Chapter 14 MEETING JOE

KATRINA'S POV

‘‘Your first day starts today, Miss Katrina…’’ I was taken surprised by what Pia just announced. I have no problem teaching today, but I wasn’t really expecting it. ‘‘Last week, there’s a new student who came here. He’s around five years old, and he’s a very naughty little boy…’’

Pia shook her head as she mentioned the boy, then signalled for me to follow her.

‘‘His name is Joe…’’ she continued, referring to the little boy. ‘‘His father wants him to study piano but Joe refused no matter what his dad tried to do for him. Joe has been such a handsome and nice boy, until I saw him fight with other children…’’

‘‘Do you have any idea why he fights with other children?’’ I asked as we made a halt in front of another room. ‘‘Perhaps they are making fun of him...''

‘‘I think it’s the other way around…’’ Pia said without hesitation. ‘‘Joe is bullying other students, and the teachers can’t do anything about it. We can’t reprimand the young boy due to the fact that his father is a wealthy businessman, and I've heard that his grandfather holds a high position in the government...''

Oh… so, they are powerful and influential family. I couldn’t blame the teachers though. But the little boy needs to be disciplined, and his poor manners should not be tolerated.

‘‘I have faith that you can teach him well, Miss Katrina…’’ Pia said as she opened the door, and there I saw a little boy wearing a blue t-shirt, and white rubber shoes which matched his white shorts.

Joe had been staring down at his lap, but when he heard the door open, he looked up, and I wasn’t really surprised when I saw a bruise on his face, indicating that he just had a recent fight. I froze when our eyes met. His deep emerald eyes were big and beautiful, similar to that of the stranger I met last week.

I couldn’t move for a minute as I stared at him. He doesn’t seem like the kind of boy who would get into mischief. He seemed nice, and more like an angel for me.

When Joe smiled, I thought that he has the most adorable smile in the whole world, and my breath caught in my throat when he stood up from his seat, and approached me.

‘‘Hi, I’m Katrina…’’ I introduced myself. ‘‘What’s your name?’’ I asked, despite knowing the answer.

Joe looked up at me with a curious, but oddly confident expression. ‘‘I’m Joe…’’ he replied.

The sweet way that Joe talked seemed completely angelic, but as Pia said, this kid could be a little hellraiser.

‘‘Is that the short form for Billy Joe?’’ I inquired, and he responded by shaking his head.

‘‘No, Christopher Joe…’’ he corrected. ‘‘But dad only calls me that when he’s really, really mad…’’

I chuckled. ‘‘I bet you never get your daddy really angry, do you?’’

Joe gave a shoulder shrug in response. ‘‘You talk funny, Miss Kat…’’ he observed nonchalantly, and I was surprised by the name he called me. He already has a nickname for me.

‘‘So, do you, CJ…’’ I countered, the nickname I gave him crossed my mind just now.

‘‘CJ…?’’ one of his thick brows raised, and then he smiled. ‘‘I love it!’’

Pia tapped me gently on the shoulder and then indicated with her finger that she was leaving, and I nodded in response.

I took Joe’s hand, dragging him slowly to where the piano stood after Pia stepped out, and shut the door behind her. ‘‘You know, you don’t sound like any of the kids from where I come from…’’ I continued talking to him. ‘‘But all of those kids are not fighting with others. Why are you?’’

There were two stools in front of the piano, and after I helped him sit, I sat on the spot next to him.

‘‘I fight with them because they always make fun of me!’’ he cried out. ‘‘They all say I don’t have a mother…’’

I knew exactly how he felt. Ella used to bully me, and make fun of me when we were still young. She used to tell me that my parents left me, and they don’t love me, which resulted of me crying myself to sleep.

‘‘Just don’t mind them, Joe…’’ I said, patting his head softly. ‘‘Just ignore them, and you’ll see in a few days, they will forget about you…’’

He shook his head. ‘‘I don’t think so, Miss Kat. I am trying to be normal, and be friends with them, but they hate me because I have no mom…’’

I was so amused at the way he talked, like he was an adult already. ‘‘Just try my advice, and you'll see…’’

He nodded.

‘‘Come up here with me…’’ I said, shuffling over to the right-hand side of the stool so that Joe could sit on my left.

He moved closer next to me excitedly, and immediately held out his hands to start pressing down the keys.

‘‘I thought you didn’t like to study piano…’’ I asked raising a brow at him.

‘‘I like it now that you’re the one teaching me…’’ he said and I chuckled, ruffling his hair.

‘‘Okay, so you have to pretend that the keys are like a cat…’’ I started.

‘‘Cat...? Like you?’’

‘‘No. Cat… a pet…’’ I laughed. ‘‘You have to imagine that this piano is like a cat, and how gently you would pet it. That’s how nicely you will touch the keys, Joe. Do you understand?’’

Joe nodded, and gently pressed his fingers down on the keys, eliciting a jumbled collection of sounds. He beamed as soon as he did it. His reaction made me smile.

I pressed down on middle C. ‘‘This note here is middle C…’’ I continued, already having flashbacks to Mr. Ramsey as he taught me the first note in school. ‘‘The piano keys are like an alphabet from A to G. What’s next after C?’’

‘‘D!’’ Joe replied.

After then, I pressed the note that was to the left of middle C. ‘‘Which would make the note before C…?’’

‘‘B!’’

‘‘That’s right!’’ I commented. ‘‘Do you want to learn an easy song?’’

Joe nodded excitedly.

‘‘This is a nursery rhyme that I learned on the piano when I was five years old. I know you know it. It’s called, ‘‘Twinkle, twinkle, little star…’’

‘‘I know the song!’’ he exclaimed happily.

‘‘Alright, let me play it for you, and after that, I'll teach you the chords. Watch, baby…’’ I positioned my left hand. ‘‘On your left hand it starts, G, G, D, D, E, D, C, C, B, B…’’

I slowly played the song, and found that I actually enjoyed going back to my younger years by playing something so nostalgic.

Joe watched mesmerized.

I finished the song after a minute, and then took my hands off the keys. Just as I was about to position Joe’s hands over the correct keys, he took it upon himself to place his left hand correctly on the note.

After that, he started playing the tune all by himself, and he followed the exact identical rhythm that I had just performed. He didn't make a single mistake and played it exactly just like how I did.

As I observed him, my mouth dropped open involuntarily because I was shocked by how quickly he picked up.

‘‘Joe, how on earth did you manage to do that?’’ As the nursery song came to an end, I questioned him with astonishment.

Joe’s green eyes were innocent, as though he had no real idea of how brilliant he had just been. ‘‘Do what?’’ he asked.

‘‘How did you play that song?’’

‘‘I watched you, and then I did it!’’ he said in a straightforward manner, as though it were something that every individual was capable of doing.

I quickly played a few bars of something random, this time a tune from the 1970s, which was likely something he had never heard before. It was significantly more challenging than ‘‘Twinkle twinkle little star’’, and would test my theory.

Joe watched, and moments later, he was repeating the same tune, note for note.

My eyes were wide open as I stared at him in shock.

‘‘It’s because of you, Miss Kat!’’ Joe answered, as if he could read what’s on my mind. ‘‘I really love it when you play piano. You look like a beautiful princess…’’