Chances of Fate

XII- Connie Of The Music Room

A/N:

Let me make this clear if you got confused in the previous chapter. Starting from chapter eleven, there will be diary entries at the start or at the end of each chapter about Marlais and Camellia. Marlais and Camellia are the fictional characters that Connie and Azure created for their project about diaries and epistolary writing and there, you will see how they view their lives.

- - - 

10-02-xxxx

Dear Diary,

Tomorrow, me and my friend, Camellia, will be inviting two of our friends to come with us to the Autumn Festival that's going to be held next Wednesday. I hope they'll come. It's also going to be our exam tomorrow so, wish me luck!

Marlais

- - -

I paused my music when a familiar ringtone interrupted me again. I had to take off my earphones because of the loud volume.

Really? At this time?

This guy never learns.

Ever since he first called me, he never stopped. It's kind of annoying. But I'm sort of glad that he was frequently checking up on me?

"What is the main theme of—"

"Laura, let's take a quick break."

She gave me a quick nod and closed the book. "I'll give you ten minutes." Laura didn't move from her seat, waiting for me to answer the call.

How nosy.

With a frown, I answered the call.

"Hey! What took you so long?"

"Owen Thorne, it's eleven in the evening. Why are you still up?" I sighed, taking my time to admire my new pet.

It was a snail that my sister gifted me after my visit to her. I named my pet Turtle because... snails are slow like turtles... there were also turtles back at the pet shop so there's that.

Turtle now lives in a plastic terrarium beside my desk lamp so I can watch him while I study.

Maybe I should get a turtle and name it Snail...

"You sound like my mother. Why are you still up? And don't you dare say s—"

"Studying." I fixed the side of my hair. "What do you want? I'm busy."

"Why don't you turn in for tonight?"

I yawned. "No."

Is this payback from my bossiness?

"Laura, tell her!" I  inched away from my phone when he started yelling.

Why did I even bother answering this call?

"He's right, my lady."

"Laura!"

Why are these two suddenly ganging up on me?

Laura told me earlier that I should study until my eyes give out!

"I think you'll do good tomorrow."

Well, I am kind of sleepy.

I glanced at Laura to give her a glare.

That little turncoat.

"If I flunk a test, I'll kill you."

Zodel chuckled from the other line. "Yeah, sure."

"Goodnight." I said, ending the call.

When I turned to Laura to pout at her, she was already cleaning up my desk.

I've been studying for a week and a half so far and got a lot of headaches so maybe this was a good idea—well, not really because it's already eleven in the evening.

That means I only have six hours of sleep left!

I pulled my hair with a loud sigh and threw my phone on my bed. "I'm done for today. Thanks for studying with me."

It has always been me and Laura whenever it comes to studying. Sometimes, I study alone when Laura declines but it still works both ways for me.

"You've worked hard, my lady." Laura walked towards me to pick up my phone and place it on the bedside table.

"You too." I smiled as I tucked myself in bed. "See you tomorrow, Laura."

She turned off the lights after tidying up and bid me a goodnight.

The very first thing that I did when I entered our classroom after recess was show my test paper to Zodel. I didn't get the chance to show it to him earlier since I had to go with Everleigh to the canteen.

"I knew you'd pass it." He started with a genuine smile, patting my head.

"Here's some cookies." Which I totally just didn't buy in the canteen. "You know, as a thank you!" Even though he was sort of pushed into it.

"You've been so sweet to me these days. It makes me think that you li—"

I stopped him by punching his stomach, satisfied with his yelp. "Just take it."

Everleigh appeared behind Zodel, examining my score. "Oh my! You only had three mistakes? Congrats, Amirah!"

I asked what her score was even though everyone already knew. She got a perfect score, of course... along with Ashton. They're always on top in any academic performance.

Zodel jumped and inched away from her. "Do you always sneak up on someone?" He turned to Leigh.

"Just to you and Amirah, hehe." Everleigh smiled and walked towards me. "We should celebrate!" She held my hands.

"Maybe later. We're still in the middle of our exams, remember?" I pointed out, chuckling.

