Schroeder was playing Beethoven's Sonata No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor (best known as "Moonlight Sonata") when he heard the back door open. He looked up from the piano keys to see Lucy and her smiling face entering his house. And as mad as it sounded, he felt quite happy to see her here today. It had been a while since she'd come to his house.
Trying not to seem too excited, Schroeder greeted Lucy with a small smile. "How was your day at school?"
"Yeesh," she answered, plopping down on a nearby chair. "Don't ask. I wish someone had told me eighth grade would be this boring."
Schroeder laughed. "Better boring than difficult."
"If you say so," she replied as she examined her manicure. Suddenly she looked up from her hands with a coy grin on her face. "You know, you're cute?"
Schroeder rolled his eyes in reply and kept on playing his piano.
"How are you feeling today?" Lucy asked.
"Pretty good," he said to her. "In fact, quite normal again."
"I'm glad," she said as he played the last notes of the sonata. There was a moment of silence before Schroeder looked up, clearly with the intention of saying something. "Yes?" prompted Lucy.
"You know, Luce—" He stopped short when her eyes met his, obviously surprised at hearing him use her nickname. "Uh, Lucy," he corrected himself, "this whole near-death business has made me realize I really ought to tell you something while I have the chance."
Lucy gasped. "You love me!" she exclaimed, excitedly jumping to her feet.
"Wha— no!" Schroeder interrupted, his eyes wide. "Don't push it, Lucy."
"Oh." She sat back down quietly and crossed her legs. "I'm sorry, Schroeder. Go ahead and tell me whatever it is you were gonna say."
"Thank you." He nodded once. "Really, I just realized that I've never told you before how much I value your friendship. I mean, yes, you can be annoying with your endless pursuit of me and all, but I do appreciate what a good audience you always are for me, so thank you."
Lucy looked intently at Schroeder as he said this. When he was finished, she smiled at him. "Well, you're welcome."
Schroeder smiled back and turned his attention back to his piano, flipping through pages of sheet music to decide what piece he'd play next.
Suddenly he realized Lucy was leaning over his piano, her face only a couple of feet from his. He tried to ignore her.
"You know what I think?" Lucy whispered loudly.
He didn't look up. "What?"
"You do love me!" she said with a cheeky smile.
Schroeder looked at Lucy over the top of his music sheets. She was right, of course, but he had no intention of confessing it now.
"Oh, Lucy," he chuckled, trying to hide the red color taking over his cheeks. "You'll never learn."
"No, I won't." She grinned as she slid off the piano and went to sit back down. "So, what are you going to play for me today? Something cheerful, please. It's Friday, after all."
Her words made Schroeder remember something all of a sudden. "Actually, I wanted to play you the new piece I printed out this week."
"Oh?"
"Yes. Just a second." He dashed upstairs as quickly as his feet would carry him and went into his room, where the new music was sitting on his dresser. He grabbed it and flew back downstairs and sat at the piano.
Clearing his throat nervously, Schroeder spread out the sheets of music on the piano. "Here goes." He began the piece. It started out slowly, but that was only for a few bars. Soon the pace picked up, and as it did Lucy listened in a joyful shock.
"Is that… Is that Guaraldi's 'Jitterbug Waltz'?" she asked excitedly.
Schroeder nodded and kept playing.
"Oh, Schroeder, you're playing jazz!" Lucy might've cried if that sort of thing were her style. But Lucy was a laugher, so she laughed instead. She laughed gleefully as she listened to Schroeder playing a piece by her favorite jazz artist, and she merrily bopped her head along with the music. What a lovely surprise this had been!
"So how come you decided to…?"
"Well," he explained without ceasing to play, "I realized that if I had died last week, I would've died without ever having truly experienced jazz. So I decided to just go for it."
"My goodness," she said, shaking her head happily. "Who knew a near-death experience would change you so much?"
"I think that kind of experience will tend to do that," he answered.
Too soon the song ended, and Lucy was left smiling and speechless. "Wow. Just wow, Schroeder. That was awesome."
"I'm glad you liked it," he answered.
Lucy sighed contentedly and leaned back in the cozy armchair. But suddenly she bolted upright. "Oh, rats!"
"What?"
She pulled out her phone and looked at the time: 4:30. "Rats!" she repeated, starting to gather her things into her book bag. "I'm late!"
"What for?"
"I said I'd meet Charlie Brown! I was due at the school football field fifteen minutes ago! I completely forgot!" She was already opening the back door. "Thanks for the song, Schroeder!" she called as she ran off. "It was lovely!"
Bit of a disclaimer here: I know Vince Guaraldi didn't write "Jitterbug Waltz," but I really liked it for this chapter so let's just go with that. :)