Chapter Fourteen
Kylen
Leo, Jasper, Beck, and I leave the music room after a good practice. The hallways are pretty much empty since most kids are busy with homework or after-school activities. There are some students lingering around, a few couples giggling together.
Leo and Jasper are arguing about a TV show they watched last night. The argument started before band practice, but Beck and I shut them down so we could focus on practice. Now that that’s over, they’re back at it again.
“Dude, you’ve got no idea what you’re talking about.” Leo playfully shoves him.
“Oh heck, I do.” Jasper shoves him back, a bit too strongly that he crashes into the garbage bin at the corner of the hallway. It tips over and mountains of trash tumble to the floor.
“Sorry, man,” Jasper says. “Was an accident.”
“It’s cool.”
The guys continue arguing as all of us bend down to pick up the disgusting trash. I snatch a piece of paper off the floor and am about to dump it in with the rest, but the words written on it catch my attention.
“What is that?” Beck asks.
I study the paper closely. It’s titled, “I Don’t Need Your Kisses” and there are a few paragraphs of text underneath. Some words are crossed off and are replaced with different ones.
“Dude, this is a song,” I say, my eyes slightly wide as I drink it in.
It’s a love story. There are verses like “You were perfect when we were together,” and “Your kisses made my head spin.” But the middle of the song takes a sad turn, because this perfect person shattered everything.
And the writer says he or she doesn’t need anything from them, and “I don’t need your kisses,” hence the title of the song.
And at the end, there’s hope that the writer can live a great life despite the pain.
Beck reads along with me, his face crashing into mine. “Boys, this is a goldmine,” he says as he also consumes the words. “Love songs always hit hard, you know?”
Jasper and Leo have finally stopped arguing, snatch the paper from my hand, and take a look. “A love song called ‘I Don’t Need Your Kisses,’” Leo says. “I like it.”
“These lyrics, man,” Jasper says. “They’re awesome. Why would someone throw out such a masterpiece?”
I take the paper from him and scan the words. No matter how many times I read them, I can’t get enough of them. I relate to this so much. “You think it was a mistake?”
The guys shrug like they have no idea.
Beck grins. “I want to perform this song, dudes. Like, it’s calling my name.”
“Me, too,” Leo agrees.
“We need to find the person who wrote this,” I say. “And ask them if we can play it.”
Jasper pulls out his phone. “I’ll post a message on the school app and website and we’ll see if anyone comes forward. There’s no way someone purposely threw it out.”
We talk more about the song and Leo has already come up with a tune we can play it to, once the writer gives us permission. I hope they will because this song deserves to be shared with the world.
We ask the few people hanging around if they’ve ever seen the song or if they know who wrote it. They say they don’t. No one around has ever heard of it.
Hopefully someone will claim it soon.
***
The first thing I do when I wake up the next morning is check my phone to see if anyone responded to Jasper’s post. Not a single comment, though there are many views.
Hmm. Maybe the person hasn’t seen the post.
I was up last night reading the lyrics again. I don’t know why they touch my heart so much. I guess I feel what the writer was feeling when they wrote it. I can’t wait to meet the person and tell them how amazing the song is.
The words spin around in my head as I get ready for school. Beck is still in bed, sleeping like he doesn’t have a worry in the world. I could wake him, but he’ll probably kill me. The guy needs every single second of his beauty sleep.
I get through my morning classes like any other day.
I have tests and quizzes and essays, but my mind is on that song.
It’s already halfway through the day and there’s no word from the writer.
Why hasn’t anyone come to claim it? Does that mean the person meant to throw it out?
Such a shame that he or she didn’t realize what a treasure they created.
“Did you guys hear anything from anyone?” Jasper asks as we sit in the dining hall during lunch.
I shake my head. “Asked everyone I could find and no one knows who wrote the song. Actually, most kids weren’t even interested.”
Leo rubs his chin. “Maybe the person doesn’t look at the school app or website. We should make posters and hang them around the school.”
Beck snaps his finger at him. “Good idea. We’ll hang posters on every locker. That’s sure to get the person’s attention.”
I play around with my pasta. “Does anyone feel like this song kind of fell into our hands? Like it was fate or something?”
Leo shrugs while Jasper smiles and Beck nods vehemently. “I’m all for signs and fate and all that,” he says. “Means we’re meant to play that song.”
I nod, too. “So why won’t the person reveal themselves so we can bring the song to life?”
“Give it some time,” Jasper says. “It’s only been a day.”
He’s right. I guess I’m just impatient because I want to perform the song. I feel like the guys and I could do great things with it. And that it could touch people’s hearts, just like it touched mine and the guys’.
After school, I go to my room to continue researching the Shakespeare project. Raven and I will meet tomorrow or the day after to put our notes together. We still have lots of time before the project is due, so we can take our time to do it properly.