Quiet

by bahatumay

Chapter 5

Vinyl walked down the street, her hands in her pockets. Her music was blasting in her ears, but she wasn't even sure what song it was, because her mind was on other things.

Cute?

That didn't really mean much, though. Lots of things were cute. Kittens. Fluffy dogs. Unicorns. Octavia’s bow tie. Those little compact cars that looked like toasters.

Ooh, a list song? She stepped off the sidewalk, sliding off her backpack, then pulled out her notebook and wrote those down.

She made it to school before she realized that that could be a good opening for a conversation. Feeling somewhat inspired, she pulled her phone out and tapped on the line that said Muffins.
>Hey, I'm writing some song lyrics, what are some things you think are cute?

There wasn't an immediate response. She bit her lower lip and then put her phone away. She didn't want to seem too des-

Her phone vibrated and she yanked it out of her pocket.

>>Kittens, small pastries, does my sister count?

>Sure.
Vinyl had never met her sister, but that seemed like a safe enough response.

>>I didn't realize you wrote your own music. 🎶

Vinyl thought of her four albums she'd released on streaming services. But she wasn't getting tons of streams and didn't want to sound like she was bragging.
>I dabble.
>What did you think I did in my soundbooth?
>It's not just a quiet place to fart.
Vinyl winced, her fingers scrabbling at the keyboard. She hadn't really meant to send that one. It had been funny in her head, but she wasn’t sure how that would translate.
Thankfully, the response she got was

>>🤣

Vinyl let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Friendship was stressful!

---

But as it turned out, friendship got easier.

After school, Vinyl lay on her back on the grassy ground, her headphones on, eyes closed, just listening, waiting for Octavia to come tell her it was time to go. It was so easy to get lost in her music. It was easy to just… be.

And then she felt someone’s eyes on her. It was probably Vice Principal Luna—Octavia would have made her presence known a little more physically—but it was after school and she had no power here. Besides, she was enjoying this part of the song, and so she did her best to ignore her.

But she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched, and so she finally opened one eye.

She was being watched, but it wasn't Luna. It wasn't even Octavia.

Muffins cocked her head and gave her a little wave.

She scrambled to yank her headphones off of her ears and gave her an apologetic smile as she dug frantically in her pocket for her phone.
>Sorry! Didn't see you there.

“It’s fine.” Muffins giggled, her eyes flicking down to the headphones Vinyl held, which were still playing loudly. “For someone who likes quiet, you sure do like it loud.”

Vinyl grinned and responded. >Yeah, but you know, day and night, hot and cold, sweet and spicy, you need opposites in your life.

Muffins nodded, then paused and looked at the phone again to reread the text. She cocked her head. “I thought it was sweet and salty?”

>I think they form like this trifecta of flavors. Like sweet is tonic, you have to start and end with it, spicy is dominant, and salty is subdominant because you can’t end with it but you need it for more flavor.
As soon as she sent the text, the thought occurred to her that Muffins might not have understood musical theory. How else would she explain it?

But this fear was unfounded, she giggled understandingly. “And no love for sour or bitter?”

Vinyl shuddered and shook her head.

“Well, what about sweet and sour sauce?” Muffins challenged, raising an eyebrow. “That’s a good combination.”

Vinyl paused, then nodded. She did like that.

Actually, now that she said that, that was sounding really good, and her last gig money was still in her wallet. She sat up, her thumbs working the keyboard.
>I could totally go for that. You want to come with? We can go tonight.
>There’s a buffet restaurant I know of.
>I’ll buy.
She added that last one just in case Muffins thought she wanted her to pay.

Muffins read the texts and hesitated slightly, then bit her lower lip. “I don’t really have time today,” she said regretfully. “And I really have to get going.” She quickly brightened. “But I could do Saturday?”

Vinyl nodded eagerly.

“Alright. See you then!” She waved and started walking away.

Vinyl smiled. And then her eyes widened as she quickly typed another message.
>Oh, wait. Are you lactose intolerant?

Muffins looked down, then looked over her shoulder and shook her head. “I couldn't handle that,” she said with a little chuckle. “My favorite muffin recipe has sour cream in it.”

Vinyl squinted, and her nose crinkled. She put sour cream on tacos. She couldn't imagine putting it in a baked good. That just sounded wrong. >You’ll have to show me sometime.

Muffins smiled a genuine smile and nodded again. “Can’t wait.”