"Good morning, my young musicians!"
A cheery instructor by the name of Owlan greeted us from the front of the small classroom. To my surprise, the room was around the size of my bedroom, and there were only eight students. That left a lot of room for us to interact comfortably, which I liked.
"Okay, let's quiet our guitars for a moment… I see many familiar faces from Music Theory, but I believe I spy a new student!" I figured he meant Link, but the class' eyes turned to me. I smiled as well as I could through my sudden anxiousness and subconsciously drew in around myself.
"Don't be nervous, young lady," Owlan chortled lightly. "How about you tell us your name?"
"Z-Zelda." I squeaked out, and Link grinned at me; though I'd only just met him, he had a calm air around him. It made me a little less nervous. Just a little.
"Well, Zelda, c'mon over and grab a guitar," I stood from my chair, crossing the room; while I fiddled with the guitar cases, Owlan continued to speak. "And these are school guitars, so they may be a bit beaten up… If you have your own, you're welcome to bring it in, use it and store it here as well. You can also rent one of the school's to take home and practice with, free of charge." I sat down with the guitar and Link offered me a small white piece of plastic.
"What's that?" I asked while turning to him and gently accepting it. Owlan's voice came from behind me.
"A pick. It delivers better sound than just plucking the strings with your fingers."
Link demonstrated, pulling out his own. A green one, naturally. It was true; between playing with just your fingers and playing with the pick, the better sound clearly came from the latter. Link nodded at me with a smile as if to say, there you have it.

For the rest of the hour, we spent time learning how to hold a guitar, how to read basic music, and other beginner's skills. Owlan left around fifteen minutes at the end of the hour for us to converse.
"It helps you to better your student relations," He told us. "Feel free to talk amongst yourselves!"
As I returned my guitar to its case, as the others were doing, a brown haired boy with freckles spoke up to me. His name was Pipit, and he sat across from Link and I.
"So Zelda, have you played a guitar before now?" He asked. I shook my head.
"Never," I replied, feeling a bit self-conscious. "I'm a bit nervous, to tell the truth." My laugh sounded more like anxious tittering, to my chagrin. Link only turned to me and patted my shoulder reassuringly.
'You will do just fine. It is not a hard concept, whatsoever. If you desperately (his motions were slightly exaggerated to put emphasis on the word) need my help later, do not be afraid to ask me.' I smiled to him in appreciation. Karane, a red haired girl with pretty green eyes, pointed a finger at Link with a giggle.
"Someone's working their way in awfully fast~" She sang, raising a brow. Pipit snickered and plucked a string on Link's guitar as he walked past.
"Yeah, seems like you've got a puppy crush on a certain blonde-haired female, Link."
I couldn't stifle a grin at their antics as I turned to my mute friend, who could say anything at all with only an expression. He rolled his eyes and waved them off, grinning through a very faint blush. Even though it was funny, I couldn't help feeling a little sympathetic. If all he had were hand gestures and body language, Link must've been an open book sometimes in situations like these. He seemed to be okay with that, though.

"So Link," I began. He turned to me, raising an eyebrow and making eye contact again. "How long have you been playing guitar?" He leaned on his acoustic, pursing his lips for a moment.
'I have been playing around…' He looked at the ceiling in thought before returning his gaze back to my eyes with an affirmative nod. 'Around six years. Since I was ten.'
"Wow," I gasped. "You must be really good, then!" Link shrugged.
'I don't know. I am alright, I guess.' Midna laughed at him.
"Oh, c'mon. Don't be so self-critical! Play something and show her!" She called out. Midna sat in the corner of the room. She dressed in scene clothing, with raven hair, dark make-up and red contacts to match.
With an exasperated and slightly sheepish grin, Link fell back in his seat, shaking his head. By now, the other six students were in an uproar. Looking back at me, he rolled his eyes playfully and held up his hands defensively. He leaned over his guitar, positioning his fingers on the frets, and the room grew silent before he'd even begun to play. I noticed he'd bypassed his pick, so the notes were soft, muffled even, but very soothing.
After watching his hands for a moment, mesmerized with how they moved so gracefully, my gaze moved to his eyes.
Calm, gentle pools of the deepest blue. Lids lowered halfway as he looked downcast to the strings. Blonde hair falling over his face. Link was the picture of gentle concentration, and everyone knew it. The song ended with a light flick of his fingers and he grinned meekly after a moment as if to say, I'm finished.
"Great job, as usual," Midna bragged on him with a smirk. "To answer Zelda's question – yes, he's above and beyond Class Guitar I." At that, Link shook his head quickly, holding out his hands.
'That is going a bit far,' He signed. 'I am not really above anyone. Besides, you are an amazing player yourself, Midna.'
The friendly argument lasted a few more minutes before the bell rang. Chattering to each other, we put our guitars by the door and exited the room. Once Link and I were in the hallway, he turned to me, smiling expectantly.
'Did you enjoy the class?'
"Indeed, I did." I chirped, smiling back at him.
'Good. Now, what is your second hour...?'
The rest of the day progressed that way; Link had woodshop second hour while I had history, and I didn't see him until lunch time.

~ • ~

Link put down his fork and let out a soft yawn.
'I'm so tired,' He signed after drying his eyes. 'Today is really taking it out of me.' He put his head down on the lunch table with a sigh.
"C'mon," I patted his shoulder before rubbing it reassuringly. "We've only got three hours left." Link halfheartedly smacked his palm on the table before sitting up and laying his head on my shoulder.
'I want to go home,' He pouted and closed his eyes. 'I'm sleepy.'
"Don't be such a baby," Pipit laughed, giving Link's hair a serious ruffling from across the table. Kafei, a boy with blue hair and a quiet disposition, laughed and gently poked him in the shoulder. Link huffed and swatted at them before drawing closer to me.
'Zelda, make them leave me alone.'
I laughed and gave his hair an affectionate tousling myself.
"Zelda, aren't you going to eat your lunch?" Pipit raised a brow, gesturing to my tray with his plastic fork. Link perked up a bit, turning to me with mischievously glinting eyes.
'If not, can I have it?' He grinned.
"You most certainly may not," I grumped at him, poking his side; he laughed silently and suddenly I felt so accepted here at the lunch table with Pipit and Link and Kafei. This was going to be a good year.

Wow! Those who favorited, reviewed and alerted my story, thank you so much! I'm glad to know that people are enjoying it. I'll try to update every day, but I'm also supposed to start training for my first job tomorrow; the shift is from 3:00 - 6:00 p.m. so I may not update as often. I'll make up for it, I promise.

Review, please, and thanks for reading!