Category: The Teenage Monologues.

I bounced my leg in place as I sat next to my mum at the kitchen table. She was clicking and scrolling on different pages on the computer, trying to figure out how to get to the page she is trying to get on. I would rather just be grounded like a normal teenage girl instead of sitting through this process.

“Mum,” I called out for her. She briefly looked at me before she continues to browse through the computer. I already know she was not going to let me get out of this. “Is this truly necessary?”

“Yes,” she coldly answered. “You haven’t spoken to your father in weeks.”

“I don’t have time when he calls,” I explained, trying to make it as believable as possible. My mum shook her head and continued clicking on pages on the computer.

“Well, you have time now,” she coldly responded once more, before turning the laptop to face me. I was getting nervous. Maybe I should’ve just called him on my own time; maybe then I wouldn’t be sitting here with my mom as I have this call with my father.

It wasn’t long after that the screen went blank and appeared my father. He was wearing a navy blue uniform; I expected my father to wear stripes or orange like how a prisoner typically wears.

“Hi, Edwin,” my mom smiled as she spoke to my father. I could tell that my mom still loved my father. Every time I heard her talk to him or visit him on these video calls, she smiled big with her teeth flashing and eye wrinkles showing. It made me upset at times; she was able to forgive him so easily after everything he put us through these last two years. Two years, dad. You broke my trust two years ago on Valentine’s Day.

“Hi, Haeun,” I hear my father say back. I could tell he is also smiling. “How have you been dear?”

“We’ve been fine,” mum answers. She looks at me softly, which is rare for my mum. She was always a hard person to read, but she has been like that for as long as I can remember. I was never close to my mum growing up; I think her Korean culture never interested me growing up, but she was always strict in making me follow tradition and grow up in the ways she did. It was my father that introduced other cultures into my life. It was him that decided that coming to live in America would open doors for me and my future. Now it feels like any opportunity or hope I had left for me in America wasn’t here anymore; it was back in the UK in a prison cell.

“And Sophie? How has she been?” he finally asks. I feel the knot in my throat get bigger and the pit of my stomach get deeper. My mum turns the laptop screen toward me and he finally sees me on camera. I see him on camera. The man on the screen looked like my father; same black hair, glasses, and smile. The only thing was that his facial hair was more noticeable. My father always preferred a clean shave.

“Hi, daddy,” I said to my father. He looked like he was at a loss for words.

“My Sophie girl!” he excitedly said. “You’ve gotten so big, my God!” He laughs after speaking. I miss his laugh. “How’s school going? High school is a big deal, especially being in that school.

“School’s going well,” I answered. ” I’m in the string orchestra in the band.”

“You were always so good on the violin,” he added. “Have you had any performances yet?”

“We have a showcase in a couple of weeks,” I answered. I didn’t want to share too much about myself with him. I just wanted to have this visit and then get as far away as possible. He nodded his head.

“And you’re making friends, right?” he asked. I nodded quickly, even though I can feel my mom’s eyes on me. Whatever; it made him smile. “Your mum told me you sprained your ankle at school the other day. How are you feeling?” I looked at my mom, not surprised she shared that with him on her video visits with him.

“I’m doing better,” I simply answered. “I go back to school on Monday.”

“That’s good,” he answered quickly after. I can tell his time is coming to an end. “As long as you’re keeping your grades up and practicing your violin and are enjoying yourself, that’s all that matters, Sophie girl.” I simply smiled for him. My mother sighed and turned the laptop to face her to say goodbye. I couldn’t help but get up out of my seat and walk away and out of the room. Any longer in the kitchen and I would’ve cried in front of my parents.

I waited until I closed my bedroom door to finally let everything out. I miss him so much.

While everyone was leaving the venue for the night, I waited for Aaron to come out of the back. I was getting nervous; maybe he already packed his stuff and left without telling me. Maybe he just wanted me here at the show, but he didn’t say anything about wanting to hang out after the show or something. I started to feel stupid standing in the middle of this room as the venue got empty. I was beginning to walk out of the venue to just head home for the night.

“Mols!” I heard a voice call out for me. I turned around and saw Aaron walking towards me. I immediately smiled and turned around to face him as we continued walking to me.

“Hey, rockstar,” I teased Aaron as he approached me. He started to laugh, like the loud hearty laugh that he does when something is really funny to him. I’m glad I’m able to hear it and be the cause of it at times. “You were amazing out there tonight!”

“Thank you,” Aaron playfully takes a bow. “I appreciate you coming out here to see me perform.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” I quickly said back. I bit my bottom lip after saying it, feeling a little weird letting that slip out the way that it did. Aaron smiles before turning around to see his band members come closer to us.

“Mols, these are my bandmates,” Aaron pointed out as his band members came to us. “Thomas is our bass guitarist, Xavier is our rhythm guitarist, and Jordan’s our drummer.” I wave at the three guys, a little nervous at the introduction. They don’t look like they are also freshmen in a high school; I mean I’ve never seen them at Waverly. Aaron turns around to face me. “This is Mollie.”

“Hi,” I started to say. “You guys were awesome tonight.” The guys thanked me as they gathered their stuff. I figured that Aaron wanted to go hang out with his band members after having such a good show, but it was to my surprise seeing the guys give Aaron pounds, saying goodbye to him. They waved goodbye at me, and I return the wave. Once the guys leave, Aaron looks at me and smiles.

