Limelight Melody

(IV) Felix's Boss Sucks

"You played by yourself?" Jasmine exclaimed. "That's awesome!"

Jasmine nearly spilled her coffee as she hugged Felix. He patted her back, uncomfortable with the contact but appreciating the sentiment. She pulled away, almost spilling her coffee again. Felix sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

"I wasn't really expecting it," he admitted. "I thought someone was playing piano with me."

"That's still amazing! Did you play more songs after?"

"The crowd kept requesting songs."

"And what did you do?"

Felix looked at the ground, smiling. "I played for an hour."

Jasmine screeched, hopping in place. This time she did spill her coffee, the liquid going over the edges onto her hand and the floor. She quickly stopped jumping and set the mug on the nearby table. Instead of cleaning it up, she returned her attention to Felix.

"That's such a huge step for you! Doesn't it feel wonderful?"

"I mean, yeah."

"Are you going to do it again?" she paused, glaring. "You better do it again."

"I probably will," Felix assured her. "When I have time."

"You're going to make time, because that's something amazing that you've done," she said, poking Felix's chest with her coffee soaked finger.

"What's amazing?" Jerry stood in the doorway, looking between Jasmine and Felix curiously.

The grin on Felix's face immediately disappeared at the sight of Jerry. Instead, it was replaced with a subtle glare. Jasmine had done the same, but her glare was more obvious. Jerry seemed to notice their looks and frowned.

"What?" He asked. Jasmine and Felix shared a look.

"Nothing, I just spilled some coffee," Jasmine responded, reaching for the paper towels. She ripped some off the roll and began to wipe up her hand.

"Oh, hopefully it's not too messy."

"Don't worry, it's not."

Jerry turned to Felix, repeating his question from earlier. "What was the awesome thing that happened?"

Felix glanced at Jasmine. She was staring at him in the corner of her eye, silently telling him to not say anything. Felix bit his lip nervously as he looked back at Jerry. After a moment of awkward silence, Felix sighed.

"I played violin by myself at the mall yesterday," he said. Jasmine sighed as Jerry grinned.

"That is awesome! How was it?"

"Nerve-wracking, but fun."

"I would imagine it was anxiety inducing! What did you play?"

"Anything that people asked."

Jerry nodded. "Cool, cool."

An uncomfortable silence settled over the room. Jasmine continued wiping herself up while Jerry and Felix engaged in an unspoken staring contest. Felix didn't want to look away in fear that it would show he wanted to avoid Jerry. So instead, Felix started to walk sideways, knowing full well that he was about to trip over something.

True to his prophecy, Felix's foot caught on an object, making him stumble. Instead of struggling, he let the fall happen, his elbow hitting the ground with a jolt of pain. He hissed in pain, rolling onto his back.

"Holy shit, are you okay?" Jasmine asked, hurrying to him. She stood over him, her eyebrows furrowed as she looked down at him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Felix said, cradling his elbow with a grimace. Through his eyes, he tried to convey why he had done it.