much she tried not to look for Quentin, it seemed like he was everywhere she looked. There was Quentin and Veronica laughing together in the lunch line, Quentin and Veronica going to the vending machines for a soda, Quentin and Veronica walking out of the cafeteria toward the senior courtyard. She couldn't escape them and the sight of them made her sick to her stomach. For the rest of the day she was in a horrible mood, though she tried her best to hide it.
"Bittersweet rice. The bitterest rice on my tongue. Bittersweet rice. How I wanted to love you. But I never got to. I never did."
D minor, A minor, G minor. A hammer-on here and a pull-off here. Over and over as she sang a possible melody, changing the rhythm slightly each time until she was satisfied with what she heard. Her eyes closed and taking in each flick of her fingers across the strings as her clear but slightly raspy voice rang out over the arpeggios.
"Watching you in my corner, your arm draped over her like a curtain. Watching you from my corner, as you walk away again and again. I could've had another you, but I don't want anyone else. No no one else but you you you. Bittersweeeeeeet rice. The bitterest rice on my tongue. Bittersweet rice. How I wanted to love you. But I never got to. No I never did. And I never will. I could've made you happy. Yeah I know I could've been so much better than her. But I guess we'll never know, will we? Bittersweeeeeeeeeet rice. Bittersweeeeeeeet rice."
She sang her notes with all the pain that she'd felt that day watching them together, wrenching her face up on certain words as she hit a high note or drawling out a syllable a certain way. It certainly wasn't a complete song yet, but it was a start.
Elodie opened a drawer in the desk and took out a red spiral notebook. She opened It to the next available page and began jotting down her song idea so that she wouldn't forget it. Unfortunately, the book was almost filled to the gills with song ideas, so there weren't very many blank pages left. There was only one page left and it was the back of the very last page in the book. Oh well, she would just have to get another book soon.
After she scribbled down the verses and chorus she'd just come up with and the corresponding chord progression, she flipped through her song notebook looking over what she'd written for the last year. She'd filled at least two notebooks already with songs, and this would be her third one overall. All throughout this book were half-written songs, others that were fully written but had never made it past the draft stage, and even more that were good enough that if Elodie wanted to, she could share them with the public. If she didn't have to keep up appearances, she certainly would.
Maybe someday. It would be nice to get even more attention.
“All right, one more run through of this new one.” She flipped to the back of the book and began playing the song again.
The evening was coming to a close as Kyle and Heloise walked home from the movie. Heloise couldn’t even remember what number of date they were on. It felt like it had been ages since that November day. Was this now their fifth date? Sixth? Tenth? She couldn’t remember. At any rate, she knew it was ending quickly now, and she hated that. It was only a twenty minute walk from downtown to their neighborhood and the town was safe enough to walk around after dark. The crisp, clean January air filled Heloise’s lungs as she took in a deep breath from laughing at one of Kyle’s jokes, this time one about something one of his new friends told him while he was playing Dungeons and Dragons with his friends last weekend.
“You know, before I met you, I’d never met anyone who did roleplaying. It actually sounds like a lot of fun,” Heloise remarked. She squeezed Kyle’s hand as she looked up at him. He’d mentioned his Friday night gaming to her many times before, and though she wasn’t really one for huge social events, a small
"Bittersweet rice. The bitterest rice on my tongue. Bittersweet rice. How I wanted to love you. But I never got to. I never did."
D minor, A minor, G minor. A hammer-on here and a pull-off here. Over and over as she sang a possible melody, changing the rhythm slightly each time until she was satisfied with what she heard. Her eyes closed and taking in each flick of her fingers across the strings as her clear but slightly raspy voice rang out over the arpeggios.
"Watching you in my corner, your arm draped over her like a curtain. Watching you from my corner, as you walk away again and again. I could've had another you, but I don't want anyone else. No no one else but you you you. Bittersweeeeeeet rice. The bitterest rice on my tongue. Bittersweet rice. How I wanted to love you. But I never got to. No I never did. And I never will. I could've made you happy. Yeah I know I could've been so much better than her. But I guess we'll never know, will we? Bittersweeeeeeeeeet rice. Bittersweeeeeeeet rice."
She sang her notes with all the pain that she'd felt that day watching them together, wrenching her face up on certain words as she hit a high note or drawling out a syllable a certain way. It certainly wasn't a complete song yet, but it was a start.
Elodie opened a drawer in the desk and took out a red spiral notebook. She opened It to the next available page and began jotting down her song idea so that she wouldn't forget it. Unfortunately, the book was almost filled to the gills with song ideas, so there weren't very many blank pages left. There was only one page left and it was the back of the very last page in the book. Oh well, she would just have to get another book soon.
After she scribbled down the verses and chorus she'd just come up with and the corresponding chord progression, she flipped through her song notebook looking over what she'd written for the last year. She'd filled at least two notebooks already with songs, and this would be her third one overall. All throughout this book were half-written songs, others that were fully written but had never made it past the draft stage, and even more that were good enough that if Elodie wanted to, she could share them with the public. If she didn't have to keep up appearances, she certainly would.
Maybe someday. It would be nice to get even more attention.
“All right, one more run through of this new one.” She flipped to the back of the book and began playing the song again.
The evening was coming to a close as Kyle and Heloise walked home from the movie. Heloise couldn’t even remember what number of date they were on. It felt like it had been ages since that November day. Was this now their fifth date? Sixth? Tenth? She couldn’t remember. At any rate, she knew it was ending quickly now, and she hated that. It was only a twenty minute walk from downtown to their neighborhood and the town was safe enough to walk around after dark. The crisp, clean January air filled Heloise’s lungs as she took in a deep breath from laughing at one of Kyle’s jokes, this time one about something one of his new friends told him while he was playing Dungeons and Dragons with his friends last weekend.
“You know, before I met you, I’d never met anyone who did roleplaying. It actually sounds like a lot of fun,” Heloise remarked. She squeezed Kyle’s hand as she looked up at him. He’d mentioned his Friday night gaming to her many times before, and though she wasn’t really one for huge social events, a small
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