Harmonic was sitting in his favorite chair in the living room when his cell phone rang. Reaching in his pocket with one hand and turning down the stereo by the other, he checked to see who it was calling him after his lonely dinner. It was Script, so he put it on speaker.
“Hey.”
“Hi dad,” his son’s voice spoke, “How’re you doing?”
“Just finished dinner,” he said simply. “Did you need something?”
“No, I just was calling to see how you are.”
“Oh,” the Violinist sighed, “I just had a bit of a long day.”
“How come?”
“For starters, Celestia wanted me to join the Arts Committee, but I had to turn it down because there was someone on it that I didn’t feel too comfortable joining. Do you know about Julius Disc?”
“Kinda, is he an art teacher or something?”
“He is, and he’s one of the few teachers who know how to do all these really random magic tricks. I’m afraid that if I did join, I would likely find pulling pranks on everyone in a way that even someone like Tim Burton would be jealous of.”
“Okay…? So, how’s teaching?”
“I was getting to that,” Harmonic stood up, “In some of the classes, I keep running into the problem that a few of these kids just simply have no motivation in practicing either the pieces that they all agreed on doing. I’m not sure if they’ll be ready for the concert before the beginning of Summer Break.”
“That bad huh?” at this point, the Musician picked up his phone and started pacing around the room with it.
“That’s not even half of it. I’d noticed that ever since I’ve started doing this again, especially from first hour, I’ve always found a bag of homemade candy on my desk at the end of the class. The thing is, that bag has a little note that says ‘Our Condolences,’ and it’s never signed by anybody. I think that someone had figured out about what happened in January and now they’re sending their sympathies. But the truth is, I don’t need that.”
“Why not?”
Harmonic stopped pacing, “Why not? Script, we’ve gone over this before. I’m fine. There’s no need for anyone to feel sorry for me.”
“Dad,” his son deadpanned, “you’re not fine, and both Page and I know it.”
“Script, don’t! I don’t talk about this again; I don’t even want to get into an argument with you. Just take my word for it.”
“It’s because that I’m worried, I can’t help it.”
The Violinist paused, taking a deep breath, he resumed, “Can we talk about something else?”
“Fine. Is there at least anything positive coming out of this teaching position?”
“Come to think of it, there is. My first hour class is improving on their pieces. Each section is getting the idea of their parts down, and we’re about to put all of what they’ve been practicing together.”
“Well that’s good. What are they doing?”
“A bit from Tchaikovsky, and the other from Queen.”
“Queen? Like Bohemian Rhapsody or something?”
“That’s the one.”
“Oh cool.”
At this point, Harmonic reached for the remote to turn off the soft playing music. “Quite. So what about you? How are you and Page getting along?”
“Oh! I nearly forgot to tell you didn’t I?”
“Tell me what?”
“Dad, I’m going to do it. I’m planning to ask her to be my wife! I just got her the ring today.”
“Oh,” Harmonic said stoically, “That’s great.”
“Really?” Script deadpanned, “That’s all you got to say?”
“Well, yes. I think it’s good that you’re doing this. It’s about time that you purpose to her.”
There was an audible sigh from the other end of his phone, “Gee thanks dad. Anyway, I’m planning to do it by Friday, I was hoping that I can invite you over for the big announcement.”
“Sure, I’ll come. Where is it at?”
“At the Tai Kitchen downtown at six.”
“Okay, I’ll keep that in mind. Is there anything you want to talk about?”
“I don’t think so, just have a good night dad.”
“You too son, bye.” Once their conversation had ended and Harmonic hang up the phone, he started to head upstairs. In his room, he kept two of his most important possessions, his violin, and the painting that has been covered up by a black fabric. Uncovering it, he sat on the bed and just stared at it.
This painting was the family, even though it was never finished. Three smiling figures stood in before a blue background and stood on a crimson floor. The one that depicted his son in the middle was nothing more than a sketch. Harmonic was the only one that was fully painted that had one hand on Script’s shoulder and the other on his beloved. But it was the third figure that Harmonic himself stared at. For one, his husband’s depiction was halfway painted, and he stared back from his sea blue eyes.
