Melody Of Words pt.2

         A small ringing sound could be heard echoing from the loud speakers throughout the platform, signaling to the passengers that the desired 12:45 express B train was just about to arrive at its designated spot on the train tracks. The platform was completely deserted, except for  Madison and a few students from her academy that were probably other scholarship students as well. Madison could tell because the only students from her Academy that were unlucky enough to be riding the train were the ones that wouldn’t be able to get a ride from their parents, drive themselves home in their fancy cars, and even with some of the more wealthier ones, get picked up by their family chauffeurs.

        She glanced around at all of their faces, taking her seat on the train as it slowly began descending down the tracks. Down in the far back of the train was a tall red-haired boy typing away on his Oasis laptop. Across from him was a oriental looking girl with a round face and a pair of oval glasses, who sat flipping through flash cards. Even though there was plenty of time for them to study when they got home, these students took their situation seriously. Perfect grade point average or no scholarship.

        The few fortunate ones who were accepted to Twain Academy made sure their scholarship wouldn’t go to waste, even if it meant studying during every bit of free time that was available to them. Even Madison herself, was no exception to this rule. At that very moment she would have been reading the overly large black leather bound book currently laying in her lap, but her mind was to consumed with her conversation with Stephanie from the previous day.

         The conversation, even including the deal she had to make with her, worked out surprising well. Stephanie agreed to let her intern for her and offered to take her to a few conventions with her throughout the year. She was also going to mentor her as a bonus. Madison couldn’t ask for anything better, except for the condition that came with her golden opportunity. Stephanie had asked her if she remembered her younger brother that she once met at a barbecue when they were in their early years, her being about ten and him being around thirteen at the time. She vaguely remembered him.

        All she visualized in her mind when she tried to recollect his face was a tanned blur and a mess of black hair. Madison didn’t remember him being pleasant or mean, in fact, she hardly knew what he was like at all. During their first and only encounter, back almost eight years ago, she was too busy running around the fields with her cousins and the other kids that she wasn’t able to really talk to him. Madison was one of those kids that felt intimidated to talk to anyone older than her, so she mostly strayed away from him the entire time.

         Stephanie clued her in on what he had been doing with his life ever since then. Apparently he became well known in the piano world as being a prodigy for the year of 2008. It was ever rumored around that he was just as promising and talented as Beethoven and Chopin; a genius pianist of the new era. But last year things took a turn for the worst for him.

        He suddenly stopped going to his classes, paused all of his concerts and gigs, and even went as far as completely deserting himself from the rest of the world. Stephanie was overly worried for her younger brother. She told Madison that he goes as far as paying the boy at the grocery store to deliver them for him. He was completely locked up in his house, rarely stepping outside. Stephanie tried to visit him as much as she could, but her work kept her away in her apartment during most of her time.                                 

         This is where the condition began to come in. Stephanie proposed that she considered it as a sort of second part time job, aside from her secretary job on sundays and a publishing house down in Manhattan. The job would entail taking care of his plants, watering them and making sure they had enough sun, walking his two dogs, feeding them and washing them and occasionally going down to the local grocery because Stephanie didn’t feel comfortable of her brother paying off the associates to deliver his groceries for him. The final part of her job was to help him file, label, and organize his books and sheet music into bookshelves, files and folders. Madison guessed he just accumulated tons over the years and had no sense of organization skills to the last condition.          

         So to Madison’s Satisfaction, the deal was a pretty ambrosial one. If her babysitting her brother for a chance at a scholarship that offered her a full ride to Pengham was Stephanie’s only condition , then she was more than happy to agree. She felt like bowing down to Stephanie the other day for her being so generous and understanding.

         Her mind raced with all the new possibilities that awaited her. Stephanie had opened the doors to her future career as a writer. It was all just a mere year away now. All these thoughts and new ones arose in her head with every sway the train took on the tracks, consuming her all the way back to her apartment. As Madison unlocked the door she began to wonder if being lost in her thoughts after every train ride was going to become a new habit for her. ‘Well, it would be a nice break from constantly studying’ she thought.

         Madison greeted her grandfather as she walked down the hall and into the living room.

         “Madison, Stephanie left a message ten minutes ago. She said to meet her down by the grocery store, since she had to run down to the post office. She also mentioned for you to dress to impress since your going to be meeting your new employer,” said her grandfather, putting on his spectacles as the TV commercial ended and his soap opera began.

         “Thank you, Grandpa,” she said, kissing him lightly on the cheek before heading off to her room.

