So much happened, wow!! I’m surprised I even managed to write it all down, haha. I suppose that’s a good thing, since we had the next two days off. I hope you all enjoy reading this bundle of highlights!! ^^
Let’s get into it!!
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I walked out of my lesson and into the band hall while the band was wrapping up their warmups. I began to hustle to my seat while simultaneously trying to stay as quiet as possible. M was super focused on listening to everyone else, so I didn’t notice him looking in my direction very much at all while I set up.
Despite this, he still gave me more time to set my things up in my seat. When I was about done, he told the band that we would start on our performance music. I thought that was sweet of him to wait for me.
~~
We worked on the first piece for a little bit, starting near the end. Everything was fine and dandy, then BOOM! “Isolation groups,” he told us, smirking. He then called on the groups to raise their hands. Whenever the time came for me to raise my hand for the first group I was a part of, he would look at me before scanning the rest of the room.
I was part of another group as well, so when I raised my hand for that one, instead of giving me a simple look, he smiled as well. I had returned his look with a shyer one before he brought his eyes away from my own to look at the room.
One by one, he called the groups to play, then had us give feedback to those who participated. When the first group finished, there was a second of silence in which I looked at M. He glanced at me momentarily before announcing to the band, “give feedback.”
Out of nowhere, after calling on many people to restate the constructive criticism they received, he didn’t wait to continue. “Group 2!” I was super caught off guard, as he didn’t even spare a moment of silence before announcing our turn.
I could see him looking at me with a playful smile, probably expecting my shock, just as I turned around to lift my tuba up from its resting spot next to my chair. When I looked back, he was waiting for everyone else to get set now. We then began the rep.
I played okay. I got some feedback from the others, then M stopped everyone and went around the room to listen. He called on a few people before reaching me. “R?” He questioned. He then leaned in to listen. I repeated the advice I was told. He just stared at me for a second before nodding and listening to some others, then moving to the next group. Then the group after that.
It was now time for the fifth, final group, which I was playing in. “Raise your hands, so we know who you are!” He suggested in the form of a statement. “Ouhp—“ I made a noise before I raised my hand. This brought a chuckle from one of my tuba friends sitting next to me. I suppressed all anxiousness I was feeling and got set to play.
Luckily, I played way better than I did last time! My section was unsure what to tell me for this rep, so they had me make something up. M was calling on people while I tried to think of something, and I saw him looking over at me expectantly.
I raised my arm and he called on me. I said something about focusing on the accents on the page, and he paused once more before saying “okay,” then moving on. Hahaha. Obviously, my friend didn’t agree with me either, but I couldn’t think of much else.
~~
M had asked a low reed instrument whether one of their notes were staccato or not, since he couldn’t tell on his very small score. He started asking around for people who had the same part there. He questioned back and forth whether or not these people had a staccato marked on their own pages.
“Do the tubas have a staccato there too?” He asked eventually, looking up at me from his score with a questioning glance. His pencil was gripped lightly in his right hand. Seeing his big eyes looking up at me like that was so cute.
“Yes.” I responded. My voice wasn’t super clear; it crackled a bit but he still heard me and saw me nod, so we’re fine. Another one in my section had affirmed his query right after me, but he still only looked my way. That was odd, haha.
~~
After class, before I put my tuba up, I went to ask M a question. I walked up to him and he was just walking off the podium. He looked over at me once he realized I was walking over to him, eyes wide and all that jazz, listening readily. I love that about him.
“Do we still have a rehearsal today after school?” I asked him. He paused for a moment before I was not present during the announcement he usually did before warmup, due to private lessons. He responded, “Yes. We do have rehearsals after school today.” I nodded and smiled at him, giving him a thumbs up with my left hand while I turned to leave.
He did the same, smiling and giving me a thumbs up with his left hand as well while he turned to the right. This made me so happy. It was so cute seeing him give me a thumbs-up—especially right after I did it too. He’s so nice.
~~
After school, I headed over to the office to ask M a question that my lesson teacher recommended I should ask him earlier that day. I walked up to the office and as it was pretty dark, I didn’t think anyone was in there. Regardless, I stood to the left of the window and planted four (quite loud) knocks over the doorknob.
I waited an extra second before I opened the door and leaned my head in to look. It wasn’t until I had my upper torso in there that I could see the faint glow of M’s desktop screen on his head and his face. His office, again, was quite dark and dim aside from where he sat, which was lit by a yellow-tinted lamp and the white light of the computer screen in front of him.
The room had a light and pleasant aroma of coffee. It was also quite toasty. What an amazing environment to work in. I was so glad to see him here. Upon first seeing me, he kept a happier smile on his face, never letting his eyes leave mine. My first goal to walk in uninterrupted was complete. It was now my primary focus not to stumble on my words.
“Hey R,” he was still smiling and gazing at me with those wide eyes as I fully walked through the door. “What’s going on?” I tried not to break eye contact; his gaze struck me as very strong, interested, and attentive, and it’s not often I get that look from people…aside from him, of course. I cast one quick look to the floor before moving my eyes back to his.
Every bit of sentence structure knowledge slipped from my brain. “I was going to ask, for solos, how we can sign up a piano…? Person..??” He smiled a little sheepishly and leaned forward. “Could you say that again?” I paused to clear my mind and walked a little closer to him. I began making a calmer statement. “Uhh—I was going to ask you how we can sign someone up for our solo as…piano accompaniment.” I said the last part a little quieter, as I was afraid I would say it wrong.
“Oh,” his expression grew more invested in thought, and his lips drew into a line. “That’s something I haven’t said..” He typed on his keyboard momentarily before looking back in front of him. “Solos aren’t for a bit,” he began, “but I’ll figure out who we can hire, and I’ll let you know.” After he said this, he turned his head back to me and cast a warm smile up to my face. I absolutely love his eyes. His smile. He is so beautiful.
It looked like he was expecting me to say something else, but I just stood there, frozen. “Well…thank you!!” I beamed. He did the same. “Of course.” I turned and strolled towards the exit. I looked back at him. “Have a nice weekend!!” I told him. “You too.” The gentle smile on his face never faltered.
Before I could walk out of the room, I heard him say to me, genuinely, and without looking my way, “I’m so glad you said that.” I felt my heart flutter at the relieved tone of his voice. My lips spread into a loving smile. I turned back to look at him once more before chuckling and replying, “Hahaha, I am too.”
Seeing him smile while he worked made me so happy. I decided to leave him be; this was a great way to end the week early. “See you!!” I called to him as I approached the door. “Buh-bye,” I saw him smile a little more before I walked out of the room. I then continued to beam so much. ❤️
When I was walking out of the band hall around five minutes later, smiling and laughing with a friend as well, I had glanced into the office once more. I had a perfect view of his face. He was giggling to himself, smiling so much, and looking over at me through the office window.
His eyes were creased again because of his huge smile, and it was such a lovely sight. The most adorable thing ever. I began to feel a warm smile spread on my own lips now. I wonder if he noticed me glancing in there.
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Woah, I’m still getting butterflies from this, even almost a week later. I love him so much, and I’m so lucky to have him here. ❤️ He’ll only be here for two days next week, so I will make the most of my time with him in that time frame.
I hope everyone enjoyed reading this, and has a great night as well!!
