Rhythm From Within

The campus was huge. Her friends back home always joked that UCLA was a giant school…but they weren’t far off. She was pretty sure she had circled the water fountain at least twice. She glanced at her cell-phone to check the time. 9:19. “I’m going to be so late…hey!” She mumbled then grabbed a passing girl also on her cellphone. “Could you help me please? I’m trying to find music theory.” She explained, clear desperation in her voice.
The girl hung up her phone abruptly and stuffed it into her purse. “Oh sure. I’m going there too. Come on, we’re going to be late!” She smiled and pulled the lost girl in the direction of the class. “My name is Gabby by the way.” She greeted, holding out her hand.
“I’m Lara.She shook Gabby’s hand then both took off in a sprint towards class. The two barley made it into the auditorium when they heard a loud English voice behind them.
“Glad you could make it girls, let’s not make a habit of being late to my class please.” Gabby and Lara scurried towards the back of the auditorium quickly and quietly. The back row was pretty empty except from the girls and a couple of guys.
“Welcome to music theory. My name is Dr. Fiera. Unlike your other classes, this class takes up two semesters instead of one. Reason for that is pretty simple. Not only will you learn the fundamentals of music such as pitch, harmony and rhythm in my class, you will also dig deep inside yourselves to create your own music.” Lara looked up from her notebook she had dug out of her bag. “Yes, inside each of you…I see something special and I will get it out of you by the end of this year.” Gabby looked over at Lara nervously and cracked a smirk.
Dr. Fiera continued her lecture over the full ninety minutes. She was hard core. She went fast and detailed and took no prisoners when it came to participation. Luckily, Gabby and Lara evaded her attacks for now and shot out of the auditorium as soon as they were dismissed. The girls met up outside the door and exchanged numbers.
“I know you’re new, so at least now, you have one friendly face.” Gabby smiled, handing back Lara’s phone. Lara looked down at the small girl and smiled. “Let’s meet up later tonight at the library yeah? I’ll bring the coffee!” And with that, the little Latino girl scurried off to her next class. Lara was left looking over her time card. Voice diction…? She growled inwardly. She should have asked Gabby where to go.
She looked around for some kind of campus map but came up empty. Then she noticed a guy sitting under a shaded oak tree nearby, reading a book. “Excuse me? May I ask you a question?” Lara asked, approaching the leather jacketed man. He didn’t answer her but allowed her to approach. “Um…I’m looking for voice diction…could you tell me where that would be?” Her voice wavered slightly at the burning intensity of the guy’s blue eyes.
“That doesn’t start for at least another hour, I’m sure you can find it by then.” He snapped at her suddenly. Lara took a step back slightly but held her ground.
“I’m new here so I don’t know this campus at all. I would appreciate it if you could help me.” The guy glared back at her and sighed heavily.
“I’m not a tour guide…but go over there and turn right down the hall with the statue. It’s the third room.” Her growled and went back to reading his book. Lara rolled her eyes and thanked the guy. She pulled out her notebook and walked over to a nearby bench and started scribbling words down to kill time.
About an hour later, the leather jacketed man got up from his shaded spot and left the courtyard.Checking the time, Lara picked up her bag and followed the directions the man had given her so graciously. She found the third room and walked in to see leather jacket sitting in the back again. That asshole has the same class. She took her seat next to him to make a point. She narrowed her eyes at him, but he shrugged his shoulders.
“Ok. I’m going to get to the point. This class will teach you how to sing properly and if you already can sing, teach how much your voice can do with techniques. And I will assign partners that you will have for this semester. Outside voices are more honest than your own ears.” The class groaned and the professor clapped his hands to silence them. “You had to audition for this class and I have recorded these voices and have paired you up already. When I call your name, raise your hand so your partner can find you.”
Lara looked around at the class while the professor called out partnerships. She could tell the sopranos from the altos, the opera singers from the country, and light hearted singers from rough singers. Leather jacket…was a mystery. Lara’s own voice was different that’s for sure. It was a mix of Amy Lee’s from Evanescence to the powerful vibrato of Carrie Underwood’s. “Lara? You’re paired with Andy Biersack.” She looked around the room for the raised hand of her partner and her heart sank when she saw leather jacket raise his hand. Great. “Pair up and spend this class period getting to know each other and your voices.” The professor explained, checking off names on his clipboard.
