Sonata 1: The 1st Movement

It was half-past seven in the evening when I heard a sound coming from my phone. Grumbling, I reached for my phone on the bedside table. Turning off the alarm, I heaved a deep sigh and gave myself a stretch. I removed the blanket covering me, dragging my body to the bathroom to fix myself. Putting my coat on, I grabbed my bags and headed to the airport.

I got to the airport without much of a hassle, but the gray clouds seemed to give me warnings of a rough ride. Thankfully, it cleared up before the plane took off. After an 11-hour flight, I finally landed at J country.

As I got off the plane, strong storm winds welcomed me instead of a warm spring breeze. Upon arriving at B station, I received a call from Zie, my cousin. I answered the phone after three rings.

"Hey, El, where are you?"

"I'm still on my way to M Station. The weather's bad, so I'm guessing there will be a delay."

"Well, you can't blame mother nature. Anyway, I'm on my way to pick you up. You owe me a date today for our canceled London escapade."

"Sure, we have to wait for the weather to clear up, though."

"Fine by me. I'll wait for you at Le Café, then. Just call as soon as you arrive."

"Okay."

"See you later, Ellie."

"Sure, see you at Le Café." I immediately ended the call and went to Platform Three.

As soon as I got there, the announcement from the PA made me scratch my glabella in frustration.

"Attention on platform three, the 6:30 B Express service bound to M City is canceled due to bad weather. We are very sorry for the inconvenience."

Fortunately, there are vacant benches nearby, so I won't have to stand while waiting for further announcements. The day has barely begun, but I can feel the tiredness creeping in. And to think that I just got off from a 14-hour flight yesterday. What a total bummer.

It's now 6:50, and I was supposed to get on the 7:30 train to M station, but it seems like the skies are not with me today. The rain even got heavier.

Well, I guess it's another rough day. I heaved a deep sigh as I waited for another announcement from the PA.

Thankfully enough, I was able to get on the 7:05 train on Platform 2. I immediately boarded the train and settled down. Because of the storm, the usual 20-minute ride to M Station became a 40-minute ride. I immediately went to Le Café to meet Zie.

I spotted Lizzie as soon as I entered the café. Big framed glasses, cropped sweater, tattered jeans, and platform boots. Yep, that's Zie, alright. She ran over to me and gave me a bear hug as soon as she landed her eyes on me. I hugged her in return.

"El, long time no see," she squealed. I just chuckled in reply. It's been a long time since we last saw each other, so we decided to have a little chat before going home. I'm a little hungry, so I ordered carbonara, a bacon-egg sandwich, and caramel macchiato. Zie, on the other hand, ordered a latte and strawberry sandwich.

"So, how's London?" she removed her glasses and kept them in her bag.

"London's great. But there are instances that the weather's so bad that I had to change platform thrice. It's a total bummer." Zie let out a small chuckle.

"Typical Ellie, bad weather is a no-no. And how's the competition?"

"It was a disappointing result, but I'm fine with it." Lizzie almost spat her latte. I handed her some napkins to wipe her mouth.

"Wait, you lost the competition? And why do you look smug about it? Aunt Beatrice will punish you for it, you know?" she dabs the tissue in her mouth, a little bit confused.

"Zie, not every competition is won. And as for the punishment, I'm prepared for it." she rolled her eyes in return.

"Fine, have it your way. And we have another fellow who's known as the eccentric musician. You, two troublemakers, are stressing me out." She rolled her eyes at me and took a bite from her sandwich.

"What kind of trouble did Jed do this time?"

"The idiot left the Perillo Estate and signed up for the Beethoven Competition." I almost spat my drink at her sudden announcement. I grabbed a tissue and dabbed it on my mouth.

I can imagine Jed leaving the Perillo Estate, but it never crossed my mind for him to go back to classical music. Jed never told us his reasons, but Jed stayed away from classical music after having a big argument with Arden. Since then, I never saw him on stage again. Hearing this news, I don't know if I'll be happy or worried.

"Wait, I thought he quit?" On cue, Jed came into my peripheral view.

"And here I thought some fans were talking about me. It's just you guys?!" I'm too speechless that I want to smack him, but I am too tired to bother with his jokes. Thankfully, Zie did it on my behalf. Jed winced as he massaged the part that Zie smacked.

"Jeremiah Dean, I thought you're practicing at home? What are you doing here? Mom will scold you for it, you know." He took a seat beside me.

"Can't I even have a short break? Too much classical music bores me. I need a break."

"Wait, I'm lost. What's going on here?"

"Better ask the kid what happened. He won't even talk to me." I can feel a hint of annoyance in her voice. Jed just stuffed himself up without even sparing us a glance. I just heaved a sigh as his action gave away what happened.

