“Can you make up some time?

”
What. What?
What???
***
An elbow landed on top of the table. Your head rested on the palm, as you let your
hair glow under the setting sun’s rays. The glass window protected the running navy locks
from the seething heat, allowing only warmth in the air-conditioned classroom.
You yawned.
Apart from everyone who was talking with one another, laughing about and snicker at
their crushes, you sat at the edge, your hand busy scribbling faces.
Oh, but you could hear them. The same excitement roared across the corridor
throughout the week of school. Your class was no different. Summer was coming, classes
lasted morning till dusk to substitute holidays, and everyone talked of the summer’s festival.
Years before, you looked forward to it a lot. You would stand at the corners of the
classroom; it would be near evening. The sun glamoured your skin, shimmered your hair,
brighten your eyes. You would wait for what seems like an eternity and no one would come.
All the wait, only for you to get a text message that said you would be spending the
festival alone. And this would repeat next year. And the year next.
You scoffed, thinking about it again. You dropped her elbows off the table and sighed
quietly. Three years, you gave effort but none to any avail. “Why did I even date him,” you
thought loudly.
“Good riddance.” you heard a voice above you. You lifted your face and saw the
daring green eyes of your friend. The sunlight flashed on the friend’s face, making him seem
as if he was shining. “He was nothing as near as good for you anyway. In fact, I’m glad you
broke up, Kat.” The friend said, as he pulled a chair and sat on it next to you.
“Lyle. I thought you have a date today?” you inquired. Your face was indifferent.
“Oh, yeah, Xavier was called by his friends a bit, he told me to wait here.” Lyle
replied, his legs were now placed on your table.
“In this class?”
“No, with you.” Lyle pulled out his phone. “That news was shocking. I thought you’d
never give up on him,” he digressed.
“Goodness, will you stop? I already had Melissa and Kagura asking me if it was
legit.”
“Was it?”
“Lyle.”
 “Ok, sorry.” He raised both his arms, conceding. He dropped them right after. “I hope
he regrets it though, Ray lost so much. You are literally better than most. What about that guy
you talked about? The one you’re attracted to?”
“Huh?”
“You know... the one who made you go into denial at how liking him was wrong cuz
you were dating Ray.”
“What are you-”
“Oh, you know, the one who pulled your arm before you got hit by a truck. You
almost got isekai’d there.”
Your eyes glowed. “You know what? I got his name. Remember Alucard?” you
started.
Lyle widened his eyes as the name, his feet immediately got off the table. “Oh, no. he
is his friend.”
“No, he just happens to know everyone. His name is Granger.”
“Granger? I heard that name somewhere. Like in my music club.” Once again, Lyle
widened his eyes. “Wait. Hold on a sec. I do know him!” he exclaimed, jolting his chair
forward.
“You do?”
“Wanna go see him?”
***
You opened the door to the music club room. It was filled with people, some talked,
some sang, most were playing around with musical instruments. It was half past six by now,
but the room seemed lively. It seemed that a lot of students had not gone home.
Lyle agreed to go with you to meet this person you mentioned, but Xavier arrived just
as they got off the classroom. With a sorry, Lyle and his beloved boyfriend walked off.
So, there you were, entering the room alone.
“I am telling you, Silvie, he’s been different. He used to wipe his gun at least ten
times a day!”
“What about now?”
“Well- nine. But listen! I think he’s smitten.”
You overheard a conversation just beside the door you entered. You looked at them
right away, and saw two figures, one standing, the other sat on a chair with a guitar at hand.
The one standing was a tall, intimidating lady. She had a very bright silver hair, faded
lightly towards blonde. It was tied nicely into a high ponytail, and it hung until her waist. She
was very beautiful.
 The other seemed childlike, his hair wore brighter silver than the former, with eyes as
huge as a cat’s.
The smaller one spoke, “and do you know this girl from one of the elite classes? Her
name is Kathryn or K-” he stopped when his eyes locked onto your violet ones.
You gulped hard, and immediately clasped your mouth, with fear that they heard you
swallow your throat. The taller lady followed the shorter one’s gaze, so both were looking at
you. You felt embarrassment ensue and felt your ears grow warm. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean
to overhear.” You spoke softly, begging to die quietly.
“That’s her!” the cat eyed boy shout-whispered, pointing his thumb towards you. The
lady raised a brow and walked towards you. Albeit nervous, you kept you cool and stood
straight. There was a numbing feeling at your knees, making you falter sightly, but that did
not stop you from looking straight into the taller lady’s eyes.