We still have six exams to take this day and my head is already aching a bit. I fished out a small treat from my bag and munched on it. Chocolates can prevent migraines so I'll just hope that I don't get one today.

Fortunately, the next two hours quickly passed and it was already lunch time.

I had to excuse myself from Everleigh as always and walked with Zodel to the rooftop.

But something happened so suddenly that I barely had the time to react properly. All I remembered was a huge crowd of people started storming in the halls and I couldn't grab Zodel's hand before I got pushed away from him.

I walked away from where the commotion was happening and decided to wait until there were only a few people left because they were blocking my way to the rooftop.

While fiddling with my hair, waiting for the people to clear out, I recognized a familiar sound.

Music.

Piano.

Someone was playing the piano.

It was beautiful.

Ah, the music was moonlight sonata. That's why it sounded so familiar.

It reminded me of bittersweet memories.

I looked around to see if anyone was paying any attention to what I was hearing and it turns out that no one was.

It won't hurt if I find the source for a bit, right? I mean, I'll probably just bump into Zodel after a few minutes so I think I'll be fine.

I ended up standing in front of the auditorium after following the sound and without even thinking, I used my palm to quietly open the door because I didn't want to interrupt the person playing the song.

And even though I did that effort, it was still useless since the person instantly saw me enter the room.

She was in the middle of the stage with a grand piano accompanying her. I can see the hesitation in her eyes when she started covering the keyboard.

"You're not supposed to be here." She calmly said, standing up from her seat. "If you're going to start asking why I'm playing the piano, I was just simply warming up for rehearsals."

I couldn't process what she was saying because first of all, I got caught by someone pretty! What if she thinks that I'm a stalker or something?! Someone as pretty as her might've dealt with stalkers before and second, "U-uh, w-why is there a... a ha-hangman's noose over t-there?" I pointed the stage's ceiling where the rope was onto.

Is she, perhaps, suicidal? A-and wants to make a school scandal by killing herself here?!

"Oh, that?" Her head turned to where I was pointing at. "It's props for the play. Haven't you heard about it?"

O-oh... I thought...

"Not t-that I'm aware of."

"So, that's why you didn't know that the auditorium isn't  supposed to be entered by students other than the theatre and music club." She examined me while crossing her arms. "You're pretty."

Her raisin colored hair was tied in two braids and she had very pretty orbs colored in dark mulberry. She looks f—w-wait, what did she just say to me?!

"Y-you think I'm p-pretty?" Why would an absolute stranger say something like that?! D-does she want something from me?!

I placed my hands on my face, knowing all too well that I was covered in hues of red. "W-what makes you s-say that?"

"Because you are?" She tilted her head and placed a finger on her chin. "I think I already saw you from somewhere though..."

N-no... she's too cute! Stop!

She snapped her fingers. "Aha! You're that person from Wakefield!"

How did she?—oh! That's why her hair color looked familiar!

She's the pianist from the village square!

"And your name is?"

"It's—"

"Amirah!"

That voice...

I turned around to see Zodel and Azure hurrying themselves towards me.

"Why didn't you come straight to the rooftop?" Zodel pulled me away from her.

Rude.

"I-I—there were too many people. I c-couldn't get pass through."

"Owen?"

"Celeste?" Zodel peeked beside me.

Oh, so her name's Celeste? What a pretty name. It's as pretty as her.

"What a c-coincidence." She slowly stepped forward and eyed me. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Amirah. I h-have to go now."

She then hurried to the doors. Celeste looked uncomfortable and I think it has something to do with Zodel.

I glanced at Zodel who smiled at her. "Hold on. It's been so long, why don't we quickly catch up on things?"

Celeste froze and slowly faced him. "Is t-that so?"

Zodel switched his attention to me. "Oh, did you know that she choked and almost killed someone back in middle school?"

"T-that was years ago, Owen." Celeste looked away.

I scratched my head. "Wait, w-what?" He might be lying though.

Zodel turned to me and Azure. "Is it okay if I go with Celeste for a moment? I'll catch up with you guys later."

