I walked to my locker and looked at the shelves where my textbooks were. After rearranging my bookbag to take what I needed to take for the weekend, I hear someone’s voice behind my locker door. I rolled my eyes since I knew exactly who it was.
I slammed my locker shut and see Milo standing there. He smiles at me, and I immediately turn the other way to walk to my last class for the day. I can hear Milo following behind me, which annoys me.
“Mol? Hey, Mollie?” I hear Milo call out my name numerous times before I get fed up and finally turn around and face him. He steps back after realizing just how much he was breathing down my back.
“What?” I spat back.
“So, I’m guessing you’re still mad, huh?” Milo asks me, even though he should already know the answer to that. I don’t answer back, which causes Milo to sigh. “Look, I’m sorry about the other day. I should’ve actually seen that I texted you and not thought that I did. It was a mistake.”
“It’s always a mistake for you,” I answered back, not really feeling Milo’s apology. At this point, I was sad that Milo would ditch me for a girl that he’s known for, like, 2 minutes over his best friend he knew since birth. He swears that he’s not replacing me with Sophie, but it’s hard to believe that whenever he forgets he has other friends outside of Sophie and makes these “mistakes” over and over again. It started to make me not want to care about him anymore because it definitely felt like he didn’t care about me anymore. “It’s like the whole world stops whenever Sophie gets in your vision.”
“She was injured, Mollie,” Milo emphasized. “There was no one else around that could help her.”
“I don’t care about that,” I sat back. It was the truth, I didn’t care that Sophie got hurt and has been out of school for the week. It just makes me feel like he’s only saying sorry because she’s not here for him to follow like a lost puppy. “You still could’ve remembered to text me.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. I truly am,” Milo said, more gentle than he was before. I hated to be mad at Milo. I never feel like myself when I know Milo and I are fighting. We are best friends for a reason and I think it’s because we balance each other out. I sighed before I said anything back, and I guess he saw that as me considering his apology. “We can go hang out today after school and go for pizza. I know it’s not the usual day we do that, but–“
“I can’t,” I answered back. “I already have something to do after-school.” Milo cocked an eyebrow up and looked at me before entering our vocal class.
“Since when do you have other things to do after school?” Milo asked. I rolled my eyes at him, walking into the classroom with him following me. I look at my classmates who are already inside the classroom. I spot Aaron singing with the baritones at the back of the class. “Hello? Mollie?”
“What?” I turned around, annoyed all over again.
“What are you doing after school?” Milo asked.
“I missed my dance practice earlier this week so I’m making up with Jennifer today,” I said as I walked over to my seat. I tried to sound as convincing as I could because the last thing I wanted to do was hear Milo talk about Aaron. Mr. Kamalani quiets down the class so we could get started on our vocal rehearsal.
…
I ran out of the classroom as soon as the bell rang. I didn’t want Milo to know where I was going, and I needed to get to this venue as fast as I can so I was able to come home at a time that my mom doesn’t suspect something. I hate that I’m not able to wear something cool and that I have to go in this lame-ass uniform, but I think Aaron understands that his show was literally happening in the city, just an hour after school ended. I can’t lie; I was nervous to go and see Aaron’s band play live. I felt like it’s just a scene I never been a part of, and to make matters worse; I look like a lost school girl that couldn’t get her way ahead the city or some shit. But the closer I got to the venue, the more excited I got to see Aaron. As someone as talented as him being a dual major and all of that, I was excited to hear Aaron pay outside of school. What was he like in this scene? Was his band the coolest thing ever? Will outside-of-school Aaron actually like me being here while he does his outside-of-school stuff?
I finally entered the venue and I’m immediately surrounded by people dressed in dark, gothic clothing. Fuck, now I really stand out in this place. I walk around and see people talk to each other before the performances begin. I wish I was able to hang out with Aaron before his performance; I didn’t know how to fit in this crowd and everything in me wanted to leave and go straight home. Mol, he invited you. He wants you here.
The room goes dark and the stage lights up. The audience cheers and claps their hands as a guy comes on stage introducing the upcoming bands. I walk a little closer to the front of the stage, trying to get a better view.
“Alright! Welcome to tonight’s showcase! We have some veterans returning to perform tonight, but tonight’s opener is new to our scene,” the guy announced. The crowd cheers after every sentence that this guy is saying. “This band comes from our friends in Brooklyn and they have some serious talent. Give it up for Quiet Divison!” The audience cheered as the band came out backstage. I see Aaron holding his guitar, walking center stage to where the mic is. His long hair swooshes in front of his face as he hooks up his guitar to the amplifier. I can’t help but keep a stupid smile on my face watching him on stage. He looks great on stage.
“Hello, New York City!” Aaron shouts into the microphone. The audience cheers in response, including myself. “We’re Quiet Divison, and we got some new music for you guys to rock out to!” The audience claps and cheers the band on. Aaron turns around to see if the rest of the band is ready to start. When he turns back around and faces the audience, the music starts.
The drummer begins the song and the guitarists quickly follow, Aaron begins singing the song, which blows me away. He’s singing in an octave I haven’t heard him sing in before; his pitch is nearly perfect and his enunciation of the words sounds like it’s a studio version recording. In the middle of the song, Aaron steps away from the mic to do a guitar solo. I couldn’t help but yell in excitement; it was something that traveled through the veins in my body and converted into serotonin. I started to dance and join the audience; I was literally having the best night of my life watching Aaaron play tonight. To top it all off, Aaron begins to riff for, like, 8 bars straight; my jaw literally drops as I hear him sing so passionately into the microphone. It felt like the song was literally 30 seconds long, but when it finished, the crowd went wild, and so did I. The band smiles, especially Aaron as he looks into the audience and sees me there. I think I’m melting.
“Thank you! You guys were an amazing audience!” Aaron shouts towards the crowd, and the audience returns the support by clapping and cheering them on. As he exited the stage with his band members, I immediately feel like I need more of what I just saw.
Aaron Serrano, you got me hooked through music.
Letters From Liz. 