Harmonic sighed, “Evening Color, how you’ve been today?” he received no answer but he kept talking. “Script has called a minute ago, checking up on me… Yeah, I told him the usual. I know he’s trying to make me feel anything but loneliness, but he’s just doing a bad job at it.”
The Violinist chuckled to himself sadly. “Anyway, I wonder what you’re doing now. Since I haven’t seen, well, you for a while that I can’t help but daydream what you’ve been doing lately. Are you still painting? I kinda fancied that even in death, you wouldn’t stop creating something. Sometimes when I walk out in the backyard on a clear night, I can picture you hopping everywhere in the sky, trying to paint each and every stair and cloud for me… Yeah, I know it’s a stupid idea but… could you blame me for thinking it?"
Harmonic paused, “Color… I’m beginning to wonder if our son is right. That I’m just pretending to be alright. After what happened, I just really don’t want to talk with anyone right now… or ever. So you can guess that I haven’t made any effort in finding anyone special. I know I promised, but… I just can’t find the motivation to do so.” He slouched on the bed, laying sideways but still looking at the painting.
“It seem like years now since you were still here, in this room… I don’t know how much you realize that I’m missing you. I would give anything to hear your voice,” Harmonic’s eyes started to water. “Even if it was for just a minute, I would surrender everything to tell you that even now… I still love you.”
He couldn’t handle it anymore, covering his face, he sobbed, “Color, come back… C-Come back.”
_*_
“…. And then Coach Spitfire said, ‘Tell me that when you have a dog that acts like a bigger kid then you are.”
“Soarin!” Fleetfoot covered her mouth, trying to suppress her shock giggles, “That’s horrible!”
“What? That’s exactly what she said to Thunderlane,” the azure athlete said as he turned his head down the crowded hallway to where he spotted Braeburn with an armful of books, paper and a pair of pencils in one hand. He was about to call him when the cowboy saw him before he suddenly turned away, disappearing into the crowd. “What’s got into him?” he said to himself.
“Did you two have a fight or something?” Fleetfoot asked.
“Not really, he’s been acting weird lately.”
“How so?”
“Well, like last week right after first period, I went up to where he was sitting to say ‘Hi,’ but he didn’t talk much before he left. Or when I tried texting him, he would suddenly stop in the middle of a conversation and would give some excuse like, ‘I need to run an errand’ or ‘Mah Pa needs me to do this.’ It’s been going on for about a month now, and I don’t know why.”
“Why not you just go talk to him, the class won’t start for the next few minutes?”
“Good idea. Still planning to go out on Saturday?”
“Yeah, I like to,” she smiled, “See ya later.”
After saying his goodbye to Fleetfoot, Soarin dodged and weaved through the sea of students that were trying to have a last minute chat or getting to their classes. He kept his eyes out as he stepped over fallen books and around clusters of people to find if he could locate his friend.
However, he ran into one of these students that nearly caused the blue and pink haired girl to fall over, “Oh sorry!”
“Whoa, careful there, you in a hurry or something?” she asked. Soarin looked around to find that he lost track of where Braeburn had gone to.
“I was looking for someone.”
“Hey, you look familiar,” she pointed towards him. “Aren’t you on the Wondercolts team?”
“Yeah,” he nodded, “So quick question, do you happen to know where my friend went?”
“What they look like?”
“Yellow, orange hair, cowboy vest, you couldn’t miss him.”
“Eh… sorry, I don’t think I have.”
“Great,” Soarin sighed in frustration, “Thanks anyway.”
“Wait a sec, I think I’ve seen you elsewhere before. Aren’t you in Harmonic Trotivari’s class? First hour?”
The blue Wondercolt raised an eyebrow, “Yeah?”
“Oh, no wonder why you looked familiar! Nice work on those drums. Oh, and by-the-way, name’s Sweetie Drops, but you can call me Bon Bon.”
“Uh… hey,” he shook her outstretched hand. “I guess I really should start heading to class now.”
“Okay, where is it?”
