I

Rose’s voice brought me instantly back to reality. While I was lost in my daydream, she had continued explaining what my new routine would look like.

“We will divide our rehearsals into trios throughout the day, leaving group practice for the evening,” Rose explained. “You’ll have Theory and Solfège with Alice on Mondays; Stage Presence, Performance, and Social Etiquette with Luna on Tuesdays; Composition and Harmony with me on Wednesdays; and finally, Execution with Ruby on Fridays and Saturdays.”

Staring blankly at that piece of paper, I felt my freedom slipping through my fingers.

“We thought that, out of our secondary instruments, the most appropriate one for you is the Spanish guitar. That’s Ruby’s instrument,” Alice added. “It might not look like it but, excluding Rose from the list, everyone learns well from her.”

“That tells you exactly what the problem is,” Ruby chimed in, stirring her hot tea with the same agonizing slowness she did everything else. “It’ll be two days in a row of me teaching you how to move those little fingers, Mine… ” Ruby took a sip from her cup. “I’m excited about the idea, don't know about you.”

“On Sundays, we’ll give you comprehensive lessons and evaluate your progress as a group,” Rose ordered. “You’ll start tomorrow with Luna. Understood?”

“I should be the one teaching her acting.” Ruby frowned, swirling the tea inside her cup. “Everyone goes wild when I step on stage.”

“You mean you’re the first one to go wild…” Rose replied without a hint of tact. “You move way too much for what you're supposed to be doing as a violist.”

“I have to make myself noticed somehow. You have to stand out.”

“You do it even during songs that aren’t fast,” Alice added, a small laugh escaping her and cracking her voice.

“Mia doesn't need to act hyperactive; she needs to act like an artist,” Rose continued. “That’s what Luna is for: to teach her how to make everyone believe she actually cares about something.”

Ruby and Alice chuckled under their breaths. Luna, who had remained on the sidelines until then, set her cutlery down with elegance. She stood up and sat beside me, breaking—with my full permission—the barrier of my personal space.

“Usually, what I do most, and what I find hardest sometimes, is acting like I don’t care about everything you say when you get like this because you haven't slept enough. You should see a doctor,” Luna replied, opening the lesson plan in front of me with an intimidating serenity."

Luna began writing their names at the top of the sheet in each corresponding class, marking the hours with bolder strokes so I wouldn't get lost.

“So? Are you going to see a doctor?” As always, it was Ruby’s voice that pulled me out of my quiet thoughts. “I found an incredible oneirologist who can help me get you to shut up. My poor closet can’t take it anymore; my wall doesn't speak, it cries along with you. I hear everything from the wettest to the driest parts of your life and, look, it used to be interesting, but the more interesting it got, the less I could sleep. Honestly, I’m exhausted.”

I watched Rose take a deep breath, filling her lungs to snap back at her, but she didn't get the chance to utter a single word.

“Group created,” Ruby announced, focused on her phone.

“EOS and the other one” —I read the title of the group I had just been added to.

The profile picture was a most indiscreet zoom-in of Rose’s face from the photo Tom had taken the day I arrived.

“Take it down,” Rose ordered.

“Leave it,” Alice pleaded, laughing along with Luna.

“Hey, Mine, when are we doing the thing with my bras? Right now, right? Or are you putting them on Alice first?”

“What bras?” Luna whispered to Alice.

“The instrument supports,” Alice translated naturally.

“Ah… oh. Okay,” Luna nodded.

I went straight for my toolbox, trying to shake off the feeling of being watched. I had to prepare to finish Alice’s room; I needed to close that technical—and emotional—chapter before the new schedule consumed the rest of my days in that house.

II

After a while, I was in Alice’s room; it was directly opposite Rose’s.

“They sleep right across from each other…” I thought, just before Alice came to my side.

“It’s these,” she said, handing me some golden brackets that weighed more than they looked.

I took them carefully. The engraving inside read: 14K · Aureum & Di Angelo Co.

“A-are they gold?” I asked, stammering as I felt the coldness of the precious metal.

“Yes, but they’re only 14 karats,” Alice said, taking one to read the engraving. “They were a gift from one of our new sponsors, Miss Peggy. She sent them as a thank-you for the recital I gave at the opening of her jewelry store.” She handed the support back and offered me another. “Do you want one?”

“No, no, no,” I said, gently pushing her hand away. “You can’t lend me something like this.”

