Chapter 2

**CARSON'S POV**

Damn! Ouch! My leg hurts so much! How can a girl be so heartless? Just because I bumped into her? Who the hell is she in the first place? Oh my! Ouch! She brushed past me and it felt like everything went into slow motion until she walked away, followed by other people. Who is she? Why would she be so rude? Maybe she's from a rich home, or she wouldn't be so damn rude! Ouch! Oh my... I crouched down to check if I had any wounds, but there were none. I sighed, cursing her under my breath, then picked up my guitar and hurried to meet my professor.

"Sir," I called, running when I saw him already locking his office.

"You're late! I told you to be... Why are you limping?" he asked.

"I injured myself on the way," I lied, and he hissed.

"Be brief, okay? I'm going to teach you only briefly about music and then I'm off!" he said sternly, and I nodded.

This is so important to me; I must learn musical instruments no matter what! We went into his office again, and he sat down while I positioned myself a bit farther away, with his gaze fixed on me to start playing the guitar.

I cleared my throat, setting my guitar in motion. I struck the first string, and he shook his head in disapproval at the weird sound it made.

"No," he said, and I sighed, closing my eyes and opening them again to try once more.

Pa-pam-paaaa-raaaaa! The guitar sounded odd again with my mixture of string plays, and he shook his head.

He stood up, came to my side, took the guitar from me, and then began to play it himself. The sound was so beautiful and romantic! He closed his eyes, shaking his head while his leg tapped on the floor.

I was in love with the beautiful music he was creating. By the time he finished playing, I was already clapping for him.

"How did you do that?" I asked, really surprised that someone could play the guitar so well, apart from my elder brother Damien.

"Well, do you have feelings?" he asked.

Feelings? I couldn't lie and say I understood what he was getting at.

"What does that mean?" I asked, and he began to lecture me.

"You know, with the guitar, piano, violin, and all other musical instruments...," he pointed at my guitar, which he was still holding, "you have to play with your whole heart, with no hard feelings. You shouldn't let anything bother your thoughts. You have to be free and let the feeling of love overcome you, like the Holy Spirit in the Bible. You have to..." He began to gesticulate with his fingers, as if speaking to a crowd, even though he was talking to me alone.

"... to love, you have to be swift with your hands, form songs in your head, and allow emotions, feelings, and pleasures to interpret it firmly for you. You have to be free. I repeat, be free from stupid thoughts like hatred from your mind, else you won't make a good and lovely song everyone will love to hear from your guitar."

He looked at me sternly. I got his message and understood it, but the problem is, stupid thoughts? Like how I'm always wronged and denied in my family? I'm the blockhead of the house. No one sees anything good in me apart from my face, which they describe as handsome and romantic.

Every praise goes to my elder brother, Damien. He's intelligent and smart in everything he does, and my younger sibling, Rudy, too.

I'm always left out. I struggle so hard at everything to please them, but it seems like I'm not doing anything at all.

I feel like an unwanted thing in my own house all the time. Sometimes I think I'm adopted or something.

If they knew that I'm trying so hard to learn how to play the guitar, piano, and violin, they'd laugh so hard and predict that I will fail.

They never make me feel happy, and to add to all this, they don't try to spend anything on me. They said I'm not worth it! Like, what the hell! I know I never took first place during my high school days, not even in my primary classes, but at least I'm trying!

I'm fucking trying to make everything seem okay and right! And he's talking about silly thoughts? When I work part-time jobs to get myself through school?

Working and studying at the same time to make ends meet, last year, I began to live on my own. It's not like they hate me, but it seems like I'm a blockhead who doesn't know anything, someone whose fine face is for nothing!

He began to pat my back to calm my nerves. I was really pissed by what he said. Does he know the meaning of having parents but feeling like you're an orphan? Maybe that's why I'm cold. Maybe that's why my girlfriends always left me because I'm poor and can't give them anything but work.

Work and work! But I won't give up! I will not give up until I make it. I want to show them that there is something in me that they haven't cared to appreciate.

"It's okay, Carson..." He patted my back, saying so, and I let out a forced smile.

"Let out all those hurting feelings away from you. Think and be free, and I assure you that your skills will improve, okay?"

I nodded at his kind advice and then stood up, shaking his hand.

"Thanks so much, prof."

"It's my job to help students out with this kind of stuff," he said, smiling.

"Thanks so much." I was really happy and relieved. At least I knew the root of my poor skills in playing my guitar.

"I think I will take my leave now," I told him after I had collected my guitar from him.

"Okay, remember to be free!" he reminded, and I nodded my head repeatedly, turning and hurrying out of his office. Be free!

I have to be free! I really have to be free! Yes, I have to be free! So engrossed with my guitar, which I couldn't wait to play when I got home, I bumped into someone again, just like before.

"I'm sorry," I bowed lowly to the girl who was surrounded by bodyguards.

She was different from the girl I'd met in the morning, but she was rich too, judging by the bodyguards and fans gathered around her. Do they both school here? Whoa! I wonder why some parents are just double rich!

"It's okay, but mind how you nudge or bump into people," she spoke nicely, flicking her eyelashes before stepping away, with everyone scampering after her.

She's nice, acted nicely too! I made to step forward when I noticed that someone was standing in front of me again, but I didn't get scared because it was my friend.

"Bro!!" he shouted, putting his arm across my shoulder.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" I asked as we both trudged along. He was looking at me with some respect in his eyes.

"Mehn! I saw you on the news!" I frowned at his nasty statement.

"News??"

"Yup! You bumped into Riley! That ballerina dancer!!... and now Sarah!! Come on, you've got to teach me your skills of bumping into popular girls!"

Hold on! Something caught my attention. Wait! I bumped into Riley? I didn't... Oh no!

"What did you say about Riley and Sarah?"

"You bumped into them!... See..." He brought out his phone.

"I don't know when you will get yourself a phone, dickhead," he insulted, but I wasn't bothered about that. Bumping into Riley?

That famous ballerina dancer who can dance to any slow music and beatings?

Gosh! I didn't even look at her face properly to see if it was really her.

"Here, look. See yourself," he pointed while I watched myself on his phone, the way she was shouting at me earlier.

"Damn! That's me!... So that was Riley?" I asked.

"For God's sake! Stop being dumb! That's Riley! I don't know when you will start having a phone and acting like someone who has one," he scoffed yet again at me.

"... And this one I bumped into minutes ago is?"

"Sarah!!" he called in a loud voice. They hadn't gone far, and Ben was really loud enough to attract their attention.

My eyes widened when she turned, her eyes falling on mine because Ben hid behind my back before I could know it.

"What's it?" she asked in a loud voice, referring to me. I gulped hard.

"Uhm..."

She began to advance toward us, and I couldn't believe it. Sarah and Riley schooled here with us all this time. I never cared to know, and that's why I didn't notice. She stood in front of me. Her eyes fell on my guitar, and then she touched it.

"Is it yours? I mean... the guitar?" she spoke to me, and I cleared my throat before nodding.

"Hmmmm, I'm Sarah..."

"I know who you are," I interrupted, already feeling uneasy with the cameras flashing in my face.

"Okay... Hope you can play this?"

"Yeah, sure."

"I want you to play this for me tomorrow."

"What!"