The lesson with Cheese starts passing much slower than usual, with your head clouded with thoughts and speculations about the conversation you just had.
You had never been in a band before - sure, you'd play along to the music in the comfort of your own room and your parents had suggested it to you from time to time, but you didn't think it would actually happen.
However, one person who did not slow down was the bubbly drummer sitting next to you.
Regardless of whether something important was happening or not, he found a way to talk your ear off, no matter how quiet or loud he had to be to convey his message. You gave him your number in an attempt to quieten him whilst you listened to the teacher, and that worked for a little bit...
...Until you looked at your phone.
You had texts from him piling up like unused pizza leaflets, but at least he was being slightly silent, save for a few chuckles and snorts from what he was presumably filling your inbox with.
Guess you were just gonna have to ride it out.
Whilst it felt like you could've trained for a marathon in the same amount of time, Lunch eventually rolled around after another lesson and you couldn't be more thankful. The day had dragged more than a bad romance film, and sitting down in one place was never really your forte.
Rolling the words Cheese relayed to you in your head, you hastily make your way through the hallways, following your internal map to the cafeteria like many others were doing. You could definitely go for some food right now. That slice of toast you had this morning only put enough fuel in the tank to last you till noon.
Before you even walk through the doors, you hear the loud hustle and bustle of students inside the food hall, signifying that the large majority of the school had already found their solace at the tables inside.
Flowing into the hall with the rest of the hungry students surrounding you, you begin scanning the surrounding area for your new friend.
The cliques of the school became apparent when they all congregated here - various walks of life all found their equals with the same interests and sat together on the tacky tables set out for dining purposes. There were the nerds, conveniently holding board-game figurines for you to decipher. A gang of girls sat at the next table over, with their scratchy voices overpowering any other noise from where you were standing. It was a safe assumption to say they were "the popular ones". You peered over at the next table, but quickly averted your eyes since the basketball team were sitting there.
Finding no one with hair that fuzzy, you resort to texting him. You assume he was either in the queue for food or hadn't arrived yet, so you find a spot to lean on up against the wall whilst you wait for a response.
A few moments pass before you feel your phone vibrate in your palm, and holding it up to your eye line reveals a message from Cheese.
"Look right!"
You peer over to your right as instructed, seeing a yellow blur through the glass pane that leads to the outside. Cheese is waving frantically at you with his phone in his hand.
Smiling, you begin to walk towards the nearest door leading out, glancing out upon the food hall one last time.
Out of the corner of your eye, you spot some of the previously mentioned sports team looking at you.
Actually, scratch that, they're glaring at you.
They're probably still annoyed that you embarrassed their teammate on camera.
You push it out of your mind as you push the exit handle on the door, exposing yourself to the cool breeze out in the open air. The sudden sunlight blinds you for a moment, but once your eyes adapt, you see that Cheese is there to greet you, gesturing you to follow him.
You sceptically oblige him, trailing behind him as he leads you to their aforementioned "meet-up" spot. You make sure to remember this route for future reference.
Walking towards a small, separate building, you spot a bright red sign that reads:
UNAVAILABLE TO STUDENTS WITHOUT
EXPRESS PERMISSION FROM AN
AUTHORIZED MEMBER OF STAFF
You feel slightly more uneasy as you walk inside, hearing the door close behind you as Cheese covers his tracks. You now rely on the bar of yellow power being emitted by the cheap building lighting to view your surroundings.
"Hey, friend! What took ya so long?" He asks with some spring in his step as he guides you down a thin hallway.
Sound echoes through the old architecture around you, making your footsteps all the more ominous. Various doors populate the hallway, with clouded glass blocking anyone from snooping.
"Oh, y'know: Floods of students asking for my autograph, girls swooning over my presence. Just a normal Monday." You replied sarcastically, trying not to let your paranoia get the best of you.
He chuckles, coming to a stop in front of the second to last door. It has a brass handle, as well as a piece of paper taped to the window, with some sort of symbol on it. A horseshoe with a rainbow trail following it. You can hear muffled voices inside as you approach it, and blurs of colour populate the cloudy pane of glass.
"This your logo?" You ask, nodding towards the stray piece of paper fastened to the door.
He shakes his head, thankfully.
"Oh, no. We don't have any proper instruments, so we borrow this band's kit when they're not using it. Don't worry, they don't mind..." He reassures you, patting you on the shoulder.
Before you can offer any sort of response, he swings the door open, walking in with the same beaming smile he wore when you first met.
