- Music School - San Francisco -
The melodious sound of the violin's four strings as they brushed against the bow held by the young man illuminated by the sunlight streaming into the room through the large glass windows delighted Sophia Multer, a world-class violin soloist.
The expressions of the feelings in the sheet music were displayed in all their splendour through the sound.
With the last note floating in the air, Sophia applauded and her five other students joined her.
"Magnificent performance of Paganini's Caprice No. 20: Allegretto."
"Thank you, Professor Multer..."
William's fingers felt tired. Playing one of Paganini's 24 Caprices without making a single mistake still made him nervous, even though it was only a three-minute performance.
The tall teacher with black hair and elegant silver-rimmed glasses approached William so they could talk without the other students hearing them.
"When your mother asked me to give you some violin lessons, at first I thought about refusing. Teaching a young person who has no plans to continue with this art is a waste of my time, but now I can see that you have talent."
William listened to Sophia as he cleaned the strings of his violin bow of resin residue to prevent them from hardening, damaging the varnish on the wood and, with it, the sound when played.
"Do you want me to talk to your parents so you can go to music school? There we can fix your lack of passion for playing."
Sophia crossed her arms and extended her offer.
"Playing a piece at the advanced level is enough to convince them."
"Thanks for the offer, but any of your students are better than me. I'll just stick to practising as a hobby."
"Lack of interest is the worst thing for music. Anyway, you're mine for the next three days, so I'll help you improve as much as I can."
"It will be a pleasure to enjoy your guidance."
"Now get out of here. That pretty girl has been waiting for thirty minutes."
William smiled at her and waved to Enid, who was sitting in a seat at the top of the auditorium.
She returned his greeting with greater emotion.
He quickly put her Hellien violin back in its case and started up the stairs.
The first thing Enid did was give William a hug, as she always did when they met again.
"What about the rest of them? I thought class was over?"
Enid peered from under William's arm at the next student to take the stage. Sophia no longer had the same smile she had when she was with her boyfriend.
"She looks more serious now."
"She's an acquaintance of my mother's. Apparently, they played together in the Berlin orchestra, and she got to know me when I was a baby."
William tucked a strand of Enid's hair behind her ear.
"So she shows favouritism towards you, and the rest of her students are just work."
"Exactly. Or we could say she prefers a professional relationship with her students."
Enid took his hand and started walking towards the exit.
"Did the boys reply? Can any of them come tonight?"
"Yoko, Ajax and Xavier will come."
"What about Divina?"
"They won't let her leave the house. There were problems with her parents."
"That's a shame. We still have time before the match. Do you want to go for something to eat?"
"Of course. I'll take you to one of my favourite places."
The small restaurant was called The House of the Great Steak, and there wasn't a single vegetable on the menu.
(I think I know what Vic meant by 'interesting choice').
William thought silently.
- A couple of hours later. - SAP Centre in San Jose. -
The SAP Centre, a large indoor stadium, was the venue for the hockey match between the San Jose Sharks and the Anaheim Ducks for the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Dozens of people wearing the iconic colours of the hockey teams came and went, children, women and men of all ages.
"Hi, Will!"
"Ajax, I'm so glad you could make it!"
"I wasn't going to waste a free ticket."
"I'm here too."
Xavier commented from the side, his hands in the pockets of his black jacket, as William and Ajax shared a brief hug.
"I thought you'd be with Bianca for the holidays?"
Ajax crossed his arm over William's neck as he asked Xavier the question.
"I wanted to visit her, but she didn't agree. I don't even know where she lives."
"Problems in paradise for Xavier. What about you, Will? Has Enid forgiven you yet?"
"There was never any trouble."
"Oh, Mr Perfect Relationship speaking!"
A car pulled up right in front of the small group, a luxurious black Mercedes Benz, and Yoko got out of the passenger seat wearing a red coat and sunglasses around her neck.
"What are you all talking about?"
Enid also got out of the car owned by Yoko's father.
"Absolutely nothing, let's go in before the queue gets any longer."
William cut Ajax off before he could answer and suggested they go into the stadium.
"I didn't think everyone would like hockey."
Yoko walked with the group and prepared to go through the metal detectors alongside the long line of fans.
"It's the first game I'll ever see." - Xavier -
"Me too!!" - Ajax -
"Same here, wait, then why are we all here!!" - Yoko -
"Nothing better to do." - Xavier -
"Free ticket and then we'll stay at Will's flat to play video games." - Ajax -
"Now that I think about it, why don't you dress like the rest of the fans, you know, in the Sharks' colours."
William and Enid were the first to go through and stopped to wait for the rest right in front of the team's official merchandise shop.
"I didn't want my brothers to know I was coming to see the Playoffs."
"Enid, come on, we need you to explain what's going on!"
Yoko's voice came from the stairs leading to the seats and the ice rink.
"Come on!"
"Give me a moment, I'll be right with you."
Enid had doubts about William's answer, but she didn't ask any more questions and joined Yoko's group.
"Excuse me, can I have that jacket in size M?"
"Right away."
- Ten minutes later - Main corridor to the rink. -
"I wanted it to be a surprise."
Enid was leaning against the wall waiting for William to pass by.
"You were too obvious."
William put the turquoise and white jacket on Enid and zipped it up to her neck.
Enid put a cap on William with the shark icon biting a hockey stick in two on a triangle.
Their actions allowed them to be so close to each other that they could feel each other's breath in the cold air of the stadium.
"Hey, want to bet on who will win, the Ducks or the Sharks?"
The voices of some fans came from afar. Soon more people would fill the place and their brief moment alone would be lost in a sea of people.
Without thinking too much about it, William took Enid's hand and pushed open a door that, coincidentally, the stadium staff had not locked today.
"Wait, the game is about to start... mmm!"
Enid's words didn't carry much weight as she willingly sought William's lips in the darkness, with the little light filtering through the door grilles barely distinguishing their figures.
"Perhaps it had been too long since we last saw each other..."
The low whispers between them could be heard along with their rapid breathing and the rubbing of their clothes against each other.
"A month... despite the cold air, your skin feels warm."
William's hands caressed Enid's neck.
"We werewolves are warm-blooded...!!"
A little saliva slid down Enid's chin before Will caught it and prevented it from falling to the floor.
- Meanwhile in the stands -
"Where are those two hockey fans? I was hoping they'd explain the rules of the game to us."
Ajax settled into his seat before noticing that two of his friends had disappeared.
"They were supposed to be behind us."
Xavier took out his mobile phone, planning to send William a message.
"Leave them alone, they'll be back in about fifteen minutes."
Yoko took her seat and crossed her legs. Their seats were in a great spot to watch the game, and the rest of the seats around them had also been bought by William, which meant their group wouldn't be surrounded by noisy fans.
"What do you mean?" - Ajax -
"Trust me, they're pretty consistent over time."
Yoko uncapped her glass bottle filled with red liquid and inserted a straw before starting to drink.
"Are they like this all the time?"
Xavier finally understood what Yoko meant.
"You get used to it, they're the result of bringing two affectionate people together."
"Will, a loving person? That's the first time I've heard that."
Ajax adjusted his cap to keep his snakes under control.
"Well, you're not a pretty blonde girl for him to be affectionate with you."
"Hahaha! Yoko's right about that."
Xavier laughed. Perhaps spending more time with his friends was better than being with the herd of mermaids led by Bianca.