         She felt a strong urge to take a nice relaxing nap as soon as her eyes met with the welcoming site of the her satiny, light yellow, comforter, but she knew better. She had to quickly change out of her school uniform and into more comfortable clothes. She scanned the contents of her small closet, trying to find an outfit that would be semi comfortable and yet presentable. Finally deciding on an American Eagle dark blue v-neck sweater and a pleated jean skirt, she hurried over to her dresser to re apply some of her make-up.  Her eye shadow was nearly faded so she reapplied it, put a little bit of blush on, and a some lip gloss. For the finishing touch she untied her auburn hair from out of her high ponytail and let it gently cascade down her shoulders. She smiled at her reflection in the mirror. She was definitely going to make a good first impression. She was determined too, especially if she was going to be seeing him everyday after school. 

         She grabbed a small black tote bag off of the shelf, throwing her Pink Sanyo Katana cell phone and her cherry blossom patterned wallet inside, as she quickly ran out the front door. The family that lived above her apartment was re-decorating, so Madison decided to take the stairs, knowing that the elevator was most likely preoccupied with moving men and some variety of furniture. She smiled at their security guard, Joe, and walked out into the mid-August air. She walked down the sidewalk for five minutes, until she reached the corner store at the very end. After waiting for a couple of minutes Madison’s nerves started getting the best of her. The butterflies in her stomach slowly started to flutter faster with each passing second. She went inside the store and purchased some ginger ale out of nervous habit. As she walked out, putting away her receipt and change inside her wallet, she opened up the bottle and took a big gulp.

         As she began to take a another sip, she heard clank of heels from behind her and smelled a puff of smoke from the same direction. She didn’t have to second guess herself too know that Stephanie had arrived.

         “Were you waiting long?” Stephanie asked, blowing out a stream of white smoke. As opposed to how Madison usually saw her, Stephanie looked  the complete opposite to what she usually looked like. Her sweats, socks, and over sized t-shirt were replaced with a leather skirt, a matching set of black pumps, and a white blouse. What always remained was the cigarette, sitting securely in between her two fingers. 

         “No, not really,” replied Madison.

         “Let’s get going then,” she said, walking over to her silver Mercedes parked near the sidewalk.

         “Alright,” said Madison,as she walked over to the passengers side, sitting inside.

         “You look cute today,” said Stephanie, turning the key in the ignition and pulling out into the street.

         “Thanks, I got this outfit last week in Manhattan with Alexa.”

         “So... I see you’re a nervous,” said Stephanie eying her.

         “How could you tell?”                    

         “Ginger Ale.”

         “Oh,” replied Madison with a giggle. “I guess I am. Just a bit. A tad...a lot.”

         “Still as shy and nervous to met new people as ever, eh?”

         “I can’t help it,” Madison said with a pout of her lip.

         Stephanie just laughed, as she slowly started to brake at the red light. “I described my brother as being peculiar not insane. Don’t worry he’s tolerable once you get to know him.”

         “Tolerable? It’‘s funny you would call your brother that.”

         “Really? I can’t stand him sometimes but he’s all I have.”

         Madison wondered what Stephanie meant by that, but she thought it would be rude and inappropriate to pry into her personal life. She was glad to see that Stephanie and her brother had a healthy sibling relationship. Even though she seemed to be annoyed with him, especially after his seclusion ,since she had to be the one responsible to care for him, it was good that she was there for her brother and loved him even when he got on her nerves. But why was she all he had? Madison wondered where their parents were. Madison figured it wasn’t anything to serious since Stephanie didn’t look fazed by the comment. She sat there as nonchalantly as ever, tapping her cigarette ash out the window.

         “So what is your brother like...”Madison began to ask, before a slick, red mustang convertible ran past Stephanie’s car. The driver was apparently angry at something since he stuck his middle finger out at them as he cut the car off. 
                   
         “Excuse me for stopping at a legal red light!” yelled Stephanie. “Stupid teenage...”

         “Hey I’m still practically a teenager,” interrupted Madison.

         “Madison. You’re eighteen. That hardly qualifies you to the level of that sixteen year old.” said Stephanie. “Probably got his license a few hours ago,” she muttered under her breath, sharply turning down Murlberry Street.

         “Wow these houses are gorgeous,”said Madison, as her eyes scanned around all the large houses that outlined the street. ‘So this is where all the rich kids in my neighborhood live’ thought Madison, as she remembered her school's district. Thanks to her scholarship, she was allowed to attend from where she lived, but this street and the area around was within the schools main boundaries.

         “As to your question before, you’ll just have to see now won’t you because we’re here,” Stephanie announced, as she parked in front of one of the houses.

         As Madison got out of the car she glanced up at the house. It was a detached, grey bricked, two story house with large black gates surrounding the outside.

         “I really hate that he won’t leave the gates to the driveway open. It’d make my life so much easier,” mumbled Stephanie, as she took a pair of keys out from her purse and began to unlock the gates.  As the gates slowly opened, Madison and Stephanie made there way up to the front door. As Stephanie fumbled to unlock the front door Madison could hear a sweet melody emanating from the other side of the doorway. It sounded smooth and calming. Madison began to sway slowly to the rhythm. ‘Wow Stephanie’s brother is really good’ Madison thought. She was a bit skeptical about the rumors Stephanie told her were floating around about him, but after hearing that sweet tune she couldn’t help but believe them.

