Many thanks to those splendiferous reviews I have received from the first chapter! I have tried my best to make this one funny, but normal… mainly because there are so many outrageous fics to read out there (which are all well and good, because what's more exciting than the outrageous? Which makes a normal fic harder to keep from getting boring, I suppose…). To tell you the honest truth, I am feeling quite lazy right now, so I won't be posting the list of names of people and responses… (many apologies)… But it is 1 in the morning…

And this chapter may be subject to change as well… you never know when I'll decide I want something completely different…

Hope you enjoy!

 

Capriccio

Whimsical, humorous – somewhat irregular form

            "Ahh…"

            Hitomi's small whimper sounded quiet compared to the few seconds before.

            "Maybe when I practice, I don't actually need to play fortissimo…"

            She wiped at her mouth, feeling the telltale pain within the muscles at the corner of her mouth. Blowing her lips, she balanced the trombone between her knees and leaned back against the chair.

            "I knew I should have practiced more over the summer…"

            She glared at the sheet of music in front of her, littered with dozens of notes that were attached with way too many black lines for any low brass player. It looks like bloody flute music!

            Shaking her head, she lifted the horn and attempted to play the lick again. The accidentals turned the fancy twisted run into a D major scale, or something close enough to it. Hitomi hated sharp keys. Most of the things she played were in flat keys, like B flat or E flat. Even C major was alright. But D major was a wretched key for her to play in.

            Laying the trombone across her bed in a gesture of surrender, she stood up and stretched, feeling her back crack slightly.

            A sudden banging on her door nearly made her jump out of her skin.

            "What?!"

            The door opened, and Folken's face appeared around the doorway. "Dinner's ready."

            Hitomi glared at him without force. "Good Lord, there's no need to break the door down."

            He merely flashed a grin at her and proceeded down the stairs.

            She held a hand to the heart that was still racing at the unexpected intrusion. "Jeez…"

            After dismantling the trombone and safely putting it in the case, she hopped down the stairs to meet the family at the table.

            "Folken, one of these days you're going to break my door."

            "No I'm not," he said easily. "I know the physical limitations of the door."

            She rolled her eyes with a smile. "You would."

            Mamoru reached for a piece of bread, grinning with that obnoxious little brother smile of his. "Folken said he really scared you this time."

            "He did not!" She poked her older brother in the side. He turned maroon eyes toward her in mock seriousness.

            "I wouldn't do that."

            "What are you gonna do to me?" she taunted him. He raised an eyebrow as she grinned and took a piece of chicken.

            "I know where you sleep."

            "And I know where you sleep."

            "You sleep before me."

            "I wake up before you, too."

            "Kids, could you stop fighting please?" Hitomi's mother, Lydia, said as she brought the green beans to the table.

            Hitomi and Folken both turned to her and said, "But we're not fighting."

            She rolled her eyes and sighed.

            Mamoru took another piece of bread, and said, "Hey Mom, guess what? Today I was playing that new game I got, and I almost beat the fifth level. It was really cool. There was this guy-"

            "Mamoru, don't take any more bread."

            "-was like ten feet tall, and you had to use the mind powers to make him weak, and then attack him with the sword attack that you got from the character-"

            "Mom, can you pass the salad?"

            "-who you actually met on the third level-"

            "Folken, take some more green beans."

            "-but you also needed to have enough points to buy the sword, too, which you got in level-"

            "Mom, you know I don't like green beans."

            "-but still, I beat him and then I got stopped by his wife, or something, who was mad that I killed her husband and-"

            Hitomi rolled her eyes. How retarded.

            "-but then you called me for dinner."

            "Very interesting, Mamoru," her mom said distractedly.

            "Hey Mom," she piped up in the gap of silence before Mamoru could continue with another one of his video game exploits, "When's Dad coming back?"

            "Tomorrow. You need to iron his shirts, by the way. He's run out."

            She grimaced. "Yeah, I know." She kicked Mamoru's feet beneath the table, and he gave her a look.

            "Stop!" he protested.

            Her eyes oozed innocence. "Stop what?" She nudged him again.

            He kicked her back, barely missing when she dodged his blow under the table. A grin broke out on her face as she scored again on him. He tried to kick her once more, only this time hitting the table.

