The days, months, and seasons passed, and they got lost in the daily routine of life.
Now, on a beautiful autumn day at the end of November, Stefan was sitting in his chair in class, studying. When he finally got tired and closed his notebook, he looked up and scanned the class with a quick glance. His gaze eventually landed on the closest seat, where he picked up his notebook, carefully rolled it, and then struck it against Vasil's head.
Vasil, who had left his book open vertically on his desk and was asleep behind it, jumped up. It took him a moment to figure out where he was and what had happened.
He frowned and looked at Stefan: "Hey! What's your problem?"
Stefan snapped: "Weren't you supposed to be studying?"
Vasil replied: "No, you were supposed to study, and you forced me to sit here and study too!"
Stefan leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed: "Because we have a test! You're not a kid anymore, Vasil! Start taking responsibility for your life!"
Vasil, mimicking his posture, leaned against the wall behind him: "I'm only 14, and I think that still makes me a kid! You're the same age as me, so don't act like my mom!"
"Say 'mom' again and I'll hit you!"
"Okay, mom!"
Stefan raised his notebook, and Vasil quickly held his book like a shield in front of him: "I'm sorry!"
Stefan lowered his notebook. Vasil, still hiding behind his book, said: "And I really studied for this test yesterday!"
"Oh really?"
"Yeah."
"How long?"
"Two hours!"
"Only two hours?"
"What do you mean only two hours? That's a lot!"
Stefan gave Vasil a hopeless look and sighed: "Well, at least you studied for once."
Vasil proudly said: "I set a record!"
Stefan sighed again: "Yeah, I know!"
"Stop sighing so much!"
Stefan gave him a stern look. Some days, tolerating Vasil really took a lot of energy. Vasil, glancing at Stefan's notebook, asked: "But why are you studying now? You already know everything!"
Stefan replied: "If I didn't study, I wouldn't know everything!"
"I mean, you don't need to push yourself this much. You're even skipping lunch! I don't remember seeing you eat in the last few days!"
Stefan didn't answer, he just opened his notebook and stared at his messy handwriting.
He could still feel Vasil's gaze on him, but he decided to ignore it.
Vasil, with his loud voice, startled him: "I have an idea! How about we go to my mom's restaurant today? I heard Lance added a new dish to the menu!"
Since Vasil had revealed his biggest family secret to him, a lot had happened.
At first, Stefan didn't feel good about it. He thought that knowing such a truth would negatively affect his friend's mood and life, and given the way he had been acting the day before, his worries weren't unfounded.
But over time, and contrary to Stefan's expectations, things got better. Not long after, Vasil's mother, had quit her job at the bar, and found a job at a restaurant, and it seemed to be much better for her, to the point that, according to Irina herself, the first time they visited her in the restaurant—"I don't know why I didn't do this sooner!"—things improved. Since then, Vasil's usual silence had lessened, to the point that sometimes Stefan forgot that Vasil could keep his mouth shut.
Anyway, every big change has its pros and cons.
Stefan looked at Vasil, who was still waiting for an answer. He buried his head deeper in his notebook and replied: "Maybe next time."
Vasil shook his head: "Nope! Today!"
Stefan grumbled: "We have a math test tomorrow!"
Vasil grumbled back: "But you're good at math!"
Stefan said: "There's a lot I don't know! Besides, we have an optional math review class after school, and I want to stay!"
Vasil thought for a moment: "What if I wait for you?"
Stefan asked: "You mean, you're willing to come to the class?"
"I said I'll wait for you, I didn't say I'll tolerate math for you!"
"If you don't want to come, then there's no reason for you to stay at school!"
"What's your problem with that? If I get tired, I'll leave! What do you think? But if I stay, you're coming with me!"
"I don't want lunch."
"How about cake?"
Vasil grinned mischievously as he touched his friend's weak spot. Vasil loved cake and sweets. The whole world knew that. Stefan also had a sweet tooth, but he didn't like admitting it.
Stefan raised his head and stared at Vasil for a long time. Finally, he looked away and said: "Do whatever you want!"
***
Vasil was sitting in the school yard, leaning his head against the railings behind him, trying to take a short nap. From the other side of the railings, the sounds of the school football team's practice could be heard. Vasil hoped no one would kick the ball over to that side. The last time that happened, the ball hit the metal railings hard, and the sound of it echoed through the rails and into his head.
A cool breeze blew, and Vasil shivered. Since he hadn't listened to his mother and didn't wear a warmer jacket, he decided to give up the comfortable spot he had found under the weak sunlight and go inside the school. At least this way, he wouldn't have to worry about the ball hitting him again.
He picked up his bag, regretting that he didn't even have a scarf with him, and headed towards the school building's door.
As he stepped into the hallway, he wondered where he could go to sleep. The classrooms were all occupied at the moment. The gymnasium was probably just as noisy as the yard, and Vasil didn't want to risk being hit by a volleyball ball. The art room was the only place that was never completely empty, and Vasil guessed that the cafeteria doors were locked by now.
The only remaining option was the music room.
