Music spelled Hue

Maeve Elisse Lim

“What is it, sir?” Maeve asked.

Mr. Villanueva cleared his throat and adjusted the papers in his hand before speaking. “We have these bright scholars in our school. They carry a lot of potential, but the problem is… they need a little guidance. I believe that with the right support, they can truly shine. That is why I called the three of you here. I want you to personally tutor them.”

Maeve and Violet both nodded, already catching on, but Violet quickly turned to Henry with a mischievous grin. “Maeve and I understand, but… this guy is hopeless.” She didn’t even bother to hide her laughter as she boldly pointed her finger at him.

Maeve pressed her lips together, stifling a laugh, and nodded in agreement.

Henry froze for a second, his jaw dropping. He quickly reached out and grabbed Violet’s finger, moving it away from his face. “Hey! I am not dumb! Being lazy and being dumb are two very different things!”

Maeve chuckled and shook her head. “You got both.”

Henry gasped, his mouth wide open as if he couldn’t believe what he just heard. “Even you, Maeve?! You’re supposed to be on my side!” he exclaimed, pointing at her in disbelief.

Mr. Villanueva shook his head, chuckling at their antics, before clapping his hands to bring them back to focus. “Alright, alright, settle down. I’m being serious here. Will you be willing to help them?”

Maeve tilted her head, considering. “How many are we talking about, sir?”

“Three students,” Mr. Villanueva replied. “Two boys and one girl.”

As soon as he said that, Violet and Henry exchanged looks, their earlier argument forgotten. Without a word, they fist-bumped each other.

Maeve sighed and nudged them both with her elbow. “We’re not looking for love lives here, you two.”

“We didn’t say anything!” Violet and Henry chorused at the same time, eyes wide in fake innocence.

“I can tell from your faces,” Maeve muttered, rolling her eyes.

“So?” Mr. Villanueva asked, raising his brows. “What’s your decision?”

Maeve turned to her two friends, who were already giving her matching thumbs-ups, grinning. She sighed, knowing she didn’t really have a choice. Finally, she faced their teacher again. “We’d love to help, sir.”

“Good,” Mr. Villanueva said with a sigh of relief. “That’s settled then. After class, I’ll introduce you to them. Once you meet, you three can decide together how you want to schedule your tutoring sessions.”

Violet raised her hand slightly, curiosity written all over her face. “Sir, is there a particular reason you asked us? I mean… why us, specifically?”

Henry leaned forward with interest too. “Yeah, are they joining a competition or something?”

“Actually, yes,” Mr. Villanueva said with a small smile. “It was supposed to be you three originally. But if you remember last week, when I asked you, you all turned me down. So, we had no choice but to find another group. And that’s how these three were chosen. Now, I think you three will be the perfect people to guide and tutor them.”

Maeve tilted her head slightly. “If I may ask, sir… what exactly are those three lacking? In what area do they need the most help?”

Mr. Villanueva paused for a moment, as though carefully choosing his words. Then, he gave a thoughtful smile. “I think it would be better if you see it for yourselves later. Observing them directly will give you a clearer idea than me simply explaining.”

“I see,” Maeve said with a nod. She glanced at Violet and Henry before adding, “If that is all, then we’ll take our leave for now.” She already began stepping back slightly.

But before they could really leave, Henry suddenly shot his hand up. “Wait, wait, wait! I have one more question, sir!”

Mr. Villanueva looked at him with curiosity. “Yes, Henry?”

Henry leaned forward a little, lowering his hand. “May I ask… what kind of competition are they even joining? I mean, what’s this all for?”

Mr. Villanueva’s lips curled into a small smile. “It’s a debate,” he said simply. “They will be representing the school in a debate competition. That is why they need your guidance.”

At those words, Henry’s eyes widened in horror. His mouth fell open slightly, and he mumbled under his breath, “A debate?! Oh, thank goodness I didn’t join… I’d be a disaster up there.”

“Any more questions?” Mr. Villanueva asked, looking at the three of them.

The three shook their heads.

