Blackthorn School for Boys

With the butterflies still flipping around in my stomach, I slid my fingers into place and began strumming the pattern. 'Down, Down,up, up, down, up' I repeated continously in my head whilest my fingers slid easily along the long neck of my guitar. My fingers danced along the strings easily, Each chord sounding slightly different to the next as i sang along quietly trying to forget the fact that soon i would have to perform

'Yup.' I murmured audibly enough for the others to hear as I finished up playing a few chords and swung my legs back round, satisfied with my little but focused preparation. I chuckled a little as I heard Cassia have a go, turning my head to beam at her. 'You might want some practise there.' I told her jokily as I leaned into her a little.

'some practice? what do you mean? im perfect, the greatest pianoist there is' i joked, shifting my foot into the pedals 'why do pianos have pedals?' i asked curiously, see, i really was bad at this sort of stuff 'i've been workin' so hard, i'm punchin' my card' i sung quietly, practicing. it was the dance moves i really needed to practice in the last 3 minutes but as more people filled the room i decided not to fick my feet about t soon

I smiled, raising one eyebrow a little as i watched her. 'Oh, umm you hold down one of them to emphasize the sound on like a chord. Watch." I told her matter of factly, glad to be of actual use to somebody. First, i played a chord with my left hand and played out a short melody in the background with my right hand. Gesturing to the pedal first, i proceeded to use it alonf with the first chord. "See?" I smiled at her as i realized she was singing.

'oh, now i get it' i smiled, i had been listening to him even though i had been singing 'so, if i could play the piano, whats the other one for?' i asked, gesturing to the other pedal that my foot was on. i played one note without it and one note with it pressed down, it did sound different but i wasnt too sure how.

'Don't ask me!' I told her with a nervous chuckle, noticing our music teacher walk in. 'Teacher' was a lie, she basically supervised us on messing around and gave us assignments we knew nothing about. Nevertheless, here we were and ready to perform. Quietly, I left the piano stool and glanced at Cassia with a look that suggested she did the same before pulling up a normal chair and sitting on it by the wall near Lee and Lexi.

'So...who first?' Our teacher spoke loudly as she halted by the grand piano in the corner that was off limits to us while she scanned our faces expectantly.

i followed him off the stool, grabbing my bag as i did, once i was sat down i kept my eyes low, i didn't want to go first, not at all. I watched as she scanned the room 'please not me' i chanted in my head, i was nearly always the first to get picked though. i could have breathed a sigh of relief as a boy i didn't know put his hand up to say that he would go up first

I watched her gaze but tried to avoid contact as it was a surefire way to get picked on. Finally, her eyes settled on the area where Lee and Lexi were, causing me to let out a sigh of relief. With a sly smirk, her eyes flicked towards us, more specifically, Cassia. 'You're up.' She told her with a small smile, moving out of the way so that Cassia had a decent area to perform in.

I Looked up as the teacher came in and quickly went to go and fetch a chair so i didnt look like a hobo sitting on the floor dying of tireness. I Yawned slightly, trying to stop it but making a retarded face so it didnt really stop it at all. With my eyes now watering i attempted to whipe them away with my shirt, but just scratching my eyes and mkaing them a little sore.

I Looked up to Cassia with a small smile. I'd never really seen her preform or anything so i was quiet intrequed about what she'd be like..

i stood up, realizing my hands were shaking so i put them into fists and kept them down by my sides. I walked up the the front, glancing around the room, everyone was staring at me. i tucked a strand of hair behind my left ear, wondering if i should start now or slightly later on 'should i start?' i asked the teacher, she was officially the worst teacher ever, she had picked me out of a whole group to perform first. She nodded so i began. She turned on the music when i began to click my fingers. Footloose came out of the speakers as i tapped my foot

'I've been working so hard, I'm punching my card, Eight hours for what? Oh, tell me what I got' I began doing the fancy footwork i had practiced hard with when i was back up north.'I've got this feeling, That time's just holding me down, I'll hit the ceiling or else I'll tear up this town' At this point i was starting to get into it, i was full on doing the proper dance moves. I was smiling as i sung 'Tonight I gotta cut Loose, footloose kick off your Sunday shoes, Please, Louise pull me off a my knees, Jack, get back c'mon before we crack, Lose your blues everybody cut footloose' I was clapping my hands now instead of clicking my fingers, exaggerating the claps probably a little too much.
'And you're playing so cool, Obeying every rule, I dig a way down in your heart, You're burning, yearning for songs, Somebody to tell you, That life ain't passing you by, I'm trying to tell you, It will if you don't even try, You can fly if you'd only cut Loose, footloose kick off your Sunday shoes, Oowhee, Marie shake it, shake it for me, Whoa, Milo c'mon, c'mon let's go, Lose your blues everybody cut footloose' I was proably grinning now but i couldn't tell, i was too caught up in the song.