“Should we go grab something to eat?” Aaron asked.

“Please,” I begin to answer. “I haven’t eaten anything since lunch period.”

…

Aaron went to a local burger joint that he highly recommended; he typically goes here when he and his band have practice in the area. The burgers were alright, but the waffle fries were to die for. I think Aaron noticed since he trades his fries for my burger.

“You know, I was in that show feeling very lame with my uniform on,” I explained to Aaron, who is wearing casual clothing. It was nice to see how he dressed outside of school. It was very chill; an oversized sweatshirt and some jeans with a pair of Chuck Taylors on.

“I wish the show wasn’t right after school,” Aaron added on. “Carrying a change of clothes and your instrument is not cool.” I sipped on my soda before continuing the conversation.

“Wanna know what else isn’t cool?” I playfully asked. Aaron looked at me, nervous. “Pretending you don’t know what you’re doing but then singing the way you did in your performance.” I smiled, just to let him know I was obviously joking, and it was fun to tease him and watch him squirm. Aaron definitely squirmed in his seat.

“About that,” Aaron tried to explain. I laughed at his nervousness. I was curious to actually know what the explanation is. “The music we have to sing for vocal is sometimes just hard–“

“Hard doesn’t mean singing off-pitch on purpose,” I corrected him. “You know what you’re doing, so why did you ask me to help you in vocal if you really didn’t need it?” Aaron looked even more nervous, which actually now made me feel a little bad for pushing him this hard to tell me what’s been on my mind all night.

“Okay, you got me,” Aaron simply said. “I pretended I didn’t know what I was doing in vocal because I… just wanted to get to know you.”

“You could’ve just come up to me and got to know me though,” tried to explain to Aaron. I felt weird all of a sudden; why would Aaron have to lie about being bad at something just to talk to me. Was I that scary to approach or something?

“You don’t just approach the most talented girl in vocal class like nothing,” Aaron pointed out. I felt myself blush, but I hope that Aaron sees it as me feeling a little cold on this chilly night. “The day you went up and sang in front of the class for the first time, it was like… intense. Like, your talent made it hard for me to just come and talk to you at first.” Hearing Aaron explain why he did what he did has me left with a million more questions.

“Aaron, you’re a dual major,” I tried to reason with him. “That means that you were so fucking good at your auditions, that they decided to put you in two majors.”

“Being a dual major doesn’t mean you’re automatically the best,” Aaron responded back. “And Mols, you’re the best in our vocal class. I was just fascinated with you because even in being the best, you still work hard and practice your music and know what you’re doing not because you know you’re the best or you gotta stay the best, but because you have so much passion.”

Hearing Aaron talk about passion makes it feel real. This guy not only has to juggle the workload of two majors in school but also is a part of a band that is up and coming into the scene here in the city. It takes someone with passion to recognize other people with passion. It felt good to hear it from someone that doesn’t really owe you anything to tell you that you are good and worthy of the spot you’re in. I smiled. He returned the smile. I sighed before saying anything back.

“That means a lot, Aaron,” I began. “It’s hard to always feel like you don’t belong in a place or have people doubt your ability to do things because, well, they just see this girl who’s constantly getting herself in some sort of trouble.”

“Even the greats were badasses,” Aaron responded back. It made me giggle. “Even more of a reason to like you.” I looked at Aaron; I felt my stomach drop all the way down to my ankles.

“You… like me?” I said, without thinking at first. I shook my head, trying to cover up my tracks. “I mean, you like me as a friend, right?”

“Mols,” Aaron began. “I like you.” I felt all the air in my lungs evaporate. The Aaron Serrano, confessing that he likes me? I felt every jar of butterflies in my stomach explode, and there was no way of catching them all to put them back together. It was too late; I think it’s been too late for quite some time now.

“I like you too, Aaron,” I confessed. He smiled at my response, and it felt good to know that someone actually likes me for me, and not for the version that everyone wants me to be. The truth is I know I’m a mess, stubborn, and someone times don’t think before I speak. But if Aaron can like me for my broken parts, then he also actually really likes me for my good parts. Aaron gets closer to me, closing the gap between us. I feel myself beginning to blush even harder than before; this time, I hope Aaron knows it’s because of him.

“Would it be okay if I, uhm,” Aaron began to say; he was clearly nervous. Show him what it was like to be a badass, Mol.

“Kiss me,” I demanded. Aaron looked at me, surprised at my response. I smiled before he smiled and caressed my face, bringing me closer to his lips. He gently kissed me on the lips, and the electricity went through my body and brought me to life. It was innocent, nothing too aggressive or weird but… safe. I felt safe with Aaron. Our lips separated slowly. He looked into my eyes before releasing his hands from my face.

“Let’s get you home, rockstar,” I teased. Aaron laughed his infamous laugh before saying anything back.

“Not before we get the rockstar’s girlfriend home first,” Aaron flirted. I think I’m gonna like staying naturally red in the face.

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.

