The Touch Volume 1
"The Void"
By: Myke D
Part 1: The Dreamer
Chapter 5: Music
I hated Mondays. It was the worst day of the week for me in my old home. It was the day of the week that I would have to hide all of the limps and bruises I had acquired from the monster over the weekend. Now, I didn't have the physical injuries to deal with any longer... I only had the emotional pain to suffer through. Even though I dreaded going to school, Deedra and Sheldon always made it bearable. They knew about my scars and they refused to tell anybody what had happened to me. To me, the sea of faces that stared back to me as I traveled through the crowded hallways, knew everything that was wrong with me. I felt like they knew that I was a foster kid who had spent the majority of the weekend in tears as he struggled with his own demons. If one person knew your secrets in school, everybody knew your secrets. I had learned that a long time ago.
Deedra and Sheldon were already in our homeroom when I finally got there after putting my phone in my locker. Sheldon was busy trying to catch up on some homework that he didn't get finished over the weekend, while Deedra was talking to the girl in front of her.
"Hey, Zach!" Deedra greeted me warmly as I took my seat behind her. "Did you have a good weekend?"
"It was okay," I said with a shrug. "What about you, Deedra?"
Deedra smiled as she proceeded to tell me how her mom and dad took her shopping at one of the big city malls on Saturday. Deedra had blew through five-grand before her father finally called an end to her spending spree.
"If I would have know he was going to give me a limit, I would have bought more of what I really needed." Deedra said with a giggle.
I glanced over to see that Sheldon was fighting his way through several math problems. My friend's brow was scrunched up in concentration and he had his tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth. I giggled as he glanced up at me.
"What?" Sheldon demanded with a curious smile.
"Nothing," I said with another giggle. "You just looked funny with your tongue sticking out of your mouth."
"It's how he concentrates, Zach." Deedra teased Sheldon with a light giggle.
"Hey!" Sheldon exclaimed in protest. "That's not fair!"
"Good morning, everyone!" Mrs. Coster said, effectively ending our private conversation.
I had already finished my homework, so I pulled out my sketchpad that Greg had bought for me and started to draw random things. The rest of my morning was a quiet affair and I was looking forward to lunchtime. Deedra and Sheldon had the middle lunch period, so I usually just took a table to myself in the corner of the crowded room. I had just settled in and pulled out the bologna sandwich that Natalie had packed me when several other kids joined me.
"You're Zachary, right?"
I glanced up at the sound of my name to see the dark-haired girl from my homeroom sitting across from me with a smile on her face. I nodded briefly as I realized that there were seven other people occupying my private space.
"I'm Ava Daniels." The girl thrust her hand out towards me, and I hesitantly shook it. Then, she pointed at the boy that sat down to my left. "That's Chad. He's in our Choir class. He's also in the Drama Club, so don't get him started on the Musical, or we'll be here all day."
"Hey!" The black-haired boy said in mock horror before he giggled and winked at me. "We do have a few spots if you're interested."
"Uh, no thanks." I said with a quick shake of my head.
"That's a shame, Zach!" Chad said with a slight grin. "I've heard you sing, man. You've got a great voice!"
"He's right, Zach!" The blonde-haired girl to Ava's right said with a smile before she introduced herself to me. "I'm Heather Morris. I'm surprised that you haven't tried out for more singing events here in school."
"Give him time, Heather." Chad teased her.
Heather motioned to the dusty brown-haired boy beside her. His green eyes were watching me curiously and I felt myself blush under his scrutiny.
"This is my boyfriend Paul." She introduced him with a smile. "He follows me everywhere."
"I'm not that bad, am I?" Paul asked with an innocent look on his face.
"Yes!" The remainder of the group answered in unison. I laughed as Chad bumped his shoulder into mine. Paul spent the remainder of the lunch period sulking.
Samantha was the red head of the group and she sat in the spot to my right, while a blonde-haired boy named Hunter sat across from her. Samantha had the temperament to match her red hair, and she proved it when Hunter made the sore mistake of calling her a ginger. For a moment, I seriously thought her head was going to start spinning right off of her shoulders.