“I’m gifting it to you,” Alice insisted, placing it in my palm again, “for your remodel.”

“I can’t accept something like this, Alice.”

“What do you suggest I do with it?” she asked with a tenderness that disarmed me. “I only need four, Ruby needs six... there are two left. If I give them to Ruby, she’ll lose them. Are you sure you don’t want one? I’ll give the other to Rose.”

“Why not give it to Luna instead?” I suggested, trying to be reasonable.

“She only has one violin and she always keeps it in its case. Besides… if I give it to her, she’ll say she likes it but then bury it in the depths of her closet. She has nothing on her walls because seeing things that create ‘visual noise’ drives her crazy, I think it would be more useful to you.”

“Okay… thank you so much,” I said, tucking it into my pocket. “The market value of my body just went up.”

Alice let out a small smile at my remark and, without further ado, I turned on the drill.

She sat cross-legged on her bed, watching me work with an almost childlike curiosity.

“How do you do that without getting scared? It looks like a weapon,” she asked, pointing at the tool.

“A hit from those heels you're wearing scares me more,” I replied without breaking my pace.

“I mean, if you blink at the wrong time, you can say goodbye to a finger.”

“My dad used to do this kind of work; he taught me a bit of this and that.” I made the first hole with precision. “I can assemble anything. There was only one thing in my life I couldn't put together... that stupid bookshelf.”

Alice burst out laughing.

“It wasn't just any shelf. An aunt who lives abroad sent it to me for my birthday.”

“She sent you a gift from the other side of the world! How generous!”

“Yes... she’s kind, but so strict she ends up being unbearable. At least she’s the only one who puts my mother in her place... Her name is Lucrecia. Anyway... several birthdays passed and I never built it because the instructions were in another language.”

“Couldn't your father help you?”

“No, because he gave me his book on how to build things and, according to him, I had to do it alone.” I placed another bracket into the grain of the wall. “I hope they’ve learned to live with that huge box in the living room by now. My aunt Lucrecia always asks about it, and they don't dare get rid of it because they're terrified of her.”

I finished the job quickly and efficiently. Alice proudly hung two saxophones, an electric cello, and her majestic acoustic cello. As I helped her settle it, I felt the vibration of the wooden body against my hands; it was a deep resonance that echoed in my heart.

“They’re perfectly aligned. Thanks, Mia!” Alice said. “Ruby must be waiting for you.”

I headed straight to her room. I tapped on the doorframe, which was wide open, and found Ruby with her back to me, hands on her hips, staring fixedly at the upper part of her wall.

“You took too long,” Ruby complained without even turning around.

Ignoring her remark, I entered the room.

“I want two here, two here, one there, and the other one over there with the ukulele,” she pointed with quick gestures. “What do you think? Would it look good in the middle of all my photos?”

Her room was cluttered with awards, diplomas, her emblem, and portraits from stages all over the world. It was crystal clear that she was her own number one fan.

“Narcissist,” I muttered.

“I heard that.” She raised an accusing finger. “Doesn't your house have your graduation photo in the living room?”

“Well... yeah.”

“Why is this any different?”

“It’s a single picture on a table, Ruby, not dozens of them.”

“The thing is, I have a few extra achievements, and I like to remind myself of them for motivation. Who else is going to put them up here if not me?”

“It makes a bit of sense, in your own way,” I said, climbing onto a chair to install the first bracket.

“If I'm good for a couple of things, that's a lot; this is one of them, and that's why I do it so well. If you know a better violist than me, let me know: I'll practice until I leave her in the dust.”

“I'll move on to this one here,” I added, moving to fix another one near the door.

“Good idea. That's where I'll hang Vladimir, my viola; I need it handy in case of an emergency.”

I wondered what kind of emergency would require having a viola by the door like a fire extinguisher, but I said nothing. Shortly after, I would regret that silence; I would regret it deeply and constantly. I could have avoided those emergencies. Instead... I decided to ask a question I shouldn't have asked.

“And what’s the other thing you’re good for?” I asked while drilling, as Ruby held two guitars by the neck.

“Huh?”

Her mood dampened as she heard me. She went still. I saw the spark in her eyes vanish, leaving behind an opaque, empty gaze she barely tried to hide. I thought she was just going to tell me something serious; I didn't think I had hurt her, especially since she had just mentioned it herself.

“You said you’re good for a couple of things,” I said, just to make conversation, wiping the dust off the wall. “What’s the other one?”

