Reap What You Sow 🌈

Chapter 31

Adam had gone to the kitchen to pour himself a drink. While sipping from it, he looked around to see if there was anyone he'd dare to talk to. Grace was still there, so he did know someone. Yet, he didn't want to cling to her the whole time. He wanted to step past his shyness. He had a feeling that Emilio and he were still battling for Rory's heart and Rory once told him he wished Adam was a bit more confident. Something he wished for as well—but he didn't know how to change it. Nobody else stood alone; everyone seemed to be talking. How did people do this? Did they just walk up to random people, say hi—and then what? He was afraid he would clam up. The longer he waited, the more nervous he'd become and the harder it would be to go to someone. At first, he'd been looking around, studying people's faces and wondering if they would like him, but right now he felt like everyone was watching him and he just wished the floor would swallow him. 

Come on, Adam. You can do this! There are plenty of nice people in this room!                          

He glanced around once more. Two girls were standing at the turntable. They'd caught his eye when he was on stage—they'd been enjoying the music and he thought they looked nice. After taking a deep breath, he crossed the room and stood by them.

"Hey," he said nervously. The performances were over; people could do karaoke right now. "Uhmm—do you already know what song you're going to sing?"

He felt his face go pink. Because of his question, it looked like he wanted to sing a song as well and he was sure he wouldn't dare to. Yet, he ignored the urge to walk away and gave them a shy look. 

"No," the girl with strawberry blond locks said. "But I'll let Josephine choose for I know almost every song!" 

"Oh, that makes it a lot easier." Things were different for Adam, for he barely listened to the songs on the radio. Of course, he'd heard some popular songs at the few parties he'd gone to, but there were only a few he knew by heart. "I'm Adam, by the way." He held out his hand. 

"Jip!" She shook his hand. "You don't live here, do you, Adam?"

"No, I don't. I met Grace a week ago and she told me about this music night, and then we decided to perform a song."

"It was beautiful," Jip said. "You play the violin very well. Although it's a very strange instrument."

"Thank you. I play it for a long time. Why do you think it's a strange instrument?" The nervousness faded a bit—talking to a stranger wasn't as bad as he'd imagined. 

"Well—it's like a guitar but you use a stick. And it's just odd to know that one day, someone decided to rub a guitar with a stick. But I do think it creates a beautiful sound. Maybe it's the most beautiful instrument I've ever heard."

Adam chuckled softly. Both instruments had evolved in a whole different way, but he doubted she wanted him to explain it. "Do you play an instrument too?"

She shook her head. "No, but I like to draw."

"Oh, that's nice! I draw too—especially landscapes and beautiful pieces of nature. What about you?"

"Do you have a picture of your drawings?"

"I have some sort of portfolio on the internet," he answered. He took his phone from his pocket and opened the website. He tapped on a pencil drawing of an old bridge over a ditch in a farmland and turned the screen towards Jip. "I prefer to draw with a pencil." A little insecure he looked at the other girl, not sure if she wanted to see it too or whether it would look like he was bragging about his drawings.

"I like to draw people," said Jip. "Sometimes I find it hard to understand people, but when I draw them I pay more attention to their expressions and that makes it easier to understand them."