tell that he was hurt and
trying not to be. He was also angrier than I had ever seen him,
though he showed no outward sign of it, and he was angry at Adrian,
not me. If he had been mad at me he would have shown it. I worried
that he might try to do something stupid. It didn’t help that they
were roommates.
Chapter
15
Luckily, by the
time the next morning came Jack appeared to be unharmed, so I
assumed that no fight had taken place. I didn’t ask.
The day was
Christmas Eve, though that mattered to me very little. Having grown
up without parents or a proper home, Christmas had never held any
excitement for me. I was not at all religious either, so the day
held no meaning to me in that regard. The school was not decorated
for the holidays. I asked one of the remaining teachers why that
was, and she told me that it was because the students came from all
over the world and from many different faiths, if any at all. It
would be difficult to decorate for all of them, so they didn’t
decorate at all. There weren’t many people left anyway.
I spent the
morning with Jack outside in some freshly fallen snow. It was oddly
cold out considering that we were in an area with a normally mild
climate. The snow was too powdery to do anything with, so we just
went for a walk. We walked to the lake, which looked barely frozen,
so Jack didn’t want to risk trying to slide on the ice. I wanted
to, but he wouldn’t let me.
When we got
back inside Jack decided to go downstairs to the weight room, which
I had no interest in doing, so I was left to wander about on my
own. It was strangely quiet in the hallways with everyone gone, and
it made the place seem less like a school and more like an old
castle or something. I quickly decided to head to the ballroom. I
hadn’t had the pleasure of playing on the piano there since my
first day, and I was much less likely to be interrupted than I was
the last time.
Of course, as
usual, things didn’t go as I expected them to. As soon as I sat
down at the instrument, someone came into the ballroom through the
glass doors that led to the balcony. I realized with some surprise
that it was Adrian, who I hardly ever saw wandering about. I sat as
still as I could, hoping that he would continue on his way and not
notice I was there. He brushed the snow off of his jacket and
walked toward the door at the other end of the room while I held my
breath. He got about three quarters of the way there before he
stopped. He looked over and saw me sitting at the piano and staring
at him. He smiled and came over to the stage, and proceeded to
climb up and stand before me.
“You were
hoping I wouldn’t notice you, weren’t you?” he said, still smiling.
“I’ll admit that I saw you before you saw me, from out on the
balcony. I considered walking out as if I hadn’t noticed you, but I
changed my mind.”
“And why did
you do that?” I asked.
“Again, I will
admit to suffering from terrible curiosity. Do you play the
piano?”
“I do, but I
had hoped to do so alone. Now that you’re here I can’t, which was
why I was hoping you would continue to walk out of the room.”
“I don’t see
why you can’t play with me here. I wouldn’t get in your way. I
really would like to hear you play.”
He sounded like
he did, but I didn’t know why. “I really don’t understand you at
all,” I admitted.
He rolled his
eyes. “I wish you would stop trying.”
I decided to be
brave. “I’ll play for you on one condition.”
“And what would
that be?” he asked, looking very curious indeed.
“You have to do
something for me in return. I won’t tell you what until I’m
finished, but you have to agree that you will do it.”
“That sounds
like quite a gamble, but I see no alternative but to accept your
deal, since I’m determined to hear you play. You might as well
start now.”
Since he had
given his word, which I didn’t actually expect him to hold to, I
started to play. As was my usual
trying not to be. He was also angrier than I had ever seen him,
though he showed no outward sign of it, and he was angry at Adrian,
not me. If he had been mad at me he would have shown it. I worried
that he might try to do something stupid. It didn’t help that they
were roommates.
Chapter
15
Luckily, by the
time the next morning came Jack appeared to be unharmed, so I
assumed that no fight had taken place. I didn’t ask.
The day was
Christmas Eve, though that mattered to me very little. Having grown
up without parents or a proper home, Christmas had never held any
excitement for me. I was not at all religious either, so the day
held no meaning to me in that regard. The school was not decorated
for the holidays. I asked one of the remaining teachers why that
was, and she told me that it was because the students came from all
over the world and from many different faiths, if any at all. It
would be difficult to decorate for all of them, so they didn’t
decorate at all. There weren’t many people left anyway.
I spent the
morning with Jack outside in some freshly fallen snow. It was oddly
cold out considering that we were in an area with a normally mild
climate. The snow was too powdery to do anything with, so we just
went for a walk. We walked to the lake, which looked barely frozen,
so Jack didn’t want to risk trying to slide on the ice. I wanted
to, but he wouldn’t let me.
When we got
back inside Jack decided to go downstairs to the weight room, which
I had no interest in doing, so I was left to wander about on my
own. It was strangely quiet in the hallways with everyone gone, and
it made the place seem less like a school and more like an old
castle or something. I quickly decided to head to the ballroom. I
hadn’t had the pleasure of playing on the piano there since my
first day, and I was much less likely to be interrupted than I was
the last time.
Of course, as
usual, things didn’t go as I expected them to. As soon as I sat
down at the instrument, someone came into the ballroom through the
glass doors that led to the balcony. I realized with some surprise
that it was Adrian, who I hardly ever saw wandering about. I sat as
still as I could, hoping that he would continue on his way and not
notice I was there. He brushed the snow off of his jacket and
walked toward the door at the other end of the room while I held my
breath. He got about three quarters of the way there before he
stopped. He looked over and saw me sitting at the piano and staring
at him. He smiled and came over to the stage, and proceeded to
climb up and stand before me.
“You were
hoping I wouldn’t notice you, weren’t you?” he said, still smiling.
“I’ll admit that I saw you before you saw me, from out on the
balcony. I considered walking out as if I hadn’t noticed you, but I
changed my mind.”
“And why did
you do that?” I asked.
“Again, I will
admit to suffering from terrible curiosity. Do you play the
piano?”
“I do, but I
had hoped to do so alone. Now that you’re here I can’t, which was
why I was hoping you would continue to walk out of the room.”
“I don’t see
why you can’t play with me here. I wouldn’t get in your way. I
really would like to hear you play.”
He sounded like
he did, but I didn’t know why. “I really don’t understand you at
all,” I admitted.
He rolled his
eyes. “I wish you would stop trying.”
I decided to be
brave. “I’ll play for you on one condition.”
“And what would
that be?” he asked, looking very curious indeed.
“You have to do
something for me in return. I won’t tell you what until I’m
finished, but you have to agree that you will do it.”
“That sounds
like quite a gamble, but I see no alternative but to accept your
deal, since I’m determined to hear you play. You might as well
start now.”
Since he had
given his word, which I didn’t actually expect him to hold to, I
started to play. As was my usual
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