Anna arrived at the music room with her heart racing and the hand holding her own guitar trembling. With the lights off, the place was dimly lit, with sunlight filtering through the tall windows, casting long shadows over the cluttered space. Her new bandmates were all there. Lucas, standing near his mic, barely glanced in her direction, his body stiff and unwelcoming. Darren practised a solo with silent moves, while Wei Jian sat quietly behind his drum kit, adjusting the cymbals with the same focused, grounded energy Anna had noticed days before.
“Alright, let’s get started,” Lucas didn’t even look at Anna as he spoke, his tone dismissive and impatient. He handed her some music sheets while she looked around for a stand.“These are the songs we have in our repertoire. We will focus on the three I have marked and decide later which one fits better for the mid-term showcase. Let’s practise ‘Congratulations’ now.”
Anna felt a flicker of irritation but swallowed it down. discomfort did not improve as she sifted through a dozen unknown songs for the one Lucas had mentioned. When she found it, she put the hastily scribbled tablatures on the stand and quickly took her custom Les Paul out of its case.
She set up her guitar, her fingers tingling with anticipation. After a quick check, she found the jack of a cable connected to the closest amp and plugged her instrument in. With a flick, she powered it on, a faint hum vibrating through the air.
“What sound exactly are we going for here? I haven’t heard this song.”
“You are an expert, aren’t you? Just get the tone right.”
She frowned slightly, glancing at him and the rest of the band. Darren crouched over her amp, fingers turning the pegs. “This will do. Are you sure to play cold?”
“Even with Lucas’ writing making me wonder if he’s Beethoven, I can still handle it.”
“I wrote those,” said Wei from behind.
“Oh,” Anna muttered. “Sorry.”
Darren’s phone appeared from behind her, ready with a video of the song. Ana pressed play and turned down the volume just enough to hear without disturbing the others. After listening to the entire song with attention fixed on the paper’s notes, she handed the phone back to Darren when finished. “Got it. I suppose these rushed notes are adjustments to cover keyboard melodics? Good job, big guy.”
Wei hummed, unable to raise his flushing face from the drums.
They launched without further preamble. Lucas barked out the starting note, and the band followed, each member falling into rhythm. Anna let her fingers glide over the strings, the familiar rush of music flooding her senses. Her movements were fluid, precise, but even her, skilled to levels her bandmates would never believe, had the struggle of who has not practised. And to compensate, she put more emphasis and effort into the delivery.
Halfway through, Lucas suddenly cut the song short, his hand raising to put the music to an abrupt halt.
“You’re playing too hard,” Lucas snapped.
Anna blinked, surprised by an outburst much more confrontational than it should have been. “Sorry,” she said, trying to stay calm. “I was aiming for more Jimmy Page and less Coldplay.”
As usual, her joke didn’t land well. Lucas’ eyes narrowed, his irritation barely concealed. “This isn’t about you showing off,” he munched. “This is Day6, not Coldplay or whoever that guy is.”
“I’m not trying to show off, really.” She said, addressing the other two members more than the singer.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
“I understand,” Lucas squeezed a clearly forced smile. “You can do better. Try to tone it down and not drown my vocals, please. Let’s start again.”
Anna took a deep breath, her fingers still resting lightly on the strings. She had always played with passion, that was just who she was, but as a glee performer, she was used to all sorts of music, and in a world where Rock didn’t exist, melodic songs were the norm to ease the hearts of battered men, and she was ready to play as smooth and bland as Lucas demanded. Music was her life, yes. But she needed no one to fill that gap. What she needed was to fill much wider holes in her soul.
Fingers flexed over the strings, forcing herself to relax. If he wanted something smoother, she’d give him smoother. She adjusted her grip on the pick, loosening her hold to soften her attack. No more heavy-handed strumming, and lighter, controlled swinging.
The band resumed practice, but the atmosphere remained strained. Every note Anna played seemed to rub Lucas the wrong way, no matter how hard she tried. The others, caught in the middle, said nothing. As the minutes ticked by, the weight of unspoken discomfort grew heavier.
At the end of the last song, Lucas stared at her, his jaw tight. “Not so bad, after all. I suppose with some practice, you can learn how to play within the group.”
Anna snorted, hiding from Lucas her eye roll. He’d be right about her style by the beginning of the session, but now it was clear he was just piling up his dislike for her as a person over anything related to her playing. The confidence in her skills and the knowledge of her craft would not allow empty words to leak in.
“Right, right.” She tapped the body of the guitar and searched for any reaction from the two she really cared about. “I think it was not too bad for, well… a first day.”
She was unsure of what to expect, but Darren packing up his bass without a word and slipping out of the room felt like a punch. Wei Jian stayed quiet as usual, observing Lucas as he left soon after, and then searching for a small bag where he put his sticks. As he gave a brief glance before leaving her alone, Anna reached for a side chair, guitar on her lap.
“This is the way a music club ends, not with a bang but a whimper, right?”
Strangely, Nyx didn’t answer. The guitar, her only listener, responded with a heartfelt solo, fingers and thoughts dancing with notes and memories of ‘brothers in arms’, all blending further into a mournful drift.
The music took her away from the place and the moment. When her fingers stopped, the afternoon was already darkening, and the school seemed to fall asleep without the noise of brats bouncing around in every corner. When she put her guitar in the case, her frown lowered to the sight of the box in front of her.
Black wood adorned with gilt filigree beckoned to be opened, though Anna did not feel the usual desire to do so at the moment. Still, seeing the curse seek an acquaintance was enough for Nyx to notice. “What is it?” he bellowed, nerves brimming over in trembling words. “It has appeared to you, right? Is it there?”
“It’s here,” she whispered. Zipping her pack and standing in a crouch, she challenged the Strings of the Heart, almost as if she could feel the damned thing could stand against her.
She put her guitar aside and stepped forward, decisive and brave. “What are you doing, Anna?” Nyx said. “Anna, leave the thing alone!”
She grabbed the box, weight deceptively light in her trembling hands, and rushed through the corridor, Nyx’s frantic calls ignored. Reaching the inner stairs, she glanced at the empty landing below. Without a second thought, she hurled the box over the railing and let it go. It plummeted the pavement, scattering itself and the hurdy-gurdy inside across the ground with a deafening clatter, pieces splintering in every direction.
“Damn girl. I-I thought you were going to open..to play it,” Nyx sounded relieved, and for once, scared. “Why did you do that? You know it doesn’t work.”
She turned back, walking back to the practice room. “I know.” Her voice reassured herself as she put her guitar strap over the shoulder.
At the moment she reached the room’s door, the corner of her eye caught what she’d expected to see when she returned. A presence she knew well it would return, and despite that, it gave her a shiver down the spine. The Strings of the Heart lay in the same spot as before, untouched, as if nothing had happened. Its polished wood and intricate carvings sending flashes of mockery towards her futile resistance.
She smirked, shaking her head slightly. “But it felt good, nonetheless.”