Spock sat holding his lyre as people, both Terran and Vulcan, stopped to congratulate him for doing as well as he had in the music competition. He had won second place, and lost to his father, who was his instructor in the first place. The fifteen year old would have felt rather pleased with himself, had he not been a Vulcan. As it was, such emotion was hardly appropriate.
The line around him dwindled, even as the group surrounding his father grew. Eventually Spock was left alone.
With exception to the dark skinned Terran who had just apporached him, hands behind her back, smiling awkwardly. She stood there, patiently, not meeting Spock's eyes, for approximately 2.7984 minutes.
"May I help you?" He asked, and she jumped. She was younger than he, Spock judged.
"I really enjoyed your playing." She said, eyes sparkling. "It was beautiful and elegant and full of feeling." She paused. "I think that's why you didn't win. Your pitch, your timing, everything else was just as good, but emotion seemed to run freely through the song. Human music is like that, and Vulcan pieces too, but control is a big thing for Vulcans, and you let the music be in control." She said all this quickly, but suddenly, abruptly stopped. Then she smiled awkwardly. "I sound like I'm trying to make you feel better about losing." She said.
Spock did not respond. He was thinking. Was his human half responsible for his musical ability? Emotion was necessary in a piece of music, Spock thought, otherwise it was simply a collection of notes. Perhaps there were some benefits to being half human.
He looked back at the girl, who was staring at the floor. She felt his gaze and looked up.
"Was there something else you required?" Spock asked. The girl bit her lip, bounced up and down, and then shook her head.
"Could I try?" She blurted, nodding toward the lyre.
Spock stood, ushered her into his seat, and handed her the instrument. "Are you a musician?" He asked.
"I take voice lessons." She said. "I've wanted to learn an instrument, but haven't gotten to." She said, gently plucking the strings as she spoke. She caught on almost intuitively, listening as SPock explained a few things now and again.
"There goes the idea that humans can't play a Vulcan instrument." The voice of a female human made the girl jump, nearly dropping the lyre. "That's probably another reason you placed second." She said to Spock. "Who's your friend?"
"Vulcans do not have friends, mother." Spock reminded the woman solemnly.
"But humans do." Amanda pointed out.
"The human concept of friendship is poorly defined." Spock replied. "However, if I were to ascribe to the human tendency to refer to people one had met only recently as friends, she would be considered one."
The girl smiled, her dark eyes sparkling. "I'm Nyota." She said.
"I am Spock." Spock replied with a nod.
Amanda smiled. "I'll leave you two to your music, then." She said lightly.
"Who was that?" Nyota asked.
"My mother." Spock replied.
"Are you human as well as Vulcan?" She asked.
Spock nodded. "I have chosen the Vulcan way of life." He told her.
Nyota could not quite comprehend that, and brushed it aside for the time being. "Do you sing? Or just play?"
Spock hesitated. "I can sing." He replied.
"But you don't?" She asked.
He shook his head. "I will play while you sing." He offered. "But I do not know any earth songs."
Nyota smiled. Then she began to sing in English, though the song itself was Vulcan in origin. A translation, Spock realized, as he began to play along. She had a pleasant voice, he noted.
The song ended soon, for it was a simple chorus, and Nyota smiled shyly. "I don't know the Vulcan words." She said. "I only heard that once last summer.
Spock was silent for a moment, then began playing the song again, singing it in Vulcan. Nyota listened, completely enraptured. When he started the chorus again, she joined in.
"You would not be remiss in studying linguistics." He said when they were done. "Your pronunciation was acceptable."
He handed the lyre back to Nyota, and she was soon playing some simpler melodies on it. "It's a beautiful instrument." She said wistfully.
"Nyota!" Snapped a voice. An older man, presumably the girl's father, marched up to her. "What are you doing? I told you not to bother him." He said, taking her arm as she abruptly returned the lyre to Spock. "Let's go, Nyota, now!" The man insisted.
"Bye." She said sadly as her father rushed her off.
Spock frowned, human action though it was. Then he stood and followed the two Terrans. "Nyota." He called, not loudly, but his voice carried, and the two stopped.
The father looked worried as Spock approached them. Spock had seen that expression on his mother before. He stopped before them and held out the lyre. "Here." He said.
"Really?" She asked, uncertainly, her eyes wide.
Spock raised an eyebrow. He wondered why she would disbelieve him. "Certainly." He told her. "It would be unfortunate if your talent were to be neglected."
She accepted it, wordlessly, her eyes shining and a smile on her face.
"Good day." Spock said with a nod, then turned and walked away.
That, Spock recalled, had been a long time ago.
*
Author's note: So, I finally found it, and a bunch of other stuff, so you can probably expect a few updates pretty soon in areas other than just Twilight.
Disclaimer: I have no possession of the universe of Star Trek, its ideas, or its characters, nor do I claim to. I heard the phrase 'notes on a page' from the movie, Mr. Holland's Opus, and make no claim to ownership of that. Anything else here that unintentionally leaks through does not belong to me either, and I will admit it if brought to my attention.