“It’s a history class, you know Mr. Time Turner?”
“Never had him, but I’ve heard he’s pretty weird.”
“He’s in room 217.”
“Hey! My class is right across that, how about we go upstairs and talk a bit.”
“Really the sociable type, aren’t ya?”
Soon enough, the two students started to make their way to the stairs to the second floor.
“So,” Soarin asked to start up a conversation, “Do you work anywhere?”
“Yeah, do you know that sweets shop on Main Hatters Street?” he told her that he did, “I’m an assistant there, and I’m learning how to make all the candies there.”
“Oh cool. That must be a really sweet job over there. Uh, no pun intended.”
She laughed, “Being a confectionist has its perks. At the end of the day, when all the stuff has been made, and what hasn’t been sold, I usually take the left overs to my girlfriend and-”
“Girlfriend?” Soarin interrupted.
“Yeah, you know Lyra? Lyra Heartstrings?” he shook his head, “We’ve been together for a while.”
“Really?” the athlete asked as they started to climb the stairs. “So… if you don’t mind of me asking, when you say that you’re together, do you mean that as friends or…”
“Oh!” she laughed, “In a way, I’ve been dating my best friend for at least a year now.”
“Huh.”
“You don’t have a problem with that, do ya?”
“What?” Soarin blinked, “Oh no! Not really, I actually know a guy here who swings that way. But to be honest, you are really the first lesbian that I’ve ever met.”
“The pleasure’s all mine,” she joked as she shook his hand once more before they continued towards their classes. “Out of curiosity, who is that friend of yours?”
“I’m not really aloud to say, he promised me that I wouldn’t tell anybody else about it.”
“Oh, I see… he must have really put a lot of trust in ya, huh.”
“I don’t know about that now. He’s been avoiding me for some reason, and I don’t know why.”
“Did you say something bad to him?”
Soarin shrugged, “That’s why I was looking for him, I want to know what’s up with him, but he just keeps avoiding me for some reason.”
Bon Bon hummed, putting a finger by her cheek in thought. “Maybe he’s goin’ through tough times like Mr. H is.”
“Mr. H?”
“Well, Lyra did a search on him on the web and found that his spouse died recently.”
“Oh…” Soarin trailed off.
“Yeah, when we found out, we figured that we had to find a way to cheer him up, but we decided by doing something small first.”
“So wait, you’re the ones that keep leaving bags of candy on his desk after class?”
She nodded, “We knew that talking to him won’t help because those that had lost a loved one won’t take anything you say seriously, no matter what you tell them. However, just leaving little things like that around makes the difference between a bad day and an okay day.”
By now, they’re now at the doors of their classrooms, before Soarin could enter, he heard, “Nice meeting ya.”
“Yeah, see ya,” and with that, they went to their classes before the bell rung.
_*_
Braeburn was not fine. Not because he was standing in an annoyingly long line at the grocery store, nor is it because his parents asked him to run his errand when he still has work to do. While irritating, it wasn’t what it was on his mind. Instead, he was meditating on a problem that had the name of Soarin.
‘Ah know this ain’t any way ta treat ‘em.’ He thought as he took a few steps forward. ‘But really, there’s no reason to be jealous right? He was the one who asked her out. Ah should be happy fer him that he’d found someone nice… again. Yet, Ah’m not. If anythin’, it’s almost like some stab in the back without ‘em knowin’ it.’
While he was thinking this, he didn’t notice that an orange fell out of his cart. However, that piece of fruit started to glow very light green and started to lift itself up until it was at the cowboy’s eye-level.
“What the-” He looked around to see who was doing this, finding a mint green girl behind him.
“You dropped this,” she said, Braeburn glanced at her cart, to find that she was carrying around more stuff he was.
“Thanks,” he held out his hand underneath the fruit until the aura around the orange to fall.
Catching it and putting in his cart, he heard from behind him, “Do I know you?”
“Huh?”
“You look familiar… I think you play a string instrument in Mr. H, do you?”
The yellow student raised an eyebrow, “Yeah…? Why?”