So, they had another big fight. Seriously, Arden and Jed should treat each other better. This couple gives me a headache.

"I gave up asking about what happened, but please fix this. El might have been lenient to both of you, but not me. I won't tolerate your twisted arguments any longer."

Based on her words, Zie must have snapped at them. Zie has always been the mediator whenever Jed and Arden fought. She calmly assesses the situation and provides sound advice to both of them. What's odd is that Zie never complained about it. She was cool about it, saying she's only doing it for the sake of peace.

"Elizabeth, I already told you, it's not me that should fix this."

"Guys, I just got off from an 11-hour flight. The last thing I wanted is to see you guys having your usual banter." Both of them mumbled 'Sorry,' and we continued eating in peace.

"Before I forget, granny went to see me yesterday. I have good news and bad news, you guys. Which do you want to hear first?"

"So that's why it's a little silent at the main house. Go for the good one. I have a hunch on your bad news."

"The good news is that I earned back my international title."

"I thought Michael won?"

"Technically, yes. The judges caught Michael cheating, so they passed his title to me."

"So, you won't have to be punished, then?"

"That's where the bad news comes in. I'm still getting punished. I don't know what kind of punishment, though."

"That, granny asked me to tell you your punishment." And there's his gaudy smile again.

Sometimes, I want to strangle this guy. He's so childish.

"Stop being coy and tell us." Zie twisted Jed's ears hard.

"Okay, okay. Geez, you don't have to twist my ears that hard."

"So, what's my punishment?"

"For starters, your mother didn't ban you from competing at a formal Concours." I nodded in response.

"The catch is, you're not allowed to play the piano in formal Concours. You must use another instrument if you still want to compete at a formal Concours. Also, your mother banished you from the Perillo Estate."

So, my mother kicked me out of the house. It's not bad news for me, though.

Everything became silent after that.

"Where will you go, then? Your mother banished you from the Perillo Estate."

"She'll be staying with me, Zie. Granny permitted me to move out on the condition that El must live with me." Jed flashed his signature smirk. Zie and I facepalmed, shaking our heads sideways.

"El, my condolences. I'll visit you from time to time."

"Don't forget to put flowers when you visit."

"That's mean, you two. You could have at least pretended to be happy. Or at least keep your thoughts to yourself." we just laughed in return.

"You can't blame us. We know you too well." Jed heaved a deep sigh. Zie and I high-fived in triumph, giggling secretly.

The rain fell nonstop as our conversation drifted to other channels. And since the rain won't be stopping anytime soon, we decided to have an anime marathon at Jed's.

Jed's house is a two-story traditional Japanese house half an hour away from the city. His home is up the hills, so going there requires a small hike. Thankfully I was wearing flats, or I would be having difficulty going there. Add that to the fact that the weather made me a little tired.

"Okay, ladies, welcome to mi casa! Make yourselves comfortable. And El, your room's at the end of the hallway. It's aired out and cleaned. Granny will send over the rest of your things tomorrow."

"Jed, Where's my room?"

"Wait, why are you asking for your room? I only permitted El to live with me. And it's for a price that she'll shoulder her expenses." Zie grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and asked her question again with gritted teeth. Having no choice, Jed heaved a deep sigh and pointed to the empty room beside mine.

"Your room is the one beside El's room. I'm permitting you to live here, but you're cleaning the room you'll be using. Don't ask for too much."

"Fine by me. I'm not that shameless that I'll ask you to clean my room after asking you to let me stay here."

"Good to know. I'll leave you two here, then. I have to go back to Aunt Veronica's before she throws a fit. I'll be back at sunset. Later!" we nodded in reply as he made a salute sign before closing the door.

Grabbing the big bags of potato chips and the cans of coke I bought earlier, we plunked ourselves on the couch and watched Naruto Shippuden. After watching a few episodes, Zie excused herself for some cleaning to do.

With nothing else to do, I went to Jed's kitchen to make lunch but failed. Contrary to his fully equipped kitchen, I can only find water and beer on his fridge. Heaving a deep sigh, I went to the second floor to check on Zie.

"Hey, El. What's for lunch?"

"We're ordering for delivery. The fridge is empty."

"Let's have Korean food, then. I want bibimbap, army stew, and spicy rice cakes (tteokbokki)." I thumbs-upped in reply and fished my phone from my pocket to order food. Our food came in minutes later.

After settling the problem in our stomachs, we went back to the living room to continue our Naruto Shippuden marathon. After a few episodes, Zie got bored watching, so she opened a conversation to ease the mood.

"What's your plan for high school? I'm enrolling at Meizen Academy."

"Same. I need to enroll myself at a prestigious music school, or my punishment will keep on adding up."

