At first, when he saw a young girl stepping into his shop, Larry assumed she was just a middle schooler who had just recently taken her first piano lesson and was here to purchase her very first piano with her parents.
But that was the furthest thing from reality.
Not only did the young girl step into his store without any parents or guardians, but she also began browsing through the two thousand euros upright pianos!
When he greeted her, it also turned out she also only spoke Russian despite her German looks and characteristics. But when she expressed her wish to purchase a two thousand euro Piano, it irritated him.
Did this girl come from a wealthy family and was planning on buying a piano just for the sake of it? Does this girl think taking up the piano is a joke?
These were old man larry's thoughts.
But upon making a deal if this young girl was able to play the piano or not, Larry had an odd feeling.
'Why is she so calm?' He asked himself, watching her sit with such an elegant and perfect posture. 'No, I'm sure it's just a sham.'
As she began playing, Larry laughed, 'Was I really expecting something from her? She's just playing twinkle twinkle little sta- hmmm?' Before Larry could laugh some more, he realized that something was wrong.
Although this melody was different, twinkle twinkle stars, the trills at the ending of each stave made it clear this wasn't just an average piece.
[A/N: Stave: A set of five horizontal lines and four spaces representing a different musical pitch.]
[Trill: A musical ornament that involves a quick alternation between two notes. Basically means to spam two notes really fast.]
'This is Mozart's Twelve Variations on "Ah Vous dirai-je, Maman!"' Larry thought ecstatically. 'Did she take my insult personally?'
The piece by Mozart wasn't complex at all, but the number of variations caused problems. It was a piece that could last up to ten minutes.
To memorize everything perfectly was a bit challenging. But for such a young girl to play such a long piece perfectly without any mistakes awed Larry.
Though Larry was watching Lina with sparkling eyes, Lina herself was battling a battle of her own.
'No! This is wrong! I've mastered this piece hundreds of times, but why does it sound like shit!' Lina cursed as she continued to play. Beads of sweat formed across her forehead. Scrunching her face, she struggled to hit the keys. 'Is it because I'm not familiar with this body?'
During the first two minutes of her on the keyboard, she was able to catch herself in the many mistakes she was making.
'No timing is wrong. The accent is trash, and not to mention, my overall playing turned into utter shit!' Lina yelled inside her head, but despite all of this, she continued to play the piano. With each note she played, she tried to rectify her mistakes. To make it sound a bit better.
When Lina had played her final note, her shoulders dropped along with her head.
'I was too full of myself...' Lina thought with regret. Biting her lower lip, she glued her eyes to the floor, unable to look up due to shame. 'Now, this old man is going to go all out on me...'
"Brava!" The older man got up from his seat and exclaimed, causing Lina to flinch from surprise. "I didn't think such a young girl like you would be so talented in piano!"
'What is he talking about?' Lina asked herself as she darted her eyes at Larry. 'Is he being nice so my feeling doesn't get hurt? Like I'm a child? I truly am pathetic...'
"I'll just go home..." Lina softly muttered while standing and heading towards the exit.
"Huh, you're not going to buy the piano?" Larry asked with a questionable look.
Lina turned around with a look of anger, her eyes reddening, almost as if she was going to burst out crying.
"Haven't you humiliated me enough already?! I get it! I play like shit!" Lima shouted, which caused her breath to roughen.
"Huh?" Larry was filled with confusion. "What are you talking about? You played wonderfully!"
"What? Stop lying! My tempo was awful, not to mention my other mistakes!" Lina rebuked sharply.
"Young lady, there are times when you should know when to stop," Larry spoke while pointing at her.
"Ugh…!" Lina squinted as she shut her mouth. 'Is he telling me to shut up and play better?' Random thoughts began surfacing in her mind.
In reality, this wasn't the case at all. 'At least she knows how to be humble. That's what talented kids lack the most.' Larry thought with a pleasant smile.
"So, what piano are you purchasing?" Larry asked but only received a displeased look from Lina. "Right… the Yahama upright."
Larry walked to his counter and began processing the order for a piano.
"How at you going to pay?" He asked.
Lina stared at Larry for a good second before giving him her card.
"I'll also get this," Lina spoke before showing Larry a metronome.
"A metronome? Oh, we add those for free for every piano purchase." Larry voiced. "And if you give me your address, I'll have it delivered in an hour or two."
"Alright." Lina agreed and then gave Larry her address.
"By the way, what's your name?" Larry finally asked. "I just want to know the name of a talented player."
'He's making fun of me again...' Lina thought, but simply accepted this time.
"It's Lina," Lina said it just as she remembered his teacher pronouncing it.
"Great, I hope I can see you play again, Lina," Larry said with a smile.
There wasn't anything more for Lina to say, so she took her metronome and left Larry's piano store.
It was a cold night for Lina, but the dazzling streetlight of Germany made things a little bit warmer for her. She tucked the metronome between her hips and elbow and snuggled her hands into her warm school coat pockets. Strolling down the stone pavements and listening to classical music across the street, Lina couldn't help but smile. She missed this feeling.