“Oh nothing really, it’s just that you looked familiar and I wanted to make sure.”
Braeburn shrugged, looking in her cart again, “Y’all got enough stuff fer a shindig on New Year’s in that cart of yers.”
“Oh, this isn’t really for me.”
“Let me guess,” he said as the line moved a bit forward, “You’re here because somebody sends ya on an errand?”
“More or less, it’s mostly for Mr. H actually?”
He turned around, “The Orchestra Teacher?” she nodded, “What for? You got the stuff for a few fruits and chocolate baskets there.”
“It’s a way of showing a bit of sympathy to him. You see, me and Sweetie Drops had found out that he had a spouse that recently passed away.”
“Really now?”
She nodded, “Yeah, Bonnie remembered what she was like when she had someone close to her had died. So, we came up with putting treats on his desk after class when he wasn’t looking.”
“Wait, so that was you? Huh, Ah was kinda wonderin’ myself who was doin’ that. But how come you don’t jus’ go up to him and talk to him? Eh… Ah’m sorry, Ah don’t think Ah got yer name, have Ah?”
“Call me Lyra. And no, we didn’t. Trust me, when it comes to people who are grieving, it’s best to show that you care by doing baby steps. Once he does get to the point where he will open up about it, then we can talk to him.”
“Huh… guess that make some sense.”
“You know what I just realized,” she said as they stepped closer to the checkout. "I don't think I've got your name, who are you again?”
“Braeburn.”
“Good ta meet ya,” she nodded.
“You too, and out of curiosity, how long are you and yer friend plain’ to give the guy gifts befor’ he talks?”
“Whenever he confronts us and tells us a bit of his husband.”
This made the cowboy snap his full attention to her, “Sorry?”
“What?”
“Maybe Ah didn’t hear right, husband?” she nodded, “But Mr. H is a fella.”
She gave a confusing look before realizing, “Oh! I didn’t mention that he’s gay have I?”
Braeburn blinked, “He… he is?”
“Uh-huh. But like I said, his spouse passed away in January, from what news we could find, the guy has been really depressed since then. So, in a way, Bon Bon and I are making an effort to show him a little bit of kindness, even when he doesn’t think he needs it.”
The cowboy didn’t say anything as it was his turn to unload his groceries and started paying them. This revelation that the girl name Lyra has given him was surprising, but it was this kind of news that he thought has fallen to his favor. Up until then, he was solely convinced that he was the only young man in town that was attracted to other guys so that he had no one to turn to whenever the issue has come up one way or another.
As he said his good byes to his fellow student and made his way to his car, there was a sense of relief that Braeburn felt, the fact that now, not only he wasn’t alone, but he has someone who he can talk with about how to solve his problem with Soarin.
_*_
“Everyone, rest,” Harmonic said as each sound died out before the students focus their full attention on their teacher. “Okay… I will have to say that you’re all doing better than yesterday, which is good. However, there are still a few things in my ears that are still off. Soarin, you were off beat and were a bit too loud; we need you to be on the beat with everyone else… Clarinet section, I keep hearing that on bar twenty-three that one of you is flat on the G. And Lyra, again, you are improving, but just watch out on the lower notes below middle A.”
The school bell rang, “Other than that,” the Music Teacher finished, “Class dismissed, but remember to practice on both of the pieces.” Students around the room went to their cases to put back their rented instruments before carrying them out of the room. Meanwhile, while his back was turned, Lyra carefully levitated the new basket of sweets onto the desk.
But what she didn’t realize was that her teacher was using his phone as a mirror and deduced quickly who was putting treats for the past month. “Lyra Heartstrings, may I speak with you?”
In the reflection, the green student paused like how a kid would be caught sneaking out of their room after bed time, and the basket dropped on his desk that nearly fell off. While Lyra stayed in place and Harmonic moved the wooden stool over to his desk, the rest of the class soon drained out into the halls, leaving the two of them alone.
“So I can safely assume that you’re the one who’s been leaving treats on my desk and leaving cards too?” He asked as he picked up the card of kittens that simply read, ‘Our Sympathies.’
