6

The party had come to an end, and as everyone left, only my mother and I remained.

"It was fun, wasn't it?" I asked my mother, who responded with a heartfelt smile, not uttering a word.

"Hey, Liam, you must have a dream, right? I had one too, but I could never achieve it. So I will help you achieve yours. Don't hesitate to ask for my help, okay?" It was a random remark, but I suppose my mother could see the newfound ambition in my eyes.

"Mom, I want to be a music producer," I replied, looking directly into her eyes. "And I promise I will make it big, so you won't have to burden yourself and can live a little, okay?"

We hadn't had such a heartfelt conversation in a long time, and it felt magical. After cleaning up, I returned to my room to sleep, knowing that the next day I would be attending a new school—a fresh start.

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I woke up early and got ready for my new school, wearing a simple black hoodie. I walked with my bicycle towards the school, understanding the value of a little exercise.

"Hello, Mrs. Dunphy. Hi, Haley! See you at school," I greeted Claire and Haley, as I found them outside their house, preparing to leave for school.

I didn't linger there, not catching if they said anything in response, but I did hear Haley saying, "No, don't."

Upon arriving at the school, I parked my bike and headed straight to the principal's office to collect my schedule.

"Good morning, Sir. I am Liam Cadence, the new transfer student," I greeted the principal.

"Good morning, Mr. Cadence. Here is your schedule and the keys to your locker. I hope you have a good year here," the principal replied, handing me my schedule and locker keys. I thanked him and left the principal's office.

As I wandered through the halls, trying to find my first class, I eventually reached the room for my first lecture, which happened to be Science, taught by Mr. Hendricks, our homeroom teacher as well.

"Excuse me, sir. I am Liam Cadence, the new transfer student," I knocked on the door and entered the class. The room was empty, as the official start of the school day hadn't yet arrived. Only the teacher was present, setting up his materials for the lecture.

"Oh, good morning, Mr. Cadence. You're a bit late for a transfer student, but no problem. We'll work together to make sure you catch up. Just take any seat you like; we don't have assigned seating here," Mr. Hendricks greeted me, suggesting I choose any available seat. I nodded and made my way to an unoccupied seat.

Rather than taking the coveted seat near the window, I opted for a single seat in the middle column, the second-to-last seat. As other students began to arrive, the class gradually filled up.

To my right, there was a boy my age, and to my left, a girl. Both of them smiled at me, and I couldn't help but smile back.

"Hey, I'm Lucas, Lucas Rhythm. And this is my sister, Olivia Rhythm. So, you transferred here, out of all places," the boy on my right, Lucas, introduced himself and his sister.

"Hello, I'm Liam Cadence. Are you guys twins or something?" I introduced myself, noticing their shared last name.

"Yeah, we are twins," Lucas replied.

"Are you by any chance related to Jake Rhythm?" I asked, once again noting their last name.

"Oh, he's our father. Have you been to our shop before?" Olivia inquired.

"Yeah, I bought an acoustic guitar from there," I sheepishly replied, leaving out the details of the bet.

"So, I guess you sing as well, I hope?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah, I do sing. Why do you ask?" I responded, now genuinely interested in the conversation.

"Well, my sister and I have a band. We started in middle school, and we're still together. We used to have a main singer, but he got recruited by the seniors. So, now we're in need of a new singer," Lucas explained.

"I don't know, man. I've never really worked with a team before. I like to have control over everything myself. I'm not sure if I can work well with others," I replied, trying not to sound like a complete amateur.

"Why don't we give it a try, then? I play the drums, and my brother is good with guitars and bass. Let's see how it goes," Olivia suggested, and since I also wanted to be part of a band, I agreed to give it a shot.

"Okay, if you say so," I conceded to their request.

Soon, the teacher began taking attendance, and my first day at the school officially began. The lectures weren't much different from what I had been studying at my previous school—the curriculum was practically the same—so I had no trouble catching up.

When lunch break arrived, Lucas, Olivia, and I stored our belongings in our lockers and made our way to the cafeteria. As we entered, I noticed a table filled with students.

I spotted Haley there and waved at her. She waved back with a smile but soon shifted her attention elsewhere when a boy joined her at the table.

"Do you know Haley?" Olivia asked me.

"Yes, she's my neighbor," I replied, not fully aware of the situation here.

"Oh, I see. I mean, Dylan wouldn't appreciate it if he saw you talking to Haley," Lucas mentioned.

"I don't care about Dylan or whoever he is," I responded, taking my food tray and sitting with the two of them at another table.

The break came to an end, and we returned to our classes. Nothing significant happened for the remainder of the day, except for a few more classes.

As the school day concluded, I followed Lucas and Olivia to their garage, where they had set up their little music space, complete with a drum kit, basses, and electric guitars.