I had never thought that such a day would come in my life when I would feel dreadful to attend the music class. It was what I used to look forward to after the droning lecturers and monotonous classes. But events from yesterday were still fresh in my mind, and I was still scared to face my teacher who was anything but normal.
The hallway was completely quiet with all the students in their respective classes, while I still struggled to get into mine. The urge to flee was immense and I would have done that as well if only I wouldn't have to face the consequences that came after. Somehow I built up the courage to twist the doorknob and enter the room.
I released a sigh of relief when I saw that Mr. Dimitri was not in the class yet while some of the students were sitting, chatting, and waiting for their teacher while the rest of the seats remained empty since there was not many students who took up music as a subject. The class always seemed empty even at full attendance, but whoever was present wanted to be here and were very passionate about music.
I went to my usual seat and pulled out some music sheets trying to figure them out. The beginning of this class was going good, my only wish was that Mr. Dimitri would somehow be unable to give lessons if only for today. Hopefully he got stuck somewhere, doing some other work.
Suddenly, a paper plane came flying towards me and landed on my desk. My eyes looked up to see Abel standing in front of me with a smug grin on his face. I braced myself for the brainless chatter which would come out of his mouth, like it usually does when he tried to bother someone just for fun. Sometimes I wondered why he even took up music class at all. He was supposedly one of the popular kind here and was athletic too with a sports Scholarship as a swimmer.
"Hey Dawson, mind if I sit?" He did not even wait for me to reply when he occupied the seat beside me like the gentleman he was.
"So my torture session starts now? Please tell me what dare I must complete in order to please you, my most humble torturer." Striking a noble speech, I smiled a bit at Abel's uneasiness. He wasn't expecting this kind of behaviour from the girl who never really talks much and is always to herself. An introvert. But I was in a good mood and feeling chatty as well. His uncomfortable stuttered words of a response made me laugh. He too joined in, showing off his dimples that gave him a boyish charm that most girls around the class admired. I couldn't deny it either.
We never talked a lot, but did exchange a few teasing jabs at each other from time to time. It wasn’t exactly a friendship, I don’t know what to call it.
A very loud throat-clearing burst our bubble, shaking us back to reality. Dark fear slithered all over me as two dark green eyes stared at me holding unfathomable anger in them. It happened so abruptly and quickly that I was chilled to the bone by the sharp glare thrown at me by Mr. Dimitri.
The lump in my throat gulped down unsettlingly as I waited for this uncomfortable wave to end. He turned towards the class and spoke up in his deep booming voice after he reached his desk and slammed the books a little harshly which made the noise boom in the still and tense air.
"Today I want to give all of you a lesson which is perhaps not only specific to music. A lesson which you should never forget, nonetheless. A lesson which will teach you to submit to the right authority and understand what should be your conduct accordingly." All the anger was released through his deep voice echoing off the walls, which was not exactly an infuriated shout but rather a grumble. He picked up the glassy paperweight off his desk and thoughtfully twirled it in his fingers. Everyone sat up with their spine in attention. He simply demanded it not with his words but with his aura and the pause before he started talking again.
"Lions are truly a royal species, I think. They are after all the king of the jungle. They are rulers not because other animals are loyal to them, but because they fear them. Lions never submit to anyone, their alpha demeanour dominates everyone and seeks for submission of others who do so even when the former is absent. The lion never bows, not even to his mate." Those green eyes darted towards me for a fraction of a moment and then resumed their prowl on others.
"The she-lion or the lionesses are attracted only to those lions who have the aura of dominance surrounding them. A Queen never likes a weak king. The lion, on the other hand, wants his mate to be submissive in every way possible, and she must submit only to her mate and no one else. It's not easy to find a mate, either. The lion fights for his mate, and he never stops until and unless he gets what he wants." He paused as his eyes made their way to me again, forcing me to look away.
"I hope you understood the purpose of the lesson I gave you so that you people never repeat your mistakes. I don’t want anyone slacking off or putting their attention in anything except music in this class. That is the sole purpose of this time that we are allotted and spending here. So, from the next time when I enter the class, I want absolute silence! From now on the males will sit at the back and the females will sit at the front. Therefore, don't waste my time and change your seats right this moment." Everyone jumped at his command and did as was told under his scrutinizing gaze. I scoot up from my place and reluctantly went forward to my assigned seat.
****
The rest of the class went quite smoothly, no shouting, no glares, no angry vibes. I hoped that the class would end peacefully, but like always I was wrong.
At the end of the practice, Mr. Dimitri handed out timetables and routines to us for the competition preparation. As promised, we all had different routines for individual practice. There were some distressed moans and some excited squeals from my classmates, but as soon as I dropped my eyes to the sheet of paper in my hands, I was shocked. My eyes had turned into saucers at the information written in my routine.
There, in neatly printed words, were written the most dreaded words. The sheet of paper slipped out of my hands and dropped to the floor. My eyes found green ones, looking at me with a mischievous glint.
I decided that there must be some printing mistakes, so I walked up to him. As soon as I reached his desk, the bell rang indicating the end of the class. All the students made a beeline towards the exit and I found myself alone with him yet again. Someone must have closed the door on their way out, giving us some unnecessary privacy.
I gulped and brought out the sheet to distract my eyes from connecting to his eyes.
"Um sir, I think there is some mistake in printing the routine because-"
"Rose, there is no mistake. I personally printed them." He stood up from his seat, towering over me, looking down at his prey. He had an uncanny smirk on his face while his eyes swirled with something dangerous.
"Humour me, Ms. Rose, why do I have a feeling that you don't want to practice in the allotted timetable with me? Are you not interested in participating in the competition because I can not find any other reason for your disapproval? So I hope you don't have any problem now, do you?"
I went a step back and stuttered out in a shaky voice.
"N-no sir"
"Very well then, I'll see you tomorrow."
I closed my eyes in defeat, turned around, and made my way towards the door, only to check the routine again.
The bold italic words mocked back at me, stating my perilous future ahead.
Rose Dawson:-
Place: 44b, Winston street, forks.
Mr. Dimitri Nevada's Residence.
Day | Time
Tuesday | 6: 00 pm
Friday | 6: 00 pm