Melody's Muse ✓

16. Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker Suite, Op.71 No.3.

Melody

"You're getting so good," I praise with a proud smile. Cole managed to make it through the entire song without any mistakes. The tempo was a bit off, and he paused a couple times, but it was still impressive nonetheless for only two weeks of practice. "Posture though," I teasingly scold him, lightly touching his lower back to adjust him.

Even though it was an absolutely ridiculous purchase, having the piano here has been nice. Cole comes over after class for practice, and we get to hang out together afterwards. I've learned that he has terrible taste in movies. Trashy comedies and action movies full of explosions. We're quite divided over foods as well. Can you believe he likes pineapple on his pizza?

As much as I love mom and Mr. Carter, it's been nice having Cole to spend time with. I was always so busy I didn't get a chance to really make friends my own age while growing up.

Is Cole just a friend? People are always talking about looking for signs to gauge someone's interest. Unfortunately, I have no idea what those signs are. Things like that have always been completely irrelevant to me. I've never had free time for dating and never really gained any intuition or instincts for these kinds of things.

I think Cole likes me, as a friend at least.

That's something, right?

"Hey what's this?" Cole picks up some sheet music I left on top of the piano. The top of the first page is smudged and scratched from all of the writing and erasing I did, but you can still clearly make out the title of the piece.

Cole

I feel heat rush to my face and I smile shyly. "It's a piece I've been working on. You're my muse."

I've poured hours into this song. Late, late nights and early, early mornings. A lot of it is in pianissimo, much more than I was originally intending. I played quietly to avoid disturbing Mr. Carter while he was sleeping, but I actually ended up liking how that sounded. I was inspired by Cole's personality; it's all in major keys, reflecting his cheerful and bright personality. I suppose I subconsciously thought about how I felt towards him as I wrote, and the melody ended up being sweet and gentle.

I realized after finishing that this was my only bright and happy sounding piece so far. All of my other pieces have been in minor keys. Aggressive for the most part, either fortissimo or forte. I try not to focus too hard or deliberately when writing. Rather, I let the music come to me as I play and experiment. What does this say about what's going on in my subconscious? I'd rather not think about it.

"Oh wow, thank you Mel." His eyes are bright and shiny as he smiles at me. "What an honour. Can I hear it?"

I fidget with my fingers nervously. "Well... it's not exactly ready," I mumble.

I was never intending to share it. It was just supposed to be a personal passion project. A piece of work that actually made me happy for once.

Before he can protest, Mr. Carter peeks in the living room. His cheeks are pink from the cold and his coat is still a little damp from the snow. "I got everything on your grocery list, Ms. Aria. I'll be in my room, let me know if you need anything."

"Thanks Mr. Carter." I grin excitedly.

Cole raises an eyebrow. "What are you making?"

"Gingerbread cookies!" I announce gleefully, getting up from the bench. "I spent most of last December on a tour bus and didn't get to do any Christmas baking."

He shuts the piano lid and stands up. "That's fun. I'm not much of a baker myself."

"I can show you. Do you want to help?" I give him my best puppy dog eyes.