We left the hospital once Gabby was able to see Sophie. Like she expected, it was a sprained ankle, so she probably won’t be in school for a couple of days until it’s healed. I felt sad seeing Sophie in so much pain, but I was glad I was able to distract her by talking and telling her some really lame jokes that would make anyone forget what they were feeling. I wish I was able to stay with Sophie while she was at the hospital, but her mom was called shortly after we got to the hospital and came for Sophie.

I look out the passenger window of my dad’s car and see that we are finally in front of our house. I look at my dad, who looks at me before getting out of the car.

“You’re okay, bud?” my dad asked me. I nodded my head; I didn’t want to say anything back. He takes a deep breath before saying anything to me. “Sophie’s going to be alright.” He gets out of the car and I follow him. I didn’t want to bring up the fact that Mrs. Lee already hates me for being Sophie’s friend, so just seeing me in a hospital with Sophie just proves her point some more about how she feels about me.

As I got out of the car, I look at the front steps and freeze in place. My dad says something before I get the chance to.

“Mollie? What are you doing out here?” he asked. Mollie looks directly at me, furious. My dad turns around to look at me and then looks back at Mollie. “I’m sorry, I know Milo was supposed to hang out with you after school today, but he had helped a friend that got injured in school.” Mollie looks at my dad and smiles, trying to play it cool.

“Oh, I didn’t know that. I could’ve gone home to do something productive in the two hours I waited for Milo to come here,” Mollie responded. She grabbed her backpack from the stoop and started to walk down the stairs. “I should be on my way home before my mom gets worried.” Mollie runs down the stairs and walks past me to walk out of the gate door. I turned around quickly to try to grab her, but she immediately pulls away when I do.

“Mol-” I began to say.

“Get off of me,” Mollie answered, angry.

“Can I just explain what happened?” I tried to plead with her. I really was waiting for her to come out of the school like we both agreed on, but it had been way past 20 minutes and I figured she had left or got something else come up that she needed to do. Plus, what was I supposed to do seeing Sophie fall down the stairs and hurt her ankle? I wanted to explain this all to Mollie, but I sometimes forget that once Mollie is set on feeling a type of way, she doesn’t really listen to anyone.

“Now you want to tell me what happened after being dead silent for the two hours I waited here for you?” Mollie spat back.

“I tried to text you, but-“

“Yeah,” Mollie interrupted. “But the message didn’t go through. How about you come up with something different so that maybe I’ll actually believe it?”

“Mol, I swear! I tried texting you that something came up and-“

“Then show me,” Mollie insisted. “Let me see your phone.” I was caught off-guard when Mollie asked to see my phone. I didn’t want to show her my phone, and I was annoyed that she didn’t trust me or my word.

“Why?” I asked, trying to buy time.

“Because I don’t trust you when you say that the message wasn’t sent. Like, is your phone that shitty?” She opens her palms up in my direction. “Let me see your phone.”

“No,” I answered, now annoyed. “I don’t need to show you anything, and as my best friend you should believe what I’m telling you.”

“How can I when every time you tell me something, the opposite always happens? Especially when it comes to Sophie,” Mollie added. I widen my eyes at the sound of Sophie’s name. Mollie looks at me and laughs. “It doesn’t take a genius to figure out who the hell is this other friend.”

“She was injured,” I finally admitted.

“But you didn’t tell me!”

“I tried to, but the message didn’t go through!”

“Stop fucking lying to me!”

“Okay, that’s enough,” my dad intervened and separated us. “Do you need a ride home, Mollie?”

I walked past both my dad and Mollie and run up the front steps to my house. I didn’t want to see Mollie anymore and wanted this conversation to be over. I slammed the front door shut and entered the studio door instead of going straight upstairs. I at on one of the chairs in the studio and took my cellphone out of my pocket. I opened Mollie’s text messages and see that I had wrote a text to Mollie, but never sent it. I turned my phone screen off and shut my eyes before taking in a deep breath. Maybe I am such a shitty best friend.

I walk out of my last class for the day with my backpack and coat on. Today was a slow day of school; our band class is preparing for the showcase in a few weeks before the winter break, so, needless to say, is that every student here at Waverly High isn’t doing much these days besides preparing for that. I was upset to not see Milo during our band period; since he’s a dual major, he’s getting the opportunity to perform with the upperclassmen and they have special rehearsals outside of school. Also without my cellphone, I don’t get to talk to Milo a lot these days which really makes things worse.

I look up from the floor to walk straight out of the building. Maybe Milo is still in Mr. Kamalani’s classroom. I walk in the opposite direction towards the vocal room, hoping to catch Milo leaving or something. I peeked inside the classroom to just see Mr. Kamalani cleaning up. I was about to turn back around to leave when I heard a girl’s voice. It was a familiar girl’s voice; it was definitely Mollie’s voice. If she’s there, then Milo has to be there with her. I went to look back into the classroom again to see if Milo was with her. I was definitely surprised to see that it wasn’t Milo, but Aaron from our band class. Was Aaron a dual major too?

…

“Yo, Kamalani! Stop flirting and get in place!”

I knew it was Aaron’s voice by the way he’s the only person to call Milo by his last name. My face begins to turn red and hot from the embarrassment of all the laughing happening. I tried to hide it from Milo by simply smiling it away, but it was too late. Milo knows when I’m pretending for the sake of the situation.

“I fucking hate that guy,” Milo simply says to me. “Like can he go bother someone else?”