            "Mamoru, don't kick the table while we're eating."

            "But Mo-om, Hitomi's kicking me!"

            "Hitomi, stop antagonizing Mamoru," her mom scolded.

            "I'm just messing with him, sheesh," she chuckled, throwing an amused glance at her younger brother. "You take everything so seriously."

            He stuck a tongue out at her that had some remnant of whatever he'd been stuffing in his mouth last, which made her grimace is disgust. "Please, keep that to yourself." He continued eating, easily forgetting what had just happened, while she continued to look at him. Folken picked up on her cue and stared also.

            He glanced up for a moment with his mouth full, and then took a double take, staring at both of them. "What?"

            Hitomi raised an eyebrow, her eyes never leaving his. "Nothing."

            Mamoru looked from one to the other and back again. "What'd I do?"

            "Who said you did anything?" Folken replied.

            "Someone with a guilty conscience would say that," Hitomi stated.

            "What'd you do this time, Mamoru?" Folken interrogated.

            "Nothing!"

            "It doesn't sound like nothing to me," Hitomi grinned.

            "I didn't do anything!"

            "Guys…" Lydia began in a cautioning tone, giving her two older children a quelling look. "Leave Mamoru alone."

            The corner of Folken's mouth turned upwards in a grin, though he kept his gaze on Mamoru. "We're not doing anything to him."

            "You guys are staring at me!"

            Hitomi chuckled. "We might be looking at something just beyond you. How do you know it's you we're looking at?"

            "Why do you get so defensive all the time? If nothing were going on then you shouldn't be so uncomfortable," Folken said.

            "Really, Folken, you're in college. Grow up."

            "Aw, Mom, it's just in fun." He leaned back in his chair, finally averting his gaze from Mamoru.

            Hitomi also freed her stare, sharing a grin with Folken, and then popped another forkful of salad into her mouth. Her eyes brightened with thought, and she turned back to her mom and swallowed. "Oh, mom, the movie Allen and I saw last night was really great! I think you'd like it."

            "Oh, really?"

            "Yeah. It was really funny… but not in a bad way. No uncomfortable scenes or anything."

            "Well, that's always good," the older woman commented.

            "Allen and I were laughing so hard at this one part…" she trailed off into a chuckle just reminiscing.

            "I was listening to the radio today on the way to school," Folken began, "and they were discussing whether the arts really did improve students' intellect and skills."

            "It does," Hitomi asserted with confidence.

            "Well, that's because you're a band dork. Obviously you'd say that."

            "Shut up."

            He grinned patronizingly. "It's true."

            "It's more fun than engineering." She uttered the subject like it was a foul word.

            He gave his characteristic shrug. "That's all up to personal opinion."

            "So what did they say on the radio?" Lydia interrupted before her children could start their pointless squabbling again.

            "They said that the results were inconclusive," he said, eyeing Hitomi.

            She wrinkled a nose in his direction. "Well, that was time well spent," she remarked in a sarcastic tone, but with good humor.

            "It's not the end of the debate, Hitomi. They're still going to discuss this time and again until they do reach a conclusion."

            "I know that." Before he could reply, she stood and gathered her plate and utensils. "Thanks, Mom, that was great," she said, giving her mother a peck on the cheek before she carried her dishes to the sink.

            Just when she was about to turn to retreat upstairs, Lydia said, "Oh, Hitomi, could you put the dishes in the dishwasher for me?"

            Sighing quietly to herself, she reached dutifully for the first dish and tuned in to the music that played within her mind.

*          *          *

            She wadded the jacket behind her head, vainly attempting to get comfortable against the carpeted floor of the band room, against the wall in the back of the room.

            Hitomi hadn't closed her eyes for a minute before she heard, "What are you doing there?"

            Opening her eyes to slits, she looked up into burgundy irises. Uttering an inward groan to herself, she muttered, "Trying to sleep."

            "You skipping?"

            Sighing audibly, she sat up and brushed her hair out of her face. "No, it's my lunch."

            "Oh. Mine, too." He grinned in the way he always did, which meant he was undoubtedly up to some kind of mischief. "I figured I'd practice now."

            Or seeing how much he could annoy someone.

