“Enjoy the show,” the tick-tacker said as he handed the tickets over to Lyra. “Drive over to your left, and remember to set your radio to 108.5 AM.”
“Sure thing,” the mint musician took the tickets. “Thanks a lot,” and with that, she pulled her car down the path to find a spot in the expansive dirt parking lot.
The dive-in theater was always a kind of tradition for the two, especially from Sweetie Drops, who introduced it to her girlfriend. While never crowded, there were a few cars about that were parked in front of the massive curved tin wall that has one side painted white. In the center of this dirt arena surrounded by shrubs was a small shack that housed the projector and the expensive snacks. This is why nearly everyone had smuggled in their homemade treats, even the teenage couple.
“Park over here,” Bon Bon pointed to an empty spot. Her girlfriend pulled over, trunk facing the screen. Once that was done and turning off the car, the two of them proceeded to set up for the show. While the Candy Maker took out their hidden goodies, Lyra opened the trunk to have the quilt blankets and pillows set up. She also set the radio near the edge of the trunk and to have it set on the right channel.
“All set,” she called out as she hopped to her spot while her girlfriend came around to place the big bowl between them, along with a couple of soda bottles. “This is gonna be good.”
“I’ve checked the reviews for this,” Bon Bon proceeded to open one of the sodas. “Apparently, it has mixed reviews. Because people can’t decide if it’s too clichéd or entertaining for being another superhero movie.”
Her girlfriend rolled her eyes, “Come on, you can’t rely on critic’s opinions all the time. So what if it’s a superhero movie?”
“Yeah, but think about it, this is gotta be… what? The fifteenth movie about a superhero this year? It’s not that I’m complaining, but can we at least see something new every once in a while?”
Lyra sighed, “Okay, point taken. But for now, let’s just enjoy the movie. Even if it sucks, at least we can still make fun of it.”
“True,” Bon Bon reached for another bottle to open it and give it to her.
Once the projector flickered to life, showing the trailer of other movies, Lyra turned the radio on. Amongst the noise and Technicolor images, the green teen said, “Hey Bonnie, can I ask ya something?”
“Sure.”
Lyra sat up a bit straighter from her seat, “What do you think you’re gonna do when we graduate?”
Her girlfriend raised an eyebrow, “What’d you mean?”
“Well, I’ve been thinking, what do you think is going to happen once we’re done with our senior year? Grant it, college comes to mind, but, what happens to our relationship then?”
Now it was Sweetie Drop’s turn to straighten up, “Lyra, you know that we won’t separate, what’s got you thinking this?”
“Remember when you told me about how to dream about going to Calvin Hill University?” the Candy Maker nodded, “Well… the thing is with me, I don’t think that neither I nor my family could afford to go to that kind of school except for the one college here.”
“Is that what’s got you worried over?”
Lyra shook her head, “It’s a little more than that. Bonnie, do you think that when you do move away to that new school, that you might… I don’t know… find somebody better… then me.”
Immediately, Bon Bon wrapped an arm over her, “Oh Lyra,” she kissed her on the cheek, “Do you really think that I would do that? I mean, you’ve heard from our doubles in that pony world that they’re married, right?”
“Y-Yeah,” she blushed, “But how do you know if they’re not facing a similar problem too? What if something is happening that might force them to separate for good?”
“But, what do you want me to do? Tell my parents not to send those applications so that I might not have a better future?”
The green musicians looked down, “Look, I’m not saying don’t follow your dreams. Of course, I want you to. I’m just afraid that you might… forget me.”
“What about texting,” Sweetie Drops suggested, “Or emails? Even if we don’t see each other, at least we’ll keep in touch.”
“But it won’t be the same,” Lyra shook her head. “I’d rather see you next to me then read off from a screen. Believe me, I really do want you to go to this university, (that is if you get accepted) but I wish I can come with you too. And the truth is… I… I don’t know what to do either.”
Both of them sat in silence as one trailer faded for the next one to begin.
“You know,” Bon Bon said, fluffing her pillow, “We practically have a whole year before that decision can be made.”
“True, but I’m just thinking ahead here,” Lyra lay back down. “Since this relationship is going so well that… I just don’t wanna end it.”
