Walking down the street, I have to hike my guitar case further up my back. It's a bit of a struggle, carrying that thing on your back for six blocks just to get to practice. I grab the straps again and yank them up before walking into Maughn Studios. I'm here every day after school, whether I'm working, or if I'm taking lessons from Chris.
Walking in, I wave to Miranda ( the secretary) and walk into the first door on the right. There, a tall, long haired blonde, is totally enveloped in his computer. I walk up behind him and poke his back.
"Holy mother....nothing." He shouts, but then quiets down when he sees it's just me. I'm laughing as I sit down, then I'm pulling out my new fender, and plugging it into the amp.
"Alright Chris, what do ya got for me this week?"
He just looks at me and smiles, then he chuckles.
"Oh, I've got one of my favorites for you this week." He spins his chair around and reaches in his shelf and pulls out a folder. On it, it says in bold letters "QUEEN".
"What is it?" I'm trying to get a good look at the folder, but I'm honestly just not prevailing. He turns back around with a pure look of excitement on his face.
"Bohemian Rhapsody." He takes the folder and drops it in front of me. "And, I want you to learn the lyrics, because I want to hear you sing it."
"Oh god, okay, whatever." I look down at my feet and smile. "So what's the song about?"
"Well, Mercury never really said what the song is actually about... but, I say it's about becoming a new you." I'm guessing Mecury is lead singer/songwriter?
"But I could be totally wrong, and we'll never know. Considering he's dead." He's working his fingers under the strings to get some dust off the neck of the guitar.
"Oh. What'd he die from?"
"AIDS" he pushed his chair across the floor, and moves a capo over so he can get to some of the sheet music he has.
"And, I can't find the music in the folder." His eyebrows are furrowed as he moves things and rearranges the different booklets on the shelf.
"Do you need help?" I can hear the sarcasm in my voice.
"Um, no because I just... Found it." He pulls his hand back from the shelf, revealing a booklet with a red cover entitled "Bohemian Rhapsody". He hands it to me, then spins back spend and grabs his car keys off of his desk.
"Are we not going to play through it?"
"Yeah, we need to, really fast though. I have to go get Katherine from the diner."
Katherine, is Chris' fiancé, she owns a diner in downtown Oklahoma City. She resembles an orange, and yes, I mean she coats herself in 67 layers of spray tan.
At first, I struggle with the chords. After strumming a few times I get the feel of the first half of the song, and I manage to play through it slowly.
"Perfect! Okay, I have to go. Can you take my next lesson?"
"How old?"
"Thirteen" he says with a cringe. "And she's bratty and moody. Good luck." He the a tosses a ring of keys at me before grabbing his guitar case and opening the door.
"And... Lock up?" He says with an expectant glance.
"Oh my god. Just go, go get Katherine." I'm literally telling him to leave, can he not just walk out the door.
"And, turn the heater on in the back room?"
"Yes! Just go!"
I decided to mess around in his office before the girl shows up. So, I pull out the sheet music and play through while quietly singing the lyrics, just so I can get them in my head.
When I've gone through the song about twice, two sharp knocks come at the door.
"Uh, yes come in." Im expecting a thirteen year old girl, decked out in a Justin Bieber tee, maybe with a one direction necklace or something. But, in walks a guy sound my age, with a Nirvana shirt on, under a gray jacket.
"Hey, is this Chris' room" he has a slightly confused look on his face, probably because he was expecting a 20- something year old, and here I am, a seventeen year old girl.
"Yeah, you are?"
"Matthew."
"Well, Matthew, what time was you're appointment? I was expecting a younger girl...
"Oh, that's my sister. She got me guitar lessons for Christmas." His smile is slightly contagious, and I feel myself staring at the amp sitting to the left of me.
"Well, have you played guitar before?" I push the chair across the room, as I'm about to pull out a sheet with the five basic chord forms printed on it, he speaks.
"Since I was eleven."
"Oh, I guess you won't be needing these." He ignores my previous statement, and changes the subject.
"I couldn't help but overhear your singing, you sound amazing." With that, he flashes a flirtatious smile and takes a seat across from me.
He pulls a Gretsch G5422TDC Electromatic out of his case, and I unconsciously give him an impressed look.
"Yeah, this is my baby." He plays a G-Chord, then plugs it into the amp.
"Well, I don't think there's all too much to learn, do you want to try and play through a song?"
"Uh, yeah."
"Okay want do you want to play?"
Matthew has dark hair, gelled up into a quiff, with the most amazing green eyes, that seemingly have flakes of gold in them.
"I thought, well we would play something together." He's really awkward.
"Oh, okay, I guess we could." He flashes me a smile that melts my heart.
After composting myself, I strum the first few opening chords, and he plays along with me. Matthew unconsciously begins to sing along with song.
“Is this the real life?” Once he starts singing, he closes his eyes and I begin to smile.
“Or is this just fantasy?” Matthew’s voice is husky and deep, but reminds me of one of my favorite artists.
Once we stop, he tilts his head to where he can look me in the eye.
“Could I possibly take you out this Saturday?”