How can I go back to the past to shut my mouth and not insist?

Ruby winced; it was impossible to tell if she was annoyed, uncomfortable, or lost in thought. She glanced at the floor and then rolled her eyes upward, chasing a memory; she did this a few times before looking at me, sleepy-eyed, to gift me one of her awkward silences.

My mind went blank; the only thing I thought was that, unintentionally, I had glitched her. After staring at me as long as she wanted without speaking, Ruby forced a half-smile and said:

“Be satisfied with the one you can see right there.” She pointed to the already installed anchors. “Doesn't it inspire you?”

“It's visual overload,” I replied, fitting another piece.

“Well, what can I do if I'm overloaded with success.”

“Pff...”

Ruby had been passing me each instrument to hang it, weaving a quick anecdote about the origin of each one.

“This one Alice gave me when we went to Moscow together; this one they handed me at the academy for my incomparable study program...” She let me touch them all, except for one that looked worn and ancient, its wood darkened by the years.

“Do you need this many?”

“Each one represents an important stage, and they were given to me by people just as valuable to me.”

“Pass me the last one,” I asked, reaching my hand toward the old wood.

“No, I'll hang this one myself,” she replied, hugging it against her chest. “It’s a unique relic.”

She began to clean it with a level of care I hadn't seen in her.

“My first teacher gave it to me. He was very old and didn't get to see me in a decent concert; I always remember him when I see it... it's like with this one, I don't feel alone,” she confessed with a trace of sadness. “When it plays, it feels like he's still around.”

Ruby stood there for a moment, lost in nostalgia. She placed the guitar on the bracket near her bed and then walked me to the exit.

“Tomorrow first thing with Luna,” she reminded me with a tired voice. “Don't be late; the others here are obsessed with that... I don't want to hear them giving the punctuality sermon so early... I'm asking you, please.”

It worried me to see her like that. What she said was very sweet, coming from her, I thought. Ruby seemed like the kind of person who had no attachment to anything but herself. I looked at her one last time.

“Is there anything else I can do for you?”.

“No, it's okay like this,” she replied. “Thanks. From today on, my door is open to you for whatever you need; doesn't matter the hour, just knock.”

Done for the day, I retreated to my room. I picked up the gold bracket to install it, but caught my reflection in the metal and stopped.

“We aren't even friends for her to give me something like this.” I set it on the table. “Better keep it in case she regrets it.”

I let out a sigh and collapsed onto the bed. I checked my phone; the screen was lit up with several notifications, but none were from Emily. Never, since we'd known each other, had we spent an entire day without talking. There was no problem capable of pulling us apart; our relationship was a constant in my life, as natural as waking or sleeping. The fact that she wasn't there... there's no way to explain how bad that made me feel.

“Is this... final?” I whispered, burying my face in the pillow to check the rest of the messages.

They were from Nate.

Chat with Nathan Nate: We haven't heard from you. Are you okay? How's it going?

As proof of life, I sent him a photo of what was right in front of me, without moving a single millimeter from my position.

“I'm fine,” I wrote, listless.

Nate: 100%?

I sent him a voice note with a quick summary of my situation. Then, with my finger trembling over the screen, I wrote and deleted the only question that truly mattered several times:

“How is Emily?”

Nate: You're both the same. I hope you can reconcile soon... knowing you, I know you won't give in this time and you're right about many things, though I understand her point. Give her time.

I left him talking to himself because exhaustion overcame me and my phone died.

A short while later, a growl in my stomach woke me up; my body was begging for something with flavor or, at the very least... a hint of color.

When I tried to get up to go to the kitchen, I fell. I hit the floor hard, and I couldn't climb back onto the bed; my muscles were petrified from all the moving and drilling I'd done during the day. Besides, the hunger was starting to hurt. I crawled up the sheets, whimpering until I managed to prop myself against the window glass.

Okay... let's do this the smart way, Mia, I thought, looking for something to hold onto so I could get down to the kitchen without more accidents.

“Is that Ruby?” I asked myself.

A car stopped and I saw Gabrielle get out to help Ruby out. Gabrielle was very tall and moved with kindness. What stood out most was her short hair, an asymmetrical cut in two colors: platinum white on one side and deep black on the other. They said a fond goodbye and, as soon as she closed the door, the vehicle sped off.

Ruby walked unsteadily with a glass in her hand, took a few steps, and looked up. She greeted me with a seductive gaze that threw me off, forcing me to pull away.