Chapter 3 Fireflies

(Nael Levix)

Nael woke up to a persistent knock on the door. It was Jenny. The woman had been working in their house for a long time, it seemed, even longer than Nael himself had been there. The young man was used to waking up to the quiet tapping of her crooked fingers on the surface of the wood.

"Good morning," the woman's face brightened, wrinkles smiling along with her dry, faded lips.

"Good morning to you too," Nael nodded in agreement, threw back the blanket, stretched, got up, made the bed, and headed to the bathroom.

"Do you need anything?"

"No. Thank you, I can manage myself. You're free, Jenny," Levix smiled.

The lock on the mirrored door clicked. "5:00 AM." Time for the daily morning routine. A shower, hot water enveloping the body, flowing down light strands of hair, the pleasant sound of streams crashing onto the tiled floor, a whirlpool swirling the foam from the berry shampoo down the drain. He should buy another bottle when Nael goes to get conditioner. It was a shame and extremely unpleasant that his grooming products had run out so suddenly. Usually, he kept track of their availability himself. Right... it's Monday morning, which means he's at his parents' house. Jenny is responsible for all that here. He needs to tell her. Twisting his hair in a towel, the young man examined his face in the mirror. The cold weather has already started, which means the skin will start to lose moisture faster, which will be bad for his face. Now Nael started brushing his teeth, styling his hair, and taking care of his face.

His thoughts had not yet awakened, and a blissful silence reigned in his head. In recent days, he had been on edge. The news of his sister's return brought unnecessary thoughts and worries into his life. Of course, Nael was happy about Lania's return home, but he was afraid of not recognizing her upon her return. Last time, the separation lowered their already not-so-warm relationship by a few more degrees.

His attention was drawn to a call. Not the timer, which had been blinking and buzzing for quite some time, announcing the end of the allotted time. The phone was ringing, and with such a familiar ringtone. Nael randomly poked his finger at the foam on the timer button, washed his face, and grabbed the phone, which almost slipped out of his hands. Incoming call from Violent.

"Hi," forgetting that his interlocutor couldn't see him, Levix smiled broadly. "Suspiciously early for you."

"You wound me, we have morning practice, you know!" Vi's joyful voice from the speakers sounded too cheerful for someone forced to get up at five thirty on a Monday morning.

If Nael got up this early only to pay for the weekend spent with his family, then the athletes of Ganriun did it on their own initiative. The keys to the площадка and halls were always at the disposal of the captains, and although scheduled training sessions might well have been enough, Tom and Nate always trained the teams two or even three times more. The guys themselves sometimes resisted and whined, but never let these fanatical friends down.

Violent Erness is the vice-captain, one of the best on Nate's volleyball team. She was famous for her stamina and discipline; she often drove her teammates until they started to collapse and simply fall to the floor.

Ellie often told Nael rumors wandering around women's companies about her sympathy for Levix, but last spring he was surprised by her revelation, as if he was not one of the first to learn this news. Of course, he refused.

It happened when they were celebrating a pretty good match in the semi-finals. Yes, they lost: the opponent was not easy. But how they played! This match was definitely one of the best for the current squad. That evening, Nael preferred to refuse her, simply not believing it, because what could he have done to deserve her love? He claimed she was drunk, even though he himself understood the absurdity of the lie: Vi never drank alcohol.

"Did you fall asleep there?"

"Huh!? No-no...sorry. Please repeat," the young man turned the faucet handle and washed his face with ice water. He rubbed his eyes for a long time and blinked, staring blankly into the mirror, carefully listening to the cheerful, noisy speech on the other side.

"...so, Tom has a couple of tickets to their next game, would his highness like to keep me company? I insist," Violent said with emphasis.

"Vi...Ugh, well, you know...oh, alright. When will it be?"

"You have four days to come to terms with it. I'll pick you up."

"Of course."

Even though Erness was rejected, she did not stop trying in her peculiar courtship. Nael didn't even resist anymore: either he resigned himself, or he finally ran out of strength. If you think about it, it was nice to spend time with Vi. Despite their rather different interests, they found common topics for conversation that lasted for hours, until the sun disappeared over the horizon and the candle burned down to the very base.

On the way to Ganriun, Nael began to study theory. In the next lesson, they will begin studying the work of Adrian Valmont - one of the outstanding composers of our time, and not just because! He wrote devilishly expressive music and so atypical for a duet of violin and piano, that with his first work he caused an explosion of ambiguous criticism. In his time, such eminent critics as Martin Eyl, Brydon Menz, Laya Vidl and many other well-known people wrote about him.

