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Sam *awake and unafraid* இ Кἆяἆ
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Ryder noticed when Alena came into the parking lot, but only just. But when she got out of the car, she drew a stare from him and by the time she was on the windshield, he was hard. That made him a little annoyed, but he knew he wasn't the only one gawking. He took a long swig of coffee, downing it and looking down at his phone so he could be the only boy in the area that wasn't checking out Alena. He wondered if girls did it on purpose, because it was torturous to him. Especially when he couldn't have. If things were different, he woulda been after her in a heartbeat, but they weren't and he was determined to be good. He liked his job and wanted to keep it. So he compromised with only a small peek on occasion
Alena smiled, not because she saw the guys staring at her, but because he favorite song came on. She didn't really care if boys stared at her or not. She dressed how she dressed because she happened to like those clothes. One of the more courageous guys walked over to Alena. She smiled kindly at his and pulled out her headphones "Hi" she said with the same dazzling smile.
"Hi" The guy said. Alena knew this guy for a few years. He was the new kid a few years back though, so she really didn't know him that well. She knew his name though and that was good enough for her.
"What can I do for yeah, Jason?" Alena asked, with a slightly flirtatious smile. Though that smile just came natural, she did it when she was around any attractive guy, whether she was trying to or not.
"Oh there's a lot you can do for me" Jason said jokingly, "But for now, how about just a date" he said with a flirtatious smile, a lot like her's though not as good, or charming.
Alena smiled "I don't know, I'll get back to you on that" she said and put her headphones back in her ears, signalling that the conversation was over.
Jason smiled, glad that she just didn't flat out say no. He walked back over to his friends.
Ryder had looked up and saw the whole exchange. It had made him grind his teeth together a little until he realized much of none of his business it was. He slipped dark aviator sunglasses on and looked at Alena for a long time, before forcing himself to head towards school. He had decided that he got a nice long look at those legs that made him sweat and that he need not dwell on any of it for the rest of the day. His classroom was still deserted when he entered which gave him a good chance to turn on the stereo low and sit down to organize in the ten or so minutes before class started. He found metal helped him focus on things other than Alena and the mystery guy until the bell announcing the start of school rang.
Alena sat on the hood of her car listening to music, for five more minutes, before gracefully slipping off of it and going inside. She went straight to her locker and got everything that she needed for her first hour class. Then she mingled with her friends in the hallway until the bell rang. She walked and talked with her friends as they made their way to their first hour class. Since they were all in that class together.
Ryder turned off the hard music and stood up when the class was completely arrived and settled. He knew he was a little frazzled, but this was his guitar class. It was small, tight knit veterans with only a few underclass men. He grinned at them. "Free jam day today. We'll work tomorrow." He got a guitar from the rack and motioned for them to do so as well. He hasn't planned anything and this seemed a good way to see how everybody was doing. And of course he wanted a little guitar time
Alena sat down in the far corner of the room with her friends. She was in math class, her least favorite class. She got ready for class once the late bell rang and started to pay attention. No matter how much she hated a class she would do her best in it.
This was Ryder's favorite class; the students cared the most and he was most comfortable on guitar. At the end of class, he brought them back together, after they cleaned up the guitars and told made a few announcements, just general first week stuff. He also warned them to be prepared for actual work soon. "And on a final note, I have a surprise for you at the end of the semester, that we will discuss further soon. All I can tell you now is that the performances at the end of the terms will be a little different." He grinned and walked towards his desk again as the bell rang. There was one more class, then he had planning and lunch. The next class was a class mostly drummers and none of them listened to him. Ever. There was a few kids who picked up bass and other rhythmic instruments in it though that he would work with. In the meantime he had to pee so he ventured into the hallway with the students.
When the bell rang Alena gathered her things and left the class room, thankful that that terrible class was over. She walked to her locker to put away the things she didn't need and to grab the things she needed for her next class. A class that she hated even more then her first class. Which was speech. The speech teacher was a bitch and she just hated it. Mostly because she had stage fright, but also because the teacher was a bitch and just a really bad teacher. She didn't know how to teach. All she did was give them the assignment and expected them to know how to do it. She didn't teach them shit.Once Alena was done at her locker she slowly made her way to the speech room. Trying to prolong getting there as much as possible. She was alone now too, since her friends weren't in her speech class. Which really sucked ass. If she at least had one friend in there it would be a little better. Well probably not, but there was a small chance that it would be.
Ryder made it in and out of the bathroom within a few minutes. He was looking the wrong way and just about crashed into Alena in the hallway. "Oh shit! I'm sorry .... Alena right?" He asked, blushing. The name was right, that much he knew, but she needed know that. She looked miserable, which he understood; high school was rough. Maybe he could make up running her over with something to take the slightly annoyed look off her face. He guessed she hated her next class. Maybe he could write her a note out of part of it, under the guide of her needed help or something. Or maybe that was going too far. His head spun, unsure of what to do as he waited for a reply.