“Maybe he wants to be your friend,” I said lightly, trying to make this situation fizzle out to nothing. Milo on the other hand was not looking at this the same way I was.

“That guy is a fucking asshole,” Milo scoffed. “And the fact I have to sit next to him and work with him makes me want to rip my hair out.” Maybe there was more to this than what Milo is telling me.

…

“Castro, Serrano; take this outside of my classroom, please,” I hear Mr. Kamalani tell Mollie and Aaron. I quickly run away in hopes that they don’t catch me near the vocal classroom. The last thing I needed was for Mollie to hate me even more for eavesdropping on her and Aaron’s conversation. I know that Milo and Mollie usually hang out on Mondays, so why wouldn’t Milo be in that classroom with Mollie and wait for her? There must be more to this than Milo is telling me.

I run out of the school building not realizing that we had rain earlier today and that it was nearly below freezing in the middle of November. I slipped on the front steps of the school and fell to the ground. Ssi-bal.

“Scout!” I heard a voice call out. By the nickname, I knew it was Milo. I looked up from the ground and saw Milo standing over me. He reached out for my hand and tries to get me off the ground. I immediately feel a wave of immense pain shoot up from my leg.

“Milo! My leg! My leg!” I bend down to try not to put too much pressure on it. Milo puts his body under my arm to help get me out of the cold and back into the school building. I start to cry; I feel like everything has just been one gobsmacked week.

“You’re gonna be fine, Scout,” Milo opts out to now make me piggyback him so that we has able to walk faster and get to where he was going. I realize that he’s bringing me to the classroom that I was just at, running away from the start. We enter the classroom and see Mr. Kamalani sitting at his desk. His attention is definitely now on us.

“What’s going on?” He simply said as he got up from his desk chair. Milo puts me down on the nearest seat; I winced out in pain.

“She fell on the ice outside of the building,” Milo said in a frenzy. “I was waiting for Mollie to come out and saw that Sophie fell down the school steps.” I looked at Milo as he spoke to his dad. I knew he was only out there to meet up with Mollie. Did he know that she was in here talking to Aaron before?

“Where is the pain, Sophie?” Mr. Kamalani looked at me to ask. I was always so scared of Milo’s parents, especially his dad. I felt like I’m constantly being judged or looked at weirdly by his dad; maybe that’s just the teacher in him, but I feel like his dad sees me as some sort of distraction for Milo. Why wouldn’t he see me as that? My mom literally sees Milo being my own distraction.

“My left ankle,” I answered. Mr. Kamalani walked over to the class telephone and dials up a number.

“Hey, it’s Mr. Kamalani in Room 125; do you happen to know if the Nurse is still in her office? I have a student that injured her ankle outside of the school building,” I couldn’t help but try to hide my face in my coat.

“Hey?” I heard Milo softly says as he sits in the seat next to me. I lift my head up and look at Milo. “You’re gonna be okay.”

“I’m sorry, I know you’re supposed to hang out with Mollie after school today and then this happened and-” The words just kept spilling out of my mouth like a water faucet.

“Don’t be sorry,” Milo began to answer. “I think she found some other plans or something. She was supposed to meet me outside like 20 minutes before I saw you fall.” At least I didn’t feel bad anymore that I was probably keeping him from hanging out with his best friend.

“The student is Sophie Lee,” Mr. Kamalani continued to speak on the phone. Shortly after, he hangs up the class phone and turns around to us. “Well, the nurse has already left for the day. Do you want to call your mom to pick you up?” Mr. Kamalani asked me. I felt my face get hot again as the sudden anxiety sinks into my body.

“I… I don’t have my cell phone with me,” I said. I looked at Milo who also looked like he had no words to say. “I should have her number memorized in times like this, but-“

“Can Pep help her?” Milo asked his dad. Pep was the nickname that Milo has for Jennifer.

“She’s not a doctor, Milo,” he answered. “She needs to see a doctor.”

“But she knows someone who is,” Milo pleaded with his dad. Mr. Kamalani sighed and then looked at me. I felt myself get nervous again.

“Is your mom working right now?” Mr. Kmalani asked. I nodded my head yes. He simply walked away from Milo and me and back to his desk. “Let me call Pep and see if Gabby is busy.”

“Who’s Gabby?” I asked Milo.

“Jennifer’s aunt,” he answered. “She’s a doctor.” I nodded my head, not adding much to the conversation anymore. At this point, I was exhausted.

…

Milo’s dad stepped out of the classroom to make a couple of phone calls and left Milo and me alone. We didn’t say anything to each other; why does it feel so awkward to talk to him at this moment? I adjusted myself and my leg in the seat I was in, wincing in pain as I did. It caught Milo’s attention, who came to help me shift properly in my seat.

“Thanks, Milo,” I said. He smiled at me as his response. I was glad that he wasn’t annoyed at me for being clumsy and stuck in still after the day was over. “I’m sorry for not being careful outside.”

“Again, don’t be sorry,” Milo said. He leaned back in his seat next to me. “This is probably all the time we have.”

I sighed before responding. The smile on Milo’s face disappears. There’s a lot that hasn’t been spoken about.

“Why don’t you hang out with me after school anymore?” I asked Milo. “Did I do something wrong?”

