After Hours

After a short drive I arrived back at home. I exit my vehicle and walk up to the front door. I grab my key from the front zipper pocket of my backpack and unlock the door. I enter yet again an empty house again. My fayher is off on a business trip outside of the country and my mom died during surgery years ago.

So for the most part I've just been here by myself. I set down my bag and plop down on the couch. I grab the remote and turn on the TV. I don't have any homework since it was the first day so I decided to just relax for tomorrow's events that will unfold. The television has on the news and it's talking about a recent spree of murders across the state that all have similar feels to them. All death by strangulation, a broken window, and a used condom.

I shudder at what that last part insinuates. As time passes I feel myself drifting off to sleep. The events of the day flash through my mind in rapid succession. Getting into the debate club, meeting Miss Wellgafe, meeting Lily, telling off Brittany,meeting Larissa, the fight, and driving Lily home. I think about how different the three girls are.

Miss Wellgafe is extremely confident and extremely outgoing. Just being near her you can tell she practically emits confidence. Lily is the exact opposite, she's anxious about everything, quiet, apologetic, and afraid. She has almost no courage and is an obvious introvert. Larissa is somewhere in between. She is isolated and quiet and very non-confrontational. But she also has a fiery passion inside of her that flares up when she talks to someone she likes or about a topic she enjoys.

And here I am knowing all three of them. I suppose knowing all of them better will help me in the real world. It will help me to learn how to deal with different types of social factors. I don't notice how much time has passed until my stomach starts to growl. I stand up and go get something to eat in the kitchen.

As I do so I hear my phone ping. I got a message from an unknown number simply reading "heyyyy". Obviously it's Larissa because I know Lily wouldn't have the ability to speak to me so carelessly. I pick up my phone and respond.

-Hey how's it going Larissa

~How'd you know it was me??

-Because you are the only person that I know that speaks like that

~Oh, you already know me so well hehe

-I suppose, I'd like to learn more about you if that's okay with you

I think it would benefit me to learn about those I'll most likely be hanging around. After all, I can't have a failing social life forever, can I?

~Oh you can learn anything you want about me :)

…I'm going to ignore what that sounds like and go with what is easier for me to roll with.

-Ah cool, are you busy? If not we should call.

~I'm not busy don't worry we can call

My phone begins to ring and I answer. Larissa and I talk for a good while before she says she needs to go do something important. After she hangs up I get sent a link from Ashton. It's a link to a video of me telling off Brittany and fighting the football player. Usually I'd be concerned about a video being released, but the students at Fareach usually have a no snitch policy. So I'm not as worried.

I look at the time, 6:00pm. That's it? It felt like I'd be home for a lot longer than that. I groan and stand up and make my way over to my bedroom. I don't feel like doing anything right now and nothing I need tomorrow requires work today so I think I'll get some well deserved rest. I take off my school clothes and slip into something more comfortable. I flop onto the bed and close my eyes.

What feels like a thousand years later I wake up to my phone going off. I grab it sluggishly and check the caller ID. Lily is calling. I swipe up to answer and put the phone to my ear. "Hello?" I say in a deep gravelly voice. "I-is this Daniel? I hope I got the right number." "Yeah it's Daniel you got the right number." I hear a sigh of relief come from her. "Ok thank goodness, I-ill leave you alone now I don't want to be a nuisance." She then abruptly hangs up.

I drop my phone on the bed and bury my face into a pillow. What a pain, what have I gotten myself into. I sit up and stretch and groan before standing up. I walk out of my bedroom and head into my back room. The back room is by far my proudest preparation of my plan. Although it did cost a lot of money. Luckily my family isn't poor, but we definitely aren't extremely wealthy. I'm glad my father has always been so supportive of my plan or I wouldn't have been able to pull this off.

I tell my father pretty much everything. After mom died we became a lot closer. We were all we had, well.. except for them, but we don't speak to them anymore. Loss took over my life for a while when she died. Nothing, but despair was in my heart. I couldn't bring myself to do much.

…

But I'm better now than I was then so I have no time to dwell on what had happened over a thousand days ago now do I? Putting in perspective of days makes it seem so much longer than it actually is. Entering the backroom I look around.