Alena smiled, giving him the same smile she gave Jason, though not on purpose "Yeah it's Alena" she said, her Russian accent sounding strong when she said her name. "and it's okay" she said with a slight nod. "How your day so far?" she asked politely.
"Long. It started early this morning." He joked, meaning that he was up late. Ryder did his best to keep his eyes on her face, hoping she didn't register how tired and jaded he actually was. "Where are you headed?" He thought that was a teacher-y question to ask; to be interested in her academics seemed normal right? Maybe he was over-thinking things a little, but that smile kinda clouded his thought.
Alena smiled small, and not as charmingly "Speech" she said, showing her disgust in her voice. She smiled again anyway though "What about you, what are you teaching next?" she asked. She thought he looked quite tired and she could tell that he had a hangover, which she thought was pretty damn cool. Even though he looked tired and was hung over she thought he still looked very attractive.
"Percussion, rhythm -ish BS class. I could use an aid. Would you be interested? It doesn't take a whole lot... Probably would be better than speech." Ryder tried to make it sound appetizing and not just desperate. He would actually be able to have her do stuff, and could probably get her a credit for it too. Instead of glancing back at her, he studied his converse until she answered.
Alena smiled "I would love too, but I have to take speech. I haven't gotten a credit for that yet. Besides my dad would never let me do that. He's very strict about what classes I take" she said a bit sadly. She would have rather taken any class other then speech, especially one that involved Mr. Way.
Ryder bit his lip, decided it probably wasn't worth pushing her. "Oh okay. Well the offer still stands whenever." He turned, "Uh well I gotta go teach and all... I'll see you later?" His class was close and so he stepped towards it. "Remember, you gotta figure out what you think music is. And I want a real answer this time!"
Alena smiled, though she wasn't really looking forward to having to answer that question. "Yeah, I know" she said and started walking to her class. When she got to her speech class everyone else was already there, so she just went and sat in her regular seat in the far back corner. The late bell rang and class start. the teacher hadn't even spoken yet and the class had already started out horribly. Though that was probably because it said presenting speeches today.
Ryder walked up to his class, the room was already full. "Okay guys, grab your instruments and warm up." This class was kinda long and he wished that Alena was in his class. It was over eventually though and he kicked the kids out. This was his planning and lunch period. Later in the year he'd be able to out to lunch but for that day, he took out his bottle, which happened to be a Bloody Mary (shhh) and he pressed play on his radio, reclining in his chair. Being a music teacher, he didn't have much planning or grading, so this was his luxury time. He turned on the computer and took a sip, mind wandering.
Alena, thank god, didn't have to give her speech today. Though unfortunately she'd have to give it tomorrow. When the bell rang she gathered her things and left the class as fast as possible. Once in the hallway she slowed down and walked to her locker. she put everything away and grabbed her bottle, which had alcohol in it, but it was dilute with some fruit punch. It still wasn't enough in it to make her drunk, but this time she would most definitely get buzz. She didn't always drink at school, only on sucky days like this one. She wasn't very hungry though so she just went outside and sat on the hood of her car again. She sat on the hood the same way she had before and pulled out her Ipod, and put her headphones on her ears.
Ryder downed his drink and finished his small sandwich. Then he put his head down and took a short nap so that way he would be more awake for his next class. The bell woke him up and he jumped, surprised. He laughed at himself and pushed his stuff to the side, standing up to stretch as students came filing in. He left his speakers on for the class; it was some indie dance music.
Alena walked back into the school, just before the bell rang. She quickly finished her drink and walked to her locker. She grabbed everything she needed and walked to her next class, which was wolf history, a class she actually liked. The teacher awesome to, he was cool and very funny. That was why she liked the class so much. Now that she had a buzz he would probably be even more funny, so she had that to look forward to.
Ryder greeted his next class with a wave. He zombies his way through this one, but he was excited for Alena's arrival. Then he caught his thoughts and resisted the urge to bang his head against a wall. This girl had invaded his thoughts. He wasn't even sure why. Sure, she was pretty, but that was it. In those seconds before the bell rang, Ryder decided that he would make a real effort to get to know her before he had anymore thoughts. Then the bell rang. He jumped again, the buzz returning a little.
When the bell rang Alena gathered her things and slowly left the class room and walked down the hallway to her locker. She put all her things in her locker and then walked to music class. It was her second to last class of the day and she was glad about that.When she got there she walked in and sat in the far back corner. As far away from the as she could get. She sat in a seat like that in all her classes. Mostly because she hated being in the front, and she hated being called on.