Leather jacket, known as Andy, didn’t turn to Lara and took to scrapping his pencil against the desk. Lara made a point of being annoyed at him and turned to him quickly. “So? Too good to escort a lady to class?” She spoke, raising her eye brows at him. Andy shook his head at her slowly and continued scratching his pencil. “Excuse me? Can you please talk to me?”
Andy snapped the pencil and scowled at her. He turned to her quickly causing her to flinch. “What? What would you like me to say? Sorry that I didn’t walk you to class? Sorry that I’m your partner? What? What would make you happy princess?” Andy’s face was cold and empty, his eyes tired; like he was tired of fighting. Lara saw this, she saw the familiar look of unhappiness that she had felt for so long.
“I don’t want an apology. Let’s just work okay? Talk about our voices or something. If you don’t want to talk then fine.” Lara sighed, realizing that Andy had an attitude that couldn’t be fought with. She was not in the mood to argue and to be honest she didn’t have the energy. She pulled out her notebook and started scribbling. Andy narrowed his eyes at her action.
“What you doing there princess?” Andy asked, noting the worn notebook in the girls grasp.
“Writing. Makes me feel better.” She snapped. Andy retreated slightly and returned to scraping half the pencil into the desk. The class was full of melodies and laughing as partners got used to one another. Meanwhile, Andy and Lara remained silent and in their own bubbles until the professor dismissed them all.
Lara grabbed her bag and made her way out of the room when the professor stopped her. “Ms. Jewels. Please.” He smiled to me. Lara stood in front of him and waited for him to pull out a file on his desk. “I am aware that you’re a transfer. From Texas is that right?” Lara nodded. “Why would you transfer with one year left of your major?” Dr. Richards asked, flipping through his files.
“Personal reasons professor. All my paper work is in line and my credits are up to date. I don’t see why you need to know why I’m here.” Lara explained.
“I just want to know what my students are going through. You’d be surprised how good of an artist you can be depending on your struggles. I’ve heard your voice, there’s pain in there. I can tell.” He pointed out, noting Lara’s discomfort of his discovery. “Anyway, good luck with your partner. He has something, something you both share. I hope you can both discover it.”
“It would help if he’d talk to me without snapping at my throat.” Lara mumbled. Professor Richards smirked at her. “What?” She asked, narrowing her eyes.
“Mr. Biersack is a different boy. He used to be so full of life, so chatty. But obviously, what happened changed him over the break.”
“What happened to him?” Lara asked, situating her back on her shoulders. Richards sighed heavily and regarded Lara over his spectacles.
“His parents and he were in a horrible car accident over the winter break. He was the only survivor. Terrible thing. Since then…he has changed. I’m worried about him obviously. He has a great career in front of him if he just perseveres. I’m afraid that this traumatic accident is going to affect him in more ways than emotionally.”
Lara’s heart wrenched at the new information. It all made sense now, his snappy attitude, his resistance to talk, his brooding. “Thank you for telling me. I’ll work with him.” She whispered, trying to hide her watering eyes. She said goodbye to her professor and retreated to the hallway. She leaned against the wall and let her emotions out. Her tears fell silently, remembering her own parents.
“Hey! Lara! Wanna go get that coffee?” Lara heard Gabby call out. Lara wiped her tears away quickly and nodded her head in agreement. Gabby cocked her head to the side but chose to ignore the obvious crying. “How was class?”
Lara shrugged her shoulders. “I have to be partnered with this guy for voice who has been through hell. He won’t talk to me without snapping at me. It’s going to be tough.” Lara explained, walking in the direction of the library. “He’s in our music theory class too.”
Gabby narrowed her eyes at Lara. “Leather jacket?” Lara nodded. “Oh. That’s Andy. I’ve known him since tenth grade back in Ohio.” Gabby mumbled. Lara saw the discomfort in her eyes; she obviously knew the story of Andy’s parents. “He used to be awesome.”
“I want to make him happy again. The professor told me that Andy has changed. He wasn’t always an asshole. Maybe I can help?” Lara said, seeing Andy from across the court yard. He was sitting against the wall with a little notebook in his grasp. He refused to look up from his writing.
“Why you? What would you be able to do?” Lara looked at Andy and could sense the sadness he had hidden behind those eyes. She ignored Gabby’s question and sighed heavily. Gabby saw Lara looking at Andy and arched her eyebrows. “He was bullied in high school and from time to time, here. Poor guy. Well, if you think you can help him, good luck girl. But first, I need caffeine.”

Notes