"Good morning," I say softly as I peek into the room. Mr. Carter checks to make sure Cole is the only one in the room before taking a seat outside.

I take a couple of apprehensive steps into the room, taking deep breaths to try and calm the jitters in my body. I still have no clue as to where the sudden confidence came from last night, but there's no turning back now.

Cole looks up from his laptop and gives me a wave. I feel the tension in my rigid muscles start to relax when he gives me a cheerful grin. He's wearing a navy blue Henley shirt with the sleeves rolled up, exposing part of a strange looking tattoo along his forearm. His light brown hair is softly tousled and slightly shiny where the sunlight catches it. I quickly clear my throat and walk over to the piano when I realize I'm staring.

"Morning Melody, I got you some coffee." He points towards a disposable red cup on the table. It seems to be the only type of cup I've seen students around campus carry. Do all Canadians only drink coffee from Tim Hortons? "I wasn't sure how you take your coffee though, so I just got a double double."

I furrow my brows in confusion. "Thank you, but... I don't know what that means."

He chuckles. "It's a term we use for two sugars, two creams."

"Ah. I prefer black with a shot of espresso, but thank you." I pick up the warm cup. It's alright, a bit too sweet but acceptable.

He puts his laptop away and follows me over to the piano. "I'm honestly kind of surprised you actually showed up."

I quirk a brow. "Why?"

He tucks his hands into his pockets and looks at me apologetically. "I've sort of been trying to pressure you into cooperating since the first time we met. I don't want you to feel obligated to do something because of that."

That's strangely mature of him. "Did you come to that realization on your own?" Somehow, I'm doubtful.

He stares at the floor while shifting his weight back and forth. "Well, the girls from the newspaper might've given me an earful after they found out."

I laugh dryly. That sounds about right. "Don't flatter yourself too much, Cole. I came here on my own accord, same with last night." I wouldn't be caught dead doing something so foolish and ill-advised. Mr. Carter raised me to be an independent young lady who would never be pushed around by a boy like that. I reach to give his arm a light pat. "I appreciate the sentiment though."

He pouts a little but I can see the twinkle of amusement in his eyes. "Alright, good to know." He sits down on the piano bench and looks up at me expectantly. "Shall we begin?"

I take a seat next to Cole on the bench. There's a faint scent of body spray. It's not like the heavy expensive cologne I'm used to smelling on most musicians I've met. It's more mellow and welcoming, I like it.

"How about we start with scales?"

"Sure." Cole cracks his knuckles and hovers his hands over the keys.

"C major."

He quickly places his hands down at the middle of the keyboard and plays the scale, nice and easy.

"G major."

He stares at me blankly. "Uh, where's G again?"

By the time the hour is over, we've labeled most of the keys on the pianos with neon sticky notes. Written on each is the corresponding key. It looks a little ridiculous, but it's quite effective. My piano teacher did the same with me when I was little.

I quickly learn that Cole has no rhythm. I'm not particularly surprised, he played me some of the music he likes. The artist's voice sounded robotic and the inconsistent tempo and patterns made absolutely no sense to me. No method to that madness.

He felt too embarrassed to count beats out loud. The best compromise he was willing to make was to clap them instead. I have no idea how long he's going to try to keep up his "cool guy" act, but I'll admit it's a little funny seeing him get flustered when it falters.

"You're such a good teacher Melody."

I blush and give him a shy smile. "Thanks, and... you can call me Mel."

He has an amused grin on his face. "Mel huh? I like it, but what's wrong with Melody?"

"I've never liked my name." I wrinkle my nose. "My mom was really hoping for a musically gifted child. She got one, but it also left me with an embarrassingly ironic name."

The years of fake smiles and laughs I had to give when most interviewers or emcees would make the same comments and jokes about my name were awful. They thought they were so funny and clever.

I was tempted to legally change my name when I was old enough. It didn't happen though, my staff insisted that it would be a PR nightmare to go through rebranding. Rebranding, as if I'm some sort of product and not a human being.

"Well Mel, are you free tomorrow morning too?"

-----

Cole's pacing back and forth, talking on the phone when I arrive. He doesn't notice me quietly slipping into the room. Mr. Carter looks quite entertained, he leans against the doorway to watch Cole. I roll my eyes and shoo him away.

"Laura for God's sake, please stop calling me, I already said no," he groans, dragging his hand down his face. He glances at his watch. "Look, I have plans. I have to go." He scowls as he listens. "Well what if it is? That's none of your business. Bye."

Cole hangs up and rests his hands on the nearest windowsill. Sighing heavily, tilting his head forwards and letting his forehead thump against the window. "She's gonna be the end of me," he murmurs.

"Are you alright?" I speak up.

