CHAPTER 10: VOICES AT SUNSET
The music room was quieter than usual that afternoon.
Most students had already gone home, leaving the hallways outside nearly empty. The faint echo of footsteps occasionally drifted through the corridor, but inside the room it was calm.
Sunlight poured through the tall windows, painting the floor with long golden shadows.
Kai dropped his backpack beside the piano and stretched dramatically.
"I'm here under protest."
Mira spun around in the middle of the room.
"You're here because you volunteered."
"I absolutely did not volunteer."
Jaden leaned against the desk with a notebook in his hand.
"You agreed by not escaping fast enough."
Kai sighed.
"This is injustice."
Near the window, Liora was adjusting the small speaker they had borrowed from the classroom.
Evren stood beside the microphone stand, tightening one of the knobs.
"Test," he said quietly.
The microphone gave a small crackle.
"Working."
Liora looked over.
"Good."
She tapped her phone, and the soft instrumental track of their first song filled the room.
For a moment, no one moved.
The melody drifted through the quiet room like a gentle breeze.
Mira clapped her hands once.
"Positions!"
Kai looked around.
"Why are we suddenly professional?"
"Because the festival is in three days."
Kai froze.
"…Three?"
Jaden nodded.
"Time moves forward."
Kai turned slowly toward Liora.
"You didn't mention that."
She smiled innocently.
"You didn't ask."
"Betrayal."
They formed a loose line in the center of the room.
Mira stood confidently.
Jaden checked the lyrics on his phone.
Kai held the paper like it had personally offended him.
Liora stood slightly in front of them, listening to the rhythm of the instrumental.
Evren stood beside her.
"Ready?" she asked.
Mira nodded enthusiastically.
Jaden nodded calmly.
Kai sighed dramatically.
"Sure."
The music began.
At first, their voices were hesitant.
Mira sang slightly too loudly.
Kai missed the first line completely.
Jaden corrected the timing under his breath.
Liora tried to guide the rhythm with small hand motions.
Evren stayed quiet until his part came.
Then he joined the harmony smoothly.
The sound filled the music room.
Still imperfect.
Still rough.
But slowly improving.
"Stop," Liora said gently.
Everyone paused.
Kai pointed at Mira.
"She's overpowering the rest of us."
"I am not."
"You are."
Jaden raised his hand slightly.
"He's correct."
Mira looked betrayed.
"Wow."
Evren crossed his arms.
"Balance your volume."
Mira huffed but nodded.
"Fine."
They started again.
This time, the song flowed better.
The notes blended more smoothly.
Sunlight slowly shifted across the floor.
The room felt warmer.
Halfway through the second chorus, Liora suddenly stopped singing.
Everyone else continued for a moment before realizing.
Kai lowered his paper.
"What happened?"
Liora frowned slightly.
"That high note."
Mira blinked.
"Too high?"
"Maybe a little."
Jaden adjusted his glasses thoughtfully.
"We can lower the key slightly."
Evren shook his head.
"No need."
Everyone looked at him.
He turned toward Liora.
"Sing normally."
"Normally?"
"Yes."
The music started again.
When the high note approached, Liora sang it softly instead of pushing her voice higher.
At the same moment—
Evren quietly shifted his harmony upward.
Supporting the note.
Filling the space.
The transition was almost invisible.
But the sound worked.
The note floated smoothly into the next line.
The song continued without breaking.
Mira didn't even notice.
Kai was focused on the lyrics.
Jaden was keeping rhythm.
But Liora glanced sideways.
Just for a second.
Evren didn't look back.
He was watching the microphone stand like it required deep concentration.
The song finished.
Silence filled the room.
Kai dropped onto the piano bench again.
"Okay."
He pointed around the room.
"That was actually good."
Mira grinned proudly.
"See?"
Jaden nodded slightly.
"Improvement."
Liora looked thoughtful.
Then she smiled.
"That worked."
Evren shrugged.
"Practice."
The sky outside had begun to change.
The golden sunlight softened into warm shades of orange.
Long shadows stretched across the music room floor.
Mira suddenly gasped.
"Wait."
Everyone looked at her.
"Second song."
Kai groaned loudly.
"We just survived the first one."
"Again!"
They reset their positions.
This song was slower.
Calmer.
More emotional.
The kind of song that felt like quiet evenings and long walks home.
Their voices softened naturally.
The room felt almost peaceful.
Outside the window, the sky slowly turned deeper shades of orange and pink.
At some point during the second chorus, Liora glanced toward the window.
The sunset looked beautiful.
Without thinking, she grabbed her camera from the desk.
Click.
The Polaroid flash lit up the room briefly.
Mira stopped singing mid-line.
"HEY."
"Sorry," Liora said, laughing.
"Sunset."
The photo slowly printed.
Kai leaned over.
"What did you capture?"
She looked at the image as it developed.
The glowing sunset through the tall windows.
Their silhouettes standing in the music room.
Evren slightly behind the microphone.
Mira mid-gesture.
Jaden holding lyrics.
Kai leaning against the piano.
A quiet moment frozen in time.
"…Nice," Jaden said.
Mira nodded.
"That's aesthetic."
Kai squinted.
"Why do I look like I'm judging the sunset?"
"Because you probably were," Evren said.
Kai pointed accusingly.
"You're rude today."
Liora slipped the photo carefully into her bag.
Another memory saved.
Outside the window, the sun finally dipped below the buildings.
The music room grew softer in the fading light.
Mira stretched.
"Okay."
She pointed at everyone dramatically.
"Final rehearsal tomorrow."
Kai stared at her.
"There's more?"
"Of course."
Jaden checked his notebook.
"Festival is soon."
Kai stood up slowly.
"…I need food."
Evren grabbed his backpack.
"Same."
Liora walked toward the door last.
Before leaving, she looked back at the quiet music room.
The microphone.
The scattered lyrics.
The warm afterglow of the sunset.
Another ordinary day.
Another memory.
She turned off the lights.
And the five of them stepped into the quiet hallway together—
their voices still lingering faintly in the evening air.