“What? No,” Milo said as he twisted his body toward me to look at me. “I love hanging out with you! I’ve just been so busy with showcase stuff and-“

“Milo,” I stopped him before he continued. “I know you have more work cut out than me being a dual major, but… it hurts when I see you hang out with Mollie after school but never ask me to hang out anymore. I feel like I did something to make you not like hanging out with me anymore.”

“It has nothing to do with you,” Milo reassured. “I just haven’t had the time to think about where we can hang out these days.”

“What happened to the treehouse?” I asked. Milo looked nervous when I asked that question. “Did something happen to the treehouse?”

“No, nothing like that,” he answered, now sounding a little annoyed. “It’s complicated, but it doesn’t mean it’s because of you. I even like hanging out here with you, even if you are in pain.” I laughed at Milo’s lighthearted response toward the end.

“Well, I’m happy you still enjoy hanging out with me, even if it’s with a sprained ankle.” Milo smiled and looked down at my hand. He slowly puts the palm of his hand in mine, folding his fingers around my hand. I feel my face get hot once more, but this time it’s because of me blushing. Who would’ve thought that Milo holding my hand would feel this good? The moment is short-lived when Mr. Kamalani walks back into the classroom. Milo immediately takes his hand away from mine.

“Gabby’s able to see Sophie,” Mr. Kamalani said to Milo. Milo gets up from the seat and hunches down for me to jump on his back like he did when I first fell outside. This time, Mr. Kamalani votes against it and tells Milo to just carry my backpack as he helps me walk out of the classroom on my good leg.

I guess this time we had together is over for the day.

Mr. Kamalani’s class today is one of the classes I hate the most; music theory. Like, I came to Waverly to actually sing, so whenever he decides that he’s gonna teach us things that 95% of us don’t even care about, it makes the period drag even longer. Also, it doesn’t help that I got, like, 5 hours of sleep last night. God, can this period just be over?

“So you will know if the note is sharp or flat if…” Mr. Kamalani turns around from the board and faces the class for someone to answer. No one raises their hand; probably because half of the class is asleep at their desks. “If no one volunteers, I will choose someone to answer,” he sternly warned the class. I raised my hand to not on;y end the class’ misery, but also my own.

“The symbol is on the correct line on the music staff,” I answered. Mr. Kamalani smiled and nodded his head and continued to teach the class. I looked over to where Milo was sitting; he was definitely texting Sophie with his phone inside the desk. For someone that was a dual major, he surely doesn’t give a shit about vocal class, which makes me angry sometimes. The dude has the luxury of doing two of his favorite things in school and here I am, having to pretend that being a vocal major was my main passion.

As I was about to shut my eyes for a quick snooze, a folded piece of paper gets thrown on my desk from behind me. I turned around to see the girl who sits behind me.

“It’s from Aaron,” she simply said. I turned back around and look at the note on my desk. I unfolded it to see what was written on it.

Can you hang back for like 10 minutes after class? 

I turned my head to look at Aaron. He was so focused on taking notes for this class, I was surprised that he was the one to even send me this note. In the next line, I wrote back.

Sure, is everything cool?

I folded the piece of paper back up and passed it to the girl behind me that then passed it to Aaron. I was getting nervous; why the fuck was I getting so nervous? I felt my stomach go numb in the way I would get excited for a day off of school or a dance performance. Was this, like, having butterflies? It wasn’t long after the note came back to me and landed on my desk. Don’t look like you were waiting for this, Mol; sheesh. I slowly opened the note to read Aaron’s response.

It will be when I get to talk to you. 🙂

I look back up from the note and turned around from my seat. I look at Aaron who’s now looking at me with a smile on his face. I couldn’t help but smile back.

…

“You’re ready, Mol?” I looked up from my desk and see that Milo is standing there. The rest of the class is getting ready to leave Mr. Kamalani’s class for the day. I put my things in my backpack, not answering Milo back right away.

“Uhm, I’ll meet you outside,” I answered. “I gotta hang back and ask Mr. Kamalani something.”

“You can totally ask him back at my house though?” Milo questioned. I rolled my eyes at his response.

“Yeah, like I totally want to ask your dad about school things outside of school,” I said sarcastically. Milo sucked his teeth and shook his head. “Gimme like 10 minutes, okay?” Milo sighed and walked towards the classroom door to exit. Thank God. I took a deep breath in and quickly exhaled when I see Aaron walking towards my desk. He sits in the seat next to me.

“Hey Mols,” Aaron greeted.

“Hey Serrano,” I replied back, trying to play it extremely cool. I feel myself slipping and failing miserably. “So, what’s on your mind?” Aaron exhales harder than normal, which makes me think he’s also nervous. Fuck, what is going on? Is this the moment? Is he going to tell me something like a secret? Have we been that obvious to each other?

“This is my first time asking this to somebody, but,” Aaron began to say. I feel the butterflies swarm even harder around my stomach. Since when did I start to feel this way toward Aaron Serrano? Aaron looks at me now and for fuck’s sake, I feel the sweat dripping down my back in the middle of Fall. “I have my first big show with my band this Friday and I want you to come.”

I blinked and felt the butterflies drop dead in my stomach. His what?