Simon sat beside Hunter, but the shy boy didn't say much when Ava introduced him. Simon just nodded, and acted like it was no big deal, for which I was extremely grateful. I listened as the group continued to talk amongst each other, but it was Chad and Ava that decided to talk to me the most.
"What do you have after this, Zach?" Ava asked.
"English," I said with a shrug.
"Mrs. Coster is so easy to get along with," Chad said with a grin. His green eyes seemed to sparkle in the cafeteria lights. "All you have to do is stay awake and do your homework."
"I swear she doesn't fail anybody!" Ava said with a laugh. "I've got Health next."
"I had that last period," I said with a shrug.
"That's surprising," Ava said in confusion. "Normally Sophomores only have Health either fourth period or fifth period. What do you have during fifth?"
"Biology," I replied.
"How did you manage to get out of Geology?" Ava asked.
"I tested out of it," I shrugged. "It was either take a Science class of some kind or take another Study Hall. I decided that the extra credits could help me."
"That's pretty cool, Zach." Ava complimented me.
"I always wondered why you were in my Science class, Zach." Chad added with a chuckle. "I guess I could have just asked."
The bell rang and I almost sighed in regret as everyone started gathering up their trash. I said my goodbyes to my new friends before I made my way back to my locker to get my book for English and to check my phone. I had one message from Natalie waiting for me.
Natalie: I have a meeting with Toby's new Principal at two. I might be a little late. Can you hang out and wait for me in the Choir Room like last time?
Me: Yes, ma'am.
I made sure the reply sent before I slipped my phone back into my locker and closed it. I made my way to Mrs. Coster's room for my English class as I thought about having to stay late. It didn't bother me as I had already done it a few times. Mrs. Grant, the Choir Teacher, was usually in her office late anyways, and she didn't mind if students hung around as long as they kept the noise down.
During Biology, Chad and I were assigned to work on a small project together. We talked quietly about our different interests while we drew out the different parts of a cell. We used my sketchpad to do the drawing, and Chad happened to see the picture I had made of Sheldon.
"Wow, man." He said in disbelief. His green eyes were wide in awe as he took in the drawing before I pulled out the next blank page and quickly slipped my sketchpad back into my notebook. "You're very talented, Zachary. Are you in Art at all?"
"No," I said with a shrug as I set to work drawing.
Chad pulled out his notebook and wrote out the descriptions to the different parts of the cell. I finished the drawing long before he finished with the descriptions of the cell's parts. Chad's handwriting was crisp and easy to read. He didn't even seem to mind me glancing over his shoulder before I drew lines from the parts of the cell out into the spaces. I labeled each line according to Chad's list before I decided to use the remaining time adding some finer details to the sketch.
"Holy shit, dude!"
I jumped at the sound of Chad's astonished voice and nearly broke the tip off of my pencil.
"I'm so sorry, Zachary!" Chad quickly apologized and grabbed my arm apologetically to keep me from falling out of my chair. "I didn't mean to scare you, dude, but look at your drawing!"
I stared down at the drawing and realized that I had went into more detail than I had originally planned. Chad slid the piece of paper over to his side of the desk and pulled out his textbook. He flipped to the section about cells and stopped once he found the picture he wanted.
"This is amazing, Zach." Chad praised me as he compared my drawing to one of the pictures of a microscopic cell.
"Thanks," I mumbled with a blush. It was then I realized he had just pulled out his textbook. I hadn't pulled out mine either. We had done the entire thing by memory alone. I glanced over at his notebook to see that he had finished his part of our project. "Did you do this from memory?"
"Yeah," he said with a smile and shrugged. "My father's a Research Scientist and has been preaching this stuff to me all of my life." Then, he glanced at my side of the table and saw only my pencil lying there. A broad grin broke across his face as he shook his head in disbelief. "You didn't use your book, either. Wow, man." He was about to say something else, but we both jumped at the sound of Mr. Jackson's voice from behind us as he looked at our work.
"Great job, boys." He told us as we handed the assignment over to him. "Consider yourself partners for the remainder of the year. You may as well stay in these seats, too."
My bench had been empty anyways, so it didn't matter to me. Chad however smiled happily.
"Thanks, Mr. Jackson." He said happily.