On the wall there is a giant board with red strings strung across a plethora of different printed pictures of locations and people of interest. I walk over to a table and grab a dart. I aim it at the board at the board towards a picture of Brittany and throw it. She was a target for a future project but I suppose I can take a detour. I smile to myself and sit down in a chair surrounded by three monitors with multiple windows pulled up on each. I crack my knuckles and open a tab and put in her name.

Brittany La'Fey

I woke up the next morning a little more sluggish than normal. I was up much later than normal planning my next course of action and moving certain things to different days.

I do my daily morning routine once more and exit my home to enter my car. I take the usual route to school

I pull into the school and park. I exit my car and await for the doors to open while talking to Ashton. The bell rings and I go to my first class. And then the day flies by like a blur. I was so entirely focused on the events that must happen after school I zoned out nearly the entire day. That was until my last class where I ended up seated next to Larissa.

She was talkative as usual with a burning passion behind her seemingly distant demeanor. As the bell rang to signal the end of the day Larissa and I parted ways. Firstly I exit the building to drive Lily home as I said I would the day prior. The drive was for the most part silent with the occasional burst of conversation.

I then drive back to the school and re-enter the building and head straight to the music room. One of my lesser known talents is my ability to sing and play the piano. Usually I wouldn't have utilized this, but our school's band travels all around in and out of state to perform. We are the top school band in the state of Indiana. This will give me some more acknowledgment.

I had seen that last year they were looking for someone to play the piano, but no one had the ability to do so since no one wanted to put in the time or dedication to actually learn. Other than me of course. As I walk toward the music room and veer closer I hear an amalgamation of sounds that don't sound absolutely terrible, but it's pretty bad.

It's to be expected though because it's auditioning day. A lot of people come in confidently and leave questioning their abilities. Even the ones who are decent, because they hear how good others are and become discouraged. That's the main issue with a club like this. Most people don't believe they have what it takes to do it. That's the issue with a lot of things.

I know I'm not that best as everything. I know that I'm not the smartest person in the world or even at this school. But I do know that I'm able to achieve whatever the hell I put my mind too with the appropriate amount of time and planning. And that's exactly why I'm so great at doing what I plan to do. Because I worked my ass off just for this. So I confidently open the door to the music room and the sight that beholds me almost makes me want to turn around and walk out just out of obligation.

I see an argument unfolding in the corner between two students, I see someone crying because someone broke their violin string. People all around horribly playing instruments. The two club managers desperately trying to get things in order while clearly looking extremely frustrated. I physically cringe but I continue forward.

I simply walk to a seat and sit down and wait for the chaos to die down. After about ten minutes everything cools off and there is an awkward imbalance in the atomsphere. Eventually one of the managers notices me and walks over. I give him a once over and recall who he is.

Standing at 6"2 of pure confidence and muscle. Abraham is a man of many talents and skills. Although he could have done so many things he decided to pursue his passion for music and helped reform the band club with his sister Alexis. He has brown skin and hazel eyes along with short curly black hair. Due to his height, build, and looks he's popular with girls and has been practically assaulted by football players asking him to join the team.

"So then I apologize you had to wait through all that. I promise it's not usually like this." He says with a weary and hopeful smile. "It's fine. I expected it to be this chaotic on day one of auditions." "Yeah usually we're a lot more organized, but this year seemed to come so fast nothing was really put in place yet." "I understand that, I'm just glad nothing outlandish happened." Abraham nervously laughs at my last comment.

"Anyways do you play an instrument? Or are you just a vocalist? Or do you just want to be part of the setup crew? No matter what you do it'd be appreciated." "Well I mostly play piano and do vocals, but I do dabble in guitar from time to time." I can practically feel the excitement fill his face. "Oh thank fucking God it's about time someone who can play piano came along. We've been needing one for a year!" I smirk "Don't get too excited I'm not that good, but I'm sure I won't disappoint."

"As long as you can play better than everyone else who has claimed to be able to play I'm sure you'll do perfectly fine." I just nod in agreement. He then turns around and shouts to his sister "Hey sis! We got someone who says they can play piano!" I personally didn't know they needed someone who could play one that much, but who am I to complain, it increases my chances of getting in.

I see her perk up and look over in my direction. Just as her brother Alexis is naturally good looking and tall. Standing at 5"10 and a solid 7/10 without even trying. She has a lighter brown skin color and a slim but athletic build. She has purple dyed hair and brown eyes and a alluring smile.She shares the same passion for music as her brother so they co manage this club together. They have been successful the past few years in managing it.