Cole jumps a bit, nearly dropping his phone on the floor - oh how the tables have turned. The frown on his face dissipates into a slight smile when he sees me. "Oh, hey Mel. I was just talking to Laura."

I take my coat off and drape it over a chair before pausing to study his face. His jaw is tight and his posture is stiff. Laura must've really gotten to him. I wonder what they were talking about. As much as I want to respect his privacy, I'm also very curious. "What did she want?"

He absentmindedly rubs his jaw. "She wanted to go out tonight, but I said no. She started whining, saying she wanted to see me again and demanded to know what I was doing."

My eyes widen. Who knows what chaos a clingy ex would purposely cause if they found out their ex had a big secret. "You...you didn't tell her, right?"

He shakes his head. "No, of course not, Mel."

Thank goodness. "Alright. Well, should we start?"

"Sure." Cole nods and walks over to the piano. "Same song as yesterday? Fur Elise?"

"Actually," I begin, "I think we should go over some basics first."

I head over to the table by the side of the room and take a seat. I can feel Cole peering over my shoulder. I try to hide my smile as I dig through my bag and take out a set of flashcards, placing the pack onto the table. They're meant to help you learn different music symbols and their functions.

He stares at me blankly. "You can't be serious Mel."

"Why wouldn't I be?" I pout.

"Those are for kids," he whines.

"Who says?"

He scowls and picks up the box. "There's a cartoon mouse on the box, and it says five and up in the corner."

"You're older than five, aren't you?" I give him an innocent smile. "Ok, ok," I giggle when he scowls at me. "C'mon Cole, it doesn't matter. The point is to learn!"

"I don't need those, I can learn as I play," he insists. "I'm self-taught in so many things Mel, trust me."

I shut my eyes and rub my temples. I swear sometimes Cole is more full of himself than the egotistical, smug musicians I met when I was younger. The ones who were more or less enamored by themselves. They would play the complicated songs they composed for me and show off their fancy homes - giving me boring tours of their houses during parties. I tried my best to be cordial. According to mom and Mr. Carter, they were trying to impress me. Clearly, it didn't work.

"You need to learn to swallow your pride sometimes. Humility is good for you."

"Hey I'm plenty humble," he defends. "C'mon Mel, please?" He flashes me a charming smile.

I playfully nudge him. "I can assume what that smile does to most girls, but it won't get you anywhere with me."

He crosses his arms and sits down with a huff. "Fine."

I give him a cheery smile and sit down. The cards are divided into categories. "Let's start with dynamic notations. They indicate the volume you should be playing at." I take out the first set of cards from the box and show one to him.

"mF, stands for mezzo forte. All notes following this symbol are played at a medium loud level, until the next dynamic notation."

He nods and I take out the next card.

Cole snickers.

"What?" I take another look at the card and roll my eyes. "For God's sake, how old are you Cole?"

He bursts out laughing. "Aww c'mon Mel, it says pp!"

"It's pianissimo," I groan and whack him on the head with the card. That just makes him laugh harder. "It means very quiet, which you should be right now."

He quickly switches to a fake and exaggerated serious expression. "Yes Ma'am."

-----

"Morning Mel, your coffee's over there, just how you like it," Cole cheerfully greets me when I come in. "Yours too Mr. Carter."

By the time Friday has rolled around, we've gotten into a nice routine. Cole's playing has improved. It's not great...but he's improved. I get to campus at 7am and Cole is already in the room waiting for me. We chat for a little bit, then practice till 8am. Afterwards, I walk with Cole to his first class, only because it's along the same path towards the parking lot. I wouldn't go that out of my way to spend more time with him.

I don't know if I'm just seeing things, but I swear I've spotted a red headed girl following us multiple times now. Cole denies it though. I suppose I'm still just paranoid out of habit.

Despite his inflated ego and occasional failed attempts to flirt, Cole's become quite enjoyable to be around. He's kind, funny, and intelligent. Heck, even Mr. Carter seems to have grown a liking for him. It's been a nice way to spend my mornings, I can't even remember the last time I've woken up actually looking forward to starting the day.

"You're being a lowercase r again," I giggle, lightly pressing against Cole's lower back and using my other hand to gently tug his shoulder back a little. Cole forgets to sit up straight so often that we got tired of me using the word slouch. Candy cane, umbrella handle, and fishing hook have been my favourite word substitutions so far.

Cole just laughs and straightens his posture. "I don't understand how you manage to always sit and stand with perfect posture Mel."

My stomach lurches a little as the memories of practicing creep back into my mind. I quickly push the thoughts away. "Years of practice I suppose."

We get up for our usual mid-point break and walk over to the side table to drink some more of our coffee.

I suddenly hear the dreaded words that make my whole body go cold and pale.

"Is that Melody Aria?!"

--------------------------------

Oh no 😱 I wouldn't have the patience to teach someone lol

Thanks for reading! :)