She skimmed you at close proximity, and you could tell that she wore an expensive
perfume. It was a faint, unfamiliar smell, one that is not commonly worn by many. It could be
that she’s plenty wealthy from how neat she dressed... and her rich smell. Despite so, the
taller lady does not seem snobbish unlike many rich kids.
She leaned down right at your nose range and stared into your eyes. “I can see why,”
she spoke deep, but soft. Her grey hair swung elegantly as she turned away from you,
towards the shorter boy. “Do you think he has gone insane though? It’s impossible for anyone
to be this swayed by a person.”
“I’m sorry, did I offend any of you?” you began speaking, finally letting out a breath
after she looked away from you. The two silver haired students turned to you again.
“Nope! Apologies, gal, what are you here for? We seemed rude and unwelcoming just
now, weren’t we?” the boy replied cheekily, a curled smile formed on his face.
“No, it’s okay, you weren’t. Um, when does the music club close?”
The taller lady answered this time. “Seven thirty. We have students who are practicing
until that time, but anyone is allowed to come. Do you have a particular rea-”
She stopped speaking as soon as a screeching sound echoed across the classroom. It
sounded like Banshee, or like a door creaking pitched up, or even greasy metal brushed
against each other. It was horrifying. The sound made everyone in the room jolt unpleasantly,
and sighing as if they know what that sound was and got used to the sudden ringing.
“He’s at it again.” One spoke.
Another replied, “Didn’t our teacher already criticized him brutally the other day?
He’s not improving.”
“Improving? Isn’t he like, tone-deaf?”
You furrowed your brows at this ordeal. It made you wonder who was making such
mind-grilling sound. You were sure it was not the doing of a human, but based on what
people were saying, it was. Your eyes returned to the two people in front of you, but theirs
had turned towards a room in the corner, a sign was plastered on its door, “recording room”.
 The boy started. “Silvie.”
“Granger!” the taller lady, presumably Silvie, called out to the room. Your ear perked
at the name. Is that not the name of your silly little crush? “One more rubbing of that
insufferable sound, and I will actually make you deaf!”
“Granger?” you repeated the name, swallowing your tongue. It made Silvie turn to
you again.
“You know him.” She asked, although it sounded more like a statement.
“Yes, actually, he’s the reason I’m here.”
“Plenty jolly. Then you are fitted to talk some sense to him.” The shorter male replied
fast, his voice as cheery as ever.
“What?” You asked confusingly.
He put down the guitar and stood up to stretch. While doing so, he kept his eyes at
you. “That sorry man loves music for his life but cannot differentiate between the A and B
note. No one ever successfully managed to get these words in his head, anyone who does
suffer listening to that Banshee violin.” He explained quick.
“Harith, that is such a blunt explanation.” Silvie muttered.
“Oh well, it is true.”
You waved your hands lowly, disagreeing with Harith. “I don’t think so, I know him,
he doesn’t know me.” You coyly replied; you felt bad for perhaps disappointing them.
“I am so sure he will listen to you though,” The boy shrugged. “He is currently
smitten.”
“Smitten?”
There was that ringing, screaming sound again. This time, it was constant and louder.
Silvie’s eyes twitched in annoyance and Harith cringed at it, his palms were covering his ears,
trying to pry off the sound to no avail.
Inhaling sharply, you walked past them. The two was surprised that you moved; they
watched you walk over the recording room. You were many things, and one of them was that
you never minded loud noises. But seeing how this screeching sound gave discomfort to
many, you could not stand idly. You were ready with words and argument.
You opened the door, and there it was.
The room had two sections, divided by a sound-proof glass. One side, where she was
standing had a setup for sound management, technical supports, and wires everywhere. Two
wheeled chairs were placed side by side in front of the setup. Another side had mics, a
note-stand, another chair, and cushioned walls. It looked nice with red and gold as the main
theme, purple as complementary.
Among the sofas that were placed against the wall, a man was leaning on one of its
arm rests. He held a violin, its bottom rested on his shoulder. The other hand held the bow. He
wore his uniform loosely, the shirt unbuttoned, revealing a grey undershirt, his necktie untied,
and his blazer tied to his hips. His hair was an unkempt black, with white highlighting on his
forehead. It was a sight to see. A beautiful man.
You hitched your breathing, awestruck at the god-blessed sight. As you stared, his
metallic eyes also returned the gaze. He was just as surprised, and the way his brows lifted
complimented his strong yet gentle facial features. You noticed another thing. This gorgeous
man wore a scar that ran from the top of his left brow to the top left of his cheekbones.
“I- you- why are you here?” he asked suddenly.
“Granger,” you repeated that name once again.
His head perked up. “Yeah?” he answered your call softly.
“Your name really is Granger.”