keyboards, were several doors. They all led to small rooms, no bigger than 6'x6'. These rooms were used for lessons. Seriana taught in the room behind the third door to the left.
As Seriana and Jack entered, a bell jingled and a man behind the glass counter stood up. "Jack! What are you doing here so early? Did you forget to go to bed again?"
"Nah, just gave Seri a ride," he said as she hobbled in.
"Christ, Seriana! What happened?"
"Nothing serious, Mike. I gotta talk to you."
"Uh, sure." He led her into the second room, to a bench by one of the keyboards. "Have a seat."
Seriana decided to speak quickly and get it over with. "I'm moving to New York, so I've got to quit."
"Qu... QUIT? Seriana, you're the best flute teacher I've ever had here. All your students love you. You can't just quit."
"Look, if I could move to New York and still teach here, I would. But I can't."
Mike sighed. "When are you leaving?"
"About a week. That way I'll have time to tell my students when they come in."
"We'll all miss you here. I'd try to convince you to stay, but you seem hell bent on going."
"Thanks for understanding, Mike."
----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----
reviews, please. I really appreciate them
hearts & hotard, Lamie
by Lamie
----+----+----+----+----+--Chapter 3--+----+----+----+----+----
It turned out that Seriana was right, that her leg wasn't broken. She just had a pretty bad sprain. It was wrapped up in a flesh colored ace bandage. At least it was supposed to be flesh colored, it was much darker than her own skin. Seriana's great grandparents had come from Ireland, and the fair Irish skin tone had been passed down to her. She hated it. She always returned from band camp looking like a stop sign. She didn't understand the point of making the bandage the that color. Were they trying to make it blend into the skin? It was kind of silly considering that when you wear it on your ankle, over swelling even, it makes your ankle about three times larger than normal. She wasn't allowed to walk on it, so she pulled out the crutches she used last time she hurt her ankle and adjusted them to match the three and a half inches she had grown since she used them last.
Seriana began getting ready to leave home as soon as she got home. She got out her biggest suitcase and set it open on her bed. It still had an empty can of silly string in it leftover from band camp. She threw the can out and began putting all of her clothes into it (the suitcase, not the can.) When the suitcase was full, she ran across the hall to her dad's room and began to search in the messy closet for his suitcase. She eventually found it and emptied its contents onto the piles of junk that were already in the closet. She had to fold everything up really small so that it would all fit in the two suitcases. Seriana was so excited that she was finally going to leave, that she didn't account for the fact that she's be staying home for about a week before leaving and that she shouldn't pack all of her clothes. When she needed to change her clothes, she grumbled as she opened the suitcase. All the clothes she had jammed in there sprung out when she opened it.
She needed to get to the music store to tell the owner that she wouldn't be able to give any more lessons. She glanced at the clock, 9:00 AM. There would be no way that Jack, the guitar teacher, would be awake yet. He normally gave her a ride to the store for work when her car didn't work, but the odds of him being awake before noon were like a zillion to one. She decided to call him anyways. The phone rang fourteen times. She was just about to hang up when a groggy male voice answered the phone.
"Jack?" Seriana asked.
"Urr...."
"Can you give me a ride to the music store?"
"Unh..."
"I'm on crutches and I'm not allowed to drive."
"Eh.... I'll be over in ten minutes, Seri."
She heard a click as he hung up. She was kind of surprised he could tell who was calling, especially since he just woke up. Almost a half hour passed and no one showed up. She called back. There were 8 rings before an answer. "Sorry, " he grumbled. "I fell back asleep."
"Yeah, well, are you awake now?"
"Most likely."
"Jack, just get out of bed, put some pants on, and get in your car. You remember where I live?"
"Uh, a house, right?"
"On Belmonte street."
"Yeah, yeah, I knew that. 10 minutes." And the phone clicked again as he hung up.
Eleven minutes and 44 seconds later there was a knock on the door. Seriana was surprised; Jack usually just stayed in his car and honked the horn. She hobbled to the door and opened it. "What are you doing on the porch?" she asked him
"Oh no," he said, still looking like he was asleep. "Don't tell me I dreamed you called me, and I came o-"
"No, I called you."
"Oh, good. Cause this wouldn't be the first time I dreamed someone told me to do something and I did it while I was awake."