“Me nether,” She messed her girlfriend’s green hair a bit, “And I promise that we’ll think of something. Right now, I don’t want to sour the night over something like this. Let’s just have a good time watching the move, ‘kay?”
Lyra sighed, “Alright Bonnie, but sooner or later, we really need to talk about this. However,” By now, they start to notice the opening credits to appear on the screen, “Let’s just enjoy the moment.”
Bon Bon nodded as she too lay back on her pillow next to her. Lyra turned the volume up on the radio and reached in for one of the homemade treats to start snacking on. She felt her girlfriend wrap an arm around her, and the musician couldn’t help but lean in closer. For now, the two of them tuned out of their concerns and focused on the screen.
_*_
‘C’mon Soar, you really ought to relax,’ the athlete scolded himself. Being the Fourth of July, and the family barbecue has been taken care of, Soarin was now driving towards the hillside where Braeburn’s farm was. ‘You’ve been on dates before. Why should this be any different? Except that it’s your best friend… that happens to be a guy… that’s actually into ya…’
In truth, ever since that revelation in late June about what he found out about his best friend’s feelings for him, the Wondercolt had some mixed feelings over their upcoming date. On the one hand, he had no idea whatsoever what to expect. Since he never dated anyone who was the same gender as he was, he was completely clueless as to what would come out of this.
On the other, this was Braeburn he was going with. He knew him better to think that the apple farmer would do anything out of line, he wasn’t like that. Besides, it shouldn’t be too hard, right? If anything, dating your best friend should be the easiest thing in the world, especially since he already knew him.
But there was one thing that Soarin Cloudline had repeatedly asked himself, ‘Why did I ask him out for anyway?’ To him, driving down the familiar dirt road towards tonight’s date, it doesn’t make any sense. He had no reason to ask him out, but did he?
‘And even more importantly, why am I okay with this?’
He shook his head to clear it. ‘You’re just gonna watch the fireworks from his place, there’s nothing weird about that.’ Soarin mentally told himself, ‘Who knows, maybe this’ll be fun or…’
Before he could think any further, his car pulled up onto the property where lines of cars that were from out of town had already parked. There was the smell of fresh apples from the seemingly endless lines of trees, and the alluring sent of barbecue that drifted from behind the house. As the blue athlete got out of the car, he went around finding a good chunk of the Apple family there. Even though the sun was just setting, there were many that were still eating their late dinner.
All around on tables and fold-able chairs, plates of smoked, grilled, and seared meats that have either been dipped in a sauce or on a bun where next to chips, cookies, and endless cans of sodas. The backyard was lighted by grape lights that strew overhead like a drunken spider’s web.
“Soarin?” he turned his head to find one of the Apple family members. In all honesty, he had seen her before at school. She was blond with freckles that always had a Stetson on.
“Uh, Applejack, isn’t it?”
“What ya doin’ here for,” she asked. “Shouldn’t Y'all be with yer family at this time? The fireworks are about ta be going off soon.”
“Braeburn invited me,” he looked around the family gathering, “Speaking of which, have you seen him?”
Applejack shrugged, “Beats me, he’s been appearin’ and disappearin’ all day. Yer welcome ta have look around, but Ah’m not sure if Ah can help ya find ‘em.”
“Thanks.”
“And hey,” she added, “If ya wanna have a bite, go right ahead, we’ve still had plenty to go through anyways.”
Soarin thanked her and started wondering around Aunts and Uncles, kids and elderly, searching for Braeburn. He had to dodge some of the kids that were playing with lit sparklers while at other times he had to walk over chairs and benches in hopes that he doesn’t run into anyone.
“Soar?” then he heard a voice from behind him, “You’re a bit early.”
The athlete turned around to find the yellow cowboy, “There you are,” he hopped off the chair, “I’ve been looking for ya. How’s it been?”
“Other than just about had it with today, pretty good,” Braeburn headed towards the house, “Can you wait here for a sec, there’s somethin’ Ah need ta get first.” A moment later, his yellow friend emerged from the house with a tinny radio with a pocketful of batteries, “Follow me,” he said, and Soarin did.
They weaved around the cowboy’s relatives and went into the orchard up the hill. With each step, the voices of the Apple clan got softer until there was nothing but a mummer.