However, there was one so sad and at the same time fueling universal interest fact - no one knew the composer with such magnificent abilities personally.

Nael Levix had just entered the Ganriun auditorium, tired after a long journey and burdened with thoughts about how he would spend this week. As usual, he took his desk, all that remained was to wait for Eddie to arrive. The hand on the clock was rapidly approaching the eight o'clock mark, "No, well, he's late as always!" Nael looked hopefully at the doorway, at the same moment a tall young man entered the auditorium. However, Levix did not recognize the face.

His appearance attracted Nael's attention, and he involuntarily squinted, wanting to get a better look at the newcomer. Tall, broad-shouldered, slightly stooped, with tousled hair, some strands of which were dyed white. The guy dressed modestly: trousers, without bright decorations and excessive details, classic black, red sneakers on his feet, a clean white T-shirt on top.

Nael couldn't help but notice how the other guys sitting at the desks began to whisper quietly. A light wave of interest swept through the auditorium. Everyone always loved to watch the newcomers, because they didn't always know how to navigate the routine of life in their Ganriun, and every detail mattered. The first day in any educational institution is the main one, you need to immediately get along with the right people. However, this guy looked quite calm, he crossed the auditorium and, sitting down in the seat by the window, began to abstractedly observe what was happening outside.

But the newcomer clearly miscalculated with the place. He smugly sat down in Ellie's place! Nael turned his head in search of the fair-haired girl. She was not yet in the classroom. That's why the newcomer decided to take her place. From the mere realization of this fact, Nael gasped with rage, his eyes widened, and his fingers clenched the chair until his knuckles turned white. "How dare...how dare he! Okay, no...as my sister taught me, Ganriun is not a place for разбирательств. Come on, Nael, inhale, exhale..." On the one hand, it was not worth getting involved with him at all, and on the other hand, something was stirring in his soul, quietly wheezing in his ear so that he would kick the impudent man out. "No. I'll just go up and politely ask him to move,"- Levix didn't even notice how he was already towering over the unfortunate newcomer.

-Hey, you!- how would you call him? Well... Beautiful, you can't say anything.- Colorful! This is not your place. Get out of here.

"Oh, why so harsh!", from his own stupidity it became somehow uncomfortable, the young man looked away and began to look out the window, over the brunette.

However, the stranger resolutely ignored him. This irritated him even more than his ignorance of the local unwritten rules, and Levix again wanted to throw him out of the classroom by the scruff of his neck.

-Hey! Didn't you hear me?- Nael felt the paint flooding his face.

-Heard.

"But I don't care," the blond mentally finished for himself, and this became his final point. He felt that if he didn't open his mouth now, he would definitely shout at this unfortunate newcomer who had fallen under his bad mood. Yes...it was worth realizing that this day had gone downhill from the very morning.

Nael returned to his seat in annoyance. After a couple of minutes, Eddie sat down next to him.

-Hiiii!- the guy sang, stretching into a dazzling smile.- And why are you so sour? Did a thread stick out of your beauty's case in the morning? Or didn't they make you coffee with caramel?

Eddie was a good guy, a kind of version of Ellie, but too clingy and inappropriate, which often annoyed not only Levix.

-Be kind, Lunier. Shut. Mouth,- Nael hissed through his teeth, trying his best not to yell at his friend.

-Woah-woah-woah! Our princess is furious! Ow! What for?!

The guy looked offended at the girl standing behind.

-For the fact that you don't know how to shut up in time,- she nodded.- Hi, Naelchik.

-Mmm,- Levix responded without turning around.

-I'm sure you won't mind that I took this wonderful young man from you, I promise to return him by the beginning of the lesson,- the girl pulled Eddie by the elbow towards the exit.

Nael didn't even raise an eyebrow. He glared angrily at the impudent man, but Lunier himself protested, howling, clinging to the oncoming desks, as if he was being led to his execution: "Well, Ro-Biiiiiiin!!! I don't believe you can be so cruel! You didn't bet..."

The guys disappeared behind the door of the auditorium.

Now Levix was left alone with himself and the newcomer staring at him, he stared into the opponent's chocolate eyes with all the hatred he was capable of. They could not maintain eye contact for long, the brunette turned away again and began to examine his classmates. In truth, Levix could not remember the moment when he turned away, as he had long before that plunged into his thoughts. However, suddenly Levix also wanted to look around. He quickly looked around the auditorium and, to his grief, came across two green eyes anxiously studying him. It was Ellie. Of course, it was Marson. Who else?! She was chatting in the company of Katie, but something clearly distracted her from her previous occupation. The look expressed a silent question, to which the young man had nothing to answer. The eyes darted to the classmate sitting at her desk, and returned to the green eyes again. He pursed his lips and turned away, staring again at the brunette sitting by the window. Hurried, cautious steps were heard from the side, and a second later two light hands lay on Nael's shoulders, slightly squeezing and stroking them in a soothing gesture.

