According To The Muses {UTAPRI}

3: His Brand New Melody

Then it all clicked in when someone said, "She doesn't know how to read sheet music?" The gossip began.

"Seriously! I can't believe it!"

The comments kept coming as Otoya, Tomo, and I looked around at all the naysayers. I looked over to her again and she looked like she could break down at any minute. She's paying too much attention to the other students' comments.

"Don't tell me she can't even play piano..." Haruka stood up abruptly after hearing that.

"I can play the piano! My grandma taught me!" At that point everyone's comments about her not being able to play suddenly stopped, but comments about her not being a professional started.

"Nanami, don't listen to them!" Otoya stood up and exclaimed.

"You're the one who's in for trouble, Ittoki-kun." Some of the students told him, "Getting teamed up with that girl, you and your friends are in for some serious trouble..." I couldn't take it anymore. I practically rose up from my seat and started telling everyone off.

"All of you shut up!" Everyone looked at me, "You guys are so judgmental! You're so quick to criticize her even though it's the first time you've even met the girl! Sure she hesitated, but she could have just been a little nervous and was just warming up! You guys don't know anything! She could even play better than some of you but you wouldn't know. Talk is one thing, but actions are another!" I turned to Haruka, "Don't just sit back and let people talk about you like that! Stand up for yourself, I heard you play! You're fine, show them what you can do!"

Haruka looked at me giving me a tearful smile, "Hai!" I was about to sit down as she was about to start playing when someone spoke up.

"Criticize? Well if that was the case, wouldn't you be doing the same thing to us?"

"Who said that?" I asked and turned around to see some chick with short brown hair and blue eyes standing up.

"Don't get all snide and cocky with me, I know who you are, MPK." She put her hand to her mouth, "Oops! Or was I suppose to call you KaSakura Melody instead?" Suddenly the class made an uproar.

'And here it comes. She started it. There goes that one, most important fact no one can't seem to get over...the fact that I was once an idol.'

"MPK? Wait, you mean the MPK?"

"The kid prodigy? The one that used to "hang" with HAYATO?" Hang? What do they mean hang? I used to sing with him!

"What's she doing here?"

"That's right! I knew when I first saw you at the entrance hall from afar!" She smirked, "You see, rumor has it that you had a little "accident" a couple of years ago that caused you not to remember anything about music! And now here you are, standing up for someone who probably has no talent when the truth is YOU'RE NO DIFFERENT!" For some reason, her words hit me like lightning. That's not exactly what happened, but it was mostly true. I was frozen. Her smirk widened at my reaction, "Yeah that's what I thought." She sat back down. Students began to talk about me now, forgetting all about Haruka. My eyes widened.

"Me-chan?" Haruka whimpered, but I couldn't respond. I wanted to fight back somehow, but I was still in shock, I felt like I had been stunned by a taser. I stayed like that for the rest of the class. Once the bell rang, I was gone. Even though the others called me back, I just ran further and further away.

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I sat on a bench by the lake. I had had so much bad luck that day, that it had suddenly started to rain as I was out there feeling sorry for myself. But I didn't care, I just cried on. They were silent tears, but it still counted as crying.