“So…” Braeburn spoke, “How’s yer Forth?”
“Eh, pretty much like last year's,” his friend said while still following him from behind, “Went to the parade this morning.”
“Oh, Ah haven’t gotten the chance ta see it this year. How was it?”
“Bad. I don’t think that whoever put the thing together knew what they were doing. There were huge gaps between each of the floats, the papers that told who was coming down in what order was useless, and none of the songs they’ve played were any good.”
“Didn’t stay too long Ah imagine?”
“I think everyone started to leave by the twenty-minute mark. Kids were crying, it was hot, and for being a long route, there was not a single good spot to sit down.” The Apple Farmer chuckled, to which Soarin inquired, “So what have you been doing?”
“Me? Ah’ve been keepin’ mahself busy, with helpin’ family and… this,” he looked back with a smile, “Ya know, this here is actually mah first real date.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Anyways,” he kept walking forward, “since the day you asked me out, Ah’ve been thinkin’ and rethinkin’ about what ta do exactly. But since it’s the Fourth of July, Ah think this’ll be easy ta set up. Tell me, Y'all haven’t eaten much, had ya?”
Soarin shrugged, “We had a big lunch with my family, but I don’t think I’ve only had eaten dinner myself yet, why?”
“Wait and see,” Braeburn grinned, “it ain’t too far from here now.”
Several hundred feet later, they came to a clearing where it offered a view of the town, and the twilight sky above. Underneath an apple tree, Soarin saw that at the base of that said tree was a quilt, two coolers, a box of matches, two plates, plastic silverware, two huge pillows (the kind one would find on a couch), and hanging from the branches of trees by threads of twine were lanterns made out of mason jars where each had a candle in it.
Soarin blinked, “Dude… you made all of this?”
“Ah know the homemade candle thing is a tad much,” Braeburn said, trying to hide his blush. “But it’ll give us some light befor’ the fireworks. But c’mon, let’s have some grub.”
“What did ya bring up here anyway?”
“Somethin’ Ah know you’d like.” The cowboy went up to one of the coolers and opened it up to remove something covered in tin foil.
Soarin set the thing down and unwrapped it, “Aw sweet!” He grinned at the apple pie.
“Hold on a sec,” Braeburn went to the other cooler, which was full of ice, cans of sodas and, “Here it is,” he held up a tub of ice cream.
“Man, you really have thought of everything, have ya?”
“Like Ah said, Ah know ya well enough what you like,” he said as he plopped down at one of the cushions. “Besides, Ah’m a bit tired myself. So let’s dig in already.”
“Let’s,” Soarin sat down next to him as they dished out their plates of warm pie and cold ice cream. The athlete scooped up a forkful of the tart treat, “I’m guessing that you baked this yourself?”
“Of course, wouldn’t be any good if it wasn’t homemade.”
“Can’t argue with that bro,” another bite went into his mouth. “This is good pie though.”
Braeburn sighed in relief, “Thanks.”
“You know, I’m kinda impressed Brae,” Soarin said between mouthfuls. “That you set all this up for me.”
“Why wouldn’t Ah?” the farmer told him. “After all, bein’ mah first date and all, just wanna make sure that this was special.”
His friend chuckled, “It’s kinda funny in a way, I never really pictured you to be the romantic type.”
“Me?” he said, raising an eyebrow, “Romantic?”
“Well, come on dude,” Soarin waved his hand, “all of this with a view of the fireworks, on a hill, beneath a tree that’ll have some candlelight, on a soft quilt, and eating my favorite dessert? I can see that you’ve put a lot of effort into this.”
Braeburn shrugged, “Just thought that it’ll be… nice, since you know… Ah’ve never really gone out with anyone befor’.”
“Still,” the Wondercolt said after taken another bit of ice cream into his mouth. “All of this incredible that you’re doing this for me. Usually, it’s the other way around.”
“What ya mean by that?”
“When I go on dates, usually it’s me that does all the spoiling. Like, remember the time that I was dating… what was her name again? She was one that has a job at that flower shop, but you know who I’m talking about right?” his friend nodded, “Anyway, I remembered that I had to come up with what we’ll be doing. I mean, I went out to get some flowers, pick out where to eat and all that. She on the other hand just had to be concerned about what she looked like.”
