Chapter II

The next week passed by uneventfully for Weiss. School was pretty much a drag—aside from fencing practice Monday, which she always honestly enjoyed—and she had zipped in and out of the home Wednesday at the request of her father to keep a lookout for an "important email" which had yet to come. Before she knew it, she was walking back into the Home again that Friday for her weekly bout of work. Going through all the mundane routines she hated with vigor, Weiss spun idly in her father's chair once finished.

Figuring why stay longer than she had to, she opted to leave with one final check of the company's email.

Still no "important message."

Weiss dragged herself out of the office, and was halfway past the common room when she perked up, peering into the large room. A small spark of hope flickered in the back of her mind as she wished to see a flash of red. When her search proved fruitless, she couldn't help sagging her shoulders in mild defeat.

She had really been hoping to apologize to that girl today.

Turning to leave with one last resigned sigh in disappointment, Weiss nearly collided into Pyrrha, one of the many nurses on staff at the Home. Two years older than Weiss, Pyrrha worked part time while she worked on her psychology degree at Beacon University, the most prestigious college in the city of Vale, and where Weiss knew she was headed upon her graduation from Signal High.

Everyone at the home loved Pyrrha, patients and employees alike. She was caring like a mother, sympathetic like a friend, but a hard worker like any employee of the Schnees was expected to be. Weiss considered her her best friend in the facility, second only to Glynda.

"Oh, Weiss!" Pyrrha exclaimed as they bumped each other, trying to wrangle the folders in her arms back in order. "I'm sorry; I didn't see you approaching."

Weiss waved off her concern. "It's no problem. I was distracted myself, actually."

"Are you heading out for the day?" The tone in Pyrrha's voice made Weiss pause rather than just quickly answer yes.

"Is there something you needed?" she asked instead.

Pyrrha smiled, glad Weiss had picked up on her underlying question.

"I do, actually," she replied. "I figured you wouldn't mind, since it involves that little boy you've seem to take to."

"Roland?" Weiss asked, her stomach churning as her mind immediately went to all worse case scenarios. "He's okay, isn't he?"

Pyrrha laughed slightly, Weiss's concern amusing apparently.

"He's perfectly fine. However, his parents had to drop him off for his therapy today instead of joining him, and since he and Ozpin finished early, he's in need of company until his parents can come get him."

"Oh." Weiss breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, next time lead with that. You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Pyrrha chuckled again. "My apologies, Weiss."

After a playful eye roll from Weiss, Pyrrha led her to her small office upstairs, where Roland was sitting on a stool and playing a game on her scroll.

"Look who I managed to find!" the nurse exclaimed jovially.

Roland looked up, squealed, and dropped the scroll—thankfully on the desk and not the floor—before he was latched to Weiss's legs not unlike a koala.

"Miss Weiss! Miss Weiss!" he shouted, his customary greeting to Weiss every single time.

Letting Pyrrha know she had it from here, the redhead left the two of them to tend to her other duties. Weiss looked back to Roland after her departure, the boy looking back at her expectantly, an adorable grin plastered on his face.

"What are we gonna do, Miss Weiss?"

Weiss chuckled. "How many times have I told you to just call me Weiss, Roland?"

"Mommy and Daddy always call you that though, and my parents are always right, you know."

"Well, at least they taught you well." Suddenly, an idea came to her and she smiled. "Roland, do you like music?"

The little boy shook his head vigorously then. "Yeah! Mommy and Daddy let me listen to the radio all the time in the car! They say it helps me with paying attention, 'cause I used to get really bored with songs really fast, but now I can listen to the whole song most of the time!"

"Good, then this will help," Weiss stated. "Come on."

Roland followed her eagerly down to the first floor. After they passed the common room though, Roland stepped up to Weiss and tugged on her sleeve.

"Where are we going, Miss Weiss?" he asked, looking around the hallway nervously. "Mommy and Daddy never let me wander past the common room."

Weiss just looked down at him with a gentle smile. "It's a surprise."

Like any young child, Roland's eyes lit up at that, and, grabbing Weiss's hand, his excitement quickly bubbled once more.

Soon enough, they came to a closed door. Looking at the boy next to her, Weiss inclined her head to the plaque beside the door.

Music Room.

Gasping, Roland quickly opened the door, the automatic lights registering the movement and soon illuminating the large room they had entered. It was empty aside from the lone object sitting in the center of the space: a gleaming, white, grand piano flashing brilliantly under the fluorescent lights.

"I didn't know this was here!" Roland exclaimed, dashing over to the piano and sliding onto the stool. He ran his finger lightly down the keys, not pressing hard enough to induce any noise.

"We don't advertise it much, seeing as there's only one instrument here for the time being," Weiss explained. "I keep trying to convince Father to add to this room, but…"

He doesn't think this is worth his money, she finished internally, bitterly.

"Do you play?" Roland then asked her while trying to reach the pedals at the bottom from his spot on the bench. "I always wanted to learn the guitar. Mommy says maybe when I'm older and can pay attention longer."

"I bet you'd be a good guitarist," Weiss told him honestly, smiling as she slid on to the seat next to him. "But yes, I do play. I thought you'd like to hear. Music always put me at ease, and it's a great way to pass the time."

"Okay! I'd love to listen! Thank you, Miss Weiss!"

Weiss had to stop herself from asking for any requests, realizing Roland probably only listened to popular radio hits, most of which she couldn't easily recreate on the piano. So, she decided to play her favorite song: Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata."

She watched Roland out of the corner of her eye the entire time she played, having memorized the song long ago, and was proud of him when the boy only got distracted two or three times. For the most part, his eyes never left the movement of her fingers. She would need to make sure she let his parents know.

For the next half hour, Weiss entertained Roland with her musical prowess. The boy was completely enamored, and Weiss always basked in the opportunity to show off her talent. Having been taught how to play from a very young age, Weiss had loved it since day one. She could play all day without tiring, flowing effortlessly from one song into another. Her older sister, Winter, had been taught too, but she had always been more keen on listening to music rather than playing. Sitting here and playing for Roland, Weiss remembered all the times it was Winter sitting next to her listening to her play, before she had gone off to enlist in the army. Still, for Winter's birthday last year and the past Christmas, Weiss had sent her sister CDs of her newest songs, and each time, Winter would call her up and exclaim how much Weiss had improved, how much she loved the CDs, and how proud she was of her little sister.

Weiss found solace in music, and she wanted nothing more than for others to find the same comfort in it.

Soon enough, however, Pyrrha came to retrieve them, stating Roland's parents were at the front to pick him up. Roland refused to go anywhere, however, until Weiss promised him she'd play for him again soon. Having placating him, Weiss followed him and Pyrrha out and back towards the common room and, subsequently, the front desk.

To this day she doesn't know why, yet something made her look over her shoulder after leaving the music room.

And her eyes widened.

There, peering around the doorframe from the room next to where she had just been, curious silver eyes sparkled, a small red-clad shoulder poking out as well. Upon realizing she had been caught, the girl took off running down the hallway in the opposite direction. Weiss couldn't help the flip of her heart as the girl looked back with a big smile, a look of awe on her face and directed fully at Weiss.

Just who was this girl?

The thought remained with her the entire way back to the common area where she gave Roland a hug goodbye, while she gathered up her things to leave, said goodbye to Glynda, and headed out to the parking lot. Sticking her keys in the ignition, Weiss leaned back in the car seat, her delicate eyebrows knitting together.

Next week, she resolved; next week she would find out who this girl was.