reality bites

Wilder could understand why Kit found so much inspiration in his music, seeing as Wilder felt the same about Kit’s art. He could easily match the feeling of each paint stroke with every note he played, finding his muse in Kit and his work.”Huh?” He glanced up, taken aback by Kit’s words, focused on his art.”Oh, yeah. Sure, I don’t care.”

Kit put his pipe to his mouth, and he found himself staring at it for a few moments for it was an absolutely gorgeous glass pipe; it looked like a galaxy and it’s colours shifted from blue to purple to pink it caught the light in different ways. He put a little weed in the bowl of his pipe and lit it with his lighter. He took a hit, watching the smoke as it drifted up into the sky away from his painting on the building, “Want a hit?”

“Oh! Yeah, sure, I’ll let you know!” His reaction to practicing on her piano was priceless to Val, and she couldn’t help but light up with him. “Great! Just let me know when a good time would be.” 

Kit’s face beamed; the prospect of actually being able to try and play music again filled him with joy. He had always loved the piano, but hadn’t been able to play — especially in front of his stepfather. It felt wrong, But playing with Valery solved all that. “I know it’s soon, but what about tomorrow afternoon?”

“I’m sure they will. As long as you keep an open mind, it’ll happen.” Or that’s what she’s been trying to tell herself about the move to Mauve. Hopefully Kit doesn’t take her advice ( she can’t even take her own ) or dwell on it too much. “It’s pretty cool, kinda crowded though. Just make sure you have pads or something in case you get caught in the pit. People have no mercy when it comes to pushing to the front.” Juno laughs. “Plans?” There’s a lapse in her thoughts for a minute, giving a light shrug in reply before gathering her thoughts. “I haven’t really decided yet..exploring the city more, that’s one thing for sure.”

Kit laughed at the prospect of wearing pads at the music festival, “Honestly, that sounds like a necessity. I’m not the strongest guy, but I’m definitely going to want to push right to the front for a couple of the bands,.. Do ya think a helmet is overkill?” He joked, “Mauve may be small but it definitely has some good gems to explore. When did you move here?”

“I started when I was seven so…. About..—nine years?” She bit her lip, as she thought about it for a bit. After a few seconds, she nodded firmly. “Yup. Nine years.” When he mentioned the piano, Valery nearly let out a gasp. “Oh! I’ve got a piano at my house. My mom used to play… No one’s touched it in years, though…” For a moment, she was reminded of her brother since he always practiced on that piano… but almost as soon as that thought entered, she shooed it away viciously. “If you want, you could come over and give it a go? I don’t know how much I could help you… I mean I know how to read both clefs, but I never could play both hands at the same time whenever I tried…”

“That’s amazing, I know I’ve just met you but you have to let me know when your next concert is; I haven’t seen classical music live in years!” Kit said jokingly. His face lit up like it had been hit with a beam of sun when she offered to let him practice on her family’s piano, “That’d be so great! I’m not sure if I’ll be any good still, but I’d really love to give it another go, see if I can at least play some of the basic songs my dad taught me.”

“I do! I’m a proud violinist.” She held her head up and gazed in the distanced dramatically as she revealed the instrument she played. She remained in the pose for a couple seconds longer before breaking character by laughing. “What about you?”

“That’s amazing! How long have you been playing for?” Kit was full to the brim with respect for those who played classical music. It was intricate and difficult, and so many people didn’t give it the time of day. “No, I don’t actually... My dad taught me piano when I was really young, he was really into music and in a band in Seattle and stuff. But I don’t really remember anything other than a few basic scales... I never even learned how to read the bass clef.” Kit always had wished he had become a better pianist, but he always felt it would be betraying his father if he learned without him.

“Yes! There’s such a wide variety of styles and emotions with each piece, yet there are still some people who say that it all puts them to sleep. I mean most of the time, classical music wakes me up.” She laughed, feeling excited to actually talk about the wonders of music with someone who seemed to get it. “You know it! It’s impossible not to react like that when In the Hall of the Mountain King picks up like that!” 

“Exactly, it’s the sort of music that can transport you anywhere; so intricate and emotional. It manages to say so much so beautifully, even in dissonance...” Kit laughed when she revealed it was in fact the Hall of the Mountain King (and, a part of him was quite proud for guessing correctly). “I totally get it, you literally hear the first few bars and are already pumped up, and then it keeps going and you can’t prevent yourself from feeling the hype. Do you play an instrument?” He queried.

Val sat in the cafe with a cup of tea and earbuds in her ears. She was listening to a violin solo as she tapped her fingers along to it- picturing the sheet music to it in her head. When the music was building to a climax, she got a bit too excited and nearly knocked over her tea. Her eyes widened as she quickly reached out to make sure the cup didn’t tip over. A nervous laugh escaped her lips as she pulled out her earbuds and wiped up the little drops that spilled on the table with her napkin. “And people say classical music is boring.”

Kit had been sketching in one of the local cafés when he saw a girl almost spill her tea. He let out a little laugh along with her. “There are only 2 types of people who say that classical music is boring. You got the people who have never actually listened to classical music, and then the people who are just so musically challenged their favourite band is LMFAO,” he said with a laugh. Kit adored classical music; as someone who did everything he could to become lost in the world of the abstract, he found himself listening to different symphonies and concertos constantly. Plus, his father had always emphasized the importance of all bands and artists being acquainted with music’s roots. “What song were you listening to, anyways? With an intense reaction like that, if I had to guess I’d say it was Grieg’s In the Hall of the Mountain King”

“That’s pretty cool. I’d love to be someone who could do that and get paid for it, especially if the stuff you were designing for was something I liked. But even if not it’d still be cool.” There was a bittersweet feeling in her chest as they spoke about festivals ; her mother was a big fan of them and paid her well, so Juno was often right behind her and tagged along. “I’ve been a few times, yeah, but never really close to the stage.” Always back stage. “I haven’t seen the lineup for this year, but some of my friends say it’s pretty good.”

“That’s the catch, I hope they put me on some interesting projects, where it actually feels like art.” Kit was thrilled about his job for it meant he could get his parents off his back in terms of work. His stepfather had been pushing Kit to get a painting or a construction job — a job that screams (physical) hard work — which Kit himself had no interest in, so now he had a source of income, but didn’t have to adhere to his stepfather. “That’s awesome! I’ve never gotten to go to a big music festival before... Well, I guess, my dad used to take me to festivals when I was a kid in Seattle, but I barely remember them and didn’t really appreciate the music to much back then. What are your plans for the summer?”