The room opens up to reveal 3 other students inside, each stationed with their respective instruments of choice in their hands. You made a mental note of the instruments in relation to their users - Keyboard, Vocals, Drummer, Bass and Tambourine. There was also an electric guitar portion of the room, but it was leaned away from you. The window was open inside, washing a pleasant breeze over you as you entered.
"So this is the guy you were talking about! Nice to meet you, man- A pale green spiritual-looking dude addresses you by name and approaches you, one arm holding the white keyboard-guitar hybrid, and the other outstretched, surprising you with a bro hug. You attempt to cling to the oxygen in your lungs as he presses your chests together with frightening force. Once he lets go, he gives you a warm smile.
Name's Brawly Beats. It's not every day you meet a man with the school at his feet!"
You shrug as his words of praise fill the room; He has a distinctively loud voice that almost rivals the Vice-Principal. You feel the imprint of the beads he's wearing around his neck on your skin from the pressure of his embrace.
"You can say that again - Timber Spruce, at your service." One of the others steps forward, offering his palm this time, which you happily grasp with good greetings. As his name suggests, his skin is the colour of spruce wood, with a deep green shading his swish-and-flick style of fringe. He is holding nothing and came to you from behind a microphone stand, so you presume he is the lead singer of the ensemble. He gestures towards the guy standing behind him holding a fancy-looking bass guitar, toying with the tuning pegs. He's sporting a snazzy grey blazer, along with a red shirt and white tie, contrasting his own bodily colour palette.
"This is Thunderbass - take a guess what he plays."
You exchange no words with the bass player; only a respectful nod is shared between the two of you as you're introduced to him.
Moments later, Timber directs you over to the previously mentioned open window, to which you now discover someone sitting in front of it on a mat.
"And last, but not least - this is Sandalwood." He says, not receiving a response from the figure sitting in front of you.
The gentle breeze from the outside world rustles the lime braids made from Sandalwood's hair, with half of his head being covered by a fuzzy homemade beanie. His flared jeans helped with the cross-legged, fingers-intertwined meditation pose he was performing, accentuating the "Peace and Love" theme of his outfit, and most assuredly, his personality.
Timber clears his throat, making the Zen Master on the floor turn his head slightly.
"It's unwise to disturb someone in their flow state, Timb..." He unfolds his legs and stands, spinning himself to face you, before holding out his fist. You gladly return the favour, bumping it with your own and smiling at his chilled-out attitude.
"So, Golden Boy - Cheese says you play the guitar a lot. Think you're band-worthy?" Timber says, looking at you expectedly
You nod, looking over at the electric piece of craftsmanship, now in full view from where you were standing.
Before you lays a gorgeous electric guitar. The body sports a striped pattern of two shades of blue with a varnished mahogany finish on the fretboard. The tuning pegs are all fastened to the left side of the headstock, and the frets are labelled with individual gold-plated lightning flashes. You instinctively pick it up by the neck with your left hand, getting a feel for the weight and texture of the instrument.
It feels close to perfect in your hand as you raise it to its natural position, with your right hand holding the sleek, curved shape of the body. The strings follow the natural order of the rainbow, with each of the six strings being a different colour. It's truly a masterful piece of musical engineering.
Taking the pick from where the guitar was placed, you wrap the strap of brown leather over your shoulder, letting it rest by your stomach comfortably as you stand. Taking care, you pluck at each string in chronological order, listening to the soft pings of each note to check that it's in tune.
Finding nothing wrong with the sounds, you give it a medium-strength open strum, the sound of a familiar opening note gracing your fine-tuned ears. You give a nod to yourself as your quality check was fulfilled.
This is some serious kit.
"Serious kit, eh?" Timber says as he takes his own position behind the mic stand, tugging the device out of its holster. You see that the rest of the group has also made their way to their instruments, ready to play. Sandalwood had picked up the tambourine by his mat, along with Cheese taking his place behind the large drum kit situated in the far left corner of the room, twirling one of the drumsticks in his hands. Everyone else was where you'd first met them.
"Now that you've gotten yourself acquainted - I think it's time we test your mettle!"
You feel a slight wave of unease rising up your body at the thought of embarrassing yourself. You hadn't played for a crowd before - only your grade examiners, but that was forced.
You look around and see an amplifier beside you, with a jack connecting it to you on the ground. Picking it up, you slot it into the input on the underside of the guitar, before flicking the switch on the speaker to power it up. A low hum emanates from the amp as it prepares to produce the music you have at your fingertips.
"I think it'd only be fair to let you pick a song to play, what with you being the guest of honour and all..." Thunder says, his fingers poised and ready.
"Good idea!" Timber says conclusively, before looking at you.
"Well?"
Oh yeah, you actually have to think of a song.