While I was writing, I remembered one of the missions the system had given me: compose my own song. (But… what kind of song do I want to write? Something cheerful? Something bitter? Something upbeat? I don't know how, but I do know I want it to be something that can help more people… or at least more of my heroes.)
At the top of my page, I wrote: "The Rhythm of a Hero"
…
Professor Requena's class was still going on, but I'd stopped paying attention. My focus was on my notebook. I knew countless songs and, whenever I traveled to other dimensions, I seemed to recall them effortlessly. I even remembered the chords without ever practicing them.
But now that I had to write one myself, I had no idea where to begin. I crossed out everything I had written about the song, shut my notebook, and decided I'd better listen to the lecture again.
I liked the part where we talked about giving a song a feeling along with its rhythm. I knew many compositions used that technique to evoke emotions. I would do everything I could to make mine feel that way too.
After class, we went on to other courses. Later, we headed to the cafeteria for lunch. Christina was busy waiting tables, too swamped to notice us.
Daniel had already arrived, and with Oriol I shared my idea about writing a song. I gave them a summary of what I wanted to achieve, leaving out any mention of dimension-hopping. I value them a lot, but for now that part would stay secret.
Daniel read through my notes, pointing out what worked and what was total garbage. Between the three of us, we started shaping it, and the chorus ended up like this:
♪ I follow the rhythm of a hero, it beats inside of me,a measure that guides me straight to bravery.Even if I fall a thousand times, I'll rise again,the music in my blood will make me fight till the end. ♪
♪ The echo of the soul keeps calling me back,my song resounds and sets me on track. ♪
♪ I follow the rhythm of a hero, it beats within my core,a cadence that drives me to courage once more.Though I may stumble, a thousand times fall,the music inside me will conquer it all. ♪
♪ The echo of spirit keeps calling my name,my song will ignite me, a bright, burning flame. ♪
Not bad for a first draft, though I knew it could be improved a lot more. I was still missing the verses and maybe something with a rhythm that would invite people to dance and enjoy themselves. Maybe, with that song, I could achieve something important, or use it at a special event.
We kept talking. Just as we were about to finish eating, Christina came over to us. She mentioned how much the girls had enjoyed our outing and that she hoped we could all meet up again. Since it was still Wednesday, she asked me directly if I was free on Friday. I told her I was, so we set the reunion for then.
The afternoon classes continued as usual: math, philosophy, history. Pretty ordinary. Oriol had agreed to give me piano lessons, well the keyboard, but that would have to wait until tomorrow. He needed to dig through his old notes to figure out what he already knew and what he could teach me.
Around 4 p.m., I got home. I checked my emails and found new work notifications. Someone needed labels for dietary supplements translated. That would help me earn some money and keep paying rent without bothering my parents.
I spent most of the afternoon on that. Later, I had dinner at home and, as night fell, I read and played a bit, always with music in the background. Finally, bedtime came, and this time I slept peacefully, waking up the next day in my own bed, without having traveled anywhere.
....
The morning passed uneventfully. Oriol told me to follow him after the fourth class. He led me to the music room, where a keyboard was already set up. We began with the basics: posture. Oriol must've had a strict teacher, because every time I messed up, he smacked me on the back. I wanted to hit him back, but I knew he was just trying to teach me, so I endured it.
From posture, we moved on to the correct placement of the fingers on the keys. "Relax your wrist, don't tense it so much," he corrected me, nudging my hand just enough for it to loosen up. At first, I was frustrated. The notes he gave me felt awkward, and the sound I produced was far from pleasant.
It wasn't like guitar, where my fingers already had memory. This felt like facing a new final boss. "Relax, dude, it's just a matter of patience. Remember how you started with guitar chords? Same thing," Oriol said with a confident smile.
I tried to follow his instructions. First simple scales, then small chord progressions. I kept messing up, but little by little, I felt my hand start to obey. I got overconfident and tried to play faster, the keys felt easy, almost like I could… Bam!
"Hey, hey! Don't get carried away yet. You don't even know the positions properly," Oriol laughed, giving me a knock on the head.
I scowled at him. "I was getting in the zone!"
Oriol burst out laughing. "What zone? That sounded awful. Back to exercises one through three." He crossed his arms and gave me a look that meant I had no choice.
I let out a loud sigh but did as he said. After all, he was the one teaching me, and almost for free.
After nearly an hour, Oriol lifted his hands and stretched his arms. "Alright, that's it for today. Otherwise, tomorrow you won't even want to look at the keyboard."
I collapsed onto the chair, exhausted, but with a smile on my face. It had been hard, but also… exciting.
[New instrument unlocked: Piano Level 1]
I grinned, my eyes shining. (Excellent, I thought.)
As we packed up, Oriol glanced at me sideways. "You know, I didn't think you'd take it this seriously. I think you've actually got some talent, Ren."
I raised an eyebrow at him. "Of course. What, did you think I'd quit on the first day?"
"Well… knowing you, yeah," he said, laughing.
I punched his arm. "You're an idiot. Show me some confidence."
He put on a fake offended face. "But I always have confidence in you. I'm fully confident that you suck." And immediately, he bolted.
I froze for two seconds before chasing after him. "Get back here, you moron!"
"Hahaha! You'll never take me alive!"
........
Author's Note:
This week we had the nationals on my city so a lot of work with my students, not a lot of time to write, I had to upload today, I hope Wednesday I could write another, but I need to give extra classes to some students.
Give me some comments!!!! Or power stones!