GUITARIST X DRUMMER
“Maybe the loudest thing between us isn't the music."
My name is Alice.
And today is my first day of high school.
The first day of new student orientation.
I stood in front of the school gate in my still-stiff school uniform, with a name tag that felt way too big and hair I'd been fixing because of the wind.
"Nervous?" Hazel's voice came from beside me.
I turned to her.
"Nope."
"Liar."
"Fine, a little."
Hazel laughed.
She's the only person I already know at this new school. So during new student orientation, you could say Hazel is my lifesaver.
We went into our assigned classroom.
I immediately chose what I thought was a strategic seat. Not too close to the front, but not too far in the back either.
A few minutes later, the other students started arriving.
Until finally...
A guy walked in.
His uniform was neat, his bag was slung over one shoulder, and his expression was...
Blank.
He walked in casually, as if today wasn't the first day of school.
Hazel nudged my arm.
"Who are you staring at?"
"I'm not."
"The guy who just came in?"
I stayed silent.
Hazel followed my gaze.
"Oh."
"Oh, what?"
"That's Maverick."
"Maverick?"
"Yep."
I nodded slowly.
Maverick.
A pretty easy name to remember.
He sat a few desks away from me.
And for some reason, my eyes kept drifting toward him on their own.
Not for any particular reason.
Just...
curiosity.
That afternoon, a student council senior asked us to make a class group chat.
One of the students was chosen to create a WhatsApp group.
"Send your numbers here!"
The numbers started coming in one by one.
I saved them all right away.
Name.
Name.
Name.
Until finally...
Maverick.
I paused for a moment.
My thumb hovered over the screen.
I honestly didn't know why I saved his number so quickly.
Maverick — XI?
I smiled a little.
"Why are you smiling?" Hazel asked.
"It's nothing."
"Whose number did you save?"
"Maverick's."
Hazel immediately turned toward me.
"WHAT?"
"Keep your voice down, damn."
"Why'd you save his first?"
"I saved everyone's number."
Hazel looked at my phone screen.
"Why does his contact name have an emoji?"
I snatched my phone back.
"SHUT UP."
Hazel burst out laughing.
I looked at the contact name again.
“Maverick🎧”
For some reason...
I felt like the name suited him.
The next day, new student orientation entered the session so many students had been waiting for.
**Extracurricular sign-ups.**
Various upperclassmen began standing at the front of the classroom, holding posters for their respective extracurriculars.
Basketball.
Futsal.
Color guard.
Dance.
Theater.
And...
"Music Ensemble"
As soon as I saw those words, my eyes went straight to them.
I do like music.
But more specifically...
drums.
I'd been playing drums for several years.
If you asked me why I liked drums...
I didn't have a cool answer.
I just liked the sound they made when you hit them.
Bass drum.
Snare.
Hi-hat.
Every sound seemed to have an energy of its own.
So without thinking twice, I wrote my name on the form.
"Alice — Music Ensemble."
Hazel looked over too.
"Are you sure?"
"Yep."
"They've got guitar, bass, drums, keyboard, and vocals."
"Exactly."
I smiled.
"I want drums."
A few minutes later, I looked at the list of participants.
And there...
Was one name that made me stop reading.
"Maverick — Music Ensemble."
I blinked.
Then read it again.
Maverick.
The same name.
I immediately turned to Hazel.
"Zel."
"What?"
"Look."
Hazel read the list.
"Oh..."
She immediately gave me a wicked smile.
"Looks like our drummer's getting a guitarist."
I rolled my eyes.
"Oh, come on."
But deep down...
I was happy.
After sign-ups ended, the ensemble participants were gathered together.
One of the upperclassmen called out to me.
"Alice?"
"Yeah?"
"You're an ensemble participant, right?"
"Yeah."
"Come with me."
I followed the upperclassman down the school hallway.
We stopped in front of a room.
Written on the door was:
“ENSEMBLE ROOM”
The upperclassman opened the door.
"Go on in. Wait inside."
I nodded.
The second I went in...
The upperclassman left.
"Hey!"
Too late.
They were already walking away.
I stood alone inside the room.
It was fairly large.
There were several drums on one side.
A keyboard near the window.
Several amplifiers.
Cables scattered everywhere.
And several guitars resting on stands.
I walked slowly, looking around.
Until suddenly...
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone.
A guy was sleeping on the sofa in the corner of the room.
Beside him was an electric guitar.
I narrowed my eyes.
His hair was slightly messy.
His arms were folded across his chest.
And a teal electric guitar lay not far from his hands.
I moved closer.
One step.
Two steps.
Three steps.
Until finally, I could see his face clearly.
I stopped immediately.
Maverick.
I held back a laugh.
"Seriously?"
This guy was sleeping in the ensemble room?
I crouched slightly in front of the sofa.
"Maverick."
No response.
"Maverick."
Still no response.
I glanced at the guitar beside him.
I almost touched it, but then thought better of it.
"Maverick."
This time, I said it a little louder.
His eyes slowly opened.
He stared at me with a confused expression.
"Hm...?"
I immediately stood up.
He rubbed his eyes.
"Who are you?"
I froze.
**Did he forget me?**
"I'm Alice."
"Oh."
He sat up.
Then looked at me for a few seconds.
"Alice, from my class?"
I nodded.
"Yeah."
Maverick looked around.
"You're in the ensemble too?"
"Yeah."
He nodded slowly.
"Oh."
Silence.
I started to panic.
I actually wanted to talk to him.
But...
Talk about what?
I looked at the electric guitar beside him.
Finally, I found an excuse.
"Is that your guitar?"
Maverick looked at his guitar.
"Yeah."
"Nice."
"Can you play guitar?"
"Nope."
"Oh."
Silence again.
I was about to give up.
But then I pointed at his guitar.
"What kind of songs do you usually play?"
Maverick thought for a moment.
"All kinds."
"Oh..."
I nodded.
Then, without thinking, I blurted out,
"I can play drums."
Maverick turned toward me.
"Drums?"
"Yeah."
He looked toward the drum set in the corner of the room.
Then looked back at me.
"So you're a drummer?"
I smiled.
"Yep."
Maverick gave a small nod.
"Guitarist and drummer."
He looked at his guitar.
Then at me.
"Looks like we'll be spending a lot of time together."
My heart suddenly stopped for a second.
I pretended to stay calm.
"Why?"
"Because we're in the ensemble."
"Oh."
Maverick smiled faintly.
"Don't get the wrong idea."
I immediately looked away.
"Yeah, yeah."
But there was only one thing I could think about.
˚It's only been a few days of new student orientation.˚
And I'm already in the same room as Maverick.
And, even worse...
🎸I'm starting to like that guitarist.🥁