“Wasn’t she the one whom you showed up to her doorstep and she fainted because one of the flowers was out of line?”
Soarin chuckled, “I can still recall what she said before she did. ‘The horror! The horror! One of the daisies is crooked!’” Both of them laughed for a bit, “Still, my point stands that I’ve never been at the receiving end where somebody treats me out.”
Braeburn's smile faded, “That’s kinda sad ta hear,” his friend asked why he thought so. “Because it’s kinda unfair ain’t it? That you’re the one that puts up somethin’ that shows how much you like someone, but they don’t do the same back.”
“Oh… I see,” the athlete looked away.
“Mind if Ah change the subject?” his friend asked, “When Ah told ya about… how Ah felt about ya, and you’d suddenly asked me out, why did you?”
“Uh… about that…” Soarin rubbed his neck, “Brae, mind if I tell you something?” he nodded, “Truth is… I don’t know. I have no idea why I did to begin with. It’s really weird, I know, even I’m still trying to figure out. But if I… had to take a guess-”
“Was it because you felt sorry fer me?” the apple cowboy interrupted.
“Um… kinda, but that wasn’t it,” Braeburn tilted his head, but his friend continued, “Please don’t tell anyone this but… whenever I looked back to what happened that day, the only thing I was really thinking at the time was… curiosity.”
“Ah don’t follow.”
“Thinking back to all those dates that crashed and burned, I wondered if there was something I was doing wrong, or maybe there was something that I overlooked. So ever since I asked you out, I’ve been thinking why too. At the time, it was as if the most natural thing in the world, ya know? For some reason, the whole idea of going on this date with ya… I was okay with it, but I don’t know why. I guess, what I’m trying to say is-”
“Hold on,” Braeburn's eyes widen, “Soar, yer not sayin’ that you're… are you?”
Neither of them spoke as the sun had set behind the horizon. The cowboy was about to speak when his friend broke the silence. “I… I don’t know. And I’m uncertain that I want to.”
“Why?”
“Because think about it. What if I’m not? Brae, I don’t want to hurt your feelings if I don’t feel the same way too.”
“And… if you are?”
“But how can I?” Soarin questioned, “I like girls, dude.”
“Still, Y'all haven’t answered my question.”
He sighed, “I don’t know man, wouldn’t it be… weird?”
“Weird how?”
“Like, say that I did like you back, how would that even work? Are there some rules for this?”
“Last Ah checked,” Braeburn leaned over to the cooler to pull out a soda. “Relationships are about workin’ together. Soar, Ah’ll say this, that even if you don’t really, like, like me back, it won’t be the end of the world because you said no. But if ya did…” here, he gave a small smile, “Oh what joy would that be if ya did. People would say that it won’t be anythin’ resembling traditional, but you’d know what? Ah would rather be happy above anythin’ else, and ta share it with ya. Soda?”
Soarin nodded after his friend handed him a soda, he added, “Yeah, I guess I need some time to think this over.”
“We’d got all summer. And besides, if this is really botherin’ ya that much, Ah know that Mr. H will help clear things up if ya ask.”
The athlete gave him a puzzling look, “Mr. H? As in the music teacher?”
“Yeah, don’t ya know? He’s gay too.”
Soarin blinked. “He is?”
Braeburn nodded, “Yep, his husband passed away months ago. He’s been mighty helpful ta me when it comes to advising. So if Ah were you, Ah probably go ask ‘em about it.” He then pulled out his phone, “Well, looks like it’s nearly time – wanna help me light these candles so we’d get some light?”
His friend got up, “Sure, I’ve gotten better using my wings that the other me had taught me.”
“Good, now take these,” Braeburn tossed him a box of matches, “If Y'all could get up to the higher ones and light those first, that’ll be appreciated.”
“Give me a sec,” Soarin closed his eyes and crouched to the ground before he sprang upward. As he did, blue wings appeared on his back in a blue light before they took physical form and began flapping. Soarin flew up to the mason jars that had the candles in them and went up to the highest one. Lighting a match, he lit these homemade lanterns one at a time.
Soon, the soft glow from these simple lanterns gave light to the tree, and the yellow farmer turned on the radio for the right channel. A pop song or two later, over the town by the river, long lines of light streamed upward and exploded with bright colors, “It’s started!” he said.