         “Pretty Good, eh?” asked Stephanie, as she unlocked the door, causing the sound to grow louder.

         “Yes.” was all Madison could reply. “Forget about a picture being worth a thousand words. That was brilliant.”

         “Glad you thought so,” said Stephanie, ushering her inside. As the playing stopped she yelled, “Anyone home!”

         The only response she got was the sound of a harsh key being played.

         “Come in. He’s in the living room,” said Stephanie.

         As Madison walked down the spacious hallway, the wings of the butterflies began to flutter again in her stomach. But soon her nervousness was taken over by shock as she entered into the living room. She stood there, shock-stricken, as her eyes danced about the room. Mountains of books of all shapes and sizes took up every bit of free space , so only a small, few inches of the dark green carpet below them could be seen. What few books didn’t lay on the floor were messily stacked into the bookshelves that were built into the entire wall. Sheet music stuck out from beneath some of the covers, while other sheets laid atop every free shelf in the room in one great littered pile. Two dogs, one beautiful blue eyed Siberian husky and one adorable looking golden retriever, were laying, lazily, on the couch. The Husky barked loudly as Stephanie inched closer to it.

         A sharp, smooth voice hushed the dog down from the corner of the room. That’s when Madison’s eyes noticed the shadowy figure behind the grand piano; the only clean portion of the room.

         “Stephanie, could you at least call when your planning on just coming by,” said the shadowy figure.

         “Well you should just remember that I told you I was coming by. I don’t have a cell phone remember,” retorted Stephanie. Madison remembered her saying something about not having one so her agent couldn’t reach her at times. Not having a cell phone was Stephanie’s favorite excuse. It usually explained why no one could ever reach her.          

         “Is that her?” he asked.

         “Yes. If you would open up these curtains more maybe your would see her better,” said Stephanie, twisting the knob that opened up the curtains. Sunlight lit up the once dim room. Madison could see him clearly now. His hair was a wavy mess of charcoal black hair. His eyes, which now settled on her, were a piercing shade of hazel. His hand reached out for the glass of wine atop his piano. He took a sip of the red liquid and looked her up and down. His facial expression showed that he didn’t look too pleased. He rose from his seat and walked over to Stephanie, his black sweat pants swishing as he moved.

         “So why don’t you at least introduce us. I know your manners haven’t gotten that bad,” he said to her.

         “Madison Rose, this is my pig head of a brother, Roman (forgot what I mad his last name XD),” said Stephanie.

         “Nice to meet you,” replied Madison, nervously. She didn’t get the sense from him that he liked her very much. ‘Great, this is starting off just wonderful’

         “So, why don’t you give her the grand tour and leave,” he said, bitterly.

         “I’ll do just that. You really should stop acting like such a jerk. It’s not good on first impressions,” teased Stephanie.

         “Like I care,” he said, as he walked out of the room. He didn’t so much as glance towards Madison as he walked out.

         “Don’t worry about him. I’ll make him take a Midol later. I’m sure he’ll cool off after that,” joked Stephanie.

         Madison attempted to laugh, but couldn’t. She knew Stephanie was trying to make her feel better about his rudeness but she couldn’t help but wonder what she did that would offend him. ‘I just met the guy a minute ago. I couldn’t possibly have don’t anything,’ she thought.

         “Don’t stress over him. He’s just naturally immature,” Stephanie reassured her. “Come on I’ll give you a tour and show you where everything you need will be.”

         Madison just decided to do what she was told to at the moment. She followed Stephanie around all the rooms of the house, each being seemingly less of a mess than the living room. She was shown where the dog food was supposed to kept, where their leashes were, and where all the supplies were in his office so she’d be able to find them easier when she was helping to organize his files. 

         “That seems to be about it. Here’s the key for tomorrow,” said Stephanie, dropping them in Madison’s hand. “Have any questions?”

         ‘Am I supposed to run away now or later?’ She thought, but simply answered,”Nope.”

         “Then let’s get going. I promised your grandfather I’d get you home before dinner,” said Stephanie, leading her back to the entrance.

         “Should we say goodbye?” asked Madison.

         “Don’t worry about it,” said Stephanie, stepping out of the house.

         Madison followed her to the car silently. As she reached the door of the passenger's side she noticed the curtain falling back down.

         “I let him know earlier that your going to be coming around one tomorrow, so you don’t have to call ahead,” said Stephanie, as Madison slid into the seat. “Also, don’t judge him by today. He’ll warm up to you.”

         “Alright,” said Madison. But what she really wanted to say was that she hoped so.

         As Stephanie drove off back towards their apartment building, all Madison could wonder was, ‘What on earth did I just get myself into.’