46 CH 45: The Magical Symphony
Eri and Ede sat at the backseat of a BMW M3, buckled in safely.
Excitement elated their faces as the city became a blur outside the car windows. Both had agreed to attend a summer class for music. After breakfast, the twins could hardly wait. They dragged their older sister outside and headed for the car.
Eve wasn't able to refuse. She chuckled at the memory and peeked at the rearview mirror. Her sisters swayed their heads to the radio music while they quietly sang lyrics.
It didn't take long for her to find the music school.
The building seemed to be a refurbished shop. The walls had been painted white while the roof had orange asphalt. It only had two floors with a large window at the front. Music note stickers decorated the glass. It also had recreated a music sheet's staff, making it flow like a wave.
The middle had thick cursive letters that read,
``The Magical Symphony``
"We're here!" Eri exclaimed. She tried to get up but the seat belt yanked her back. Ede followed her line of sight. Their brown eyes widened in amazement. Things suddenly felt more real.
They were actually going to learn an instrument.
Eve parked the car at the nearest vacant spot. She killed the engine and climbed out first. Since the girls were in a hurry, she only had time to slip on a gray t-shirt dress. The hem almost reached her knees. She paired it with white sneakers. They felt comfortable on her feet after wearing heels for the past few days.
Eri and Ede climbed out at her side of the car. The two girls sprinted for the entrance. It was made of mahogany with square glass windows. A wind chime hung at the top. They waited for their older sister to join them.
But then, the door opened.
Their heads snapped towards it.
"Oh!" The woman gasped.
"Ah!" The twins yelled.
The woman chuckled at their faces. She tilted her head to one and observed the two. A gentle smile blossomed on her face. "I don't think I've seen you before. Are you new students?"
Eri and Ede exchanged looks. Their mouths clamped shut at the sight of a stranger. They had been trained not to talk to one without a guardian around. To outsiders, it seemed that they had a silent conversation, fuelling the theory that twins had telepathy.
"It's okay. I don't bite." The woman coaxed. The sunlight from outside glistened in her jade green eyes. It also brought out the golden tones of tight ginger curls. She held out a hand for them to shake. "I'm a teacher here. My name is Mila. What's yours?"
The girls remained silent and hid their hands behind their backs.
Mila found it peculiar but cute.
"Geez, you guys are fast." Eve called out as she caught up to her sisters. Her head shook at them. "You couldn't have waited for me beside the car? I had to—oh!"
Her brown eyes spotted Mila. Her mouth opened and closed like a goldfish. She blinked at the sudden presence. It seemed like they weren't alone. Feeling embarrassed by her outburst, she scratched the back of her neck and pressed her lips together.
Mila shifted her attention.
"You must be their guardian. Hi, I'm Mila," she greeted Eve, directing the raised hand towards her. "These two are so adorable. I can't get them to speak though. Such a shame."
"Oh!" Eve exclaimed, breaking out of her daze. She shook the teacher's hand and gave an apologetic smile. "I'm Everlee. I'm their older sister. Yeah, they were told not to talk to strangers alone."
Mila nodded in approval. Her gaze flickered back on the twins. "That sounds like a reasonable thing to do. They're good girls. I assume they're enrolling for class?"
"Yes."
"Well, then," she stepped aside and opened the door fully, "Why don't we go inside?"
Eve and her sisters were led to an empty music room. It had a wooden flooring and cream walls. Twinkle lights hung at the edge of the ceiling, adding a rustic ambiance whenever they dimmed the main lights. Strings instruments stood near the back wall. A large black piano took up one-fourth of the space.
A podium had been set up underneath a blackboard.
Mila turned to the twins and said, "Why don't you go out and explore? You can check out the ongoing classes through the door windows. Some of them instructors might even let you in."
When neither of them moved, Eve patted their shoulders. "Go on. Just stay in the building, okay? Don't touch anything without supervision."
"Okay!" Both sisters exclaimed. Then, they bolted out of the door. Their footsteps thudded on the floor as they raced around the building, searching for an active class. Their previous excitement returned at tenfold.
"They're really energetic." Mila chuckled, staring at the door.
Eve snorted at her statement. "Tell me about it."
"So, which instrument will it be?"
