Melodious

--Prologue--

      It was a rainy Monday morning. Most people would grimace at the sight of puddles and the heavy ambience of raindrops falling from the sky and onto leaves of trees on a morning, especially the first morning of the school week, but Robbie Rotten was not 'most people'. In fact, the highlight of his morning was waking up to the soft rumble of thunder.

      Robbie adored rainy days. They brought him joy. Perhaps it was the rhythms the dripping water produced in steady beats; he did like to sit and listen to it, after all. Or perhaps it was because with rain came no one outside, and no one outside meant sports activities were most likely going to be canceled for the day. Which all added up to the school actually caring about the choir and orchestra he worked so hard every day to teach.

      See, Robbie had three ninety minute blocks he had to teach students. The first block of the day was his planning block; he picked out new songs to learn or exercises for the students to do while in the class to improve their musical ears and counting.      Then came beginning choir. This was his freshman class. Mixed within were sophomores, juniors, and seniors that were either only taking the class to get a performing arts credit, or were too nervous to do it freshman year.

      Third block was advanced choir: his favorite class. These were the students that had the determination to stay after school for emergency rehearsals if they needed to work longer on an arrangement. They knew what they were doing. The only downside to having this class third was the fact that they had to break right in the middle of rehearsal for lunch.

      Fourth block came his orchestra class. The class was full of instrument players that had taken an interest in the sound of orchestral music. He loved teaching this class, though things could be a bit rough. Both beginners and experts were mixed within this class, so he had to go over things a bit more often than he'd like.

      Nonetheless, as any teacher, he loved all of his students. Yes, it was hard to get him to say it, but he truly did care. All of them had potential to be great musicians.

      Robbie maneuvered his car into a tight parking space in the faculty parking garage, and made his way onto the campus. On his way to his classroom, he decided to stop for a coffee at the teacher lounge. He stepped into the room, barely listening to the conversation two fellow teachers were having, as he moved to brew his coffee.

      "Yeah, the Lacrosse team got another place on the morning show. The sports presenter is going to announce our place in districts."

      "Oh, nice. They definitely deserve a spot. They worked really hard to get there. I saw them practicing in the beginning of the semester, and they've come a very long way, Mr. Ten. You must have your hands full. You're P.E Teacher AND the Lacrosse coach!"

      "Well, it's easy for me because I love what I do. It's much easier to do more if you enjoy exactly what you're doing."

      Robbie clenched his fist around his Styrofoam cup, feeling a small bubble of rage inflate inside his chest. Worked really hard. Districts. Hands full.

      "Hey, guys, did you know that the advanced choir got a superior in districts and is moving on to the state competition?"