“Alright,” Mr. Villanueva said with a small nod. “You may now take your leave. Be back here after your classes end.”

They all smiled, nodded politely, and left the faculty room together.

As soon as they stepped out into the hallway, Violet and Henry started chatting excitedly about the new students. Maeve walked quietly in between them, listening.

“Can you believe it?!” Violet exclaimed, her eyes wide with excitement as she practically bounced with each step. “There are two guys and one girl! I’m calling dibs on one of the guys!”

Henry let out a laugh. “Fine then! I’ll take the girl!”

Violet spun around to face him, her long blonde hair swishing. “No way! Maeve should be the one to tutor the girl! If you tutor her, she’ll end up learning nothing from you!”

“Oh yeah?” Henry shot her a look. “And what about you, huh? You’ll just flirt with that poor guy every chance you get!”

Violet gasped and swatted his arm. “Hey! That’s not true!”

Maeve sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “If you two keep arguing like this, I’ll just tutor all three of them by myself.”

That single sentence made both Violet and Henry freeze in their tracks. The sound of their footsteps behind her completely stopped.

“Oh…” Violet laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of her neck. “W-We were just joking around, Maeve! Hahaha! Don’t take us too seriously!”

Hearing her nervous laugh, Maeve’s lips slowly curved into a sly smirk. She then spun around to face her two friends. “Relax, I was just kidding! Come on, let’s go back to class already. Oh, and by the way…” She leaned forward slightly, eyes glinting mischievously. “…the last one to reach the classroom gets punished!”

Without giving them another second to react, Maeve turned on her heel and bolted down the hallway, her hair swaying behind her as she ran.

“Hey! That’s totally unfair!” Violet shouted after her. “I’m wearing heels, you know!” Even as she complained, Violet didn’t hesitate to chase after Maeve, her footsteps loud and clumsy as she tried to run as fast as she could.

Henry, on the other hand, didn’t rush right away. He stood there for a moment, watching his two best friends running and laughing ahead of him. A small smile spread across his face. Yeah… this is the Maeve I know.

When they reached their classroom, the teacher was already inside, in the middle of explaining something on the board. The teacher looked up, noticed them, and gave a small motion with his hand for them to sit down.

They quietly went to their seats. The lessons felt like they dragged on forever. Maeve found herself staring at her notebook without really listening, while Henry doodled at the edge of his paper. Violet kept sneaking out her compact mirror, checking her lipstick every now and then. Finally, after what felt like hours, the classes ended and the bell rang.

Henry, now fully in his uniform, stood up and stretched. “Let’s go!”

Violet, however, was preoccupied, carefully retouching her makeup in her compact mirror.

Henry groaned and leaned on her desk. “Please, V. Enough with the makeup, you’re going to scare those students.”

Violet just rolled her eyes and continued, unfazed. Maeve, on the other hand, had already stood up and slung her bag over her shoulder. She glanced at the two of them. “You guys go on ahead. There’s something I need to grab real quick from the student council office.”

“Okay, just don’t take too long!” Henry called after her as she waved her hand and started walking away.

Maeve made her way down the hallway to the student council office. She reached for her key and noticed a figure standing just in front of the door.

“Who…?” Maeve muttered under her breath, slowing her pace.

The person was tall, much taller than she expected for a high school student. She couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

Is he really in high school?

Cautiously, she approached him. “Excuse me?” she asked politely.

The boy turned his head slowly, and Maeve froze for a moment. His face came into view—and it was covered in bruises. His cheek was swollen, and there was a faint cut by his lip. He looked like he had just gotten out of a fight.

Maeve blinked in surprise. “Do you… have some business with the student council?”

The boy’s eyes narrowed slightly. His voice was low when he spoke. “…Are you a member of the student council?”

Maeve gave him a small nod. “Yes. In fact, I am the president of the student council. My name is Maeve.”

For a moment, it looked like the boy was about to say something important. His mouth opened slightly, but after a few seconds of hesitation, he shut it again. A conflicted expression crossed his face, and then his features hardened into a small frown.

“…Sorry. It’s nothing,” he muttered quietly and walked past her.