She walks over and smiles at me gleefully. She immediately sticks out her hand and says "Alexis Leery nice to meet you." I can immediately tell she has a cheerful personality. The way she walked over here in a joyful stride. The fact that she is practically bouncing from standing still, and a smile is plastered across her face that hasn't faltered slightly despite how chaotic it has been around here.

I reach out my hand and respond "Daniel Pierce, pleasure to meet your acquaintance." We shake hands and she speaks again "So I'm gonna need you to sign your name on this paper here and put a time you want to go. Ok?" I take the paper and nod, the time goes all the way to 9:00. They clearly are dedicated if they are willing to spend their entire day here doing auditions. I sign for a time of 6:00 sharp.

It's about 5:25 so I have a half an hour to sit through most of the horrible auditions. I hand the paper back to her after that. She smiles and walks off along with her brother. Once it hits 5:30 the auditions start. We all sit down and Abraham and Alexis stand in front of the classroom. Surrounding them is a wide variety of different instruments.

They whisper something to each other quickly then turn back to us. Alexis is the first to talk "Alright everyone, thank you all for coming tonight. We are just about to start our auditions. But before we start there are a couple of things that need to be explained." Abraham picks up where she left off "This club is not a joke. We do not tolerate the type of completely unnecessary behavior that was displayed earlier. If anything of the sort comes from any of you, in and out of the club. On or off of school grounds. You will be dealt with accordingly."

The way he said that last sentence almost made it sound like this is some sort of mafia and if we screw up we're dead. And honestly with the look he's giving right now I'm not so sure if I'm entirely wrong. "Ok so to start us off we have Zack Ramos!" Alexis says with a cheerful smile, completely ignoring how tense that just was. The auditions pretty much go as expected. Each person is given five minutes to prove themselves worthy. Most of them so far have sucked, but one was ok.

I sit there patiently waiting for my turn. Eventually Alexis gets to me."Ok thank you for that uhmm.. wonderful performance Adrian. Now then onto our next audition! Daniel Pierce!" I walk up to the front of the classroom and sit down in front of the piano. I crack my knuckles and hover my hands above the keys.

I see Alexis leaning on her seat with hopeful eyes. The other students were staring at me whimsically. Then I begin, my fingers glide across the keys and I move in motion with the music and rhythm. It has a solem feel with an occasional burst of joy. A song that I wrote and a beat I created. Now I am no musical genius, but I am proud of my work. A song I simply labeled, Freedom.

I began to sing after a short while and I saw the eyes of the crowd light up. The quiet conversations that were happening fade away. I close my eyes as an attempt to further intertwine myself with the music. The song tells of a story of a lost love that allowed hope into the heart of many. It gave freedom and joy to all those who felt it. Until it faded away inevitably and led you into the pits of despair. But you never lose hope, still searching for someone to call yours.

Around halfway through the song I hear someone enter through the door so I open my eyes. I see someone standing there in awe with gleaming eyes staring at me. After a short glance I notice it's Amy. We lock eyes for a moment as I say

"Although I tried and failed, I think we may still prevail. I hope you'll stay with me. My life's a living hell, I don't know what to tell you. But I think it could be you and me. Loves like a prison cell, and I know that I'm not doing well but you could be the key. So if you stay with me I'll shout with glee, my life's messed up but you could be the remedy."

Her face turns red and she smiles at me. Another minute passes and I finish the song. As I finish there is a moment of silence then an immediate uproar of clapping and cheering. I stand up and smile and bow. "Well I think I speak for the majority when I say that was pretty good!" Alexis is clearly pleased she found someone who can finally play the piano. I walk over to Amy who is still in the room. She notices me walking over and just stares at me.

She puts her hands on her hips and cocks her head "So was that meant for me?" She says while almost laughing. "It wasn't aimed at anyone in particular, but that did feel rather personal didn't it?" She scrunches up her nose."Lame! You are lovestruck by me and you know it!" I chuckle and place my hand on her head. She quickly moves toward my hand, but then stops and puts her arm back at her side. She reminds me of a friend of mine.

For some odd reason she was convinced that I liked her. She acts a lot like Amy. Unfortunately she's not around much because she got diagnosed with cancer and has since been hospitalized. I try and visit her every weekend if I can. After all she is like a little sister to me and she doesn't have anyone else really. I lean down so I'm eye level with Amy while keeping my hand on her head.