The school's music room had been abandoned for years. No one at the school was interested in it, and the school hadn't hired a teacher either. Vasil didn't even know why the room was still there.
But who was he to complain?
So, he turned down the hallway and went upstairs.
The music room was on the third floor, the top floor of the school, which meant that it was usually empty or at least free of anyone passing by.
So, when Vasil heard the sound of music, he was surprised.
He stopped right there in the stairwell and listened. He couldn't figure out what kind of sound it was. He didn't know enough about instruments to identify it.
Whatever it was, the sound reached his heart and froze it, just so it could warm it again.
The music sounded endless, but when Vasil listened more closely, he could recognize a wave of different sounds lined up in a row.
It was the most beautiful thing Vasil had ever heard.
He continued up the stairs slowly, not wanting his footsteps to interrupt the music. Finally, he reached the hallway and looked into the music room, which had its door wide open.
Vasil peered inside and saw a woman, older than the students, though her appearance didn't quite suggest she was a teacher.
He stared at the person with her back to him and figured out two important things: first, it was a violin, and second, Vasil really wanted to learn how to play it.
***
When Ms. Harmon finished playing the piece, she opened her eyes and looked out the window in front of her. The autumn air, the falling leaves, and the noise of the children in the yard all gave her a good feeling.
She wished she felt the same about her job.
It had been almost a month since she had started her job at the school, but it seemed that not only was the music class still not included in this school's curriculum—though she had been promised that changes would be made—but no one had shown any interest in it either.
A school with 350 students and not a single teenager interested in music? It was truly disappointing.
"Wow!"
It was then that Ms. Harmon realized she wasn't alone. She turned toward the door and saw a boy staring at her with wide, amazed eyes: "Oh, hello!"
The boy said excitedly: "Hi! That was really beautiful!"
Ms. Harmon smiled and replied: "Thank you, it's the song my mother taught me."
"Then your mom must be a great musician!"
Ms. Harmon laughed, but it seemed the boy didn't understand what was funny.
She looked at the boy with messy hair: "What's your name?"
The boy ran a hand through his hair: "Vasil, Vasil Devin."
"So, Vasil, do you know anything about music?"
"Nothing."
Vasil shook his head. " Only that this is a violin"
Ms. Harmon lifted her violin: "That's right, but what else?"
Vasil shrugged. Ms. Harmon asked: "Are you interested in music?"
Vasil said: "I never thought about it before, but after hearing your performance, I realized I want to learn!"
A spark appeared in Ms. Harmon's brown eyes: "So, you want to learn?"
Vasil's gray eyes lit up: "Can I???"
"Of course! That's why I'm here! I'm Ms. Harmon, the new music teacher at the school. When would you like to start ?"
"Can we start right now?"
***
Ms. Harmon was a middle-aged woman with graying hair tied up in a bun behind her head, and now she was teaching Vasil how to play the violin, something he hadn't even imagined ten minutes ago.
That day, he mostly learned the basics, like the parts of a violin and the bow, and some interesting terms like "pizzicato" and "arco," which, besides Ms. Harmon's explanations, Vasil felt he would need to look up in a dictionary.
"Arco" was what Vasil had imagined violin playing to be: drawing the bow across the strings, but "pizzicato" was a new thing to him. It was playing the violin with the fingers, like a guitar, but in that weird position where you hold the violin between your chin and shoulder. The delicate sound coming from the violin strings and his fingers reminded him of the sound of fairy footsteps.
Vasil really liked pizzicato.
He also realized that what keeps the violin in place isn't his hand. In fact, he had to be able to hold it under his chin even without using his hand to grip it.
Also, the most weight of the bow was supported by the pinky finger, which made the bow feel heavier than it actually was.
Of course, Ms. Harmon reassured him that he would get used to it soon and explained that the reason was that most people don't use their pinky much during the day. She gave him exercises to strengthen the muscles in his pinky—apparently located in the palm of his hand.
All of this was so fascinating and exciting for Vasil that he completely lost track of time, and when he looked at the clock, he realized that the math class had been over for a quarter of an hour.
When he said goodbye to Ms. Harmon, he promised to come back the next day.
Then, he rushed down the stairs.
When he reached the school door and saw Stefan still standing there, he breathed a sigh of relief: "Sorry I'm late, I completely lost track of time!"
Stefan smiled faintly: "I guessed. Where were you?"
"Music class, shall we go?"
"Let's go."
They headed toward the restaurant where Irina worked. On the way, Stefan noticed that Vasil was staring at his hands, pressing his pinky fingertips against his thumbs.
"What are you doing?"
"Practicing."
"Practicing what?"
"How to strengthen my pinky fingers!"
"And why?"
"So I can hold the bow more easily!"
"...The bow?"
"Yeah, I started learning the violin today!"
"Exactly when?"
"About an hour ago! Ms. Harmon, the new music teacher, is teaching me!"
"I didn't even know the school had a music teacher!"
"Well, it does now."
" ... "
Stefan looked at Vasil's fingers, which now seemed to be in a rather ridiculous position, and didn't ask any more questions.