Ash

He stilled his lips as he realized that he was talking aloud to himself. He didn’t want someone to see him and think he was crazy. Shoving his thoughts aside, he walked into the building. It was big and airy, with clear glass skylights far above his head and railings lining the four floors above him. He liked the affect of being able to see the night sky despite being inside. It was almost calming and energizing at the same time, though he wasn’t sure how that could be possible.

Checking his texts from Syl to make sure that he had the right room number, he checked the few doors he saw, hoping to find the room he was supposed to be in. All he saw, though, was a closed concession stand, two double doors into the auditorium, and what appeared to be a front office. The plaques above them read “66”, “67”, “73”, and “74”. That had to mean that room 154 was on the second floor. Right?

Ash stepped into the elevator and found that instead of floor levels, each of the buttons was labeled with a word. They probably meant something to musicians, but Ash had no idea what “Adagio”, “Andante”, “Moderato”, “Allegro”, or “Presto” meant. Based on the light around the button labeled “Adagio”, Ash went with “Andante”, hoping that was the second floor.

He was lucky that his guess was correct, though confused after he circled the floor. The doors started at “76” and ended at “106”. What kind of mental numbering system was this? Ash got back in the elevator and tried the next floor, “Moderato”. It started at “108” and continued until “118”. Ash groaned as he reached the elevator again, throwing his head back in irritation. Right above the closed doors was a plaque that read “119”. He nearly slapped himself. The search would not have taken nearly as long if he had decided to pay attention.

Ash entered the elevator once more, hoping it would be the last time. He decided to just go to the top since there did not appear to be very many rooms on each floor. Stepping out as he reached the top, he looked at the first door, only to see “168” neatly printed on the door. The plaque above the elevator read “199”. Ash’s grip on the trumpet case turned his knuckles white as he stepped back into the motorized lift and pressed the button for “Allegro”, the only floor he had yet to visit.

The first door was labeled as “120”, the elevator as “167”. If this wasn’t the right floor, he was going back to his room and sleeping. No building had the right to be this confusing.

Finally finding room 154, Ash opened the door and stepped into the small, sparsely furnished room. It was empty, though the light was on and the door unlocked. He sat in one of the two chairs, setting the trumpet and its case down next to him. Aside from the two chairs, there were two music stands, a full-length mirror, and a window overlooking the science building.

In front of the building was a large statue. Most of the buildings on campus had one, including the music building, but the one in front of the science building was the only one that Ash had ever found interesting. As one of the professors had explained to him, the twisted metal in the same of a test tube was covered in a very special paint made here on campus. It was like a mood ring, except this paint reacted to the weather and actually changed thanks to the chemicals in it.

Right now it was a silvery-white color, probably due to the cold and the humidity. The air was heavy with the feeling of an approaching storm, though after living here for most of his life, Ash knew that the storm would likely pass the city over. They got snow usually late December – early January, and light rain throughout the year. It was enough for a forest to grow around the city, but that was about it.

Looking at his watch, Ash realized that he had been sitting here for 15 minutes already, and he had been 5 minutes late as was. He hated being late and hated even more when others took their sweet time. His “teacher’s” tardiness combined with his irritation in trying to find the room served as plenty fuel for him to be sufficiently p*ssed off.

Ash looked around the room again, letting his mind wander. Elliot would have loved to decorate the plain, boring little room. He may not have been musically inclined either, but he at least had an eye for fashion and was always up-to-date with the latest trends. Despite that, Ash couldn’t imagine how to make the room look better without completely redoing the entire thing. Would a picture help? Or a plant? Or would they just make the place look tacky and cheap?

Finally, after Ash had gotten so bored he’d started to play games on his phone, he heard the sound of the elevator whirring before the doors opened. He was grateful he had decided to open the little window as well as crack the door open. It had been getting stuffy. But, now he could hear outside. These rooms seemed to be remarkably well-insulated.

He figured that it was his teacher that had been on the elevator, until he realized that he couldn’t hear anyone walking around. It was spooky, though he hoped it was just him overreacting. He waited, though, straining to hear anyone or anything approaching the room. A sudden realization turned Ash’s stomach almost violently: he didn’t know who his teacher was. He also had no way of identifying who they were, aside from assuming that they went to school here.

Forcing himself to calm down and accept whatever fate awaited him, Ash settled back into his chair, trying to relax. Not even his phone offered a complete distraction from the gnawing in his gut. It was then that the door knob jiggled, despite the door being cracked open. Ash slouched down in his seat, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes at the ceiling. He was irritated and in no mood to hide it.

“I apologize for being late,” a beautiful, soft voice said, facing the door based off of the muffled sound. The rustling of cloth made Ash assume the his “teacher” was sitting down across from him as the other continued to speak, “My assignment required more time than I anticipated.”

Ash looked at his teacher, and both he and the young man froze as their eyes met and widened in surprise. Of all the people it could have been…