Vol 2 ~ What if I ain't no Violinist?

9. Twoset Tutoring V (Brett's voice? 4)

It was just Eddy's luck that he had bumped into his teacher outside the tutoring classroom as they went into break time. His teacher, Mr Richardson, initiated another chat with Eddy;

"Eddy, I don't know if you've actually been spoken to by your mother or sister but.."

"Yes sir, I have."

"Okay.. well I wasn't very successful in convincing them that you needed help."

Eddy bit his lower lip.

"I.. I am honestly okay sir. Not that I am ungrateful of your concern."

"Okay.. well if you ever want to talk, please do so, okay?"

"Yes, thank you sir."

Oh no, he hasn't given up on the idea!

Eddy felt his head spin. His teacher had decided that Eddy may be under excessive stress and had started talking to himself when in fact he was just enjoying having conversations with his new friend Brett who had a very soft voice.  Mr Richardson would not believe Eddy as not only Mr Richarson but everyone else in their maths tutoring class had ever heard Brett's voice.

Eddy needed a drink. He made a quick dash to the bubbler. Brett was already there having a drink.

"Hi Brett."

Brett stopped drinking and lifted his face from the bubbler, faced Eddy and smiled. His lips slightly parted.

"Hey Eddy."

"You finished drinking?"

Brett nodded and stepped away from the bubbler.

While Eddy was drinking, he heard Brett say to him.

"Eddy, is everything okay? I saw you speaking with our tutor, Mr Richardson."

Eddy heard every single word clearly. The recent talks with his teacher and the stress it's been causing was making Eddy feel anxious and had even made him doubt whether he as actually hearing Brett's voice. Eddy looked up from the bubbler and stared at Brett's face.

"..Eddy?"

Eddy bit his lower lip.

I can't blame Brett for this. It's not his fault.

"..Yeah?"

"What's the matter, Eddy?"

Eddy shook his head and smiled.

"Nothing is wrong Brett. Everything is fine."

He couldn't help getting a bit teary. Brett's eyes widened.

"Eddy, please tell me what's wrong. I...I'm worried about you."

Eddy blinked quickly. He remembered what his sister Belle had told him.

And Eddy, whatever you do, don't blame Brett.

He didn't want to. Brett was his friend and he liked him, a lot, and so he really didn't want to.

Eddy wasn't mad at Brett anyway. Eddy thought he was just feeling a bit sorry for himself for being misunderstood, but looking at his friend's face, Eddy realised that he was also sad for Brett, for not being noticed nor acknowledged by people around them despite being such a nice person. Eddy stammered;

"I.. I better go.. I.. I need to go to the bathroom before I go back to class.. excuse me."

Eddy quickly walked away, leaving his friend concerned and confused. Brett bit his lower lip and with a determined look, walked briskly after Eddy.

Eddy wasn't happy with the way things were. He liked Brett and it annoyed him that people around them had thought all this time that Eddy had been talking to himself. And that they had actually reported him to...

"Eddy, did I just see you with Brett Yang?"

Eddy struggled not to roll his eyes. It was Mr Richardson again!!

"Y, yes.."

Then Mr Richardson asked him a question that made Eddy recoil in horror.

"Eddy.. are you using Brett as a prop to conceal the fact that you are talking to yourself?"

Eddy was absolutely stunned and speechless.  The reply he managed to give was barely audible.

"I.. beg your pardon..?"

"Are you pretending to talk to Brett to make it less obvious that you are talking to yourself?"

"W...what..!? N.. NO...!!"

Eddy was so shocked by the accusation, he couldn't help raising his voice. He tried not to cry but the accusation Mr Richardson made against Eddy and the way he regarded Brett, was so hurtful. As a tear fell from Eddy's eye, both Mr Richardson and Eddy must have heard a voice at the same time and their eyes shot open;

"Sir!! There's a punch up happening in the girls' toilets!!!"

"A punch up? Oh god no, I better go and stop that.. excuse me, Eddy."

Mr Richardson ran off.

Eddy looked around to see the person who yelled out was.

Brett walked out from behind a tree.

"..Brett?"

Brett let out a shy grin, then grimaced as he held his throat. Eddy's eye's widened. He quickly wiped his tears with the back of his hand as he stammered;

"Brett..? Was that your voice??"

Brett nodded as he grimaced. He pointed to his throat as he bit his lower lip. Eddy walked up close to Brett.

"Is your throat sore now Brett..? Because you raised your voice?"

Brett nodded.

Eddy widened his eyes in surprise.  The voice wasn't that loud. But for Brett to speak up at a vocal level where people would pay attention, Brett must have shouted at the top of his lungs..!!

Brett's lips parted. Eddy swiftly took a step in closer.

"..I thought he was bothering you."

Brett's voice was hoarse and even softer than before. Eddy smiled.

"Yeah, just a little bit. Thanks for doing that for me. It must've been a big deal for you. I... I really appreciate it."

Brett smiled back.

Eddy continued;

"I just hope you don't get into trouble Brett."

Brett smirked.

"They wouldn't believe it was me even if I owned up."

Eddy burst out laughing as he wrapped his arm around Brett's shoulder. Brett reciprocated and together they walked back towards their classroom.

THE END

A/N: That concludes the Brett's voice? story within the Twoset Tutoring series.  Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.

The first story of this series, titled  "Twoset Tutoring" is a oneshot and is in my first book "What if I ain't no violinist?" 

It's one of my earlier works, its chronological chapter number is 24.