Soarin finished with the last few candles and plopped down right next to Braeburn as bright reds, stunning whites, and icy blues lit up the sky over the town.
_*_
“And your total is Seven-fifty,” the cashier said after ringing up the cash register.
“Thanks,” Harmonic pulled out a ten out of his wallet and gave it to the cashier for an exchange of a cup of hot chocolate and a bagel. By the time the young lady had given back his change, the Violinist chooses a spot at the Copper Pot Café, a seat by the window.
It was still morning, and judging by the lack of traffic from the window, it was going to be a pretty slow day. Or was it because it was raining?
‘Oh well,’ he shrugged and took a bite of his bagel, ‘At least a few of my students have canceled their lessons today. Maybe I could probably see a movie or something today. Perhaps call up Script sometimes ta see how he’s doing.’
The music teacher scanned whatever forms of life that dared ventured through the rain. A few cars passed by and even few had walked by. Then, he spotted one of his students with his hoodie up. He could easily tell it was Soarin because of the trademark thunderbolt on him.
His student noticed him too and paused. Even without the rain, Harmonic could tell that his student had something heavy on his mind – especially when the athlete looked between him and down the street as if he was trying to decide on something. A minute later, it seemed that Soarin had made up his mind and went into the café.
“Hey, there uh… Mr. H,” his student said as he walked up to his table.
“Morning,” Harmonic took a sip, “Did you need something?”
“Well… yeah. Mind if I sit?” his teacher didn’t mind so he took a seat across from him. “Since you’re here, I thought I should probably talk to ya.”
“About what?”
Soarin rubbed the back of his neck, looking around to make sure that he wasn’t being heard, “Do ya remember about what happened a while ago, with Braeburn?”
Harmonic raised an eyebrow, “I do, and if I recall correctly, the two of you agreed on a date, right?” he nodded, “How did it go by the way?”
“Surprisingly good… I-I guess.”
There was a pause between them while the Violinist sipped his cup, “And?”
“Well… ya see Mr. H, even before the whole… date, thing, I’ve been having weird thoughts.”
“About Mr. Apple?”
Soarin nodded, giving a small blush, “Kinda. But that’s the thing, up until then, I haven’t given much thought about it, even when Brae came out to me. But now, after the date… I… I wanted more, but I can’t figure out why.”
Harmonic raised an eyebrow, “So why are you coming to me with this for?”
“Brae mentioned that your spouse was a… a guy. And he said that you’ve been helping him out, so… I guess I’m just lookin’ for some advice here.”
‘When did I go from being an Orchestra teacher to an Agony Aunt?’ the Violinist thought. “And what advice is that?”
Soarin looked around once more, “I guess I should get straight to the point, huh? Maybe I should, but it might take a while.”
His teacher looked at the clock on the wall, “I’ve got time.”
“Right,” Cloudline took a moment to collect himself before asking, “Mr. H, am I gay?”
He blinked, “Sorry?”
Soarin’s blushed intensified, “I mean… with all the dates that I’ve been on, (all girls by-the-way) is it possible that I might be into guys but hasn’t realized it until now?”
“Oh boy,” Harmonic sighed, out of all the things he expected out of this morning, this wasn’t the kind of conversation he had in mind. “First of all, you do realize you’re talking about attraction, right?”
“I… guess so.”
“Okay, since we are going to have this conversation, tell me, what’s so different between your past dates and this one?” Soarin was about to open his mouth but his teacher quickly added, “Except what gender that Braeburn happens to be.”
“Well… are we talking about physical attraction?”
His teacher shrugged, “I suppose anything that you might find appealing, but it's a start.”
“Oh…” the blue athlete leaned back in his seat in thought. “Since you put it that way… physically, my dates were pretty and all. Even sometimes I would stair a bit, you know? Some of the girls at school aren’t too bad looking either.”
“And Braeburn?”
“Well… compare with them other than he’s… a he. Brae’s much more athletic than he gives himself credit for, but maybe that’s because he’s been on the farm since the start. Of course, he has this western look with the messy hair and that stupid vest.” Soarin gave a small smile, “Anyway, he’s one of those guys who I can easily go up against, he may not had been in sports for a while, sure, but the guy can easily be on the Wondercolts team if he wanted to.”
