Chapter 2- Thalia

The first day of Senior Year started off different from any other. Normally, I would jump in the car with Kye, we'd laugh and sing to the radio, then part to reach our lockers which were on opposite sides of the school. However, this time there was an air of awkward silence as if both of us were holding our breaths, scared of the truths that might be offered up had we not.

"Hi…" I muttered as I sat in the passenger's seat.

"Hey…" He murmured back, his face erased of all of the happiness and joy that he was known for.

"I… I'm sorry…" I said shyly, biting down on my lip. He just closed his eyes and stared the engine in silence. I wasn't sure how long we drove before he broke the veil of awkwardness that had been set upon us.

"Why…" He said almost inaudibly, his voice hoarse and frail.

"I need some time to think," I said quickly, hoping to get myself more time to understand the whole situation. He didn't say another word about the night before, instead we drove in silence. I hoped that this meant he was okay with giving me some time; I felt really bad about it all, I did but I just couldn't let myself say those words back and that scared me. We pulled up to the school, getting out of the car in silence.

"I'll wait for you, you're worth it. Just… don't make it too long, okay?" The boy said, giving me the first grin since the night before. I smiled back, placing a soft kiss on his cheek.

"I won't. I promise." A promise was something of large significance to me. A promise wasn't just a string of words that determine whether something may or may not happen. A promise was fragile and sacred, like an ancient building that no one could bring themselves to destroy. A promise, for me, meant more than a thousand words. Kye knew this, nodding and running his hand up my jawline.

"See you soon…" He said slowly before pulling his bag up onto his shoulders and turning to leave me, standing alone in front of the car.

 May and Brie were stood by their lockers, barely metres behind my own, waiting for me. I put in the combination and swung the door open, turning to face them.

"Morning!" I smiled, trying the hide my nerves from the morning. I sub-consciously reached into the locker for my books as they smiled back cheerfully. Swinging the door shut, I turned to walk towards them.

Bang!

My forehead smacked into an object in front of me and I helplessly tumbled to the floor.

It wasn't unusual for me to be clumsy. May always used to joke that I would find a way to fall over any place we go. What made this fall different from any other, was because I met her. A girl lay centimetres from me clutching her head, books scattered on the floor around her. When I first saw her, I wasn't even conscious of what I was thinking. I just couldn't take my eyes off her. Her thick auburn hair was cut short, hanging just a centimetre above her shoulders, her eyes a light green shade- slightly blue. Everything about her was perfect. And even as she smiled at me apologetically, I couldn't find a single flaw. Realising I was staring, I glanced down quickly, frantically snatching up all the books.

"I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking." I stuttered, the words bouncing around incoherently in my brain. She smiled at me causing a tingly sensation to trickle down my spine.

"No, it was me. I wasn't looking either." She exclaimed cheerfully, taking her books from my outstretched arms. In that one second, our faces were only inches apart. Another strange feeling ran through my veins. I was shaking- my legs feeling like they had turned into jelly. I couldn't get up- my body wouldn't allow it. I just watched as she rose, offering me her hand. My nerves relaxed a little as my hand slipped into hers and my blood started to bubble. That feeling, like when you first sit on a rollercoaster, was coursing vigorously through my veins. I could barely breathe. At the time I blamed it on the hit to my head. In hindsight, I'm pretty much sure it wasn't.

"Thanks," I murmured. Trying to find something to do with the arm that had just fallen from her grasp. I probably looked like an idiot, flailing my arm up and down. She smiled again sending yet another chill through my blood.

"I've got to go but I'll see you around." She lit up the world with that smile. I just nodded and felt the sudden pain as my teeth dug into my lip. Then she was gone, and I was left feeling like an idiot. May raised her eyebrows at me wearily,

"What was that?" she asked curiously. What that had been, I didn't know at the time. I didn't know how much pain and happiness that one moment would cause me. I just shook my head,

"I've got double music; I'll meet you in the library after." I said. She nodded cautiously at this statement and, wrapping her arm around Brie's, smiled and walked past me into the theatre, her long black hair swishing gracefully behind her.

Music. The one subject I love more than anything; I was the only one taking a music SAT, hoping to get into MSM the next year. My only other option was Berklee which was around forty minutes from my house however, for as long as I can remember, I had wanted live in New York- the centre of it all. And although I really did enjoy living in a small town in Massachusetts- I’d never wanted to stay here. I wanted to put myself out there, get seen, recognised.

***

I never expected Thalia to be there. There had never been anyone I knew in my music classes. Not that I knew her. There had never been anyone that I wanted to get to know in my class. I never really minded; the music had always been enough for me. She was sat in the middle row, beckoning me over the chair beside her. Our music class had always been laid out in a weird way; it was carpeted, and 3 rows of desks faced a whiteboard on the left side. Then you had the actual music rooms stationed behind it. Enough room for 5 groups to practise at once. I calmed myself, sitting slowly into the seat beside her just as Mr Wood began to speak.

"Welcome Seniors. So, this year is serious for you guys and I know some of you have big aspirations for college." He looked over at me, jokingly and I rolled my eyes. A habit. "Anyway, I thought we could start the year in a more relaxed way. I am giving you lot complete freedom to create whatever piece of music you want under one very small condition. You must work together with a partner, combining your personalities into a piece that showcases both of yourselves as a whole. I suggest picking someone you think you might connect with to make it easier for you. That's all from me. Go, create!" As he said the last part, he waved his arms in the air allowing us to start.

Normally I would have been worried about the partner thing but this time I just turned to my side and offered a hand,

"I'm Melody, but everyone calls me Mel, you?" I blurted fairly confidently which even surprised me.

"Thalia. And I'm guessing you want to do this project together." She smiled, making the lights in the room shine a little brighter. I nodded, popping out of the chair a little too enthusiastically, grabbing a guitar off the rack and walking into the room in the far corner.