“Your band?” I asked. I didn’t mean to sound so disappointed, especially after seeing Aaron shift in his seat after I asked. “I mean, your band! That’s awesome!” I’m glad that it made him laugh.

“Yeah, my band and I got invited to perform at this showcase and it would be nice to have a familiar face in the crowd,” Aaron further explained. I think those butterflies just resurrected in my stomach.“Preferably yours.”

“Did your other friends say no?” I stupidly said out loud. I thought I was being funny, but I think a part of me still doesn’t believe that Aaron Serrano just asked me to be a part of such an important night for him and his band.

“I didn’t ask them,” Aaron simply answered. I felt like it was time for me to shut up and let Aaron talk for once. I think Aaron has been the only friend I had that makes it known when I should shut up and listen. Maybe that’s why I haven’t gotten in major trouble since actually being friends with him.

“Actually being friends with him”. Since when?

I look at Aaron and wait for him to continue talking, but maybe he was done. Maybe he was waiting for me to say something that wasn’t complete garbage. Aaron has this particular shade of brown eyes that I haven’t seen anyone with before. It’s not brown, and it’s not like hazel; they are literally honey-colored. Honey eyes. I completely get out of his trance when Mr. Kamalani calls out for us.

“Castro, Serrano; take this outside of my classroom, please,” Mr. Kamalani said. Aaron and I begin to gather our backpacks and prepare to leave the classroom for the day. Before I can answer Aaron back, he finally says something. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a folded piece of paper.

“I never got to answer your note back,” Aaron said. He handed me the piece of paper. I was confused; all I said in my last note was “yeah, come to my desk after class”. Aaron left the classroom before I did. As I was walking out of the classroom, I unfolded the piece of paper to see what Aaron wrote.

318 Mt. Gomerary Place - Friday @ 4:30

Since when did I get so speechless over some boy like this?

“You’re ready, Kamalani?” a voice spoke out to me. I looked up and saw it was the last person I wanted to see in person: Aaron Serrano. I rolled my eyes as he squeezed his way into the row of seats in the auditorium. He sat down and looked around. I looked back down at my phone. The door at the back of the auditorium opened and our band class enters. I look in the crowd of our bandmates to see Sophie down the aisle. I let out a breath of relief. I haven’t gotten to talk to Sophie much since rehearsing for this showcase and since her phone got taken away. I tried to make the most of the time I did get to see and speak to her. I got up from my seat to walk over to where she was sitting with the rest of my class.

“Hey, Scout,” I smiled and greeted her. She looked up and smiled at me.

“Hi, Milo! You’re ready for showcase rehearsals?”

“I’m ready for them to be over,” I said after I heard another voice call my name. If it’s Serrano telling me to go sit back down where we need to be, I’m going to lose it. Sophie giggled.

“Aw, it’ll be over before you know it,” Sophie reassured. “I’m definitely nervous for the strings showcase part of the show.”

“Mr. Harrison knows what he was doing putting you as the lead in the first song,” I tried to calm her nerves the way she calms mine down. I can’t tell if it worked but she looks like she’s about to puke up today’s lunch. I turned around and saw my dad standing there, nearly scaring me in place.

“Oh, sh-” I stopped myself before I continued. Let’s not give this man more fuel to punish me in and outside of school.

“Rehearsals are about to start soon, Mr. Kamalani,” my dad stated. “Please go back to your seat.” I didn’t fight him, I just turned around and started to walk toward the seat I was in originally. I don’t know what was my dad’s problem when it came to me talking to Sophie. I feel like he always has to make things extremely awkward for me whenever he sees me with her. It feels like he uses him being my teacher as an excuse to always keep tabs on me. For the last time, dad, I am not you or my biological mom. I’m not out here making stupid decisions like you two did.

As I walk across the auditorium, I look at where my vocal classmates sit for the rehearsal. I squint my eyes harder when I notice something extremely weird. Is that…? I see Aaron talking to Mollie and she’s not… mean-looking? Telling him to fuck-off? It makes me angry that my dad would scold me for talking to someone in my own band class, but let someone talk to someone in his own vocal class and he’s fucking blind to it. Instead of walking back to my seat, I walk towards them, giving Aaron a piece of his own medicine.

“Hey, Serrano,” I said. Aaron turns around to look at me. I look at Mollie, trying not to make eye contact with her but I can feel her eyes on me as well. “You should really be sitting in your seat; you’re going to disrupt the rest of the class on their rehearsal. Fuck yeah, Milo; tell this douchebag off.

“Okay, Mr. Kamalani’s son,” Aaron said as he walked off. Well, fuck, that went nowhere. I looked at Mollie but turned back around to go back to my seat before my dad came to yell at me again. What the fuck is Aaron doing talking to Mollie?

“Okay everyone,” Mr. Harrison began. “We are going to begin the rehearsal for the senior tribute first, then we will go ahead and get rehearsals going for each ensemble. The showcase will run as follow: sophomore/junior vocal choir, junior wind ensemble, freshman string orchestra, freshman full orchestra, freshman vocal choir, and then the senior band and vocal ensembles tribute.” I looked around the auditorium and felt really weird seeing all of the upperclassmen and music majors in one room. I look down the row that I’m sitting in, wondering if they are other underclassmen that were chosen for this senior tribute.

