A Study in Music Theory (Wesper AU)

Three: The Study

Anyone in the Dregs could tell you that Jesper enjoyed cutting corners. He was too smart for his own good, and he found detours in every single thing he did. So when he came back to the Slat Friday afternoon, no one had suspected a thing would change about him. He was careful not to talk about his new job to anyone who wasn't Inej, after all, and he always walked about the room like it was his lucky day. For all they knew, he had just gone out for a stroll.

But once he locked himself in his room on the second floor, the changes in his demeanor were obvious. For the next two days, all anyone on that floor could hear was head-aching flute constantly being played. It was so terrible that his next-door neighbors were convinced that it must be some awful revenge plan of his, but by his third day, he was actually half decent. His notes weren't flat, and the tune was somewhat recognizable. It unnerved and annoyed his neighbors, of course, but it wasn't bad. It was quite impressive, really. In only three days, he had taught himself two good songs on the flute without any shortcuts.

Or so they thought.

Jesper had gone years without so much as thinking about his powers, and now he was using them daily. He let that buzz in his fingers get to work, allowing them to learn the metal instrument in front of him. The silver called out each note to him, telling him which finger to place where and when. It was as if the thing had a mind of its own, as if it was a living entity who felt a calling to Jesper as he did to it. Or perhaps staying in his room for this long was starting to drive him mad.

Nonetheless, he refused to leave until he had semi-mastered this instrument. His life literally depended on keeping this job, and he mustn't screw up.

He didn't know what to expect come Monday, other than his he'd be meeting the Van Eck heir in the study at 10:00. Jesper knew nothing of the boy, and could only hope he was just as clueless about music as Jesper was. It bugged Jes that he didn't know his student's name nor age, but if he had to guess, the kid had to be old enough to need multiple lessons every day but young enough to throw temper tantrums and get his tutors fired. Therefore the Van Eck brat couldn't be older than eleven.

It had been a while since Jesper had felt this hopeful about his own life. Lady Luck had blessed him again, now with the gift of beginner's flute.

Monday arrived quickly, both to the excitement of Jesper and to the relief of his neighbors. It meant he could stop playing the student and instead become the teacher. He left the Slat half an hour earlier than he needed to and dressed in simple shades of browns. He didn't want to scare off the kid on the first day, after all. Maybe by the end of next week he could dress like himself again.

Jesper brought along a satchel full of notes and papers for his lesson as well as Bolliger's silver flute. He escaped the Barrel quickly, knowing he no longer looked the part of a (very sexy) criminal. Today he was the old Jesper, the one who first came to Ketterdam in hopes of making something out of his life. He often wondered what may have happened to him if he had continued to study at the university. Would he have a proper job by now or be back at home with his Da?

He should write to him. It had certainly been a while and he'd been meaning to for some time now... At this point it was just rude not to write to his dear ole Da.

Jesper shook it off. There was no time for grieving; he had a family to con.

It was easy finding his way back to the Van Eck house. Each mansion he passed was more splendid than the last, and yet the Van Eck home just seemed to lack charm. It may have been well-kept and neat, but it felt like a haunted house more than anything. It was a house fit for the man inside, the man Jesper couldn't read.

He politely knocked at the door and despite it only be 9:38, the footman showed him to the study. On the walk up a floor, Jesper asked about his new student. All he had gotten from the servant was the boy's name — Wylan Van Eck — and a feeling that the servant didn't like the boy very much.