Ryder punched the pause button on his radio and turned to face the class. "Who has their definition of music?" No hands came up. "That's what I thought. Well, I guess we'll just have to go around the room. Starting in the back with Miss Hartman." Kids answered with varrying degrees meaning. Ryder took note of the ones with good answers and remembered the ones who clearly didn't care. He was semi surprised nobody had asked him what he thought. Usually some kid decided they weren't sure at all and just directed the question back at him. "And now the lovely Alena. I do hope you've come up with something." He looked her in the eyes challengingly.
Alena smiled, her normal smiled and answered the question as best as she could. She didn't know if it was right or not, but she could tell that Ryder, most likely like her answer. Once she was done answering, she smiled exquisitely "What about you Mr. Way, what do you think music is?" she asked. She'd heard a lot of other peoples thoughts on it, and now she wanted to know what he thought it was. Besides his idea would probably help the kids left answer correctly.
Ryder flashed her a smile back, satisfied by what she had said. She had proved that she could think, and abstractly. It made him like her more, which would become a problem, but for now it was nice; it felt good. "To me, music is everything. It's the sounds that you hear in everyday life, but the best musicians have taken it above and beyond. And silence. Silence is always a part of music. Who has heard the composition 4 minutes and 33 seconds? Anybody? No? It's quite entertaining. The band goes up and sits for 4 minutes and 33 seconds in complete silence..." Ryder went on and on, perhaps a bit excessively, but it just showed how much he cared. Then, following his slightly erratic nature, he forgot about those who had yet to speak and dismissed them to go to their keyboards, telling them to take a book and he'd be around to see where everybody was at in skill level. They would divide up soon.
Everyone who was left pretty much loved Alena when they got dismissed to the instruments. Though they didn't really show, they just walked over to their instruments and started playing.With a smiled Alena walked over to her keyboard and sat down on the stool next to it. she closed her eyes and concentrated on the keys. She opened her eyes and just started playing. Not anything in particular, just some random notes that she thought sounded good together.
Ryder gabbed a spiral notebook and went around to a good amount of kids, just talking the them and listening. Some of them didn't have an inkling of rhythm and sounded awful. Some could read music but sounded robotic. Then there was kids who knew music and had taken lessons forever. And last were a very small group that he could tell just heard it. They were the ones who he would take under his wing. In this class it was Alena, a boy who he had in a theory class before and played a few other instruments and in that class, that was it. When Ryder reached Alena, he smiled softly. When she reached a break in playing, he spoke, "Can you read music at all? Have you any former experience with any instruments?"
Alena shook her head "No, and no" she said with a smile. She's never played a piano before in her life, but there's been a piano in her house for years. That's why her dad was making her take this class. So that she could put it to some good use. 'Which you could probably tell from how horrible I am" she said modestly, though she actually thought she wasn't very good at all.
Ryder quirked an eyebrow. "You are not horrible and I'll deduct points from your grade if I hear you say that again." Then he handed her a beginners book. "Learn to read music, it's important. If you can get through this book in the next couple of weeks, then we'll see about moving you up. I believe you have the raw talent to do it. The rest is up to you, are you gonna put in the effort?" He looked at her face the entire time he spoke and when he was done, Ryder simply walked away, moving onto the next person.
Alena looked at the book and shrugged slightly before opening it. She looked at the notes on the page and read, the book, seeing where each key is and what it's called. Once she had the basics down she flipped to a song. And began to play. It wasn't a hard song though it was just happy birthday. She smiled to herself when she got it right on the first try and moved on to the next song.
Ryder made it all the way around the room and found himself back near Alena. From the corner of his eye, he saw her focused and playing. Already he could hear a solid medley radiating from her area. Then he noticed her posture and walked closer. He placed a hand on her lower back, flattening it out. "Sit up straight." A small shiver ran through his body upon their contact, but he didn't show it
Alena smiled, sat up straight and continued playing. She finished her song and then looked back at Mr. Way with a smile. "So what do you think? Horrible right?" she said, saying the last part jokingly.
Ryder recognized that she was joking and laughed softly, "Something like that." He told her, winking. Then he stepped back and addressed the whole class. "Tonight's homework is to find out if you have something you can practice on at home. And those of you who think you're dedicated, practice if you can!l
Alena smiled and continued playing until the bell rang. When it rang she stood up and left the class room going straight to her locker to grab everything that's she'd need for art class. Which really wasn't much. As Alena was walking through the hallway she decided that she'd practice for a little bit at home. At lest until her dad got annoyed and yelled at her to stop making that terrible noise. Or something like that anyway.