"Uh, sure. See you." Azure nodded. "Amirah? Come on." He smiled at me.

I lightly pulled his jacket as Azure drew me out of the auditorium.

Hmm, now that I think about it, it's my first time seeing Azure wearing a jacket at school.

"Don't worry. Zodel lies all the time." He took a glance at me and gave me a reassuring smile. "He's an i***t, you know."

Yeah, just an i***t who passes tests with flying colors.

When we reached the rooftop, someone with a big frown greeted us.

"You guys! It's been thirty minutes!" She whined, her arms on her hips.

She's actually joining us for lunch? That's quite... miraculous.

"Ten minutes hasn't even passed..." Azure flicked her forehead. "You were the one who didn't want to go find Amirah in the first place."

"I didn't want us to bring our lunch boxes while searching for her so I guarded it in our spot instead." Connie defended, sticking her tongue at him.

"I'm so glad that you're here!" I hugged Connie who was taken aback by it.

She whined about letting her go but I didn't.

"You must've been so scared." I sniffed.

A few days ago, I found out that Connie was almost molested by some perverted teacher. Luckily, she fought back and the teacher ended up falling down the stairwell with a concussion.

Being pretty is frightening...

"A-are you crying?!" Connie tried to wiggle out but I tightened the hug even more.

"She's crying?!" Azure yelled.

"Waaah!" Now, I couldn't stop myself from crying like a child that got candy-snatched or something. "I'm g-glad that you're alright.... I r-really am..."

I released her after trembling too much so she shook me.

"S-stop being such a cry baby! You're s-scaring me!"

Connie's so brave. I'm proud of her.

I felt Azure's hand on my shoulder. "Do you want me to buy you some bottled bubble tea?"

"I c-can... buy one my own." I sniffed, wiping off my tears.

Ah, I reacted too much. I was just so scared of my what if's. But it's all over now, right?

"It really scared you, huh." Connie gave me a sheepish smile. "Don't worry. I'll pay half of your bottled bubble tea to cheer you up! You're not even supposed to cry..."

"But I-I was just worried."

"You know, Azure was also there after I kicked that p*****t's a*s. Aren't you also worried about him?"

H-he was?

I turned to Azure, a tear falling down. "You were also there?!"

"I was but I didn't get hurt or any—"

"You must've also been so scared!"

"Connie, you made her cry again!"

She chuckled as she slowly wrapped her arms around me and later on turned to Azure. "Hey, buy this shorty some bubble tea. I'll pay you the half later."

Wha—sh-shorty?

"What? You won't come with me?"

"I'm gonna keep her company, you i***t. I'm also hungry and I can't take it anymore!"

With a defeated sigh, Azure left the rooftop.

Connie and I had a peaceful lunch together after my ruckus. Zodel and Azure then joined in after a few minutes.

I was so distracted by the happiness that I felt while hanging out with them that I completely forgot that we were still having our exams.

I ate a lot of chocolate before entering our classroom because I heard that eating chocolates can improve my math skills. Math was the last subject that I'm gonna be taking. Zodel did say that I'm going to be fine but I'm still taking precautions.

It tooks us three more hours for the last four subjects. We had to reduce our time for thirty minutes on two subjects because we didn't have much time left.

When we were dismissed, I suddenly felt like crying again.

"Math..." I kneeled on my chair in the direction of the person sitting behind me. "Wasn't that hard!" I then repositioned myself, sitting normally, and slammed my head on the desk. "I think I'm gonna pass out."

"You seem very worn out, Amirah." It's Everleigh. I can tell by the softness of her voice. "Why don't we celebrate another day?"

"Good idea, Leigh." I faced her with a smile.

I'm going to take a really long sleep after this.

"Ash and Luke wants to eat at a café though. We'll bring you a cupcake next week since you won't be joining us!"

Those three are so considerate. Sometimes, I think that I don't deserve such good friends.

"Sure, Leigh." I smiled.

The place was getting emptier and emptier as Leigh and the others exited the room. I chatted with Zodel for awhile since I didn't have anything much to do other than wait for everyone to leave.

