Raine had their mouth agape the whole time after their student's wonderful little performance with her flute. The way Amber's fingers moved in time along with the serious expression on her face, focusing on the instrument she's playing with eyes closed to feel the music made it feel like they were looking at a mirror.
Watching Amber made Raine remind them a lot about their teenage years. Except, in that case, young Raine Whispers' instrument was not a flute, but a small and yet sturdy violin that they'd always practice mastering from day to night.
Raine loved the violin. It was the first instrument they had played ever since they were young. Sure they were terrible from the first time they used it but as time passed and a few years of practice went by, all of the worries that they had slowly faded away one by one until Raine reached the point where people realized how talented they are and saw their potential as a start of becoming a musical prodigy.
But of course, the young and shy violinist at that time didn't dream of starting a journey that big. Here they are now, almost a decade later, their life being pretty simple as they expected it to be. Nothing more, nothing less.
"Wow. Amber I..." they pursed their lips in a shy manner although they're older. "I got nothing else to say. You did it incredibly." they managed to let out, nodding at their student with approval that made the young girl smile proudly with pride. Raine began to suddenly wonder if this was how people felt amazed with their past performances of playing the violin during their teenage years back at Hexside.
They usually didn't see themself as one of the best but people would always praise and compliment Raine over and over again after a performance from one of the competitions that the school would usually set up yearly. Guess I didn't give myself a bit of praise, huh?
"You know where and when to move your fingers, your muscle memory is good, you probably memorize all the chords..." Raine listed all the facts that they observed from Amber's improvement within the month she started, nodding with a finger rubbing their protruding chin.
"Y-yeah ahaha. All I could say to you now is to keep practicing and try playing different songs. Or even make a random tune of your own. Once again, great job. Keep it up."
The compliments made Amber try to hold back her squealing, letting her hands shoulder pat herself for the success she got. Raine noticed this and smiled, knowing that they are also proud of themself too for helping Amber with her progress in playing the wind instrument. There's nothing better than to compliment others about their talent after all.
But music was more than just talent. It is also a personality. A personality that everyone always sees whenever Raine holds an instrument. It is also a brief escape from reality, for producing beautiful harmonies always takes their attention away to focus on making a good tune while taking all your time and effort from all the world. And hopefully, someday, they hoped that these kids would realize all of that and keep their passion for music growing more and more.
"Aha! Take that Katya and Derwin! Mx. Raine was speechless after my quick performance! " Amber went back to her other friends, boasting about the fact that she did great.
"Ambs, you gotta calm down..." Katya rolled her eyes with a smile. "Mx. Raine! You gotta check out my tambourine skills too!" she called out, waving her percussion instrument in the air to catch her teacher's attention in hopes to get some praise as well. Raine smiled from this and chuckled while shaking their head from the competition these young teens are trying to start.
Teenagers these days ...
"Katya, that's not fair. The tambourine's a percussion instrument. All you have to do is smack your palm while following a pattern and that's it. You literally don't have any chords."
"Ah, don't be such a party pooper! Babe, back me up here!" Katya clutched her hands around Derwin's arm, making Amber's eyes widen in surprise. Raine also got caught off-guard too but decided to play it cool from the sudden revelation.
"You two are dating?! Since when?!" Amber was still shocked and is currently bombarding them with lots of important questions.
Raine knew they were some signs that these two were crushing on each other but they didn't expect that they were already dating. And Derwin and Katya only just met for less than a month-
"Alright, everyone. You guys can take a rest for now. We'll practice again tomorrow at the same time. I've got other people to teach later so you know the drill." Raine informed the young teens, approaching them while rubbing their thumbs on their shoulders in a comforting manner. "Remember to stretch your fingers and don't injure yourselves whenever you practice okay?"
"Okayyyy.", the three of them responded in unison, standing up and making sure to properly clean their spots and place their respective instruments in the right places.
After that brief moment, Derwin, Katya, and Amber packed all of their things and bid their goodbyes to their favorite music teacher, leaving out the workshop in the process until they were all out of sight. A proud sigh escaped from Raine's lips, knowing that these kids are going to be great instrumentalists someday.