-Is something wrong? You're very tense.

"Well, of course she saw this shameful scene. Oh...How he screwed up!"

-Everything is fine, don't worry about it,- Levix tried to lie as calmly and dryly as possible.

-Why are you lying?- Ellie immediately put an invisible gun to his head, in fact, squeezing the vise on his shoulders a little harder, tilted her head questioningly to the side, smiling welcomingly.

Nael felt a slight nervous tremor, he swallowed the lump stuck in his throat. It was worth telling the truth right away, because he knew that's how it would be. But the truth is not pleasant: "I snapped at a new boy in the class without knowing why." Wonderful. Just wonderful! She will definitely praise him and give him a candy!

-I can physically feel how you think...- Ellie unclenched her fingers, releasing her shoulders, turned him to face her, gently placing a warm hand on his cheek, wordlessly asking Levix to raise his head and look into eyes full of sympathetic understanding.

-Is something wrong with your studies? Vi? Bad weekend again?

-Mmm...

-You can stay with us for the weekend, we'll play a quartet, if you want we'll only study together. We could go for a walk along the embankment together? What do you want? Just tell me... - there was so much care and love in the green eyes opposite that it tugged at the heart. Nael grimaced in a bitter smile. Sometimes he really forgot that Ellie was not his sister.

The school day ended unacceptably quickly. Ellie made the decision to give up her place to this Marian Dalton. And she even dragged around after him all day! But Marson can be understood, she is friends with everyone and will not make exceptions, even if someone does not like Nael.

Now the younger Levix was trudging in the gloomy company of Marty to the music building for his specialty, while the rest of the students were flowing like sleepy flies into canteens and cafes. They cut through a park that was dreary in its autumn beauty. The familiar building loomed on the horizon. They said goodbye to Tez with a quick nod and parted on the stairwell. Nael went even higher, passed a small tangled maze of corridors and confidently knocked on the jamb of the classroom door, attracting the attention of a man rummaging through papers scattered everywhere. He glanced briefly, carelessly, through his long, tangled black hair, at the newcomer, squinting to see at least something in the blurred silhouette of a person.

-Ah, Nael, my boy!- the professor blurted out rather at random. He was as blind as a mole without his glasses, and it's not worth betting that this man will remember the order of his students at all. He forgets where he put his pencil and frantically looks for it, which he stuck behind his ear a minute ago.

-Yes, Professor Cenz.

-Wonderful, you came...you already came,- the man sat down on the edge of the table, thoughtfully sucking on the tip of the pencil. -You know what. Today you are practicing in the hall. The keys are lying somewhere here, take them and go. I'll catch up with you as soon as I finish...yes.

He nodded to himself, clearly pleased with how cleverly he had solved this dilemma, and again buried himself in the notes. Nael was ready to bet his family's entire fortune that under his "business" his teacher meant searching for lost glasses. Well, you might think it's the first time they've done this. And he himself chose to study with Professor Cenz because of his sometimes strong inattention, which gave such an opportunity as to practice in the hall in complete solitude. And it's not worth assuming that everything will be repeated today. Levix deftly picked up the shimmering bunch of keys from the edge of the table, before it finally drowned in the mess, and quietly disappeared, closing the massive door of the office.

The lock clicked and their native small hall appeared before him in all its dusty splendor. Nael left the case on the handles of the armchairs in the first row and returned to close the singing flimsy door and grope for the switches in the dark. Yellowish lamps flashed under the high ceiling, illuminating the rows of red armchairs receding into the distance with peeling upholstery in places, music stands and chairs piled up in a heap, ridiculously peeking out from around the corner, a large black grand piano looked orphaned, pushed into the corner of the stage. The long-suffering parquet creaked under his feet. More than once the kids managed to knock out several small corner planks and they all tried to put everything back together as it was. But in the end they still had one extra. Levix looked under the seats - there it is, still lying in the corner. True, it was finally worth repairing the music building, otherwise everything would fall apart. Although they have already equipped the large (concert) hall in a new way, it is true that it has not become more convenient, but not worse than before.