"Got that right. Aunt Beatrice will surely blow her fumes if she finds out that you're not enrolling at Meizen Academy."

"Tell me about it. Mom even has my college planned out."

"I'm still happy you're spending high school here, though." I chuckled in return.

"Me too, Zie. I'm glad I came back here."

"That's good to hear. Jed and I were worried when you suddenly stopped speaking to us after the accident. You even went to London without saying anything to us. That's why we're so happy that you came back in your old self."

"Well, I owe someone for that. I'll introduce that guy to you one of these days."

"I'll take you up on that offer, then." I nodded in return.

Hopefully, I can bump into him one of these days. We focused on the anime we were watching after that.

A few minutes later, I felt a mass on my shoulders. Turning my head sideways, I see Zie's sleeping face slumped at my shoulders. I fixed the way I sit to make her more comfortable. With tiredness creeping in, I fell asleep shortly after.

That was my cousin-slash-best friend Lizzie. Ever since I was a little kid, she has always been with me. Aside from being the only kids in the Perillo estate, we share similar hobbies and preferences, so we're as close as sisters. Before I went to London to study, Lizzie and I were inseparable. We often travel to different places and have shopping escapades.

People at the estate would even say that we look similar: big brown eyes, thin rosy lips, athletic body type, and fair complexion. She's a little taller than me, though. And I have long brown curly hair that falls to my back, while Zie has mid-length shaggy auburn hair.

I woke up to the clattering sounds in the kitchen. Giving myself a stretch, I went to the kitchen to see what was going on. It turns out that Zie is in the kitchen, rummaging through Jed's kitchen. And contrary to my earlier report, Zie found Jed's secret compartment full of stashed foods.

"Oh, you're awake. Let's have some snacks. I found Jed's secret stash." Zie then opened a secret trapdoor beside the sink. I followed Zie to the hidden room.

"You sure we can have this? What if we get scolded?"

"Que será será, El. I'm going to the mall later to grab some groceries later, so we can replace what we ate. Jed won't even notice it, promise." I chuckled in response, shaking my head in the process.

"You and your skits. If Jed finds out, you're taking the blame since you're the one who found this place."

"Fine. Here, you want some chips?" I heaved a deep sigh and reluctantly grabbed the bag of chips. After grabbing some snacks from Jed's hidden room, we headed back to the living room.

"You sure love having conquests. How did you even found Jed's secret snack room?"

"There's nothing I can find if it's food. And you can thank Jed for leaving some traves of a secret trap door. It's a total piece of cake." I chuckled in return.

Zie noticed a tore in some sections of the wall beside the sink. That led her to the conclusion that something was beyond that wall. Add that to the fact that Zie won't leave any mystery unsolved. Zie can be stubborn like that. After a fulfilling snack, Zie heads out for her band practice.

"I'm dropping by the grocery store after practice. Any requests?"

"You need to replace the snacks we took from Jed's secret stash. Also, I want some potato chips and soda. I'll give you a list in case you forgot what to buy." Tearing a piece of paper from my notebook, I started to scribble some grocery items. Zie chuckled in return.

"Got it. I'll be back at sunset. Don't even dare continue watching Naruto Shippuden without me." I chuckled in response.

"I won't. Have a safe trip, then."

"Later, Ellie." Zie gave me a salute sign and closed the door.

With Lizzie gone, I am left alone in the house. With nothing else to do, I went to my room and unpacked my things. A few minutes later, I found myself staring blankly at the ceiling, on the verge of being swallowed by boredom. Since both of them won't be coming home anytime soon, I looked around the house for something to do.

I might as well entertain myself before boredom eats me entirely. Lucky enough, my feet brought me to the music room on the first floor.

Jed calls it a music room, but aside from music-related stuff, Jed stacks his massive book collection in this room. Jed is a music addict, but sometimes, he sits in this room and reads books all day. He already has a copy of all the book collections I am planning to complete. Talk about a certified bookworm.

Jed and I both love reading fiction and non-fiction books. Jed takes care of his collections with prudence, unlike his messy room that looks like a sea of decay. All his books and music sheets are placed neatly on shelves, all arranged alphabetically.

I grabbed two books from his non-fiction corner, all written by the same author-- Mitch Albom. I also grabbed some snacks and drinks from his secret stash and headed back to my room to read. After a few hours, I got bored with reading.

With nothing better to do, I grabbed my guitar and prepared to head out.

I'll go to my secret hideout for some fresh air.

I was about to open the door when the doorbell suddenly rang. Since I am the only one in the house, I answered the door. When I opened the door, a familiar face stood in front of me.

"Hi! I'm Ethan. I'll be living here starting today. You must be Ella, right? Nice to meet you!"

One More Day @2020 by Ryann Taaca