"You know for someone so respectable as a scholar, you are rather impulsive. Although that is what is so Interesting about you Miss Wellgafe." She blinks at me clearly slightly taken back by my words. "Yeah well, I'm pretty awesome so it's expected you think I'm Interesting." After saying that her embarrassment completely fades away and she looks rather proud of herself. I ruffled her hair and stood up straight.

"So where were you headed before coming in here anyway?" I ask. "Oh I was just getting ready to walk home." "Would you perhaps need a ride?" "Why do you not think I'm capable of walking home by myself?" She sarcastically responds. "Oh nothing of the sort I'm simply implying that I would feel bad for any thug who would dare to cross your path."

We both laugh for a short moment. "But if you require a ride since my audition is over I am free to leave."

She taps her chin then nods her head "Ok deal, but first I wanted to get some ice cream." I nod and open the door and gesture out. She walks out and I follow and side by side we walk to my car. We enter the vehicle and and I put in the address for the nearest Frost King. As we ride there we talk about simple things. Such as what debate will be like, and general information about each other.

We pull into the parking lot and go in. She orders the double chocolate chip brownie milkshake. "Aren't you gonna get some Daniel?" I shake my head "No I'm fine." She shrugs and we wait for her shake. When she gets it she practically snatches it from the cashier. It's bigger than both her hands combined and has more chocolate in it than a human should normally consume in a week.

We sit down and she takes a sip. Her eyes light up "oh my God this is delicious!". I shake my head and slightly smirk. My phone suddenly vibrates and I pull it out to check my notifications. I got a message from Larissa. Amy sees me looking at my phone distracted. I didn't notice her moving from Infront of me to beside me.

She looks over my shoulder and at my phone "who's that?" I turn and look at her, finally noticing she moved. She's very close to me to the point where I don't even think she noticed she put her hand on my thigh. Is this the normal highschool experience? Is this what I missed out on last year? No, no this isn't. There is no way in hell this is normal. This is only happening because I'm surrounding myself with such unique people. So in creating my plan I unintentionally did this to myself.

It's not like it's a bad thing, but I can't get too close to anyone. They could easily mess with my plan. Attachments create vulnerability, and I can't allow that. But maybe getting close to the people of interest wouldn't be so bad. I'll have to think about it later. As of right now however "I'm talking to a friend of mine." She puts her head on my shoulder. She is a rather bold one I'm beginning to notice. Although she is this close with some of her female friends.

By this point I think she notices how this looks. She looks down at her hand that she realized was on my thigh and the fact that she's on my shoulder. Her face turns red for a moment as she schooches a little bit away. I hear her mumble something as she grabs her drink and sips it. I respond to Larrisa's message and then slip my phone back in my pocket. We sit in silence for a minute and my mind begins to wander.

I think about what I might need to do In band club, the amount of preparation needed for debate, and now the Literature Club. And eventually when track is back in season I'll have that to deal with too. As a train of thoughts move through my mind I feel something cold touch my lips. When I zone back in I notice there is a spoonful of ice cream in my mouth. It's really sweet and thick and has an overwhelming chocolate taste.

Amy pulls the spoon out of my mouth and dips it into her ice cream and takes a bite while smiling. This girl.. is devious. She is obviously trying to get me to like her. If I were any normal dense highschool teenage boy it would have worked, but I'm not falling for it. I simply sigh and place my hand on her head "Miss Wellgafe I-" "Call me Amy!" She interrupts me and shouts at me to call her by her first name.

I sigh once again "Amy I hope you are not intending to make me feel a certain way. Because I'm sorry but it will not end well for either of us." A little harsh on my part, but I can't let anything get in my way. Her shoulders sink a little, but she still looks determined. She smiles at me and says "I can't promise I know what you mean but ok!" I shake my head and pat her head.

We spend the rest of the time In silence as she finishes her shake. Afterwards we leave and I drive her home. Before she exits the car she hands me a sheet of paper with her number in it and mouths the words "Call me" as she walks away.

Things are progressing extremely fast. Not just with my plan, but with my social life. Especially with these girls. Lily, Larissa, Amy I barely know them yet they talk to me as if we've known each other for years. Even Lily isn't as scared around me as she is around others. Maybe I'm just overthinking it. Who knows, let's just see where everything takes me.