Broken Silence

“Piano?” he guesses in a confident voice. Impressive. I’m actually a little surprised at how accurate he is.

‘Piano and violin’ I correct. He gives me an appraising look and seems impressed. I’m suddenly thankful that Dad had spent the time teaching me to play. I haven’t played piano since he died, but I learned the violin at my first foster mother’s insistence that I pick up an extracurricular. I took to it quickly and let myself get lost in it, practicing more than was probably healthy. But it gave me a way to fade the pain away for a bit.

The teacher walks in and I turn my focus to him. He picks up the paper I’d left on his desk and reads it over for a second before addressing the room.

“Welcome to our new student, Charlotte. Wave, Charlotte!” his booming voice announces, getting everyone’s attention. I give a small wave and receive a few curious looks from around the room.

“Do you play any instruments, Charlotte? Since this is the music portion of our arts class, we teach those who don’t play how to read music and those who play an instrument, get to practice and learn more,” the teacher says enthusiastically.

I nod and he stares at me, apparently waiting for me to answer. I mime the piano and the violin. His eyes light up at my admission.

“Wonderful. Go ahead and split up! Charlotte, come up here please.”

I shoot Cole a panicked look before making my way up to Mr. Hill’s desk. He’s shuffling through some sheet music for the class to study, then turns to the bookshelf behind his desk. He selects a book of sheet music for pianos and one for violins, before turning back to me.

“Which would you rather play? I have a classroom violin and a piano, so either is fine.” I quickly grab the violin book. Apparently I didn’t hide my nerves because he raises an eyebrow at how quickly I choose. “Which do you have the most experience on?” I hesitantly point to the piano book. He must have picked up my hesitation because he doesn’t push any further. “It’s always good to improve upon a new instrument,” he says simply, giving me a reassuring smile before turning to the class. “All right, instruments to the music room and the rest will be working in here with Mrs. Jones.”

He ushers me to a glass door on the far side of the room. I notice Cole and three other students join us. Cole takes a seat at the piano, the other three are clarinets and a flute. I find a violin and grab it before claiming one of the stools to wait for him to explain more.

“Charlotte, we take turns playing one song for the group, then when everyone has a chance to play, you each can practice on your own. On nice days we go to the courtyard and set up away from each other to practice too, otherwise it gets a bit noisy. It’s a pretty laid-back class, but we will also work on techniques one on one. Okay, let’s start with the clarinets,” he announces, leaning against the door and waiting for them to begin. They’re pretty good, and I assume they’re in the school band since they all seamlessly play their songs.

“All right, Charlotte, are you okay to try now?”

I nod and choose one of my favorite violin solos; at least it’s in the book.

Putting the violin in position, I close my eyes and go into the music trance that always happens when I play. The rest of the world fades away as the notes fill the air, and for the first time today, I get to relax. I finish the song and finally open my eyes, glancing around the room before settling on Cole. He gives me an excited smile, and Mr. Hill claps. He doesn’t linger or say anything, just turning to Cole and motioning for him to play.

Cole is an amazing piano player, which is almost comical because he looks like a rocker while playing a classical tune.

When Cole is done, Mr. Hill walks over to the other students and helps adjust their hold, before guiding them through a new piece. I start flipping through the violin book and pick a new piece to try.

I’m not familiar with a few chords, but it doesn’t take me long to get the hang of it. Or at least play a somewhat discernible version of the song.

Mr. Hill is an understanding teacher, and I actually find myself enjoying playing music again. When he finally dismisses us, Cole and I head out together after class before going our separate ways. I grab the books I need out of my locker and make my way to the main entrance to meet Sophia, feeling a lot more optimistic than I did at lunch.

Monday

Afternoon

Charlie

I don’t feel like writing out a ton on the way home, so I just scribble a few basics while I wait for her to pick me up and hand it to her when I get in the car.

“I’m glad school went well!” she says as she reads. I chose not to tell Sophia about the basketball incident. Just saying that I made a few more friends and enjoyed my music class. She hands the paper back to me before driving home. The ride is quick since we live so close, but I actually find myself happy to be home. Startled at the admission, even internally, I quickly push it away.

“Do you have a lot of homework?” Sophia asks as we walk inside our house. I nod and open my planner to point out all I have to catch up on. Turning to an empty sheet, I quickly write, ‘Can I walk to the library?’ I would much rather study there than in my room. There’s just something about the library, in general, that makes studying easier.

“I don’t mind, just try and be back by dinner? Let me know if you want me to pick you up. I’ll just be working around here, so don’t hesitate to text,” she says, before giving me a wave and walking off to her office. It’s so freaking refreshing to have someone not hover but also give a shit.

I gather my most important homework assignments and load them into my backpack. At least I downloaded my new music onto my phone yesterday, so I just make sure my headphones are in the bag already. I don’t even take two steps outside when I hear my phone chime.

Abby: Rough first day, Charlie? I heard about gym...

Trent: Callie is an idiot. Sorry about hulking out. If there is one thing I hate, it’s that bullying bullshit.

Me: It’s ok guys, I’ll survive. It isn’t new to me. Apparently she thought I was trying to flirt with Adam. Supposedly Adam is hers, she warmed me as she shoved me into the door on her way out.

Adam: Why would she care if you were? We broke up two years ago.