neck. Her parents had looked long and hard for this guitar, since it was a special left-handed instrument. Elodie placed the guitar strap around her and put her fingers on the fretboard to form the C chord.
She strummed a C chord and listened to the sounds reverberating in the empty study room. Way too happy. Most pop songs were written in that key and it was no wonder. No flat or sharp keys, just pure happy notes and nothing to get in their way. That chord was far too joyful for the kind of dark mood that Elodie was in.
So she moved her fingers a little and strummed. Then there came a D minor chord and its infinite sadness. Much better. That was the perfect chord for her mood. When she was in a melancholy mood, nothing sounded better than a D minor chord. It fit her mood perfectly that evening.
Earlier that day in school, she had to watch as Quentin and his girlfriend, a tasteless bag of bones named Veronica Kittrell, paraded down the hallway to the lunchroom. Elodie had started seeing them together before, after, and during school hours, so she figured that girl must have been the one he said he was interested in.
Of all the girls, he had to pick her. She wasn't even nearly as pretty as Elodie and never would be. For one thing, Veronica had huge cheeks and a double chin that did not do her face any favors and a large nose. Lastly, Veronica did not have nearly as good fashion sense as Elodie. She always looked like she was trying hard to be fashionable, but never could be. Veronica clearly didn't know that blue mascara was so last season or that red was the new black.
She just couldn't look at Veronica without feeling sorry for her. It wasn't Elodie's fault that she had fallen from the social graces. And it wasn't Elodie's fault that she wasn't born to be as pretty as she was. Anytime Elodie saw her, all she could look at was her nose that was big enough to land a plane on.
Veronica and Elodie used to be friends back in middle school, and in fact, she first introduced Elodie to her world of popularity. Then there began an unspoken rivalry between them. If Elodie decided to run for Student Council president, Veronica had to run against her. If Elodie wanted to try out for the lead in the school play, Veronica had to try out too. But over and over again, Elodie would win out over Veronica, much to her dismay.
The final straw came when Elodie and Veronica were on the ballot for Homecoming Queen in their sophomore year. As usual, the student body spoke and Elodie was the winner, by a mile they said. Elodie would never forget what it was like to stand up there with Veronica and the other nominees as they announced the winner at the football game. She had hoped she would win, for winning would cement her place as one of the most popular students at her school.
As Elodie's name rang out over the loudspeakers, she looked over and saw a look of utter mortification on her former friend's face as Veronica was shoved aside so that Elodie could take her rightful place on the Homecoming Queen throne in front of all their classmates and friends. Since then, Veronica made herself scarce in all the major social circles, having finally given up in defeat. Though they had been good friends for a while, Elodie wasn't touched very much by these proceedings. Elodie was clearly the more popular girl and that's just how things were supposed to go.
And now there she was, standing with the boy that Elodie had wanted so badly. He didn't even see her as she stood with her friends, but she could clearly see them. There was no mistaking his husky voice and his curly black hair. He had his arm thrown around her skinny shoulder and he leaned over to whisper something in her ear that made her guffaw.
"She's not even half as pretty as you are," Cecilia interjected.
"Clearly." Elodie scoffed. At least she was good at hiding her real feelings of sadness and disappointment. "Let's go inside. I'm tired of looking at trash."
But no matter how
She strummed a C chord and listened to the sounds reverberating in the empty study room. Way too happy. Most pop songs were written in that key and it was no wonder. No flat or sharp keys, just pure happy notes and nothing to get in their way. That chord was far too joyful for the kind of dark mood that Elodie was in.
So she moved her fingers a little and strummed. Then there came a D minor chord and its infinite sadness. Much better. That was the perfect chord for her mood. When she was in a melancholy mood, nothing sounded better than a D minor chord. It fit her mood perfectly that evening.
Earlier that day in school, she had to watch as Quentin and his girlfriend, a tasteless bag of bones named Veronica Kittrell, paraded down the hallway to the lunchroom. Elodie had started seeing them together before, after, and during school hours, so she figured that girl must have been the one he said he was interested in.
Of all the girls, he had to pick her. She wasn't even nearly as pretty as Elodie and never would be. For one thing, Veronica had huge cheeks and a double chin that did not do her face any favors and a large nose. Lastly, Veronica did not have nearly as good fashion sense as Elodie. She always looked like she was trying hard to be fashionable, but never could be. Veronica clearly didn't know that blue mascara was so last season or that red was the new black.
She just couldn't look at Veronica without feeling sorry for her. It wasn't Elodie's fault that she had fallen from the social graces. And it wasn't Elodie's fault that she wasn't born to be as pretty as she was. Anytime Elodie saw her, all she could look at was her nose that was big enough to land a plane on.
Veronica and Elodie used to be friends back in middle school, and in fact, she first introduced Elodie to her world of popularity. Then there began an unspoken rivalry between them. If Elodie decided to run for Student Council president, Veronica had to run against her. If Elodie wanted to try out for the lead in the school play, Veronica had to try out too. But over and over again, Elodie would win out over Veronica, much to her dismay.
The final straw came when Elodie and Veronica were on the ballot for Homecoming Queen in their sophomore year. As usual, the student body spoke and Elodie was the winner, by a mile they said. Elodie would never forget what it was like to stand up there with Veronica and the other nominees as they announced the winner at the football game. She had hoped she would win, for winning would cement her place as one of the most popular students at her school.
As Elodie's name rang out over the loudspeakers, she looked over and saw a look of utter mortification on her former friend's face as Veronica was shoved aside so that Elodie could take her rightful place on the Homecoming Queen throne in front of all their classmates and friends. Since then, Veronica made herself scarce in all the major social circles, having finally given up in defeat. Though they had been good friends for a while, Elodie wasn't touched very much by these proceedings. Elodie was clearly the more popular girl and that's just how things were supposed to go.
And now there she was, standing with the boy that Elodie had wanted so badly. He didn't even see her as she stood with her friends, but she could clearly see them. There was no mistaking his husky voice and his curly black hair. He had his arm thrown around her skinny shoulder and he leaned over to whisper something in her ear that made her guffaw.
"She's not even half as pretty as you are," Cecilia interjected.
"Clearly." Elodie scoffed. At least she was good at hiding her real feelings of sadness and disappointment. "Let's go inside. I'm tired of looking at trash."
But no matter how
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