Charles realized something. He could sign a contract. 'But what's in it for her?' he thought, covering his eye with his hand to avoid the radiant moonlight barging in through the window. He stayed up late thinking of a way to corner Charissa.
Today, Charissa had a lot of free time. Her professor didn't make it to class, because he got sick. No substitute for him either. There was a grand piano in the old music room which Charissa would go to every now and then. Sometimes both Janet and Elissa would follow her and listen to her play, however, that doesn't happen today as they've got their own work to do.
Charissa went down the cafeteria hall and entered the performing arts hallway. If one goes straight ahead, they'd meet a T-junction which, to the left, leads to the hallway where Charissa recognized Charles as the phone thief, and to the right, leads to the glass-window hallway: the right wall is simply made of transparent glass. The view is an exquisite beauty: blue and purple lavenders go alongside the walls taking a break every five feet to embrace a field of pink roses. Surrounded by these flowers lies a neatly leveled grass pit. Glance ahead to see a large Banyan tree giving shade to a wooden bench solely left for merry couples to enjoy. Every Summer, the sun showers its bright colors on the sweating grass field portraying a green sky brimming with stars. And today is one of those days.
Charissa walks into the old music room admiring the beauty.
Another beauty awaited her inside the old music room. It may be called 'old', but the inside is filled with luxurious vibes. The walls of the room are painted in white allowing wooden outlines to run on both the top and bottom edges of the room, The grand piano was on the far corner of the room with a white sofa sitting in front of it. A small glass tea table stood ahead of the sofa. As few furnishings were in the room, the melody of the grand piano echoed through the entire room creating a beautiful harmony to listen to.
Appreciating such beauty was tiresome. Charissa felt sleepy rather than wanting to play the piano, so she laid back on the sofa and fell fast asleep.
Charles, in the meantime, schemed (because it didn't seem the least bit friendly) during his lectures, a contract to be signed by both parties. His expressions changed from sleepiness to frustration and embarrassment for he was eating his dignity as he wrote out the details of the contract. After finishing what seemed like to go on forever, (lectures had ended and he was still in the classroom) he ventured around the campus searching for Charissa. He once remembered seeing her go into the old music room alone and decided to look for her there.
His hunch was precise and there she was sleeping on the sofa. He watched her sleep for an entire forty-five minutes until finally she woke up.
At first, it was blurry; she could only see a blue and white figure standing in front of her supposedly staring at her.
"Rise and shine..." He clapped twice as if he was ordering the lights to turn on magically.
Charissa instantly recognized the voice, Charles. She stood up, looking at Charles kneeling below her, she smirked and ambled towards the piano.
"How long have you been staring?" She asked, her hands soft and swiftly going about the keys.
"Long enough to hear you snore." He grinned. He got up and tumbled onto the sofa.
She struck a random low note which echoed amidst the room, "I never snore. Definitely not gonna fall for it."
The noise pierced through his ears, a very loathing sound. "I see you still play the piano. I'd like to listen." He said ignoring her statement. He rubbed his neck. Kneeling and staring at Charissa's sleeping face hurt his backbones.
Charissa sat on the stool, opened the book of sheet music placed on top of the piano, and started playing. She played 'Moonlight Sonata', 'La Campanella', and then 'Claire de Lune'.
In the end, Charles walked up to her suggesting, "Play Twinkle-Twinkle."
Charissa widened her eyes as if to say 'Are you kidding me?'
Charles raised his brow, "You can't?" He curved a grin.
He's sly, Charles is sly. He's planning on bringing out the topic slowly and steadily. He gives her time.
"I wish I had water in my mouth." She shrugged, returning a grin.
"Heh," he chuckled and carefully touched the keys of the piano, 'nostalgic' he thought to himself. He strolled next to Charissa and she gave space for him to sit on the stool. He took a seat, then he started playing the piano.
Charissa watched the song precisely being played with a soft touch to each key. The notes came to life bouncing on every surface and echoing its voice within the room. Some notes escaped out, letting the melodies be heard by lonesome hearts. At the end of the song, she commented, "Nostalgic."
"Right?" He glanced at her face. His hand is still on top of the keys.
She too glanced at his. Their eyes now fixated on each other. A silence resided in the room. Suddenly, Charissa chased it away, "What do you want?" She rose from her seat.
"Same as before."
"Why are you stooping so low for this?" She said mockingly.
"Didn't you do something similar during high school?' He implied as he got up himself, leaning closer to her face.
"Hmm...Did I now?... Don't you think you've been misled? I was only interested in your art, not you..."
"What about my personality?"
"Told ya, art defines personality." she smiled pushing him away.
Charles ran through his jeans pockets and fetched out the contract paper, directing it to Charissa.
She appeared dumbfounded for a second, 'what now...' she wondered.
Grabbing the piece of paper she taunted, "What's this? A love letter?"
"Don't get cocky," He mumbled sitting on the sofa. He gave off a serious vibe.
Charissa couldn't help but feel smug. She went over to sit beside Charles and read the paper aloud. Charles gallingly watched her read, the corner of his lips curving down while gritting his teeth. Soon after she finished, she gave a vast sigh and said, "It's nothing other than overwhelming. I'll hold on to it. Too bad it wasn't your wedding invitation. And I was getting my hopes up." She was happy in the worst ways possible. She's going far with her revenge prank.
He knew that she was mocking him, nonetheless, he won't give up. 'I'll make you come to your senses,' he deemed inside his head.
Charissa left first. As she stepped out of the room, she saw three boys —one in a red T-shirt and black ripped jeans, and two behind him in orange shirts with SpongeBob designs on them and dark green shorts-- ganging up on two juniors outdoors on the grass field. They were making them damage the glass windows with spray paint; drawing devil faces and chickens. She observed how the two students had scars on their faces and arms, some blood on their shirts. 'Isn't that the all-famous knight-and-shining-armor guy, Ethan? So he's a wolf in sheep's clothing?' Her thought gathered at one point: an evil plan to destroy another villain. She's no hero. She's the anti-hero. She quickly snapped a photo and recorded a video of the senior to keep proof.
The photo had Ethan wearing an evil grin, stretching his hand to grab one of the boys by his collar.
Ethan, who was busy scaring the juniors averted his gaze only to notice Charissa directing the back of her phone at him. As soon as she saw him turn she snuck her phone back in her pockets and left.
Ethan called out to his lackeys and pointed his finger toward her asking, "Who is that b****?"
"Oh, she's a sophomore..." one of them replied scratching his head.
"I KNOW THAT!" Ethan raised his hand, afraid of getting beaten one of the juniors interrupted, "She's one of the trios. F-f-from the Black-Dirt's..." his voice trembled. Water dripping from his nose.
"Black Dirt you say...?" he lowered his hand and gestured for them to leave.
He rubbed his chin, "Did she just record me? I'll have to make her pay..."
This isn't the first time Charissa got into trouble trying to capture evidence, but Ethan is the first guy she'd ever have to interact with.