𝑨 𝑫𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑴 𝑰𝑺 𝑨 𝑾𝑰𝑺𝑯 𝒀𝑶𝑼𝑹 𝑯𝑬𝑨𝑹𝑻 𝑴𝑨𝑲𝑬𝑺

𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑷𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝟏𝟎

Delphina had never thanked any sort of god, but when she managed to make it through probability and statistics not only without any excess attention on her, but also managing to get a seat in the back of the class, she was profusely thanking whichever deity finally decided to have mercy on her. Now, she was on her way to AP music theory and composition, recalling what she had seen on the tour yesterday to find her way through Auradon Prep's music hall.

As the classroom door came into view, Delphina could faintly hear the notes of various different instruments being played. Laughter was prominent and Delphina cringed, knowing that joy would cease as soon as she walked in. She wasn't sure she had the energy to deal with another awkward entrance into class where everyone stared and whispered and the teachers targeted her so they could feel better about themselves.

Delphina stood a few feet away from the door, staring at it warily. Maybe she would be better off skipping. She chose this class on a whim, anyway. Her grandmother may have taught her how to play a few instruments, but she hadn't picked one up in years. She'd only embarrass herself. Turning on her heel, Delphina was ready to walk away when a voice cleared behind her obnoxiously.

Delphina recognized it instantly and whined childishly, turning again to come face to face with Audrey, who gave her an expectant look. "Going somewhere?" The princess asked, arms folded over her chest. Pulling a page from Audrey's book, Delphina plastered on her sweetest, fakest smile.

"Oh, you know, it's so crazy, Audrey!" She gave her best princess giggle. "I just realized I accidentally chose the wrong class." She lied so smoothly, she would've gotten away with it had Audrey not spotted her picking at the sleeves of her bomber jacket every so slightly. Deciding to let Delphina try and believe she was getting out of this situation, Audrey simply nodded slowly, pretending to be shocked by the false information.

"Really?"

"Yeah! Yeah, I actually meant to take...um..." Delphina paused for a moment, looking back in her mind to the list of classes Fairy Godmother had given her. "Intro to music 101." She finally stated, nodding firmly.

Audrey fought a smile, faking a perplexed look. "I thought that was a freshman class?" She asked. Delphina cursed internally. The class did have a nine in the 'year' column and it wasn't even a class Fairy Godmother had circled.

"Well, I mean, yeah, sure." Delphina rushed out, moving from picking at her jacket sleeves to messing with her hair, carding her fingers through it over and over again and playing with the ends. "I just wanted to start out slow, you know? Get a feel for an instrument."

"I thought you said you already used to play an instrument?"

Dammit. Why did Audrey actually have to pay attention to what she said? Delphina scrambled for an excuse and blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"Yeah, but it's been a while. I forgot how."

She cringed as soon as the sentence left her mouth while Audrey raised an amused eyebrow. Stupid, stupid, stupid, Delphina cursed herself.

"You have an eidetic memory, Delphina."

Delphina's mouth opened and closed repeatedly, similar to a fish for a moment.

"W-well...that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to forget certain things." She defended weakly.

"So you're saying that you completely forgot how to play every instrument your grandmother taught you? And that you can't relearn it today? After you finished reading an entire physics textbook and retaining its information in under five minutes?"

Delphina hesitated for a long while.

"...Yes?"

Audrey rolled her eyes, reaching forward and interlocking their arms. "You're going to class, Delphina."