Page 38 of Redeeming the Villain
With Griffin and me receiving ten-minute misconducts, we won’t see any more ice time this game.
But it doesn’t matter. Because when the clock runs out, we’ll have won three to one.
This is the high, the serotonin I’m always chasing that only this sport can give me.
Rupert Von London, my idol and world-renowned pianist, is my new private lessons instructor. It still seems so surreal.
When I heard he was going to be doing lessons on campus this semester, I was the first to put my name on the list.
I still can’t believe I get to work with him. It’s a dream, and in the next five minutes, it will come true.
Early as usual, Sunny and I are waiting outside of the door to the reserved practice room.
But with no sign of him yet, my brain starts running rampant as we wait, muted sounds of instruments playing throughout the other rooms softly filling my ears.
At least I know that I won’t be running into Malik in any of my music classes. The one History class we have together is more than enough.
Although I’m beginning to wonder if I’m getting under his skin more than he is mine. But I know it’s because he’s letting me.
If he wanted, he could flip my world upside down, just like he did back then. But something’s different now—our dynamic has shifted and changed into a new unknown.
That hatred and cruelty still stir in his gaze, but there’s something else that I don’t remember seeing before. I’ve been noticing it more and more lately—a gleam in his eyes that seems to shimmer only when he looks at me.
And I have absolutely no idea how to feel about it.
An older gentleman in a suit rounds the corner, and I recognize him instantly. Just the man I’m waiting for, the legend himself.
Professor Von London strides to me with confidence. His face lights up as I smile at him, lifting my hand up for him to shake.
“You must be Alora.” His hands are full of books, but he shifts them in his arms to shake my hand.
“Yes, sir. It’s an honor to meet you. I am such a fan of your music.”
I open the door for him, and Sunny walks in before him and sits beside the bench—her usual place when I’m playing.
Professor Von London follows us inside, setting the books down on the table. “We have an hour today, and for a good portion of that, I would like to just listen to you play. I want to see how you move with the music, feel the music, and bring it to life. There will be a structure moving forward, a plan and course of action after I get a good grasp on who you are as a pianist. How does that sound?”
My heart races with excitement as I take a seat on the bench and lift the lid of the piano. “That sounds—oh my God—incredible.” I don't try to hide the absolute giddiness coursing through me. “Do you have a piece you would like me to start with?”
“Let’s start with something moderate. Your choice.”
I’ve never been more nervous to put my fingers on the keys in my life. But this feels like amoment. One of those moments that can change everything that happens after.
If he’s impressed with me, he could alter my life. Whether it’s with his connections, setting me up with a professional job, or helping me take my music to the next level.
My fingers brush against the keys, and adrenaline begins pumping through my system.
Something happens to me when I begin to play, taking over my body and soul as my being melts into the piano and music.
I become the chords I’m playing, whether by memory or by sheet music. I dance with the notes.
My old piano teacher used to hate that I swayed so much when I played. But how can I not? The music demands to be felt.
I get lost in the upbeat tempo of the song, and before I know it, I’m striking the final note, listening to it pulse through the room as I’m left breathless.
With his pen and eyes still on his paper, he instructs me to play another, one with a much higher difficulty, one of his own songs, one I have memorized.
My fingers shake with nerves, and I set my hands free, executing his music with passion and precision. My hair swooshes back and forth over my shoulders as I play, only stopping when it finally comes to an end.