“Well… kinda,” his student began. “Actually, it’s mine and Bon Bon’s idea.”
“Would you mind if I ask why? I think I might have a good idea, but I want to hear it from you first.”
Lyra put a hand over her arm, “We know about your spouse passing away, and we just felt sorry because Bonnie had someone close to her die too.”
Harmonic sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, “Look, Ms. Heartstrings. This is indeed kind of you and Sweetie Drops. I can see there are some good intentions behind both of your efforts. But, I must ask you both to please stop. I’m fine. I don’t need to be brought gifts by those who probably have never met either me or my spouse. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the time, money, and thought you two had put into cheering me up with candy, but to me, I’m sorry to say, this seems rather shallow.
“I can see that you are a good student, Lyra, you’re doing pretty well on the harp, especially for the Queen piece, but you have no reason to do this. So please, stop doing this. I’ll be alright. Now, you’re excused.”
Lyra didn’t say anything; she packed up the rest of her school supplies and headed out the door.
Harmonic turned to the basket and sat it behind his desk. Opening a drawer, he took out the score for the next period when out the corner of his eye, he spotted something on one of the student’s chairs. It was a note of line paper that said: ‘To Mr. H.’
Raising an eyebrow, he walked over the risers to pick up the note. It read, “Mr. H, Ah need to talk to ya, meet me in the Library durin’ lunch. – Braeburn.”
He was puzzled, for the next several hours until the bell rang for a lunch break, the Orchestra Teacher was a bit confused on what Braeburn wanted. As far as he knew, he was doing okay in his class. Not the best violinist in the string group, but he’s improving. Yet, this was not what piqued his curiosity, rather it was the fact that his student wanted to speak to him outside of his class room and not in between classes was peculiar enough.
But by the time the bell rang for lunch, Harmonic made his way over to the Teacher’s Lounge to wolf down his meal before he could confront his student. As he neared, there was the smell of something cooking as he neared the door.
When he opened it, he was half surprised to find that smack dab in the middle of the Lounge was a bar that was certainly not there this morning. It was a bar where the smells of roasting vegetables, butter, eggs, rice, and meats were sizzling on a flat, hot slab of steel. And behind it was Mr. Disc with a white bandanna with a red dot tied to his forehead.
“What’s going on?”
Many of the teachers turned to look at him, “Hey there Trotivari!” Julius called behind the grill, “Come on in and have a seat. I’m almost done with Cheerlee’s dish, so I’ll do you’re real quick.” He sat down in complete confusion next to Vice Principal Luna. “So what will it be? Teriyaki Chicken? Sukiyaki Steak? Or can I interest you in some Filet Mignon?”
“What are you doing?” Harmonic questioned.
“New hobby,” the Art Teacher said as he chopped up a flaming tower of onion. “Went to that new Japanese place on Applewood and I was impressed by the Hibachi chefs over there. So when I came in here and found out that everybody was eating the same old tuna sandwiches, I thought, ‘Why not give it a try?’”
The Violinist looked up at the ventilation system overhead before turning towards Luna, “Is this even legal?”
The blue Vice Principal swallowed her noodles, “I’m not too sure, to be honest. I guess as long as he has something to prevent the school from being set on fire and a way to divert any possible smoke, it should be fine. Besides, these are really good noodles.”
Mr. Disc asked him what the Violinist would have, “Just make something that’s quick, there’s a student that wants to talk with me.”
“Sure thing,” soon enough, the older teacher cleaned off space for him to dump a stack of vegetables and dosing them in oils and sauces. Once that was done, he asked, “So how are you doing today?”
“I’m okay; it’s just another day of teaching. What about you?”
“Never better,” he smiled, “I got an invite to Equestria for Spring Break. I don’t know about you, but I’m very much looking forward to going there again.”
Harmonic shrugged, “I’m not planning to go anywhere myself.”
“You still in the gloom?”
The Violinist frowned, “No, I am fine. I’ve told everyone and their cat this, I’m okay now.”
“Whatever you say,” Mr. Disc mused as he copped the vegetables. “By-the-way, do you want this with fried rice or not?”