            "Now?" she asked, hoping that her plaintive tone would persuade him not to.

            "Yeah. I have to learn a snare solo for my lesson tomorrow."

            With that, and a look in his eyes that meant he would greatly enjoy keeping her awake, he strode across to the other side of the band room, towards the percussion equipment.

            She laid her head back down, covering her ears with the jacket and hoping that the thin material would miraculously be able to muffle the rattling sound of the snare drum.

            Of course, it wasn't.

            At least he's good, she reflected to herself. It would be complete hell to have to listen to someone who sucks. Remaining on the floor with her eyes closed, lest she give him the satisfaction of knowing he was keeping her awake, she took the time to let her mind wander.

            She was so tired. I really need to stop staying up so late. She had been talking online with Allen and her cousin, Eriya, until 1 AM. I'm such an idiot. I know I have to wake up early, and I know that I have trouble waking up early… but I still stay up all hours of the night. She burrowed farther into the jacket that lay between her head and the ground, as if she could somehow mimic the feel of her pillow in bed. Curling up on her side, she let out a breath, feeling her body relax against the floor.

            After several minutes, the sound of the snare drum surprisingly became soothing to her, the constant patter of rhythm lulling her mind into darkness.

            Or maybe she was just so tired that even a persistent drummer couldn't keep her awake at this point.

            Either way, she reflected, it would be nice to sleep…

            The next thing she felt was a poke in the side from a stick. "What?" she muttered irritably.

            "Second period's over. Don't you have a class next?"

            She moaned, not even bothering to think of what a mess she looked like. She rubbed her eyes, blinking several times to awaken herself as she pulled herself upright, stretching out the kinks in her back that came as a result from sleeping on a hard, barely carpeted floor. "Don't you?" She winced. Her foot was asleep, and now tingling like the devil.

            "Yeah, but I'm skipping. It's photography. I don't feel like going. Besides, I forgot my camera at home today."

            "Of course…" she said. That wasn't a surprise at all. She tried to ignore her foot as she stood up.

            "What class do you have?"

            "Russian."

            "Oh, you take Russian?" He crossed his arms and smiled teasingly. "Tell me something in Russian then."

            She swung her book bag onto her shoulder. "Tuy durak, ee svinya tozhye."

            "What does that mean?"

            She grinned back, secretly laughing at him. "I suppose you'll have to find out yourself, won't you? Ask someone else who takes the class. I'm not going to tell you."

            He frowned. "I won't remember all that you said, though."

            She shrugged easily with a mischievous glint in her eyes all her own. "Well then, I guess you'll never know then, will you?"

Index:

fortissimo – extremely loud (The reason Hitomi regretted playing loud is that, in time, it does hurt the muscles of your mouth [I assume this is true for all wind players, even woodwinds] because of the effort being expelled during the playing. A lot of times the player will compensate for a lack of wind, which is used to make the sound, with a lot of pressure on the mouthpiece, which 1: hurts like the dickens and 2: leaves a very embarrassing red rind around your lips for the next few minutes after playing. Not good.)
accidental – sharps, flats, or naturals, which are not found in the key signature
The Russian phrase Hitomi said to Van actually means "You are a moron, and a pig also."

I'm writing this without explaining much about music, because I'm assuming most of you will have a general background. However, just in case, I'll include an index at the end of each chapter of words that those not musically inclined might not be familiar with. If I miss any, or fail to sufficiently explain something (which I'm bound to do at some point, because it is like second nature to me) please tell me and I will do my best to make sure you all are not left in the dark. Also, if you think I'm being too descriptive and am coming across as being patronizing, tell me that also. I want to strike the happy balance.

*Well, I couldn't keep this one down… all my chapters for this story are surprisingly short, but easier to write… I guess since a lot I have personally experienced, and therefore don't need to think so hard about what it's like (Yes…sleeping on the band room floor really does result in kinks in your back and a foot that falls asleep… I didn't even mention the red mark that you get on your face…but when you're tired, you're tired, right?).

So I do believe that these chapters will be churned out sporadically, considering that my weekends from now until eternity are completely shot from music stuff I have involved myself in… I'm in way over my head, but we'll see how well I can tread water I guess *smiles*.

'Til I next write again!

-wink*