Thought Of Everything And Nothing

Chapter 10

Erik

Before our lesson ended, I stopped Christine as she was putting on her bag.

"Christine!"

She turned around, and I smiled at her confused face. "Yes, Mr.Destler?"

I reached under my desk to retrieve the song I had found for her. It was a song from Faust that I knew that she'd love.

"I have music for you," I said, handing her the piece. Her eyes brightened at the mention of music, and I found myself having to hold back from embracing her.

Christine's eyes widened when she read the title. "Oh, I know this one! I love it!"

Her happiness made my fingertips tingle with joy. "Let's run through it, shall we?"

She nodded, her dark curls bouncing.

"Ah! je ris de me voir

si belle en ce miroir,

Ah! je ris de me voir

si belle en ce miroir,"

"Est-ce toi, Marguerite, est-ce toi?"

"Réponds-moi, réponds-moi,

Réponds, réponds, réponds vite!"

"Non! Non! ce nest plus toi!"

"Non...non, ce nest plus ton visage;

Cest la fille dun roi;

Ce nest plus toi,"

"Quon salut au passage!"

"Ah, sil était ici!"

"Sil me voyait ainsi!"

"Comme une demoiselle

Il me trouverait belle, Ah!

Comme une demoiselle,

Il me trouverait belle!"

"Achevons la métamorphose,"

"Il me tarde encor dessayer

Le bracelet it le collier!"

She had sung it to near perfection, singing it with the joy and excitement that it required. Her seraphic voice was absolutely heavenly, and it took my soul to heights it had never seen before, but, it seemed that it was difficult for her to reach some of the highest notes.

I observed her and saw that her posture was slightly off. This created a smaller space in her chest for the lungs, which made it harder to sing longer phrases.

"Christine, straighten your posture."

She nodded, and attempted to fix it, but to no avail. She winced, and touched the strap of her bag. It was clear that the bag was weighing her down.

"What's in your bag?"

She smiled at my question, "Lots of books. Most of them are textbooks, but I managed to slip a few of my favorites in."

I grinned, I loved books more than anyone! "What are your favorites?"

Her eyes lit up, and her smile widened, "Most of them are old classics, but my absolute favorite is Don Quixote."

Ah, she enjoyed old books. It seemed impossible that she could become even more perfect, but I was once again proven wrong. I laughed at her choice of the insane hero novel, which was a terrific book."Why's that? He is just a man obsessed with becoming a hero."

She looked very offended as she defended her choice. "He just prefers the glory of fantasy over a real world, which includes his imminent death. Plus, it's the first 'modern novel'. And," She said with a determined look, "There's the whole windmill scene, which is one of the most iconic scenes in all of the literature!"

She crossed her arms and held a rather pleased look at her argument. I was pretty impressed at her full understanding of the novel, though I still didn't enjoy it as much.

"Fine," I said, throwing my hands up,"You win that argument for that, but you still have to take off your bag. It's hurting your posture."

She grumbled, and removed the heavy canvas bag. "Fine, but the Don Quixote is still my favorite book!"

"I prefer Romeo and Juliet," I commented, smirking. She let out one of her bubbly laughs.

"And why is that?" Her voice trembled with silent laughter.

"Because they have a much better music suite."

She gasped at my remark and clutched her heart with feigned horror. "Why, that's a terrible thing to say when Don Quixote suite is so much more charming!"

I shook my head, "Have you ever even heard the Fantasy Overture live?"

A lovely rose colour flooded her pale cheeks, and she shook her head. "No..." Her beautiful voice trailed off, and she gazed up at me through her long, dark lashes.

I admired her beauty for a second, before shaking myself out from under her spell. "You can't judge if you've never listened to it before! Have you ever even heard Don Quixote live?"

She looked offended, "Of course I have! I played it when I was nine!"

That was pretty impressive for a nine-year-old. "That's amazing, but the Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture impresses me more."

She scoffed, crossing her arms. "I guess I'll never have to find out!"

"Well, our next lesson will just have to be at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts to see the New York Philharmonic."

She stared at me in awe, "Not possible! How did you get tickets?"

I shrugged, "I have some friends that always get me season tickets."

She gasped, and threw her arms around me. My eyes widened, and I stared down at her brown waves and awkwardly patted her back. "Thank you so much, Mr. Destler!" Her voice was slightly muffled against my chest, and I smiled.

"Please, call me Erik."

She laughed, "Thank you, Erik." My heart skipped a beat at the sound of her voice saying my name. Too soon, she pulled away and grabbed her bag.

"Have a good day!" She called out as she left. I nodded, and her angelic features smiled.

After she left, I collapsed onto my chair. This girl was going to be the death of me. I smiled, remembering her excitement and her adorable blush. When she hugged me, I was beyond stunned. How could a girl that angelic hug a monster such as myself? Granted, she didn't know that I had a deformity, but still! I thought about it deeply for about an hour, before returning to my home.

Christine

When Mr. Destler told me that he would take me to see the New York Philharmonic, I was beyond stunned. I had always dreamed of seeing them perform live. In fact, I owned about a million of their recordings just so that I could close my eyes, and imagine I was watching them. I mean, I had sometimes gotten the chance to watch the Philidelphia Orchestra and they were beyond heavenly, but the New York Philharmonic! 

I smiled gratefully as I walked French. He was easily the best teacher I had ever had. I only wished that I could see beneath his mask, but that would be trespassing his trust and I never wanted to ever do that.

At least not right now.