Welcome! Make yourself comfortable.

Enjoy the music? It's nice, right? Yes, yes, I pulled it from the auditorium.

Sit here! On the couch. It's a vintage brown, which I got from the furniture store… and so delicious.

But… I would advise you not to touch the cat. Don't disturb him. His name is Mr. Snuffy and he gets angry when his food tries to touch him.

Okay, here's the thing: he doesn't eat humans all the time, but he does have eight mouths (just one more mouth to go, and he'll have nine, woo!) and what else is there to eat?

Cat food? Of course I feed him cat food.

—Have I seen a gong?

How do you know about that… I don't think he told you yet… no.

Oh, this photograph? Yes, I do occasionally dabble in photography, doesn't everyone? That's a picture of your friend. Recently I've been taking tabs. I have photos of this and that. I even took a picture of your friend's blue hair! Want me to send you the .jpg?

No? You sure? That's too bad. It probably would have brought up some bad memories… haha-

Oh.

I see.

That's why you're here.

Are you sure you want to open that can of worms?

Humans… are always the same.

Well, hold your breath then. It is the only warning I can give you.

Because…

No, nevermind. Just take this: •

A pebble.

If you ever get lost, follow it back. Follow the pebble as it drops…

D

O

W

N

•

•

•

Laughter… and then silence.

The sound of voices begins to coalesce, mingling together like water in a deep, forgotten well.

Choice. Told you. Is this…

Right, wrong? Of course. I suppose. But first…

"We have a L-I-ttle eavesdropper here," a distorted voice mutters, cracks in the audio…

Nothing. Not a feature on their faces. They look so human, their voices too. But for some reason…

"It's fine," the second assured, "Let them stay."

"You were supposed to procure a safe place," the silhouette stated, an echo weaving through its voice.

Pictures flash. Faces. Recognize them? Remember them? Do not try to recall them. They're not quite-

"This place is safe," a third voice interjected, laughing, "we already know who it is."

-right.

"Well, it's to be expected," the second figure's blurred face twisted into a smile. "After all, our guest is our accidental friend. Hello."

Friend? Their glances persist, but…

"I say, of course you're amazed," the third figure retorted, a chuckle resounding within the abyss.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"This time around we chose them," the first mulled, a dark tide humming through its voice.

"Awfully curious," the third queried, playful, "The main character will be so upset when he finds out…"

"And you gave it to an unimportant side." the first figure murmured, "I can never seem to think ahead of you."

The voices began to blur together. A hushed conversation.

The third figure laughed and said: "But at least you always know how to rub the salt into their wounds."

"This time, things will be different, you'll see," the second figure promised, echoing in the hollow dark.

"Oh, poor them. Those old geezers," the third figure referred to the others, amusement tainted with scorn, "are getting scared now..."

"It's important to dangle the fruit in front. To make them think they have a chance," the second figure mused, a dangerous glint. A spider's web.

"It makes the fall,

so much…

…more pleasant," the first figure agreed, the echo of a callous laugh worming through the emptiness.

The figures fell silent for a moment, the tension hanging like a heavy mist, tied at the neck.

"Time and time again, it has been run over and over," the third figure continued, a broken record, a recurring nightmare.

"I suppose they might think that we've made a..." the second figure began, only to be interrupted by the laughter of the first and third, a cold wind balancing on broken planks.

The pebble shivers.

"No, no… Too many spoilers would be bad, after all..." the first figure finally said, its voice filled with dripping mirth.

With that, they wiped the scene away, leaving behind a lost boy and a little pebble: •

•

"Where…

•

… am I?"

•

For a second… the pebble disappears.

Breathe…

Don't forget to breathe.

•

Breathe.

Wake up.

•

Right. It is time to wake up.

Blink.

•

A stage.

An orchestra.

The auditorium.

•

"How long was I out?"

"Steven… you've been sleeping for a while. The period is almost over."

"What happened?" He asked.

Mayo answers him with a small shrug, "Nothing much… just… I'll explain on the way."

