-Billy, wake up. Your subject teacher has arrived, and I hope you can pay attention in class, - said Agustina from the doorway to Billy, who was trying to cover his face with a pillow. It was awful how his mother's voice hammered every inch of his brain.
-Just five more minutes, Mom, - said Billy, clearly exhausted. He had stayed up late playing the guitar, the acoustic guitar beside him merely a tool for honing his musical skills. Now he could play his main song, "Like a Stone," with some fluency, though he missed some notes. He continued to play forcefully, sensing that many of his skills were about to explode.
-My little sleepyhead should know that Mama will start giving him lots of kisses, lots of kisses in front of the teacher, and the teacher will know you're a mama's boy, - Agustina teased, kissing Billy on the bed. She teased further by taking an extra step to abruptly open the curtains, although the sun didn't follow, the brightness from the curtains brought discomfort, piercing through the previous deep darkness.
-Just five minutes, - said Billy as the bell began to ring. He sprang up as his mom glanced down the hallway, and with more urgency, Billy hurried to the bathroom. It was eight in the morning, an early hour.
Mr. Kelly was a man of many talents, holding dual degrees in teaching. He was an Irish teacher of Spanish and English but had proficiency in most disciplines, including social sciences, history, natural sciences, and math up to the tenth grade. However, he could teach some disarticulations.
The bell rang again.
-Good morning, teacher. I'd like you to wait in the living room, - said Agustina, ushering him in as she dashed to the kitchen. As soon as Mr. Kelly sat down, he did two things: first, he took a seat, and second, he spread out all the documents for today's class. Interestingly, in the Arizona state prison, the young man had passed the primary exam for the seventh grade, but he was behind. He would have to condense eighth and ninth grade into half a year.
-Here's your breakfast. I can't teach on an empty stomach. The many times something like this has happened, I don't want you to say we mistreated you, - said Agustina, serving him some items, including a plate with an alfajor, fruit, and toast. - Do you want coffee, tea, juice, milk... you can ask for anything, I did a big grocery run yesterday. -
-A glass of juice is fine, - said Mr. Kelly.
-Orange, apple, or grape? - asked Agustina from the kitchen.
-Orange, - Mr. Kelly replied respectfully, noting Agustina's intensity in serving the food.
A blond young man quickly arrived, sitting at the dining table and eating breakfast. Mr. Kelly nodded in acknowledgment, taking a big bite of the alfajor, which consisted of two cookies sandwiched with dulce de leche, causing him some discomfort. He decided to take a sip of juice and nibble on the cookie.
-Thank you for the meal, - said Mr. Kelly. After all, he was Irish; eating something he didn't like didn't matter. The cookie was soft, and he decided to eat calmly, focusing only on his food, while observing Billy from afar with some curiosity, as he seemed to be a big shot judging by the confidentiality contract he had signed.
-Thanks, Mom, but don't you have any eggs or meat? I'm really hungry, - said Billy.
-You'll eat fruit, and don't fuss. Now it seems you have some classes to pay attention to, - said Agustina, smiling at Mr. Kelly, who was in his green polo shirt, also smiling.
-We have many topics to cover, but I believe if we tackle them by hours, we can finish the entire syllabus in less than a year, - said Mr. Kelly, gently, with his amiable demeanor.
-Sounds great, - replied Billy. He already knew most of the syllabus; he just had to refresh his memory.
***
Sometime later, right after lunch, there was the new teacher, a man wearing a button-up shirt and jeans. He lacked any cheerfulness; his demeanor was different from Mr. Kelly's. Luckily for Billy, he was a more talented teacher than Spencer. Now he understood many things; Spencer's biased knowledge often led to mistakes.
-It's difficult to reciprocate when most of the time, you have little or no interest in learning the right way. Pay attention. Try to keep up with your pace, without giving too much importance to things done. Many of the activities are a method, a process. Often, we want to skip steps. Whoever taught you had the idea of captivating you with creativity, but now it's business, - responded Auster, the music teacher. Fifty-nine years old, he was a constant challenge for many, but for Billy, he was just someone who would teach him a lot. Music was a craving, something indescribable that he had to pursue continuously.
-Let's get started then, - replied Billy, taking note of the scales he should or shouldn't follow. In many cases, it involved doing different activities.
-I hate stupidity, - said Auster.
-Let's continue, - replied Billy, following the rapid rounds of music, playing fast, while Agustina listened from the kitchen, her second room, as she used to call it. All she cared about was pursuing her constant activity.
Billy continued circling, again and again, with the utmost intensity in the exercises. He managed to perform them: basic scales, and repetitive scales, one by one, with great gusto.
-What do you think, Mr. Auster? I'm one of the best, don't you think? - replied Billy, his fingers sliding. -Can you teach me to do gentle strokes? -
-Let's stick to the basics, - responded Auster, not lying. In doing a constant activity, over and over, from basic strums, who would believe it? Performing strums, with his nails, with a pick, with fingers, the teacher showed him all, explaining that ideally he should strum with a pick, but learn to perform different types of strums. Everyone should have a minimum knowledge to play the guitar; adaptation is what should be.
-Now that you know how to strum, learn to perform the ten rhythms in basic strums, over and over, with each of the forms. When you master the basics perfectly, we can move on to the intermediate course, along with the theoretical practice, - replied Auster, seeing some not identical abilities. Many young people had various skills but didn't practice the basics enough. They made mistakes in the most basic things and acquired habits that prevented their hands from fitting perfectly.
-The first chord is | D | A | E minor | G:|| D. But since you're better at performing your activities, you'll listen to the rhythm first, then practice on an electric guitar. The strings are stronger and usually incredibly heavy, - replied Auster, demonstrating the brief strumming.
-Don't worry, boss, - said Billy, taking note of each work method. The classes extended until nine at night; they paid him well, and he had to stop due to fatigue, but the boy remained active. His math books aside, his guitar is still active.
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