And with that, they were all alone again. Raine decided to go back to their office and settle down on their desk chair. To pass the time, the green-haired musician decided to let themselves rest off things while waiting for the next batch of people to arrive at the time of their schedule. And what better way to make that happen but to rest your arms on your desk and rest your head to doze off to a deep slumber?
After a minute or two, a few snores were already heard.
———————————————
It didn't take too long until they felt a sudden noise and vibration in the right pocket of their pants to snap them out of sleep. They groaned from the sudden disturbance of their peace and annoyingly pulled out the device to check on whatever the heck is bothering them.
Darius
Calling...
"Ah great." Raine adjusted their round glasses up to the bridge of their nose.
"Just my luck. What the heck does this germaphobe want from me, now?" they shook their head, wishing that there was another way to decline this man's call. But of course, Raine wasn't that shallow of a person to begin with.
Sigh.
The cons of being a decent person, I guess.
Their thumb immediately pressed the call button and then lazily placed the device beside their right ear, preparing themself for whatever this man will have to say.
Here it goes.
"What do you want, germaphobe?"
"For God's sake, Whispers. I told you to stop calling me that."
"Sorry not sorry." Raine tried to hold back a teasing smile, feeling proud of themself for already pissing off Darius in just a few seconds. Well, that was a new world record.
"Anyways, what is it? I was sleeping in my office. You better have a good reason for disturbing me."
"I would care less about your sleeping schedule, Raine. But regardless, I have to inform you of something very important."
"And that is..? What? You won another company award so you're going to force me to treat you free takeout? Well, sorry. But I'm currently broke. Also, congratulations if that was the case."
"I swear to God, it's not that. AND stop calling me out!"
"Okay okay! Just spill it! I was kidding! Sheesh..." The green-haired musician flinched from the pathetic voice crack that escaped from Darius' throat but of course, Raine didn't have the time to laugh it off and had to recover themself quickly from the painful sound. A deep, exasperated sigh was heard from the other line along with a quick grunting sound that indicated Darius clearing his throat to let the words out more flawlessly this time.
"Alright, listen very closely. You see, you do remember Ala-hack's wife, right?" Raine raised an eyebrow in confusion from the mention.
"Ala-hack..? Don't you mean Alador?-"
"I know that! You get my point! He's a hack! Whatever!"
"Yeah, I remember him and Odalia. All of us were classmates back in high school," they stated as a bunch of memories of their youth suddenly came flowing back again in their mind. The classes they've had, the experiences they've shared, the chaos they've caused...all of these Hexside memories left Raine feeling nostalgic about it all.
"So. Odalia just called me last evening. And all of this is so sudden but, she's planning to set up some kind of reunion this week on Saturday. 6:30 PM."
"This Saturday..? But that's-" Raine slouched back on their chair as eyebrows were furrowed in confusion. Surely this was a mistake, right..?
"That's tomorrow-"
"I know. Ugh, the audacity for her to set it up on Saturday. She could've at least given me extra time to shop for an outfit."
Raine rolled their eyes at their friend's concern in appearance. If anything, Raine's problem is much more important to take a look at considering it has something to do with their schedule.
"Darius, I might not be able to go tomorrow. Can't you like try and convince Odalia to reschedule?"
"Oh? What the heck's your problem now? I thought you don't teach your students during the weekends?"
"Uhm, AHEM? Excuse me? In case you forgot, I'm a restaurant singer! The restaurant pays me to sing and I can't decline my opportunities to get good cash!"
And then silence. Raine was waiting for Darius' response to the matter which is probably going to be another one of his snarky remarks. They drummed their fingers on the desk and after a good fifteen seconds, he responded.
And for the first time in a decade, it's surprisingly....a decent question.
"What's the name of the restaurant you're working in again?"
Sigh.
"It's called the Boiling Dine. It's just a few blocks away from my workshop." Raine looked around their surroundings upon letting the words my workshop out of their mouth. Up until now, it's still unbelievable how they managed to build this place up half a year ago. It's just pleasing to know that they own something that has a large value close to their heart.
