Goodnight
1086 Words
"Go to my place."
"What?" Tine looked puzzled. "Why does he want me to go to his place tonight?" she thought, her mind racing.
"Go to my place. Get the guitar from there," Eustace repeated firmly.
"Right. Get the guitar," Tine echoed, still bewildered.
At Eustace's apartment, he opened the door. "Come in," he said, his tone casual.
"Are you sure this isn't a haunted house or something?" Tine asked, her eyes wide with suspicion.
"There's a ghost behind you," Eustace teased, a mischievous grin spreading across his face.
"Hey! Don't say that!" she exclaimed, her voice rising in alarm.
"You have me here, so there's nothing to be scared of," Eustace said confidently, trying to reassure her.
"Right. You just always like to tease me, don't you?" Tine said, rolling her eyes. "Is that the guitar? I'll just grab it and go," she added, moving toward the instrument.
"Hey, that needs to be tuned first," Eustace said, stopping her.
"It does?"
"Yes. Or do you want to do it yourself? Of course, you can't," Eustace pointed out as he took the guitar from her. He sat on his mattress and started tuning it with practiced ease.
Meanwhile, Tine removed her shoes and sat beside him. "Have you decided what song you would record?" she asked.
"Not yet," he replied, focused on the strings.
"Why don't you play 'YOU' by LANY?" she suggested.
"You listen to LANY's songs?"
"Yes, I love that band. My sister introduced me to them."
"Do you listen only to LANY or what?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No, I listen to other artists as well. I know almost all of them. Just name them."
"AJ Mitchell."
Tine looked lost. "What?"
"Halsey, Dan and Shay, Ellie Moore—"
"Name Western artists!" Tine demanded, a bit frustrated.
"These are Western artists! You only know LANY. You should listen to other artists as well," Eustace said, shaking his head.
"Sorry. I will," Tine said, embarrassed by her lack of knowledge. "You know...I really love listening to music. It's like... when you listen to music when you're happy, you'll be happier. If you listen to music when you're in-love, you'll feel more in-love..." she added. "Can you play 'XXL' for me though?" Tine asked, trying to change the subject.
Eustace grabbed a piece of paper and wrote something on it before handing it to her.
"What are these?" she asked, puzzled.
"Those are the chords of the song you want me to play. Does it look easy?" he asked, a slight smirk on his face.
"No, actually," Tine admitted. "Are you done tuning?" she asked hopefully.
"Tuning? All I did was talk to you. I haven't even started yet."
"Then, can I just borrow that?" Tine asked, pointing to Eustace's guitar. Without waiting for an answer, she grabbed it. "Thanks..." She placed her phone on the table and told him, "I'll be recording now."
"Will it be done tonight?"
"Yes, hold on," she said, fixing the camera angle.
"Record yourself, not me," Eustace said as he noticed the camera was pointed at him.
Tine adjusted the camera. "I will start now."
"Tell the camera, not me..."
"Hi, everyone! I am Ms. Chic Tine. I am the cutest thing. Today, I will show you how to play basic chords. Let's start with the C-chord." As she strummed the guitar, Eustace interrupted.
"Wrong," he said, shaking his head.
"Be quiet! I am recording here," Tine demanded.
"But you played it wrong. Senior Dan won't let you pass," Eustace pointed out. "Your ring finger has to be here. What you did was F major 7," he explained, guiding her fingers. "Now play it." Tine strummed the guitar. "That is C-chord. Remember it," he added.
"Thanks... So this is C-chord, guys..." As Tine started to play, Eustace interrupted her again, tuning the guitar.
"Hey! I am recording here. Why are you tuning it now? Why didn't you do it earlier?"
"Do you want it or not?"
"Wait until I finish. Be quiet," Tine demanded. Eustace remained quiet until she was done.
"Thank you, guys..." She gazed at Eustace and demanded, "Tune it now."
As Eustace tuned the guitar, he told Tine to go buy some snacks for him. "Where's my drink?" he asked.
"Wait... Hold on... I only have two hands," Tine said, handing him the drink. Eustace noticed it was his favorite.
"Hey, how did you know that I like this?"
"Of course I know. I am a member of #EUSTACEWI—"
"Why did I say that?" she thought.
"You're a member of that group too? Do you want to be my wife?"
"Well... I joined that group to gather information about you. Don't think of such a thing. You done tuning?" Tine asked, embarrassed.
Eustace nodded, handing her the guitar, but then he withdrew it. "Wait, I'll use this to record. Sit down."
Tine sighed. "I've waited for an hour already, a bit more waiting won't kill me," she said as she lay down on the mattress.
As Eustace started to play, Tine recognized a familiar tune and suddenly sat up. "You said you didn't want to play this song?" It was "XXL," the song she requested earlier. As she recognized the melody, she couldn't help but sing along with Eustace. As soon as he finished, Eustace grabbed his phone and saved the recording. He noticed Tine smiling. "Why are you smiling?" he asked.
"That was... nice," she responded, her eyes shining with admiration.
"I'm done recording. You can go now. Thanks for the snacks," he said. Tine nodded in response.
At the dorm where Tine was living, she turned to Eustace. "Once I get new strings, I'll return your guitar."
But Eustace seemed to have a different topic on his mind. "Wait... Let's suppose we're flirting. What should I say when I take you home like this?"
"Uh... Goodnight... I think? Why do you ask?"
"Nothing. Just asking."
"Don't worry, you will never have to take me home in front of Gavin," Tine assured him. "Bye now," she tapped his shoulder as she went upstairs. "See you tomorrow. Get home safe," she added.
As Tine went upstairs, Eustace watched her with a soft smile. "Goodnight, Tine," he said, but she didn't hear him because someone had started talking to her.
"Eustace, you took Tine home?" asked one of the other tenants.
"What did you say?" Tine asked Eustace, turning around.
Eustace just waved his hand, gesturing that it was nothing, and left the dorm.
- Writer