“Dual majors,” my dad looks in my direction. It finally clicks to me that this one row of students is the other dual majors at Waverly. “When you are finished performing within your own ensemble or choir, please come back here to prepare for the tribute. I expect nothing but professionalism from you guys and everyone else in this room.” He finally walks toward the other side of the auditorium.

Listening to the other performances of the other students made me think just how serious everyone is about their craft. There’s not a single person in this auditorium that stumbled or messed up in their rehearsal. It made me nervous since this is our first rehearsal in front of the other grades and majors. I was glad we were one of the last performances to go for the rehearsal; at least I got to see everyone go first.

It was the strings section to rehearse and I was excited to see Sophie play. I sat at the edge of my seat, looking towards the stage as the strings section set up for their rehearsal. Sophie looks in my direction; I can tell she’s nervous considering she’s playing lead in the first song. I smile back at her, hoping that maybe she’ll feel better knowing I’m here to support her. As they set up, I hear Serrano talking in my direction.

“The strings section has a lot of competition to keep everyone awake,” Aaron said. I looked at him, who was now looking toward the stage. I was annoyed at his comment.

“They are the strongest part of the orchestra; it’s why they have their own performing segment,” I reminded him.

“Ehh, others disagree with that,” he responded back, careless and unbothered at the way he was acting like a complete asshole. He adjusted in his seat and took his phone out of his pocket. “Let me know when we’re up to rehearse.” I rolled my eyes and paid attention to the stage where the rehearsal was starting. the strings started off their first song; it was a modern take on a famous piece that most string orchestras are famous for. They were pretty good, even if Mr. Harrison had to stop them every now and then to fix a couple of things.

By the middle of the song, Sophie stands up from her seat, getting ready to start the solo of the piece. I sat up, watching her as she looked down at her stand towards her music score. She begins to play, and I swear she doesn’t miss a beat or note on her solo. It’s like the chemicals in my brain are reacting to every note she stums with her bow. I knew Sophie was a good violinist, but I sometimes forget she’s this good when she constantly is telling herself she isn’t good enough or she’s just “good”. I overhear a couple of people in the row behind me instantly saying “whoa” when she hits those high notes on her violin. That’s my Scout.

The song ends shortly after, and their rehearsal is officially finished. Everyone in the auditorium claps their hands as the strings section wraps it up for the next performances to begin.

“Freshman orchestra, get ready for your rehearsal,” Mr. Harrison shouted. I got up from my seat and walked up toward the stage. I walked toward where Sophie was sitting on stage before going to my section on the stage.

“You were fire on that stage,” I said to Sophie. She turned around from her seat and smiled at me.

“Do you think so?” Sophie asked.

“Let’s just say some of the dual majors sitting behind my row were shook,” I emphasized. Her eyes widen, and her face instantly turned red. Before I can say anything else, I hear another voice talking to Sophie.

“Dope solo, Violee,” Aaron said as he passed by us. Violee?

“What did you call her?” I immediately spat back, and then Aaron stopped walking and stopped in front of us.

“Chill, Kamalani,” Aaron said. “Violin? Her last name is Lee? Violee,” Aaron started laughing, but I didn’t think anything was funny. “Sheesh, let your cub scout breathe.” He walked away and I swear I was fuming. Did he also just call her Scout? I feel a tug at my shirt, which makes me look back at Sophie.

“After-school ritual today?” Sophie smiled and laughed. Fuck. I haven’t had the time to talk to Sophie about my dad not wanting us to go hang out at my grandma’s house anymore. I don’t want her to think it’s because of her, but what do I tell her when it’s time to leave for the day and she begins to walk down our usual path to my grandma’s house? Before I can say anything back, Aaron is yelling my name.

“Yo, Kamalani! Stop flirting and get in place!” Aaron shouted. A couple of our bandmates around him begin to laugh, which makes me feel even sicker to my stoamch. I turn back towards my seat, already exhausted from this rehearsal and it just started.

All I want to do is hang out with Sophie.

Band class has really been the highlight of my school days lately. Every other class just feels like time doesn’t move, yet band always feels like there’s never enough time.

It’s probably because of these days, the only time I really get to see Sophie is in this class. My dad and Jennifer have been on my case about the whole Principal-warning-thing. I don’t understand why they care so much about my dual major status, but sometimes it feels like they care more about their son holding that title instead of acting and listening to their son and what they may need. But whatever, who cares anyway?

I sit in my assigned seat in the percussion area, taking out my notebook before the class begins. I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket, in which I immediately took it out in hopes it was Sophie telling me she’s on her way to class.

leesophie: Hey, Milo! I'm not in school today. I was sick this morning. 😦 Let me know if anything exciting happens in band, kay? (:

Well, fuck. I signed and put my phone into my book bag, disappointed that the one good thing about school isn’t even in school today. Before I sat back up, I see a pair of legs standing next to me. I rolled my eyes, knowing exactly who it is. I sit back up and see that it’s Aaron, waiting to get by me so he can get to his seat. I really dislike this guy; he never has anything nice to say and he thinks he’s better than everyone else in our classes. Like dude, you are in level 1 band for freshman and level 1 vocal for freshman; you aren’t that great.

“Where’s Sophie?” Aaron randomly asked me. I could feel my ears get hot. Why the fuck are you looking for Sophie?

