The Melody They Never Heard

Some people are just born to stand out. The pretty girls with smiles they always get noticed. The athletes everyone cheers for them. The rich kids they walk through the halls like they own the place. Then there are people like me. I am the kind of person who's really good at blending in. I sit in the back row of every classroom. I eat lunch in corners. I walk through school hoping nobody will remember my name. Days it works out okay. Days it does not. "Move " a voice said, breaking into my thoughts. I looked up to see Tyler Benson standing beside my desk. His friends were standing behind him already smirking. I held my notebook tightly. "I need to get through " he said. There was plenty of space more than enough. I knew arguing would only make things worse. So I stood up. My right leg hurt immediately. I have this ache in my knee when I shift my weight. My limp is not super noticeable. It is enough to become a target. Tylers friend made a snorting sound. "Careful she is glitching again " he said. The other kids laughed, not loud just enough to remind me where I stand. I looked down. Waited for them to pass. By the time I looked up again everyone had already moved on. Everyone except me. I gathered my books. Headed to my next class. The hallway was buzzing with conversations. Kids were talking about their weekend plans, parties, relationships lives that seemed much bigger than mine. As I walked students brushed past me without a glance. I was invisible which was easier than being laughed at usually. Then I saw him, Ethan Brooks. My heart did this thing immediately. It always does when I see him. He was standing near the trophy case laughing with a group of friends. The morning sunlight was streaming through the windows behind him making him look like something from a movie. He is tall has a smile dark hair, the kind of person who never has to wonder whether he belongs. Because everyone already knows he does. For three years I have had this crush on him. Three years of sneaking glances. Three years of imagining conversations we would never have. Three years of hoping he would finally notice me. It is pretty pathetic I know. The worst part is not that Ethan does not like me. The worst part is that he barely knows I exist. As if sensing my gaze he turned. For one second our eyes met. My stomach flipped then someone called his name. He looked away. Just like that the moment disappeared. That is the story of my life. I forced myself to keep walking. By lunchtime my energy was gone. School has a way of draining me not because the classes are difficult. Because existing here feels exhausting. I carried my lunch tray toward my table near the far window. It is a table nobody wants which's perfect. I sat down. Opened my notebook. Inside were pages of song lyrics, finished songs, fragments of emotions I never had the courage to speak aloud. Music understands me better than people ever have. When life gets too loud music listens. When people hurt me music stays it never judges, never laughs, never looks at my limp never cares about the holes in my sneakers. A shadow fell across my table. I looked up to see Vanessa Pierce standing there. Course it was her with her expensive blonde hair gleaming under the cafeteria lights. Everything about her screams perfection. Behind her stood two friends who looked equally amused. Vanessa smiled, the kind of smile that always makes my stomach sink. "Abigail " she said. I swallowed. "What?" I asked. She tilted her head. "Nothing I was just wondering " she said, her smile widening. "Do you ever get tired of sitting " The girls beside her giggled. I stared at my notebook. "Not really " I said. Vanessa laughed softly. "That is actually of sad " she said. More laughter. Heat rushed into my face. I wanted to disappear I wanted the floor to c***k open and swallow me whole. Instead I stayed silent because silence is safer. Eventually they got bored. Walked away leaving me alone again. The funny thing is, I prefer being alone. What hurts is being reminded why. After school ended students flooded the parking lot. Cars pulled away friends laughed together couples walked hand in hand. I headed in the direction toward the old music building. Nobody goes there anymore which is why I love it. The piano room is at the end of a hallway. Dust floats through the afternoon sunlight and the building smells faintly of wood and forgotten memories. I stepped inside and breathed it feels like home. The piano waits quietly in the corner its black finish faded with age. Several keys stick when pressed most people consider it junk but to me it is treasure. I sat down placed my fingers on the keys and played. The first notes drifted through the room fragile, like a secret. The world disappeared the laughter, the stares, the loneliness everything melted away. Music does that it takes the pieces of me nobody wants and turns them into something My fingers moved instinctively building a melody I had been carrying for weeks. A song about longing about feeling unseen about standing in rooms while nobody looks your way. The notes filled the room and for once I did not feel broken. For once I felt free. I closed my eyes. Let the music carry me. Minutes passed, longer then a sound interrupted me, a creak. My eyes flew open the hallway outside was empty or so it seemed. I frowned, "Hello?" I said,. There was no answer only silence. Maybe the building was just settling maybe it was my imagination. Shaking my head I returned to the piano. Something felt different like the room had changed, like someone had been listening. The thought made me strangely nervous nobody listens to me nobody ever cares enough. Eventually the sun began to set I packed my notebook. Headed home. The evening air was cool against my skin streetlights flickered to life above the sidewalk. As I walked I pulled my headphones over my ears a melody hummed quietly in my mind. The song was not finished yet. Was I. I did not know it then did not know that everything was about to change. That a single decision made by someone would alter the course of my life. I did not know that soon people who never noticed me would suddenly know my name. That the boy I had loved for years would finally look my way. That another pair of eyes had already been watching from the shadows long before anyone else cared. At that moment I was still Abigail Hart, the girl, in the back row the girl nobody chose the girl nobody saw. Tomorrow would begin just like every other day or so I thought.