Harmonic shook his head. “Hey, since I’m back here, there’s something I don’t think I’ve asked you yet.”
“Asked me about what?”
“Have you gone out with Celestia yet?” This got both Mr. Disc and Luna’s attention.
Julius sighed, “Look, Harm, I’ve already given that up a long time ago.”
Luna raised an eyebrow, “Hold on, you actually like my sister?”
He shook his head, “Not anymore. I believe that she had made it very clear that she has already much more to worry about than romance. Besides, I’m too old to date anyway. Oh and, here’s your vegetables,” Julius handed over a plate of steaming hot carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, and onion over to Harmonic with chopsticks.
One plate of veggies and Julius avoiding any further questions on Celestia later, the Orchestra teacher made his way towards the school’s library on the second floor. It didn’t take long to locate where his student was. He found Braeburn across the doorway in the non-fiction section of the library.
Walking over, Harmonic could pick up some physical cues coming off from the yellow cowboy. His fingers wouldn’t hold still, he’d been pacing around in the tight rows of books, and his eyes didn’t wonder off as soon as he spotted him. Clearly, his student looked very nervous about something.
“So…” Braeburn started in a low voice, looking at the other students in the library, “Y’all got mah note?”
“I did,” the Violinist raised an eyebrow, “Is there any reason why you asked me here?”
He nodded, “Let’s go to the back of the library, Ah don’t wanna attract any attention.”
‘What is going on?’ Harmonic thought as he silently followed him to the back of the sections of books. “Braeburn, what’s this all about?”
Once they were in the very back, the cowboy was certain that it’s just the two of them after looking around. He said, “To be honest, with all that’s been happenin’, Ah was kinda hopin’ you can help me.”
His teacher tilted his head, “I don’t quite follow.”
“W-Well… Ah…” he stumbled over his words. Sighing, he said, “This is gonna be harder than Ah thought.” After taking a moment to collect his thoughts he said, “Ah guess Ah oughta get this out there first. Mr. H, Ah’ve heard about yer uh… husband,” Braeburn whispered the last word almost under his breath.
Harmonic frowned, “Yes. I did have a husband, is there a problem Mr. Apple?”
“Wha? Oh! No! Nothin’ like that at all sir!” There was a ‘shush’ from somewhere in the library before he continued, “It ain’t like that one bit Mr. H. Ah don’t really have a problem myself because…” Braeburn muttered something under his breath, but this time, his teacher couldn’t hear him.
“Sorry? I don’t think I got that.”
His yellow student looked around once more, making absolutely sure that no one hears him whisper, “Ah’m… gay too, sir.”
There was a pause before the Orchestra teacher asked, “And?”
Braeburn sighed, “It’s just… since Ah’ve lived in a town where Ah think that Ah’m really the only one that… swings that way, Ah have literally nobody ta talk to. When you’re in a place where no one isn’t exactly like you nor have a clue what yer goin’ through, Ah guess that you’d feel, well, lost. But when Ah’ve heard that you’re… well… l-like me, only who’s older and knows what to expect out of life when Ah can’t turn to mah parents about these sort of issues.
“Sir, Ah ain’t here to tell ya about how sorry Ah am about what happened to yer husband because Ah don’t know what ta say about it. Ah’m turnin’ to you because yer the only one within who-knows-how-many-miles around that might actually get it. Someone who’ll listen ta me when Ah’m too scared of talkin’ with anybody else, so in a way that would get rid of the whole idea that Ah’m alone here.”
There was a pause; Harmonic put his hand underneath his chin. He could tell that his student was being honest with him. Not just honest, but willing to put his trust into his hands. In a way, he did know what Braeburn was feeling… perhaps, a little too well. He remembered being his age was anything but easy, especially when that sense of dread followed him around like a shadow. Unlike Braeburn, he didn’t have anyone to turn to in such a confusing time.
So… perhaps…
Harmonic leaned back against the bookcase, “I’m listening.”
Braeburn blinked… and blinked again, “You… you will?”
