To String Together ( Huaze Lei )

Rough Morning

Faye Calinao

My bow moved effortlessly across the strings and my fingers could hardly keep up with the tempo Lei had chosen for this morning's rehearsal. My brain for some reason this morning wasn't quite functional after my late night rehearsal of my own. I spent most of my Sunday with Ximen doing school work in the morning and shopping after we had lunch. After our hours of shopping I had decided to fit in a bit more of schoolwork before doing a couple of hours of practice. If it weren't for Ximen early this morning coming into the room to wake me and that Lei was down stairs waiting for me to have a rehearsal, I would have been just waking up right about now. I wasn't expecting to have a rehearsal so soon after a short weekend.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect after Saturday night. That night, Meizuo was being a supportive friend and took care of me before Ximen had arrived. Meizuo had me rest in the guest room while he went downstairs to hang out with Ximen and Lei. Meizuo had made sure I had plenty of water and food as I rested upstairs.

The sound of the keys to the piano came to a halt. I brought my bow hand down and turned to Lei. His eyes were trained on the music and his arms were crossed over his chest. I bit the inside of my bottom lip knowing he hasn't spoken a word to me yet today. He barely took a glance at me and I knew he was thinking back to Saturday night. I pretended to not notice.

"You're not keeping up with the tempo," he breathes with a frustrated sigh.

" I haven't quite looked at this part yet," I spoke lightly. I checked the time and noticed there was a little over an hour until our first class.

"Why haven't you?" I frowned slightly in confusion.

"I picked this piece out not five days ago. I'm still sight reading."

"I think we've had enough for today." I turned away to hide my bothered expression.

"Do you want to rehearse a section of your piece?"

"No. We can rehearse tomorrow afternoon before orchestra rehearsal." I nod and begin packing my bow and cello into my case.

"Do you want to get something to eat in the cafeteria before heading to class?" I asked as I closed the case and looked towards him standing and grabbing his bag beside him.

"No. I already ate. I'll see you in class." He said calmly. Before I could say anything else, he made his way for the door and left the practice room. I sigh tiredly and stand before taking my bag to put on my shoulder. I then take my music from the stand and my cello before making my way out of the room. Walking into the hall, I looked both ways before making my way for the stairs to go up to the fifth floor. It did not take too long for me to put my things away.

Once I exit the music building, I look around unsure. I haven't been to the cafeteria here on campus. Being my second day here, I haven't been on much of the campus. Ximen and Meizuo wouldn't be arriving on campus until my first class started. I don't think they would've been here before 8 am. I began walking more onto the campus and away from the familiar music building. There really wasn't anyone around. The campus structure is beautiful and I enjoyed looking at the buildings.

I looked over to the business building. Meizuo pointed out the building to me on Friday. I would have a class there later today. I think just past the business building was the main building. I could be wrong, but the building seemed closer together. The sound of the birds chirping from a nearby tree and the light breeze were the only thing I could hear. I saw a sign for the cafeteria as I near the business building and smiled to myself. I followed the sign and made my way up the stairs to the building right beside the business building. I looked through the glass doors and smiled to myself for finding the cafeteria on my own. I opened the door and let myself in.