'Cut footloose, Cut footloose, Cut footloose, We got to turn me around, And put your feet on the ground, Now take a hold of the phone, Whoa, I'm turning it loose, Loose, footloose kick off your Sunday shoes, Please, Louise pull me off a my knees, Jack, get back c'mon before we crack, Lose your blues now everybody cut footloose, Loose, footloose kick off your Sunday shoes, Please, Louise pull me off a my knees, Jack, get back c'mon before we crack, Lose your blues' I was nearing the end now, i had added in spins and all sorts into the routine, i know this isn't a dance class but you can't sing footloose without the moves.
'Everybody cut everybody cut, Everybody cut everybody cut, Everybody cut everybody cut, Everybody everybody cut footloose' I sang, adding in an air guitar at the very end. i finished the song smiling, suddenly i had appeared back into the class room, i wondered how i had done.

I took my seat back next to Caleb. Ok, so going first hadn't been that bad.

*longest post ever by me me thinks :)*

okay, yeah, she was good. And her dancing? i was quiet envyous.. i couldnt dance without breaking my arm in two places and there she was bouncing up and down and finishing in one peice. i grinned, clapping as everyone else did, however my large hands made my clap echo though the room. I'll put it down to me being a exra supportive friend.

I fought the urge to clap alongside Cassia as she sung and danced, which almost made me more nervous to see how good she was. "Damn girl..." I murmured quietly as she returned to her sear beside me, quickly glancing at Lee with a knowing smile. Cassia's impeccable dance moved caused my mind to wander towards the time when Lee nroke his arm...dancing. As the rest of the class erupted into applause, i joined them happily, beaming at her.

'Seriously though, congrats on surviving in style." I whispered, leaning my hand slightly towards Cassia, keeping my eyes on the teacher.
'May we have a volunteer for the next performance?' Our teacher quickly gave Cassia a smile before folding her arms and looking on at the rest of us.

I smiled at his comment 'I take it it was good then?' i asked nervously, biting my lip. i was buzzing. i had just performed footloose in front of a class of 30 even though im too shy to even sing in front of a mirror to my own reflection. I returned the teachers smile before grabbing Caleb's arm, pushing it into the air so it looked like he was holding his hand up 'you'll do great' i told him, smiling 'At least your hands will be too busy playing the piano so you can't clap' i grinned

I smiled weakly. 'Well..look around you.' I whispered softly, my face falling as Cassia took my arm and thrust it into the air. 'Damn you...' I muttered in a faux spiteful tone as I glanced up at the teacher's wicked smirk. Slightly dragging my feet, I stood up and walked over to the piano I had been practising on earlier, turning my head to look at Lee sadly as I did so.

i grinned as he stood up, somehow reluctant to show off his amazing talent. i watched as he walked over to the piano and give lee a look that sort of said 'help me'. i smiled at him encouragingly, he had had it coming.

Twisting around in my chair as the teacher carlled out, i began to freak out even more, my eyes scanning the room for any possible exit. Whilst cassia stood up, i began breathing deeply as i gave her an encouraging smile in the bid to help calm me down. Smiling at cassias performance i gave a herr a hearty clap as my breathing began to operate over my own turns. Crouching over, i watched as cee stood up to go perform ' well done: i managed to mouth at cass

Slipping into my seat, I shifted my weight uncomfortably on the stool as I prepared to play. Hearing our teacher clear her throat loudly, I positioned my fingers over the keys and let them hover while I glanced at the sheet music. Don't screw it up man, I told myself as I began to play the introducing melody, adding the chords when necessary. A small smile appeared on my face as I continued to play, glancing down occasionally to watch my hands travel over the keys effortlessly, somehow creating this song I had come to know so well and love. Maybe a minute or so later, I finished up, adding my own twist by playing the intro melody with both hands as my 'big finish'. Finally I lifted my hands from the piano and let them settle in my lap before slowly standing up.

I smiled at Lexi 'thanks, you'll ace it' i mouthed back at her before Caleb started to play. I listened intensely, playing close attention to when he used the pedals and how it sounded. he was great. I clapped probably slightly louder than everyone else but that didn't matter. I was being supportive. He had finished playing by then, i watched as his hands went from the keys to onto his lap, amazed at how effortless the movements looked when he was playing

I let out a small sigh of relief as I returned to my chair positioned close to Cassia. 'Huh..' I breathed, realizing I had been so nervous my heart was racing. Feeling it slow down, I leaned back in my chair, becoming more relaxed.

I could hear the sound of the piano being played as I made my way down the hall. It was just another day that I was late for. Of course, I had already been chewed out by the principal this morning, but I couldn't care less anymore. Running a hand through my dark, coffee colored hair, I opened the door to class. It's not a new thing for me to walk into class late; I've never been exactly Mr. On Time.