Seriana really didn't want to know what he had done. She limped out of the house, and began to reach to close the door, but Jack had done it for her. "What are you doing?"
"Helping. Your foot's broken or something, right?"
"Yeah," she said suspiciously.
"So I'm helping."
"You're freaking me out."
Jack laughed. "Come on, I'll get you some breakfast on the way there."
----+----+----+----+----
Seriana was clinging to the door handle with one hand, and her McDonald's coffee with the other. Jack wasn't exactly the best driver in the history of the world.
"Aren't you going to ask me why I need a ride?"
"Do you want to tell me why you need a ride?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It seems that you want to show of that you're going there for a reason."
Seriana scoffed. "No," she said in a disbeleiving tone intended to hide the truth.
"Alright. Your call."
There was almost a minute of silence.
"It's cause I'm quitting." she took a sip of her coffee.
"What?" The car swerved a little.
"I'm moving to New York."
"New York? What's in New York?!" Jack looked extremely hurt.
"A school."
"A school? School. You have to go to New York for school."
"Yes." Seriana noticed that the car's speed was gradually increasing.
"Why? What's so great there that you can't get here?"
"Well, um, it's kind of... different. There isn't really a place like it around here..."
"What, you mean... Is it like a music school?"
Seriana didn't want to have to get into a long explination, so she just said "yes"
"Jesus, Seri. You gotta lighten up about your music. You take it too seriously, and it's not fun anymore.
"It's something you wouldn't understand, Jack." She glanced out the window and saw that he had pulled into the parking lot of the music store. Jack parked the car and got out before walking around to help Seriana get out. She had already opened the door and was trying to get the crutches out. Jack grabbed them and held them up for her. He tried to offer his hand to help her out, but she refused and insisted on doing it herself.
"Look, Seri. You can't leave. You're my only girl friend." He quickly corrected himself after receiving a harsh look from her. "I don't mean girl friend, I mean... girl.. friend... Friend girl."
Seriana stood on her good foot and grabbed the cruches. She started to hobble to the small building. Jack opened the door for her. The bell rang as she stepped into the air conditoned store. When you first walk in the shop, there are rows of guitar amps to the right. To the left, about 10 different drum sets were arranged in a way that made it seem like they weren't arranged at all. Behind the amps was the counter, where reeds, guitar pics and other small accessories sat in jars. Band instruments like trumpets and clarinets sat on display in the glass casin of the counter. Flier advertising instruments for sale, band gigs, and wanteds for tribute bands were taped to the glass case. At first glance, this seemed to be all the store had to offer, but to the left of the counter, there was a doorway leading to another room. On the left wall of this room were guitars of all varieties. Seriana didn't have a guitar of her own, but whenever she'd practice and Jack'd teach her, she would always choose the same one from the wall, a dark green electric guitar with silver tuning keys. The owner, Mike, always let her use it, even though he had a sign up that read "5 minute limit on guitars". To the right of the room, sat 5 or 6 keyboards, all extremly elaborate. They all sat on stands and had benches along with them. The keyboard Seriana owned was nowhere near as fancy as these ones. On the back wall, behind the keyboards, were several doors. They all led to small rooms, no bigger than 6'x6'. These rooms were used for lessons. Seriana taught in the room behind the third door to the left.
As Seriana and Jack entered, a bell jingled and a man behind the glass counter stood up. "Jack! What are you doing here so early? Did you forget to go to bed again?"
"Nah, just gave Seri a ride," he said as she hobbled in.
"Christ, Seriana! What happened?"
"Nothing serious, Mike. I gotta talk to you."
"Uh, sure." He led her into the second room, to a bench by one of the keyboards. "Have a seat."
Seriana decided to speak quickly and get it over with. "I'm moving to New York, so I've got to quit."
"Qu... QUIT? Seriana, you're the best flute teacher I've ever had here. All your students love you. You can't just quit."
"Look, if I could move to New York and still teach here, I would. But I can't."
Mike sighed. "When are you leaving?"
"About a week. That way I'll have time to tell my students when they come in."
"We'll all miss you here. I'd try to convince you to stay, but you seem hell bent on going."
"Thanks for understanding, Mike."
----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----
reviews, please. I really appreciate them
hearts & hotard, Lamie