“What about personality traits?” Harmonic asked, taking a sip of his cup of hot chocolate.
“With the girls, I’ve been dating, most of them were nice. They laughed at my jokes and the stories I would tell about Ms. Spitfire. With some of them, we there were a few interests that they were into like certain rock bands, or what movies we liked or hated, things like that.
“But with Brae, heck, he’s already my best friend. I’ve known him for quite a while now. He’s incredibly loyal; he’s a bit of a goofball whenever anybody visits his farm but never to the point where he gets overly annoying. And from our little date on the Fourth, he’s dedicated to taking the time and effort so that we might have a good time together. He’s concerned about if I’m overall happy, and he tries to help out whenever he can.”
Harmonic nodded, “To be honest Soarin, from what you’ve told me, all I can say is that if you are gay or swing both ways, that there I can’t say. It’s not my job to tell you what your orientation should be, because sexuality is complicated for everyone. However, by the sound of it, you are fond of Braeburn Apple, much in the same way as he is for you. Where you want to take this is up to you. If you want to have a second date with him to see where this’ll lead, go ahead. And if you just want to remain as best of friends, go ahead. For the best advice I can give is follow your happiness and see where it leads you. Does that make any sense?”
Soarin put a hand under his chin, “I think so. I guess I still have some thinking to do.”
His teacher nodded, “Fair enough, oh and Soarin?”
“Yeah?”
“Be sure to work on your rhythm.”
_*_
“Okay, Ms. Heartstrings,” Harmonic said, “Let’s do this one more time, and remember to keep an eye out for those key shifts.”
Lyra nodded, “Sure thing. I think I’ve about got it this time.”
“You’re doing great,” Bon Bon told her from the couch.
“Now,” their teacher leaned on the piano. “From the beginning.”
The green young lady stretched her fingers out for a moment before putting them in the right position. Taking a moment, she glanced over at the music sheet once more at the dreamlike notes before looking over to her girlfriend who had a reassuring smile.
Returning to her harp, she plucked the first few notes of that Impressionist piece. Her mind thought of everything nocturnal. Of bright moons and tinny stars that gleamed behind the swirling deep violet and royal blue sky. Touches of deep emerald greens streaked across the sky as it too weaved among the colors of white, yellow and red stairs and tossed in a wind of light blue, white and Dijon yellows.
Then in her mind’s eye, there was her Bon Bon, holding her hand as they stargazed. Even in this unique light, she saw colors on her that she’d never noticed before. Her hair had different shades of blue and light purple, and the other part was a crimson that had swirling lines of pink, white, and light reds that curled, sifted and tumbled like water. Her face held many shades of pale creams and light eggshells that helped made her royal blue eyes popped. But there was that smile, it was simple lines of pink and orange, but it was warm like a summer’s night.
Even when she opened her eyes at the real Sweetie Drops, the only word that came to mind was beautiful, just as the music was.
Lyra’s hands plucked up and down the higher and lower notes, making each daydreaming note more real as she went on. Harmonic noted that her eyes opened and closed every so often, like how an artist would capture an image and put it down on a canvas.
‘Almost in the way that he would do it,’ Harmonic thought but shook the thought from him.
Eventually, Lyra finished playing and her girlfriend applauded, “Beautiful,” Bon Bon said.
“Better,” their teacher said, “Much, much better.” The Violinist looked at the clock, “And right on time too. Lyra, make sure you keep practicing that until recitals next month, whatever you did to make it sound like that, try to keep it in mind every time you play it.”
“Yes Mr. H,” the Harpist saluted as her girlfriend got up with the music sheet in her hands.
Sweetie Drops sat down next to her teacher and opened up her music.
“So, Ms. Drops,” Harmonic said, “How are you getting along with your piece?”
“I’m okay with it,” she opened up the lid to the keys. “Although, I did get a bit distracted on the Fourth since, you know, it was a holiday.”
“I see.”
“By the way how was your Fourth?”
Harmonic shrugged, “It was fine, although technically it’s not really my holiday.”
This got both of the couple’s attention, “What ya mean?” Lyra asked.
