The time is now half-an-hour before the end of the lunch break. The venue is the music recording room of Square Studios, where a huge number of fantastic music theme in many games are produced. There is a big display of musical instrument, all of them arranged and well maintained to create top quality music. This is the place where mood building tunes are born, that can manipulate the human emotions. Usually in this place at this moment of time, no musicians or composers are seen, as the lunch break is a time where employees should not stay in their working place. ..
The strange thing now is Squall is sitting at the couch in this room. Quietly looking around at the musical instruments. Someone from the music department wanted to discuss with him about his theme song or something similar, and he was summoned to this room to meet. Obviously, Squall is early, very early. He do not have much to do during his lunch breaks and do not have anywhere to hang out. Usually he would just sit around quietly at the movie scene, but today he would prefer to change to a quieter venue. He is always early so that nobody would disturb him. He had plenty of time of his own, doing... nothing.
Squall looked around the place again and again but there is one musical instrument that caught his attention slightly more than the others. It is an electric piano that sits on the corner of the room. He seemed to have his eyes fixed onto the piano every now and then. A minute went by, two, three... Squall looked at his watch every minute and then he stood up. He looked around the room, listened to the corridor for footsteps, then he slowly walked towards the piano, and rested his right hand onto the keys, pressed them a few times, testing them, playing simple tunes like “Mary had a little lamb” with a few mistakes...
Squall cracked his knuckles and then continued playing those simple tunes but this time with two hands. Those simple tunes sounded like it came from a child that just learned piano. He played it for a while, then he stopped by jamming all his fingers onto the piano keyboard. A moment of silence. Then a slow and smooth melody was heard, very different from the simple tunes he played earlier. He played fluently and slowly, without even looking at the keyboard, slightly showing the skills he hold. His fingers glided along the keys smoothly, and the tunes came out beautifully. The tunes, they are beautiful, but still they lack something...
Squall played for some time and suddenly he stopped at the middle of the song. Squall waited a while and then he played a song much faster than the previous one, and his fingers can be seen running skillfully across the keyboard, revealing a very skilled pianist with very little space for mistakes. As he progress towards to the end of the song, his tempo increases from time to time, making the song go faster and faster and the dexterity of his fingers running across the keyboard is astonishing. What is more impressive is the timing is still accurate, or in other words, precise. Another thing is until now there seemed to be no wrong notes being played, and all the time he is playing without looking at the keyboard, and he looked forward as if there are notes in front of him.
This goes on and one for fifteen minutes, and his tempo continue to increase. His fingers now move so quickly that it seemed hard for to be possible without even the slightest mistake, indicating that this is no ordinary pianist. Playing at this speed for such a long time do not seem to tire his fingers or mind out, but could still continue to maintain that level of dexterity and precision, he is... he is... extraordinary! Still... there is something important that he still lacks... what can it be...
Squall then reached the peak of his unbelievable high tempo and then he ended the song with an explosive closing. The surrounding became quiet again. Nothing was heard except for the creak of the door...
Squall was shock by that sound and turned around his head, searching for the person that make that sound. He just saw Rinoa standing next to the door, staring at him with awe. Rinoa clapped a while after Squall spotted her and she walked towards Squall, looking very impressed with him.
“That was... great!... no, magnificant!... no, out of this world! How long had you been learning that?” Rinoa cannot find the words to praise Squall and Squall started to look back at the piano.
“I... lost count... I think even since I am four or five.” Squall just simply replied.
“That makes... my god! More than ten years! No wonder you play like a professional!” Rinoa continued to praise Squall but Squall shook his head.
“No, less than that. I stopped a few years ago.” Squall said coldly and Rinoa just sat down beside Squall and placed her hands on the keyboard and then looked at Squall.
“Can you teach me how to play?” Rinoa asked Squall for a favor and Squall just looked back at her.
“I... do not know how to teach...”
“Come on! Just the basics! I wanted to learn it ever since I was a little girl.” Rinoa continued asking with puppy dog eyes. Squall's heart seem to squeeze a little and the moment he saw her looking at him this way.
“Okay... let's see... see these five keys? For a beginner, these keys are the most frequently used ones, this is C, D, E...”
“Isn't it Do, Re, Mi?” Rinoa suddenly asked Squall and Squall just stopped explaining. He don't actually like entertaining such questions.
“There is a difference. You see, you are now playing C major...”
“Uh... can you just teach to play a very simple tune? For a start?” Rinoa seemed to dislike music theory and Squall scratched his head. To him, playing according to the rules is important, those are what that created what music is today. But just to entertain her...
“We can start from Mary had a little lamb.” Squall said and then he slowly played with his right hand on the keyboard. Rinoa looked at him and tried to mimic it but she couldn't. The definition of 'slow' in terms of playing for Squall and Rinoa is very different.
“Look at it carefully again.” Squall repeated playing, slower this time, hoping that Rinoa can cope with it. Rinoa tried it again but stopped in the middle. She probably have no talent or sense in music at all.
“I can't mimic you that way!” Rinoa said and then she took Squall's right hand around her, and interleave her fingers with his, placing them on the piano. Squall got a shock but resisted from pulling his hands away, afraid of causing embarrassment between the two. Rinoa... she is bold! Did not she noticed that Squall is also a man and he could had take advantages on her?
Squall heart beat faster and faster and his sweat is oozing out of his back. He had never been so close to a girl, repeat, such a beautiful girl before. His mind is filled with all confused emotions, but he held it to himself, he had to pull himself back to reality...
Squall brushed off whatever that is in his mind and applied pressure from his fingers onto Rinoa's, hinting her which finger to press on which note. Rinoa started to smile happily when she made it through the Mary had a little lamb song, and the moment Squall wanted to pull his arm back to himself, he heard a cough from behind. Squall panicked and retracted his arm from Rinoa, and looked back.
“Ahem. I believe you've waited for some time. Let's start discussing about your theme song..., and also yours too. Miss Rinoa.”
The music department employee he had been waiting for is standing behind him and from his eyes, he could tell that he is having thoughts about Squall and Rinoa. His arms wrapping around Rinoa, anybody could had misunderstood that...
Boy, boy. I wonder is a piano playing guy attractive as they appear on TV.
The author wanna says that...
(I am a pianist myself, though not a good one. This is the only chapter that I have confidence in describing in details. All the other chapters like dancing, courting... I believe those have to be learned more through life's experience, right? Anyway, enjoy. More on Squall and his piano in later chapters.)