The young man sighed, rocked from heel to toe and back, stretched and moved towards the instrument. The zipper scratched, the young man threw back the lid of the case. Inside, it was upholstered in a velvety dark blue-violet fabric. And here, in a special recess, lay his beauty. He quickly freed the strings from the grip and gently ran his fingers over them. A warm feeling of comfort spread through his soul. Nael pulled one music stand out of a pile of black metal and placed it in the center of the stage, a little closer to the edge, and immediately the notes lying in the folder materialized on it as if by magic from the air. Levix raised the heavy lacquered lid of the piano, moved the stool that was in the way with his foot. He pressed the pedal with his foot, and gently tapped the key with the hand in which he was holding the bow. He didn't tune the violin for long, it didn't have time to get out of tune properly during the day. Then the violinist entertained himself with a traditional warm-up on the already memorized exercises of Shalvid, scales, and only then moved on to analyzing the program. This year it was quite extensive, but that's okay, he'll manage. In fact, Levix wanted to take even more works, but Professor Cenz did not allow him to do this. Sometimes this uncle was insanely harmful and annoying. So, a rather cute sonata caught his eye. Nael arranged the sheet music in the correct sequence, ran his eyes over the text, and nodded. Yes, definitely what you need. He positioned the violin more comfortably, its warm wood felt pleasant in contact with the skin. The bow touched the strings and all thoughts flew out of his head. Only the sound remained, so wonderfully spreading through the huge and almost empty room. The young man closed his eyes for a second with pleasure. You rarely get such a sound anywhere - only in the hall and on the cold stairwells. So that the sounds rush upwards or downwards, picking up their echo reflected from the walls.

The hours flew by unnoticed. But the bliss was interrupted by someone else's rustling. The young man immediately stopped, tensed his whole body and froze, listening to the silence, disturbed by the last note still singing. It was definitely not Professor Cenz. He burst in like a hurricane, absolutely not paying attention to someone's privacy and enjoyment. Levix looked around the hall. A tall brunette was perched on the raised seat of one of the armchairs, carefully studying him in response.

-It's just you...- the violinist breathed a sigh of relief.

-It's just me,- the female voice confidently echoed him.- Are you done yet?

-Mm...no? What are you doing here, Vi? I don't think I invited you. If you don't mind, I'll ask you to leave me alone with this beautiful,- he tapped the paper with his bow,- in all respects magnificent work. I hope your visit was not on such an important issue.

-You're done,- the girl nodded affirmatively, having listened to the blond.- Get ready, I'll be waiting for you downstairs.

And Violent left, quietly slamming the sobbing door of the hall under the onslaught, so that it would close, and Levix remained a statue standing in indecision. However, after a not-so-long thought process, he clicked his tongue in annoyance and went to put away the instrument. He tidied up the hall in a hurry, without охоты, but it was necessary to do it. This was the unspoken obligation of every student of the music faculty, mutual respect. Passing a small checkpoint, Nael noticed that it was somehow indecently dark outside. His gaze darted to the large grandfather clock standing in the hall. The time was approaching midnight.

That's how he got carried away... "how did that happen? Didn't the professor even check on him today!? Forgot...hah..."

His face was hit by fresh evening air. The blond took a deep breath, slowly exhaling and only now beginning to realize how tired he was. To the left, the hazard lights of a beautiful black car parked a little higher up the street flashed. Nael was sure it was for him, he had seen this car too often. Adjusting the strap on his shoulder, the young man moved forward. He opened the front passenger door and plopped into the soft seat, clamping the voluminous violin case between his knees. Nael didn't want to look at the driver, so he pressed his forehead against the black dense fabric, turned his head and began to examine the street outside his window. Something hot poked into his hand, and then someone else's warm fingers unhooked his icy ones from the case strap, put a paper cup with some hot drink in them, but did not move away after, but remained lying, wrapping over, supporting, making sure that the young man was holding the drink and as soon as his hand was released, the cup would not fall, staining the passenger and the interior with its contents. The blond finally deigned to look towards the girl sitting next to him, only to nod in silent gratitude and carefully disentangle himself from her fingers to bring the cup to his lips. Tea, ordinary hot chamomile tea. They slowly moved off.

-Ellie called, asked you to pick her up...She was worried that you didn't meet after class,- now Vi's voice was calm, more like the morning light breaking through the forest foliage, just as quivering, warm, and sometimes awkward.Her measured, quiet speech, hot tea, and Nael's overly empty head made him completely drowsy. He didn't even realize how he lost the thread of the conversation and in the next second was already plunged into blissful oblivion.