“Because, strictly speaking, Independence Day is a holiday that I was introduced to, not born with since, I wasn’t born in America.”
“Where you’re from?” Sweetie inquired.
“Have either of you ever heard of a Province called Cremona?” they shook their heads, “It’s in northern Italy where until I was… seven I think, was where I lived.”
“So you’re Italian?”
He shrugged, “More like Italian American, but yes.”
“Do you remember what it’s like in Italy?” Lyra leaned forward. “I’ve heard it’s really pretty over there.”
“By pretty you mean living close to the cold Apes by a forest, then yes. But, truth be told, as a kid, I never really liked it there.”
“How come?” they both asked.
The Violinist sighed, “Growing up there, the children and I didn’t really get along. There wasn’t a memory other than my parents what you might consider to be kind. In other words, I got picked on a lot.”
“How come?” Bon Bon asked.
Harmonic answered by raising his long, thin hand, “It’s my hands you see. I was born with something called ‘Marfan syndrome,’ which coincidentally is the exact condition that Niccolò Paganini had. And one of those symptoms is that I would grow unusually tall, that even my fingers and toes would grow very long, almost spider-like. I guess that it’s because of this that I’m able to play the violin so well. In fact, my parents saw this as a blessing because my dad made violins himself, and I was the perfect one to test every new instrument.”
“So, how come you guys moved here?”
Another sigh, “When I was seven, there was a fire that broke out in our workshop, that not only destroyed it but our home which was on top of it. We were able to get out while taking our most important possessions, however, the village suspected that…” Then, Harmonic’s expression hardened when he said under his breath, “Il ragno aveva fissato la fiamma dell'inferno sulla sua casa!”
“What?” Lyra asked and their teacher took a deep breath.
“Basically they thought that I was the one who caused the fire. And it’s this point that my parents had enough. We took whatever we had left and moved here, to America for a fresh start.” Harmonic gave a sad laugh, “I tend to think that we were like Gypsies at the time when we were traveling from place to place. But I’m afraid I’m getting off topic.”
“Hold on, if your parents came here with you, where are they now?”
Harmonic frowned, “Ms. Heartstrings, let’s just say that I and my parents had some disagreements and put it like that.”
Both of the teenage girls glanced at each other, agreeing that they should probably stop now before they get too deep into something personal.
“Anyways,” their teacher said after clearing his throat, “How about we hear about that piece of yours, Ms. Drops.”
_*_
Braeburn whipped the sweat off his brow, all morning he had been pruning the trees of the water spouts off of the trees. He’s been climbing up and down each and every tree with a pair of sharpens sheers to cut the branches that pointed straight upward.
It was then that he felt his phone vibrate along with a ring. Putting the sheers over his neck like a yoke, he reached in his pocket to find that he got a text.
That said text was from Soarin.
‘Hey,’ it said, ‘how’s it going?’
Wanting to take a break, he replied, ‘Helpin’ with the farm. Why?’
A minute later, he got his answer, ‘I just had a ton on my mind lately.’
‘Is it about the date?’
‘Yeah… I know I haven’t talked to ya much, sorry about that.’
‘Nah, you’re good. So what’s on your mind?’
For several minutes, Braeburn got nothing on the other end. But before he was about to put his phone back in his pocket, it rang.
‘U see, I’ve been wondering if I’m gay or not because… I’ve been thinking a lot about ya and I still don’t know why. But I had a talk with Mr. H some time ago about it. And he’d helped me about where we go from here.’
The cowboy’s heart sank when he read it, ‘Oh… and what‘s that?’
‘Brae… do ya… want to go out again sometime?’
He couldn’t believe what he was reading. Braeburn had reread it several times to make sure that not the light, nor were his eyes playing tricks on him.
‘For real?’
‘Yeah. I guess it’s only fair that I treat U out and all.’
The young farmer could feel his heart skip a beat. With a mile long smile, he texted back, ‘Of course I’ll go out with ya! When and where?’
‘How about next Saturday, I still need to figure out the rest, but I’ll keep in touch.’
‘Soarin, thank you. Thank you so much!’
‘No problem man. See ya.’
‘U 2,’ with that, after putting his phone back, he looked around the orchard to make sure he was alone before he hollered for joy.