His teacher nodded, “The only thing I could offer you isn’t wisdom, but experience. For there’s a difference between the two – experience is learning from what has happened to you, wisdom is judging the experiences from yourself and others to give fair advice. I can assume that whatever happened to you in the past isn’t exactly like mine, but as a teacher, I’ll do the best I can to offer what I’ve learned from my experience to give you whatever advice you need.”
“Wow… Oh wow, thanks Mr. H.”
“So, now that you have my attention, what’s the problem?”
“Oh! Right,” the cowboy cleared his throat. “To start with, you know Soarin right?”
“Cloudline? The percussionist in the first period right?” he nodded, “Somewhat, why?”
“Well, he’s mah best friend ya see. He’s actually one of four people that know that Ah’m… you know. That includes mah cousin, her sister, you, and him. Ah’ve known ‘em since around Jr. High when we were on the same soccer team for our school. Out of all the people on that team, he was the one that I grew close to. Even when all the practices and tournaments were long over, we just wanted to jus’ hang out with each other, you know?” Here, the yellow student smiled fondly, “He’s always fun jus’ ta be around. Always filled with life, even when things weren’t goin’ well fer him, Soarin always found some reason to smile. Even somethin’ ta laugh at too. He’s the first one Ah’ve ever got any compliments after Ah made an apple pie all by myself fer the first time.
“So really, what could Ah say about ‘em, he doesn’t have any stick-up attitude. He’s loyal, that even when all my Jr. High buddies had faded, he still remained. He’s honest that even when he tells me somethin’ that Ah don’t want ta here, Ah still needed it.”
“If I didn’t know any better,” Harmonic commented, “I would say that you’re very fond of Soarin.”
Braeburn blushed, “Actually… Ah do. You’d might say that he indirectly helped me put two and two together in figurin’ out what Ah am. But the thing is, even when Ah told ‘em about mah orientation, Ah haven’t told him everythin’. Why would Ah? Especially when he goes out with these other girls every so often when they usually end up dumpin’ him, so in fact Mr. H, every time he talks about bein’ with ‘Ms. Perfect,’ Ah can’t help it but feel… well… jealous.”
“So I’m guessing that your best friend is going out with someone now?”
He nodded, “Yeah, with someone on the Wondercolts team fer about a month now. Ah don’t know what to worry about more: if this relationship with Fleetfoot will last fer a long time and that he’ll be happy; or that he’ll get dumped again and watch his heart get broken. He really does want a relationship with someone, but Ah fear that if Ah told him now while he’s with her, it would break this friendship of ours apart, and Ah can’t risk it.
“Mr. H, Ah doubt that he’ll return mah crush or whatever. In fact, don’t know why Ah’ve developed these feelin's fer him anyway. And Ah know that Ah can’t help it either, but it’s just another needle in the heart every time he goes off with one girl and comes back all sad like. Ah don’t want ta lose ‘em, as Ah’ve said, but Ah’m all at a lost at what ta do.”
Harmonic hummed in thought for a moment, “Braeburn, when I was about your age, I had convinced myself for a long time that I was a freak for many reasons, and yes, my sexuality was one of them. I had thought that nobody would be insane enough to fall in love with me. So you could imagine that I was pretty miserable. But when I first met my husband… to say that I was suspicious would be an understatement. He gave me something that I thought was impossible, a chance. Not at a romantic relationship, mind you, but a kind of friendship.
“Overtime, bit by bit, hangout after hangout, we grew closer. At the time, he was falling in love with me, but wasn’t sure when nor how to say it to me. Well, one night, he came to my home and tells me that he went back to his home/art studio and tells me that he was robbed. He came to my place because he didn’t feel safe there. Well, after he agreed to sleep on my bed and me on the couch, he saw me playing a lullaby on my violin and asked why. I gave him my personal backstory to him, and in that moment when he was trying to comfort me… Well… he gave me his first kiss… as well as mine. I guess he was too tired of hiding the truth from me.
“What I’m getting at here, is that if you want to tell Soarin your feelings, do so when you feel the time is right. Remember that. It may not be today or tomorrow, but when you feel that your friend is in a position where he’s willing to listen to you, tell him. Sometimes the truth really will set you free.
