When You're In Love with a girl

Chapter 17, The Fierce Four

THE FIERCE FOUR

"So, are there are any suggestions on what piece of music by Queen that we should perform?" says Mr. Berswick. The group is assembled; there are four of us.

Me, Arya, and two other saxophones: Laras and Roger. Laras has black, messy hair and rich and vibrant, mahogany brown skin. He wears dark blue glasses over his deep brown eyes. He's the only Indian kid in band.

Laras plays the baritone saxophone, a saxophone which plays notes much lower than the alto saxophone. He's popular and cool with the certain crowd, and seems to have loads of friends, all of which are male. He seems to go around with the average kids—not the dumb, hyper-popular kids, but the averagely smart, averagely sociably kids.

To be honest, Laras intimidates me. If we were partners for a group project, I would not be able to say a word to him. Like I said, all of his friends are male. I don't think he likes talking to girls. I find myself immediately stereotyping him. Maybe sometimes I need to remember that real people are not as flat as characters in books.

Roger is the kind of guy who you think of when you think of a geek. He has that haircut that at best can be described as timeless, and at worst can be described as incredibly boring, that short length hair that basically all guys have. His eyes are brown, probably, or hazel in the right light, and he wears large, obtrusive-looking thick black glasses. His eyebrows are thick and he looks like he has a slight unibrow. He has pinkish skin and a nice smile with braces, and he smiles a bit too much at the wrong moments. He plays the tenor saxophone, which plays slightly lower than alto saxophone, but slightly higher than baritone saxophone. He's a nice person, I think. He and Arya are friends.

I just hope they don't hate me if I screw up in our saxophone group.

Mr. Berswick looks around and smiles. "No suggestions? Well, what pieces do you guys like?"

I look at Arya. Arya looks at me. I gaze back at her intently.

Mr. Berswick taps his leg. "Do you guys even know the band Queen?"

There's a pause, and then Laras says, "Yeah, they were a band from the 1970s." He has a unique inflection in his voice. "Um, their lead singer was this guy named Freddie Mercury, their guitarist is Brian May...."

"Yeah, yeah, you got the band," says Mr. Berswick encouragingly. "I have the sheet music for their song, 'Bohemian Rhapsody,' if you guys want to try it now. Personally, that is my favorite song, but I also want this to be your guys' group. If you all could listen to some of Queen's songs, that would help us decide on a song." We all nod. "Try searching up 'Queen top hits.'"

"I've heard Bohemian Rhapsody before!" says Roger. "It's like, 'I'm just a poor boy! Give me your liberty!'"

"Not quite..." says Mr. Berswick with a laugh. "Hah, 'give me your liberty'.... Let's listen to the song," he says, pulling up his laptop.

We wait in silence while he pulls it up.

"Mr. Berswick," says Arya suddenly, standing up and holding her alto saxophone. "I'm sorry, I have to go make up my Spanish test, my teacher emailed me earlier." She looks solemn as she stands up.

"Alright, you can go," says Mr. Berswick, sounding disappointed.

From the tinny sounds of the laptop, I hear a soft voice: "Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality...." For some reason, I feel my eyes tearing up and I furiously blink.

I listen to the rest of the song; I am dazed. Mr. Berswick gives us the sheet music. "Do you want alto 1 or alto 2?" he asks me before giving it to me.

My heart catches and stops beating. "Umm... I don't know," I say. "What do... what do you think?"

"You choose," he says, smiling insistently. I have never met this side of him.

"I don't know," I repeat. We lock eyes.

Laras fiddles with his music stand. Roger taps his foot and plays along with his new music.

"Can you choose for me?" I say. A perfectly reasonable request.

"It's your choice."

I don't know what to choose! If I choose to play the Alto 1 part, even though Arya is much better than me, then I might fail and Arya might be mad at me! If I choose Alto 2, all would be good except I would also be a coward!

I don't know why. There is a little voice in my head, the little voice of my conscience, my little Constance, that tells me, "Be brave!"

I whisper, "I... I think I choose to play alto 1." My hand shakes as I take the sheet music.

"ALRIGHT!" says Mr. Berswick approvingly. "Give Arya the alto 2 sheet music in band today, then, can you?"

At band, luckily Arya accepts the part of alto 2 very honorably. "Thank you, Alie," she says.

And at home, the melody of Bohemian Rhapsody starts to sound in my bedroom. Until it stops.

"When I'm home, you're not allowed to play that horrible machine," Mom tells me, after banging on my door while I'm in the middle of my saxophone practice session.

"It's not a horrible machine; it is an instrument of music!"

"Do you think I care?" She smiles pleasantly. "Give me that."

Her smile has a devilish light. I wouldn't trust her with my saxophone in a million years. I may be shy but I will protect my saxophone with my life.

"No."

"Do you want me to take away your saxophone completely?" With a laugh she adds, "Oh, I can do that! Why should I spend money on your music lessons!"

"Because I—"

"You ungrateful child! I work hard every day on the vlogs, on maintaining our social media to support our family, and you have barely a word of thanks! I treat you to so many privileges! It's time for you to give me something in return!"

My face freezes in terror. Oh no. It wasn't really my saxophone playing that irritated her. What does she want from me? 

Author's Note: Hmm, what do you think Alie's mom wants? 

What do you you all think of the new characters Laras and Roger? Any Queen fans reading this book? 

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Please freely comment your questions, feedback, concerns, or comments! 

-Tara