Violin Strings

Chapter 2

Chapter 二

*When Chinese is being spoken the words with be in brackets like this: [ ]

Wandering the halls of Ming De, Terry took a moment to look around at the students who occupied the space around her. A couple on her right were holding hands while walking together. Two boys were playing hacky sack near the windows and a group of girls walked by her talking about the latest Jiro Wang single.

She often thought of her friends back home and how much she would love to develop at least one friendship like that here. But she wasn't sure if she even should.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a streak of bright red hair. With excitement she whipped her head around only to see a petite Chinese girl stumbling over the books she had dropped on the floor. Terry sighed in disappointment. Why she thought that the hair belonged to her friend Henry was beyond her. It was in that moment she realized how lonely her life had become.

In Kensington, Terry had made friends easily but chose to spend the majority of her time with only a few. Henry was her best friend. They bonded over violin and classical music. His girlfriend Jane was the comic relief in the group. Terry missed her sense of humor. And finally, there was Benedict. He was the one they all went to for advice. Being the oldest in the group, he had graduated University while the rest of them remained in school. He not only stayed the same after he graduated but he was constantly making sure he kept in touch with everyone and made plans regularly to see them all.

Thinking about her friends made Terry homesick. She refused to let herself feel the loneliness that surrounded her, so she took a deep breath put her head down and headed to class.

After class Terry picked up her books and headed out of the classroom. Not paying attention to where she was headed, she walked aimlessly down the hallway. Suddenly she bumped into someone, forcing her to focus on where she was. She bowed in an apology before glancing up at the sign above the door she now stood in front of. It was the music room. Moving herself to stand in front of the glass windows that looked in on the room, she noticed a single person inside, Lei.

Terry moved closer to the glass, mesmerized by the music Lei was playing on the violin. She turned to the side and placed her ear up to the glass, closing her eyes. The way Lei played the violin reminded her of her favorite artist Augustin Hadelich.

She had known Lei had an interest in music but had no idea he could play. And he not only played, he played some of the most beautiful music that Terry had ever heard.

Caught up in the composition, she didn't notice when Lei had stopped playing. Suddenly a knock on the window brought her out of the daze she was in. Looking up at the window, Terry saw Lei's soft smile beckoning her to come inside. She nodded and went into the room.

"Terry."

"Uh hi Lei. I didn't realize you played."

Lei brought up the violin and bow he was holding and offered them to her. "So do you." He urged her to take the instrument from him.

Shaking her head furiously she took a few steps backwards.

"It's ok, you won't hurt it." Lei reassured her. "Go ahead and play."

Terry put her head down and quickly walked across the room towards the piano. Running her fingers lightly across the keys, she slowly turned her attention back towards Lei. "I wanted to see how you were doing, you know after the other day."

Disappointed, Lei set the violin down on the desk next to him and walked towards Terry. "I'm ok. Just had a lot on my mind."

Terry nodded in understanding as Lei sat down on the piano bench. He patted the seat beside him urging her to sit down. She silently obeyed.