The Biology teacher moved on to the next table while we sighed with relief. The overweight man was usually very judgmental of my work, but he had actually given me a compliment. I sighed with relief and smiled. Chad reached over and shook my shoulder and smiled at me.
I did all of my homework during Study Hall and decided to stow my textbooks in my locker for the day. I kept my notebook and my sketchpad in my bag before I made my way to Choir for my last class.
Deedra chatted to me happily until Mrs. Grant moved to the front of the room. Then, Deedra abandoned me for her own chair. Chad moved to his seat behind me and nodded at me with a smile.
Choir was my favorite class, and it always seemed to make me smile, no matter what type of day I had been having. Even when the nightmares had been so bad that I couldn't sleep, I was able to leave school in a good mood. Exhausted, but happy. Once the class was over, I made my way to the front of the room as the tide of students rushed out. MY friends said brief goodbyes to me as they passed by, and I was soon alone except for Mrs. Grant. The teacher was only in her low forties and had silky blonde hair that she always wore pulled back in a ponytail at the back of her head. She kept the two strands loose down either side of her slender cheeks accentuating her hazel eyes. She was always in a pleasant mood, and never let the pressure get to her. The woman smiled as I approached her.
"Hello, Zachary." She greeted me pleasantly. "You did very well, today."
"Thank you, Mrs. Grant." I said with a blush. "Do you mind if I play the piano for a little bit while I wait on Mrs. Harris to get here? She has a meeting with Toby's principal and said that she would be running a few minutes late."
I felt myself beginning to get flustered, but Mrs. Grant had been one of those teachers informed of my mental instabilities. She just smiled at me and waved me towards the baby grand piano at the front of the room.
"It's yours until the Varsity Choir gets here, Zachary."
"Thank you," I said with relief before I moved to the piano and sat down on the bench slowly.
It had been a long time since I had been able to play the piano, and I hadn't even tried out my skills since the near-death experience. I closed my eyes and ran my hands through a few scales, smiling as the sound resonated throughout the room. I opened my eyes to see a piece of sheet music already in place on the stand. I spread the music out and scanned it once. The name of it was `Move On', and the words Varsity Choir was written across the top. It was for multiple voices, but I settled on the top male voice and studied it closely. It looked like it was in my range, so I started to play through the opening of the song. I could feel the sadness in the tones of the music as my fingers slid across the ivory keys, so I adjusted the tone of my playing to match it.
"I thought this moment would last forever..."
"I guess I was wrong..."
"I used to think I was meant for nothing..."
"I had to stay strong..."
"How could I move on..."
"After all that I've been through..."
"I feel so lost and abused..."
"Completely confused..."
"How do I carry on..."
"I have to stay strong..."
I let myself get carried away with the flow of the music as it began to build in momentum like a declaration.
"This is my chance; this is my moment..."
"I can't let it pass me by..."
"I have to take control of my life..."
"At least I'll know I've tried..."
"This is my moment..."
"To move on..."
As the music toned back down, I noticed that there were other voices singing along in the background. I snapped my head up to see Chad and several members of the Varsity Choir standing in the first two rows with wide smiles on their faces. Chad and Samantha both motioned for me to continue playing. I stumbled slightly on the notes which only made me blush even harder before I picked back up on the song. I didn't sing nearly as loud as I had when I thought I was alone.
"How do I let go of the past..."
"Wait a second, Zachary." Chad called out with a brief motion and I immediately brought my fingers to a stop. The music hung in the air for a moment as Chad walked over to me and sat down beside me on the bench. He spoke in a low voice. "Don't get all shy on me, now. Keep singing like you were before, dude! Don't hold back. Nobody here is going to judge you for enjoying the music. Especially, when we all love to sing the way you do. Go ahead, start the second verse again."
I blushed and nodded before I moved a few measures back and began playing again. Chad continued to sit beside me as I let the emotions of the music wash over me.
"How do I let go of the past..."
This time, Chad didn't stop me, so I figured I was doing it right. He was right though. It felt good to let go, and just enjoy the song for what it was meant to be.
"When the future is coming up so fast..."
"When it comes to yesterday..."
"What am I supposed to say..."
"To make all of the pain go away..."
