"The three of you will learn how to play the violin," she continued. Young Aria was still in shock. "That is all for today. Tomorrow, we will select the song."
"But what if one of us is interested in learning how to play the violin?" Young Aria asked.
"You are always free to learn how to play the violin," Miss Sophia replied, then looked at the others who would play the violins. "Or perhaps, in your cases, sing. But this is an upcoming competition—it isn't wise to combine the two together, or we could lose. It's safest to stick to your area in order to make the school proud. Understood?"
"Yes, Miss," they echoed.
"You may all leave."
The students started exiting. Young Aria was this close to approaching Lewis when—
"Wait up, Lewis!" Miss Sophia called.
Young Aria halted, disappointed, but soon she walked out the door and shut it. She didn't leave; she wanted to know what he was being told.
"Do you not like it? That you were given this opportunity? Your dad did all he could so you could get here," Miss Sophia asked. Young Aria waited for his response, but it was quickly interrupted by—
"Oh my gosh! I am so happy for you!"
Before Marie could continue her excited chatter, young Aria quickly covered her mouth with her hand and dragged her away from the door.
"What was that?" Marie asked.
"Nothing," young Aria replied.
"Since when did you start lying to me?" Marie pressed.
"I'm not lying," young Aria insisted.
"You were clearly eavesdropping," Marie said, fully convinced. "But why—that's the real question."
"Can we just drop this?" young Aria asked, irritation slipping into her tone. "If it bothers you this much—fine. I came out of the hall and shut the door before you arrived. You were speaking loudly, so I pulled you away so we wouldn't disrupt the teacher. Make sense?"
Marie hesitated, then sighed. "I'm sorry for doubting you," she said softly. Then her excitement returned in full force. "So… what happened in there?"
"So the competition has to do with music," young Aria explained. "She was looking for a lead singer, and she chose me and Lewis."
"Lewis?" Marie echoed. "The same mysterious, quiet Lewis? Wasn't there anyone else?" She looked genuinely surprised. "Did you give him the paper?"
"Yes," young Aria answered—closing herself off, even from her best friend.
"And I'd like to believe you didn't peek at it?" Marie asked, studying her closely.
"No, I didn't," young Aria lied.
Sometimes, I like to think that if my younger self had been honest from the start, things wouldn't have turned out so badly. But then again, I couldn't tell her the truth. I was afraid of her reaction.
When young Aria noticed Lewis stepping out of the hall, her gaze lingered on the oblivious Marie. In that moment, she began crafting the perfect excuse—one that would get her out of there.
"I've got to go to the library to check if my favorite history book has been taken yet," young Aria said.
"Can I come with you?" Marie asked.
"NO!!!!! I—I mean, you don't have to," young Aria blurted out.
"But—" Marie was about to insist when—
"No buts or ifs," young Aria cut in. "I'm going to the library alone. Wait for me here. I'll be back ASAP."
Without wasting another second, she rushed off.
Marie was suspicious, but lately she'd been avoiding every form of disagreement and misunderstanding, so she let it go.
Young Aria walked into the library, and as if she'd known all along, he was there—sitting quietly, reading a small pamphlet. She took the same chair from before and kept her eyes fixed on him.
"Did you follow me here?" Lewis asked, clearly stunned.
"No," young Aria replied. "I just guessed you'd be here."
"What do you want?" he asked, closing the pamphlet.
"I need to know," she said, her curiosity burning. "When you came to my house, you said something about me finding it. Did you mean what was written in the paper? The Lumeris Codex? And what is the Lumeris Codex?"
"What are you talking about?" Lewis asked, genuinely confused. "What paper? What Lumeris Codex?"
That was when young Aria froze there speechless looking at Lewis's confused expression.