As we were deeply into the topic that we were talking about, I suddenly remembered the auditorium and... Celeste!

I stood up, startling Zodel. "A-ah, I remembered that I needed to go somewhere!"

"Where?" He rested his head on his palm.

Last time I checked, Celeste was pretty nervous around him so I don't trust this guy...

"The girl's bathroom. Wanna come?" I teased.

"Wha—" His flushed face made me confirm his answer. "Just... go."

Yeah, that's what I thought.

I glanced at Laura and slightly nodded at her before leaving the classroom.

Is it okay if I enter the auditorium again? Maybe a little peek won't do me harm.

I stopped my tracks on the stairs when I heard piano music again.

It was coming from the second floor.

Of course, I followed the sound.

Hmm, now that I think about it, how come I never paid attention to the sound of the piano before?

I guess this is... fate?

Oh, right. The music room's just on the second floor so it all makes sense now. She must be a member of the music club.

She stopped playing when she heard the door creak. Am I that bad at sneaking?

"There you are." Celeste greeted. "I was waiting for you."

"Y-you expected me?"

"Of course." She chuckled. "I lured you here with my music. And besides, we didn't get the chance to finish our conversation."

Yeah, that idiotic Zodel just had to barge in on us, claiming that she ch-choked someone.

"Anyway, you must've been confused about Owen's accusation towards me." She made some space on the seat and lets me sit beside her. "But you know, it was all true."

"Excuse me?!"

She laughed as she covered the keyboard. "Yeah. I didn't regret it though. Owen just likes to guilt-trip me. I'm a little... wary towards him."

Yes, I perfectly saw that earlier.

I wonder who she tried to kill. That person must've been so disrespectful.

"If you wanna know who I choked, ask Owen. He'll be glad answer it for you." She smiled and held my hands. "Anyway, I didn't lure you here to talk about that blockhead. I actually want to invite you for tea."

"Tea?"

"Yeah! There's a new tea shop just across the street!" Her eyes widened. "Oh! I haven't properly introduced myself yet!" She lets go of my hand. "My name is Celeste Baudelaire from class 2-2. Vice President of the music club."

"Uh, I'm Amirah Hearst from class 2-1. I haven't seen you around your classroom before... I'm a student council rep. so I inspect classrooms sometimes whenever the president wants me to." I almost know every face in this building but she's not one of them.

"That's because I just got discharged from the hospital."

Uh, is it okay to ask why she was at the hospital?

"Staying there for eight months was rough." She sighed but then smiled at me. "Why, you ask? It's because of..." Her finger traced her neck in a horizontal line. "But you don't need to worry about me. I have no intention of dying now." Celeste gave me a smile.

Okay? I guess she read my mind.

"H-how about we get some tea?"

I should tell Zodel and Laura that I won't be going home with them. I'm actually worried about Celeste.

Laura probably heard our conversation so she'll be alright handling Zodel... and my bag.

We crossed the street from our school and had a little chat while hanging out at the tea shop. Our conversation was mostly about their play and the aftermath autumn camp that's going to be held at our school next week.

Oh! There's also the Autumn Festival next week.

My calendar always gets this crazy whenever fall and winter comes.

"Thank you for your time!" Celeste waved me a goodbye.

I waved back and watched her walk away. When I turned to the front gate of the school. Zodel and Laura were still there so I approached them.

I thought Laura already knew? Goodness, those two, seriously.

Laura was leaning on the side of a tree, reading a book while Zodel was in front of the gate.

What's Laura doing there anyway?

"Wha—why are you guys still here? It's late." I checked my watch.

It was already six thirty in the evening.

Zodel looked up at the sky. "Yeah, but I wanted to ask you something."

"And that is?"

Can't it wait tomorrow?

I'm hungry... even though I just ate a shortcake earlier.

"I want you to go with me to the Autumn Festival." He scratched his cheek as he looked away.

I paused. For a second, I forgot that I had the ability to breathe. Did this guy just? Was I hearing things right?

"I-Is this, perhaps, a date?"