It was a long story:

| Right after gym, the three walked over to the auditorium. There, all the students waited patiently. |

"You had fallen asleep." Mayo said.

Right. He had fallen asleep, dreaming about a pebble: •

"Then…" She continued her run-down of events:

| At the very front of the room, two women playfully chatted as they watched students stream in. One had skin darker than the floors of the auditorium, with curly frizzy brown hair, and intense hazel eyes that seemed to glow in the light.

The other was a woman with straight black hair in a shorter bob and bangs, who gestured for the first teacher to begin.

"Hello," The first woman waved. Her voice was warm and kind. "I'm a music teacher! My name is Mrs. Muse!"

"Hi," the other voiced mellowly, "I'm the vocal teacher, My name is Mrs. Song." Her words had a musical quality to them, charming and elegant, but her gray eyes were piercing.

Mrs. Muse explained that she taught music history and instructed students on how to play instruments, while Mrs. Song taught Korean, but also coached courses as a vocal teacher. Today, she proclaimed, was a bit special:

"Since it's the first day meeting you all, I'll let some of my seniors play you a few songs!" Mrs. Muse smiled warmly and clasped her hands.

The curtains opened, pulling away to reveal the chorus on top of the stage. All dressed and draped in attires that were pretty casual.

Mrs. Muse waved her hand.

The first violinist started the piece.

Slow and steady, then quickening, it was composed of warm tones. It sounded like an ode to a loved one. In the second verse, a note was changed. The slight structural deviation created a despondent vibe, amidst the buoyant tune. The sound of music rang through the halls. The melody was sweet, yet melancholy, and the story it told was love. The harmony of different instruments painted a wonderful symphony where the world seemed warm, even if it was only for a few moments, blossoming and then dissipating on the same note.

The music was recounting memories of an everlasting tale.

An eternal love? No, just…

A bittersweet end.

"Now, of course, these are some of the official orchestra and chorus members. They had years of practice and dedicated many hours of hard work to become this skilled at their craft. With hard work, most of you guys can reach their level." The brunette gushed excitedly.

"Mrs. Muse, excuse me. If I may say something…" Mrs. Song interrupted.

"Yeah, sure. Go ahead."

Mrs. Song looked at the audience. Her beauty enchanted everyone and then she opened her mouth:

"I applaud hard work, but there are things in life you can't force. You can't force a blind person to see colors. I don't see much musical talent in most of you," She murmured a bit wistfully.

Her words seemed to enchant the audience into listening to her.

'No', some of the freshmen thought: 'I won't disappoint you'.

(Unfortunately, they already had.)

Mrs. Muse continued to talk.

"...And even if you have talent, you live in a world where you need to look good! You might find it hard to succeed if your appearance stays like it is now. Not to mention-"

"Alright! Mrs. Song," Mrs. Muse sang out as she covered Mrs. Song's mouth, and pulled her into a shoulder hug. She quickly talked about auditions, before reminding the students: "Remember, classes are held in the auditorium, every Monday and Wednesday."

"One last thing before we go," Mrs. Muse continued, "Don't leave yet… Mrs. Song and I will do a practical demonstration."

She pulled out a cello from behind her and started to play a song. It was discordant, but skillfully played.

The audience politely clapped.

"Thank you," She bowed. "That's called the 'Song of Falling Apart'."

A student called out, "Falling apart?"

"Yes," Mrs. Muse answered. The entire auditorium began to shake, vigorously, as the floorboards creaked and groaned. Within a split second, the ceiling and walls, and glass began to crash down.

Just as the students jumped out of their seats, Mrs. Song spoke a word that flashed in front of her, and the crumbling building halted to a stop.

"See," Mrs. Muse said, "Now right there, Mrs. Song used a divine word to prevent the ceiling pieces from falling on top of you. Th-"

"Mrs. Muse," Mrs. Song warned, pointing to the flashing symbol.

"Oh," Mrs. Muse laughed and picked up her cello again. She played a slow melody, a pleasant one. Gradually, the pieces reversed their place, and the building was whole once more.

"Alright kids, class is dismissed!" |