Mila pulled up two chairs and offered one to Eve. She also took out a clipboard from a drawer. It had printed spreadsheets about the current vacancy slots for various instrument classes. She sat down and read through them, looking for the ones designated for beginners.
"Oh, Eri wants to learn the piano," Eve started to say, sitting down on a chair. She tucked her ankles together and squeezed her thighs. "Ede is still undecided but she might want to be in the same class as her sister."
Since Eri would be attending, she figured her other sister might feel lonely. It would be nice if they both took up classes—even with different instruments. They could bond over the lessons and grow together.
"Well, there are about 2 schedules available for beginners," Mila said, marking the nearest date for new classes, "Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. Our idea is not to overwhelm them. We also hope that the intervals would make them anticipate the lessons more."
Eve nodded as she talked. It seemed reasonable to her ears. Depending on how long the hours would be, it might cost less than she initially thought. She crossed her arms over her chest as she thought about it more.
"Do they have a piano at home?" Mila suddenly asked and interrupted her thoughts, "We do have intervals for break but we also encourage students to use them for individual practice. They won't advance if they don't dedicate themselves to it."
Eve shook her head, heaving a sigh. "Sadly, no."
"It is a large instrument," Mila nodded in understanding. Her voice softened into a gentle tone. "For piano specifically, we also offer daily from Monday to Friday. It costs higher though. The extra days are for them to practice their lessons. You can think of it as renting a piano for them to do that."
Biting her lip, Eve analyzed her sisters' behavior. This would be the first time they take a lesson outside of the academic curriculum. It wouldn't be good if they suddenly hated to go since it felt like tedious work. The fee wouldn't be refundable usually in this.
"Would a portable keyboard be good enough?" She asked while her mind calculated the estimated cost of one. If both would take piano, they might need individual keyboards to not interrupt the other's practice.
If Ede chose a different instrument, Eve might need to buy her a personal one to use during class.
Mila took a deep breath. She had heard this question before. The reactions differ each time since a few guardians didn't understand the meaning behind her words. Most of them thought the school merely wanted to swindle more money.
"It's not entirely ideal because they are different. Once you master a piece on the keyboard, it's hard to transfer it to a piano. There are also separate lessons for keyboard," she explained. Her hands clenched the clipboard as she forced herself to calm down. "If your sisters are set to learn piano specifically, it would be best that they use the exact instrument. Maybe even a digital piano."
Eve bit her bottom lip and stared at the floor. She wanted the best for her sisters but she also didn't want to spoil them. Now that she had more insight, she wouldn't accept any sudden 'change of mind' from the two. They had to attend and finish all beginner classes.
Before committing though, maybe she should wait for them to get back.
"I understand about affordability. I really do," Mila spoke up, breaking the silence, "If you ask me, a keyboard is better than nothing at all. It still lets them practice. Everything is totally up to you."
At that, Eve relaxed her body. That was her mindset when she asked about the keyboard. It wasn't exactly a piano but she hoped it would be a good substitute.
The same loud footsteps came back, slowly increasing volume as the two girls reached the music room. They giggled along the way and headed straight for their older sister. They stood on either side of her while shaking her lap.
"Eve, Eve, Eve! It's amazing! The piano just sounds simply amazing!" Eri squealed, her eyes shining with enthusiasm. "I really do want to learn it! I wanna play beautiful pieces! And you know what? Ede and I could even duet!"
"A piano duo?" Mila asked, smiling at the passionate twins. The energy in the room was simply contagious.
"No, I will be playing the violin!" Ede giggled and gave her older sister a toothy grin.
Eve's eyes went wide. Her jaw slackened from the news. "The violin?"
The younger twin nodded enthusiastically. "Mhmm! It's interesting! I want to learn how they make notes with just four strings! They also sound so beautiful. One room had both a violin player and piano player. When we heard it, we knew we wanted to do it someday!"
Eve rubbed her temple. This changed some things but maybe they could make it work. Her eyes flickered towards Mila. "Do violin classes and piano ones have a matching date and time?"
"Oh, yeah. They do! They can attend classes at the same time," Mila confirmed. She shifted her attention towards the twins and winked. "I'll talk to the others if it's possible that you could do a simple duet for the recital at the end of summer."