Ryder sat down at a keyboard and played a few short riffs, clearing his head. It had been a whirlwind of a day and it was only the second one of the year. He sighed and stood up, getting ready for the final class. The entire time he was teaching, he seemed to be distracted which kind of upset him. Ryder decided to treat himself that night; he needed to give himself a little somewhere else so he wouldn't try to take a little with a certain girl. He had heard from his friends last night about a small gig by a friend of a friend at a wild club. Two hangovers in a row might be bad, but who needed to get wasted to have fun? He decided to go, and then was anxious for class to end.
Alena sat down in her art class and immediately began working on her project. She worked on her project until the bell rang and then she gathered her things and got up to leave. She went right to her locker and grabbed everything she needed and then walked out the front door. She walked through the parking lot over to her acr and threw her bag in the back seat.
It ended. Finally. He was out almost as quickly as the students. On his way to his car, he slipped out his cell phone and started calling his friends to see if anybody would accompany him. He hopped into his car and talked on the phone for a while; he could talk on it while driving and nobody seemed to be able to go. In the end he got two male friends and that was it. He sighed and started the car, slightly disappointed but knowing he'd have fun either way
Alena got into the drivers seat and turned on the radio. She put in the usually classical rock tape and started driving. She drove home, going straight there. When she got there she hung up her bag on the hook by the door and went into the kitchen. "Hey, Dad" she said with a kind smile."Hey honey" he said.
"I'm going to go upstairs and work on my homework" she told him and left the kitchen to go upstairs.
What do ya say we skip like a month or two so it's not like they just met?
((Yeah okay.))
Ryder arrived at school just in time for the bell. He was getting more and more careless about his job, but sometimes he dreaded coming. All things considered, he loved his job; music was the best. But whenever that girl, Alena was around he couldn't help himself. He liked her so much. In fact, last night, lying in bed he had decided he would tell her.
Alena was walking through the hallway going to her first hour class. She really didn't like school, but she would endure it, for this last year. Since she was a senior she wouldn't have to go to school next year, well not high school anyway. She was happy about that, but at the same time she was a little sad about it. She was going to miss this school and some of it's teachers. Especially Mr. Way, he had to be one of her favorite teachers of all time.
Ryder went through class almost robotically first period. It was okay because the students were almost asleep as well. It seemed like nobody were morning people. In between first and second, one of his teacher buddies brought him a coffee which Ryder thankfully took. It woke him up some more for one of his more interesting classes, although he was distracted all day. After second period, he wandered into the hallway. He had decided he would talk to Alena either after school, in the parking lot, or maybe pull her in during planning. He wasn't even sure what he wanted to "tell her" but he was sure he needed to get something off his chest.
Alena was pretty excited, all day, because the day before she got a call from someone telling her some good news. She couldn't wait to tell Mr. way about. Mostly because it was because of him that she even got the call. The rest of her class went by fairly quickly and soon she was walking through the hallways going to drop off her stuff at her locker, before heading to Mr. Way's class room. She was so excited that she practically ran all the way there.
Alena ran into the room and over to Mr. Way smiling widely. she was so happy that she actually hugged him "Oh my god, than you so much" she said and let go and backing away from him slightly. "You know that piano recital thing you told me about. Well I auditioned for it, and I just got a call to day saying that I was in. That I was going to get to play. My Mom's going to come down from Maine to watch me play." she said, rambling excitedly. "I'm just so glad that you pushed me into playing." she said happily. "Oh and I was uh wondering if maybe you'd like to help me practice for what I'm going to play. I mean you don't have to if you don't want to. I don't want to bother you, if you don't have time. I mean I don't want to impose or anything." she said, and rambled on and on.
Ryder smiled down at her, having hugged her back for a minute or so. "That's amazing." He said slowly, taking in her excitement. "Didn't I tell you that you are good." He laughed and let go of her. "I'd love to help you out with practices. I don't really do anything after school except play guitar and party. I'm sure we can work something out." He bit his lip, deciding not to say anything yet. She needed some really positive attention and this was it.
"Oh, than you, thank you, thank you" Alena said and hug him one more time before the bell rang. She let go of him and and thank you and said how much she appreciated it one more time before walking away from him and towards her seat. She sat down just as the bell rang and students started filing in.
Ryder smiled at her as class began. "Okay everybody, I don't really have anything to say. Today is a practice day, grab your books, work on your pieces and remember that we have one of our in class recitals next Friday." He dismissed them to their keyboards with a swish of his hand and then went to the basket of books to look for one for himself.
Alena smiled and walked over to her keyboard and began playing. She started out with an easy piece, but then went on to the more difficult ones. It sounded great, well at least it did to her.
Alena was pretty early so she sat down on the hood of her car and leaned up against the windshield, one of her legs bent up the other laying flat. Alena sighed softly and put some headphones in her ears and listened to her music.