“Why?” I asked, trying to make it as unbothered and neutral as possible. I don’t know if he bought it.

“Because I always have to kick her out of my seat,” he answered. “I was relieved to not have to break her heart today.” Aaron laughs and reaches into his book bag. Nothing this guy says or does is funny.

“She’s not here today,” I answered, trying to end the conversation there. I guess it walked since he didn’t have anything to say after that. Mr. Harrison walks into the class and quiets the class. He looks at us before beginning the class.

“Good almost noon, class. As you guys know, the October Fest is approaching us, and we are going to prepare something fun and festive to showcase.” Mr. Harrison flips through papers and begins to hand them out. “The seniors will also be paying tribute to one of our faculty members who is retiring, so I will also be asking a couple of you to accompany the senior band to do just that.” My eyes widen; the senior band sounds like they came straight out of a soundtrack for a motion picture. I can only hope that’s how we will sound when we get to that point.

“Mr. Harrison?” Aaron called out as he raised his hand. “Mr. Harrsion looks at him to acknowledge Aaron, as well as everyone else that turned their heads when his voice was heard.

“Yes, Aaron?”

“Is their a specific section of the orchestra you need for this senior tribute?” I scoffed under my breath in disbelief. This guy is so fucking full of himself, I swear.

“The senior band has to have a mock rehearsal before we can determine what it is that we need.” Mr. Harrison answered and continued to pass around the sheets. I couldn’t help but look over at Aaron just flipping through the sheet music. I still don’t know what’s his deal. What school did he even come from?

“I don’t roll like that homie,” Aaron said as he looked at me. “Either you need some notes or you just have a staring problem, dude.”

“I don’t need, nor want anything from you, Serrano,” I spat back. I wanted nothing more than for this day to be over; specifically this class.

“Whatever you say, Kamalani. Us dual majors gotta stick together,” Aaron said, as he began to make markings on his sheet music.

“Yeah, no thanks,” I rolled my eyes and responded. “Literally would rather work with anyone else but you–“

“Mollie, or Sophie?” Aaron interrupted me and asked. I looked at Aaron, not really understanding where he was going with this. Mollie? How does he know–

“I guess there’s more dual in your life than just your major, huh?” Aaron mocked back at me.

“Dude, you really need to shut up and just–“

“Kamalani! Serrano!” Mr. Harrison called out. We both looked up front, nervous that we were about to get in trouble. “Since you both love talking during my class, we can all have a chat after class as well.” I squeezed my eyes shut as Aaron sighed. I never hated anymore more than Aaron Serrano, and that’s saying a lot considering I hated Simon Hempstead back in middle school.

…

The bell rings and Mr. Harrison dismisses the rest of the class, while Aaron and I stand up front next to the teacher’s podium. I looked over at Aaron, who was typing away on his phone. He looks visibly annoyed, which I don’t get since he was part of the reason why we are both here. Once the rest of the class left the room, Mr. Harrison closed the door and had us sit in the desks in front of his.

“You both know better than to be disruptive in class,” Mr. Harrison began. This was starting to feel a lot like my last encounter in vocal with my dad; you should know better. I began to shake my leg in my seat, worried that this was the last straw and that I was going to get my dual major status revoked. I feel like a shitty President or something, one that gets into office but completely destroys everything in his sight because he doesn’t know how to be a good President. I believe Sophie told me that due to the constitutional law, it’s–

“That behavior is unacceptable for dual majors like you both, which brings me to my next point,” Mr. Harrison pulled out more papers from his desk draw and handed them over to Aaron and me. “I want you two to accompany the senior band for the tribute. Rehearsals for that begin after school on Wednesday.”

“Why do you need two people in percussion?” I asked, not really amused that I have to spend rehearsals with people I don’t know, and Aaron.

“Well, I know you two play instruments outside of percussion, so I want Milo to accompany percussion, while Aaron accompanies the bass.” I scrunched my eyebrows, a little annoyed that Aaron gets the chance to play other instruments outside of what he plays in this class. I know how to play other instruments, and probably a lot better than this douchebag. I look over at Aaron who is writing inside a notebook. Does this jerk ever give it a rest? Mr. Harrison got up from his seat, escorting us out of his class politely. “I’m not rewarding your bad behavior by giving you guys this opportunity, so by all means if it continues in class, you will be kicked out from the tribute and the showcase. I expect nothing but excellence from dual majors.”

I walked out the classroom while Aaron tried to pass me first. Aaron power-walked away from the classroom and into the hallway. I stood there, annoyed and in need to get chill until the day is over. As I walk further into the hallway to go to my next class, I take out my phone to text Mollie.

milolani: you're free at lunch 2day? 

Before I reach my next class, my phone vibrate in my hand.

mcastro: sorry dude, i gotta tutor this kid in vocal 😛

I was confused. Sure, Mollie and I haven’t hanged out in a while due to everything else happening in my life, but I didn’t know she was out here tuoring kids, yet alone in a performing arts high school.

milolani: in vocal? who? 

Before I can send the message, my teacher for my next class called out for me to get her in her class before the late bell went off. I deleted it, annoyed that this day has literally gotten me nowhere with anyone. I wish Sophie was here today.