"It doesn't matter anymore..."
"I just have to keep moving forward..."
The music picked up again as I heard everyone singing different parts of the song around me. Chad had a rich baritone voice and his part of the song blended with what I was singing like he was my harmony. I didn't even realize that I had tears on my cheeks as I sang along with the group.
"I have to keep my head up towards the sky..."
"Let my spirits soar on high..."
"I have to stay strong..."
"I have to move on..."
"Yes, it's time to move on..."
"It's time to let go of the past..."
"The future is coming up fast..."
"I have to stay strong..."
"I'm going to move on..."
"Yes, it's time to move on..."
I played out the last few chords of the song with a slight grin on my face. Chad pulled me into a tight hug as everyone began to cheer.
"You have no idea how amazing you truly are, do you?" He whispered in my ear. "That was fucking amazing, dude!"
Chad made me stand from the bench as everyone clapped. It wasn't just the Varsity Choir that was in the room any longer. There were at least thirty other students and teachers crowded around the door. I felt my face flush red once I saw Natalie standing next to Mrs. Grant. Both women had tears in their eyes as they smiled at me. Toby suddenly launched forward from Natalie and jumped into my arms. I felt his body trembling as he hugged me tightly and sniffled into my neck. All I could do was hold him and rub his back. It was taking everything I had to keep myself from having a panic attack.
"Who is this?" Chad asked with a grin.
"My little brother," I said happily. Toby squeezed me even tighter when he heard my answer.
Samantha and Heather came over to join us.
"Zachary!" Samantha forced me into a tight hug from the side. "Are there any other talents that you're hiding from us?"
Suddenly, we were surrounded by several other people that were congratulating me. All I could do was nod my thanks as Chad seemed to notice my apprehension and kept the crowd moving.
"Well, Mr. Brody." I blushed as Mrs. Grant joined us with Natalie. "I do have to say that I wasn't really expecting a show this afternoon. That was amazing, young man. I can't believe that a voice like that would come out of someone as tiny as you. Just... Amazing."
I glanced at Chad to see that he was looking at me like he was starstruck. I blushed slightly and turned my attention back to the teacher and Natalie.
"If it's okay with your mother, I would like to offer you the open spot in our Varsity Choir."
Mrs. Grant's offer left me stunned and I stared at the woman in disbelief. I glanced at Natalie as she smiled.
"It's up to you, Zachary." Mrs. Harris said.
Then, Toby leaned away from me and put his hand on my chest. His hazel eyes seemed to sparkle in the light of the classroom, and he smiled at me. He nodded once and I smiled shyly.
"He's not the only one of us that thinks you should join, Zach." Chad said which made me look at the other members of the group. They all had smiles and looked hopefully at me.
I sighed and nodded. The moment I did the group cheered excitedly.
Toby continued to cling to me as I walked with Natalie out to the car. She carried my nearly empty backpack over her shoulder and chatted with me about my choice.
"I'm proud of you, Zachary." She told me. "I really am, buddy. Greg is going to ecstatic! We've been hoping that you would start to join some school clubs and break out of your shell."
"They kind of forced me into it," I said with a shrug.
Natalie looked at me curiously, so I explained how a bunch of different kids sat down with me at lunch. I could use more happy moments in my life. Moments where someone actually cared about what happened to me.
"I love you, Natalie." I told my foster mom that evening as she came to check on me before bed. Natalie sat down on the edge of my mattress and smiled at me.
"I love you too, Zachary." She kissed me on the forehead before she brushed my bangs to the side. "You are a very talented young man and I can't wait to see what you do with these new talents of yours."
I blushed and hugged her tightly. Natalie chuckled and hugged me back before she helped tuck me back into the blankets.
"Goodnight, Zachary."
"Goodnight, Natalie." I whispered before she turned off my bedside lamp.
I sighed happily and watched Natalie leave my room before I rolled to my side and let myself go to sleep.
*********Thanks for reading "The Touch". I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and you're just as excited as I am to find out what Chapter 6 has in store for Zachary Brody.
*****If you wish to be notified of this or any of my other stories, please feel free to email me and make sure that you let me know which story you want to know about. – storymyke@outlook.com
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