“If you know that your friendship is strong enough that telling him what your orientation is doesn’t destroy it, perhaps telling him your crush wouldn’t either. And remember, this is high school, not every relationship will last. If he does stay with her, at least tell him the truth so that at least he knows about how you feel about him. But if he doesn’t with her, remember, stand back when he falls, but you have to be there to pick up the pieces like a good friend, or a boyfriend would.”
The bell rang, signaling that class is about to begin.
“So, does that help?” Harmonic asked.
His student nodded, “Ah think so, thank ya, sir,” he smiled before he too started to head towards the Library’s doors.
“Braeburn,” he turned around when his teacher said, “Look, if there’s anything you want to talk about, you know where to find me.”
“Ah know,” the cowboy nodded, “Thanks fer really listenin’.”
With that, both the teacher and the student went their separate ways.
_*_
Harmonic turned his car off once he was parked in front of The Tai Kitchen. He was a little early, about five minutes ‘til six. He wasn’t sure if his son was here or not, after all, he couldn’t see his (nor his fiancé to be a car) anywhere.
Getting out, locking his car and walking through the warm door, he looked around the restaurant to see if there were any signs of his son. Sure enough, he spotted the head hair, a blue jacket that had a red quill and inkwell on the back. And in front of him was Page Turner, a girl with wire glasses over her spring green eyes and hair and her trademark deep green shirt.
The Violinist went up to the two of them, “I hope I’m not late.”
They looked up, Page was the first to respond by getting up and hugging him, “Hey Harmonic, how’s it been?”
“Good evening to you too Page,” Script’s father said. “Mind if I take a seat?”
“Here,” his son grabbed a chair from a nearby table and scoot it over to theirs. “We haven’t ordered yet,” he added.
Once Harmonic was seated, looked through the menu, and the three of them had given out their orders, he asked, “So Page, what have you been doing lately?”
“Oh, I’m applying for a teaching position at one of the schools. I’ve just put out my resume and I’m hoping that I would get an interview.”
“You could always teach at Canterlot High,” Harmonic suggested, “Maybe Celestia will have you teach English or a Literature class.”
“I’m just excited, to be honest,” she smiled. “I just can’t wait to be able to put all those years of learning into practice.”
“Yes,” Harmonic nodded, “It’s one thing to be taught something, but it’s completely different when you’re the one who’s doing the teaching.”
“I know, I have been undergoing a teaching course after all.”
“Okay,” he turned to his son, “So Script, and how you’ve been doing?”
“I think I’m doing okay with the newspaper. I’m kinda hoping that sooner or later that they’ll promote me to become a critic.”
“Oh, what kind?”
“Well, currently, film and movies are taken up already, so perhaps I might fall back on theater or music.”
“Remind me not to invite you to any of my student’s recitals,” this got Script and Page laughing.
Sometime later, their food arrives. The conversation drove into a discussion of movies that morphed into if the book was any better. When that debate turned into talking about the viewpoints of local politics, their plates were cleared and they ordered dessert.
It was at this time that Script said to her, “Hey Page, can I ask ya something?”
“What’s that?”
“Well,” he rubbed the back of his neck, “Are you… happy with me?”
She tilted her head, “What do you mean? Of course, I do.”
“Which leads to the next question, would you want me to be the kind of guy you want to go home to? I mean, that even when you had a chaotic, bad day, am I the one that you want to see when you walk through the door.”
“Yes, but where are you going with this?”
“Well,” Script reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a box, “I guess it leads to the all-important question,” he opened the box, to which Page covered her mouth at the ring that was inside. “Page, will you marry me?”
“Are you serious?” she asked. Script nodded, “For real?”
“Uh-huh. So, will you?”
She leaped across the table, “Yes! It’s about time you asked me that!”
In the moment of euphoric happiness, Script glanced at his father that maybe, for the first time in months, that he would at least crack a smile.
Instead, he got a respectable nod, and Harmonic raising his glass to this happy occasion.