Quiet

by bahatumay

Chapter 4

Lunchtime was Vinyl’s least favorite time of the day. It wasn't that she didn't like food, because she did. It was just the location. The lunchroom was loud and full of chattering and chairs scraping and laughter and the occasional gag from someone who had apparently somehow made it this far in their life without learning how to chew properly.

So right before she stepped through the door, Vinyl pulled her headphones out of her pocket, unfolded them, and slid them over her ears. She let out a quiet sigh of relief as her music blasted. Much better. Loud music beat loud noise any day of the week.

She waited in the lunchline, picking up her food from Granny Smith (odd name, really; was she even related to anyone in the school?). She may have been old, but she could make anything taste good. She left the line, holding her tray, and scanning for a place to sit. Octavia usually sat with some of her orchestra friends, and Vinyl tended to tag along, and sure enough, there was an open spot next to her. She slid in, nodded her greeting, and started eating her lunch.

With her music and her lunch, Vinyl wasn’t paying much attention to her surroundings. So when Octavia nudged her to get her attention, she didn’t have any context as to why. It could have been a response to a joke, or maybe her phone was going off, or maybe-

Muffins was approaching.

Vinyl sat up and reached up to quickly push her headphones off.

Muffins held up a familiar-looking plastic container. It now held a few small muffins. “So, uh, I wanted to say thanks for the bread, so I brought you some muffins.”

Vinyl quickly grabbed one.

Octavia gave a polite chuckle. “Thank you,” she said. “Really, it was nothing.”

Vinyl hit her gently on the shoulder with the back of her hand and gestured to the muffin. Stop talking. Try it.

Noting how earnest she was being, Octavia did just that. Bemusedly, she picked up the muffin, peeled back the paper, and took a small, dainty bite.

Her eyes widened. “Oh, my,” she said, and she quickly took another, but larger this time.

Muffins beamed.

“That is rather tasty,” she said, looking intensely at it. She shook her head, remembering her manners. “Would you like to join us?” she asked, scooting to one side.

Muffins winced. “I actually have homework I need to get done,” she said. “But thanks.”

Vinyl nodded, her mouth still full of muffin.

Octavia waved to her as she left, and as soon as Muffins looked away, she grabbed Vinyl by the shoulder. “You'd better invite her over again soon,” she said firmly.

Vinyl raised an eyebrow, wordlessly asking for clarification, because her first thought was of Octavia joining them, and she wouldn’t have enjoyed it and they would have been cramped; her soundbooth wasn’t really that large.

She leaned in and confided, “Don’t tell her, but I’m going to one-up her with my fudgy brownies.”

Vinyl expelled air out her nose and grinned. They competed, she won. This sounded good to her.

---

Vinyl lay on her beanbag and rotated her phone in her hand. Great. Invite her over. Easy.

Then why was she drawing a blank on how to do it?

This didn’t seem like it should be that hard. People texted all the time. She texted all the time. But something about this was slightly different. She just had no idea where to start.

Maybe she could ask Octavia?

She chuckled mirthlessly. She wasn't that desperate.

Not yet, anyway.

Finally, she typed a single word and tapped the ‘Send’ icon.
>Hey.

That was good, right? Open-ended, nonthreatening.

>>Hey!

Oh, she got a response. Now she needed-

>>How’s it going?

Oh, and a first question! Alright. This was doable.
>Not bad. School’s been rough, though.

>>No kidding!! 😭

Vinyl realized she wasn’t sure if there was etiquette for this kind of thing, so she decided to just go for it before she overthought it again.
>Want to come over again?

>>Yes!

Vinyl blinked. Well, that was relatively painless.
>Alright. When?

>>You’re the one asking me! 🤭

Vinyl cracked a smile.
>Yeah, but what if I give you a time and you come over and your alarm goes off two minutes later and you have to leave?

Her brow furrowed slightly. Was that a little too far? She wasn’t sure. Maybe she should have asked Octavia.

>>Yeah, I wouldn’t like that. 😔
>>How about tomorrow?
>>Or is that too quick?

Huh. Vinyl let herself think for a moment that maybe Muffins was just as awkward at this as she was. She knew it couldn’t be—she was very nice and made some absolutely bomb muffins; she probably had tons of friends.

Ooh. There could be a lyric in there somewhere.

Oh, she needed to respond. She didn’t really like it when someone took too long to respond to her.
>Tomorrow is great. Same time?

>>I’ll be there! 🙌

She switched conversations, tapping the purple treble clef.
>Tomorrow at 4?

Octavia responded quickly.
>>>Brilliant. I’ll be ready. Prepare to have your socks knocked off!

One side of Vinyl’s mouth poked up as she typed her reply.
>What if I’m only wearing sandals?

>>>Then at least be sure to wear knickers!

Vinyl squinted, then switched to her web browser and did a quick search.

Ok, that was funny.

---

Right at four, Muffins knocked on the two-toned door.

Octavia opened it. “Ah, Muffins.” She inclined her head as she stood aside to let her in. “A pleasure to see you.”

If she found the somewhat formal greeting odd, she didn’t show it. “Mm-hm,” she said, stepping in. She looked up, her brow furrowing slightly as she smelled something else.

“Oh, that?” Octavia said airily. “It’s nothing, really. I was just craving something sweet.” She pointed. “Care for a brownie?”

“Sure,” Muffins said, following her in.

Vinyl was at the table, a brownie already in her mouth. She gave Muffins a thumbs-up, her cheeks full of brownie.

With that endorsement, Muffins quickly sat down. She took a bite and moaned as little fudgy bits fell to the napkin. The brownie was so rich and thick!

Octavia met Vinyl’s eyes and gave her a smug smile.

Vinyl thought she was trying too hard, but she wasn’t about to do anything that could jeopardize more baked goods, so she winked.

Her attention was drawn to the side. Muffins had taken a bit too big of a bite, and she had a big chunk of brownie stuck on the roof of her mouth. Her head tilted as she struggled to get it off with her tongue.

It was cute!

…

Cute?

Vinyl looked down at the table, her brow furrowing. Where had that come from?

She looked up and realized that while she had been lost in her thoughts, Octavia had gotten Muffins some milk, averting the crisis.

Muffins looked over at Vinyl. “That… might be enough for now,” she said, a little embarrassed.

Vinyl nodded and led her back to the soundbooth.

---

Octavia was sitting at the table when they emerged. She looked up from the multiple books around her and waved goodbye.

As soon as the door shut behind Muffins, she pushed the book in front of her out of the way, revealing that it was a cookbook. “So, when is she coming back?” she asked primly.

Vinyl raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, come now,” Octavia said. “My brownies were met with less than thunderous applause.”

Vinyl gave her an askance look. She had enjoyed them.

“So I'm switching to something savory. She's not lactose intolerant, is she? I think my next attempt will be a nice pizza.”

Vinyl nodded eagerly. Octavia could do no wrong in a kitchen. She pulled out her phone.

“Not right now,” Octavia said, sounding slightly exasperated. “I wouldn't want to come across as desperate.”

Vinyl’s thumbs hesitated. Did she come across as desperate?

“Oh, you can text her,” Octavia clarified. “And I think you should! I'm thrilled you've made a friend.”

Vinyl gave her a flat look, feeling a little patronized.

“Just, er, leave me out of it. For now, anyway.” She smiled.

Vinyl shook her head. And Octavia thought she was weird.