"Jesus Christ, Raine. Then you don't have to worry about shit! That's going to be the restaurant where the reunion will take place!"
"Wait...really?"
"Yes ya, numskull!"
"But...my schedule starts at around seven. I'll be singing at around that time-"
"Then go do your thing and sing then! Look, I'll handle it tomorrow. I'll ask the owner to excuse you after you sing a few cheesy songs or whatever! Just be there at the reunion!"
The musician bit their lower lip, contemplating whether this might work out well for them or not. Sure, stage fright might be a problem but they could always close their eyes like they always do while performing in front of strangers. Raine had been improving on overcoming their stage fright for the past few years and luckily for them, they can surely stand an audience this time around. But performing in front where they know that their old classma-no, friends will be watching? That's an entirely different thing!
Speaking of friends...
Hold on.
Wait if...
If this is a reunion then that means-
Suddenly, a specific person popped up into their mind made Raine's eyes widen and feel a shivering sensation on their spine. They suddenly panicked and thoughts were now scattered all over the corners of their brain.
Oh no.
Oh no no no no.
"WAIT! D-Did Odalia mention w-whoever's going to show up?! Darius, I need to know!" They couldn't help but yell out the question as the heart in their chest was like a loud beating drum that would soon pop out and escape their body. The chances of Raine passing out on the floor were incredibly high which made this even scarier.
"About that, I asked the same thing but she just said that we'll find out once we arrive there. You know, I wouldn't even be surprised if this is some kind of scheme of hers to murder me without leaving a trace."
Raine is somehow glad and yet distressed that Darius didn't mention the person that they were worried about. They're glad because he didn't question why they asked in the first place which would only lead Raine to be an emotional mess when they try to explain their reason and distressed because he DIDN'T get the hint. God, was this complicated.
"But she did mention that the other people that she invited might not be able to come because one of them is either too far from our state or maybe because they're broke. Or maybe even both. But yeah, there's that."
"Oh...okay..." Raine nodded to themself, standing up from their chair while they place their other palm inside the pocket of their jeans.
Okay, so maybe rich, big-shot Odalia Blight might have invited both of the Clawthorne sisters. That was a very obvious possibility they had all hung out together since their teenage years. But the thing is since Darius mentioned that the others might not be able to come by, maybe that also applied to the both of them. The last time they heard from Lilith was when she decided to work in Canada after they all graduated from college. And that's almost seven hours away from New York. There's absolutely no way the older Clawthorne would be able to drop by only for an evening reunion. So there's that.
And then all that there's left is the younger sister.
Edalyn Clawthorne.
The one and only.
God, just the bare thought of her already makes Raine feel...a lot of emotions all at once.
What are the odds of their ex showing up tomorrow at Saturday evening where she'll most likely catch Raine singing a song in the process..?
It's a fifty-fifty chance. And there are lots of reasons why.
One, it's possible that she didn't leave Connecticut all this time where all of them grew up and studied from. It's only an hour car drive to New York since both states are pretty close. And two, it's also possible that she might have finally decided to move in with her sister to Canada. Lilith always wanted to push Eda to consider that decision after all and Raine knew that very well.
Eda might've already given in to her sister's offer considering after...it happened. Regardless, Raine forced themself to push the thoughts of the past away and tried to focus on the present. They don't have to worry or overthink about anything regarding those previous experiences or else they may end up sulking about it the whole day.
And besides, it happened a long long time ago.
Two years almost.
"Anyways, now that that's settled...I have to leave now. You know how insanely desperate my clients can be regarding my products. God, I love running the business. "
"Alright. Uh...see you tomorrow, I guess."
"You need to be there. I gotta need someone to hold me back if Alador even dares to-"
"Darius, leave the poor man alone. He's got a family and a hot-tempered wife. I don't even wanna know how this reunion will end up knowing that you three are going to be in the same room."
"Nobody tells me what to do, Whispers! Not even you!"
"Just drop the damn call, germaphobe!"
"Ugh, FINE."
And with that, the call had ended.
Leaving Raine alone with countless thoughts running around the back of their head.
Oh, I'm screwed.