by B. J. Hardy
‘I am going to win!’ I told myself with a grin.
Then I had to laugh as I knew I would most likely have my ass handed to me on a platter.
The testing day was upon me before I knew it and I sat in silence near the other advanced students. They all knew me, or at least they knew I was a private student of Master Shue. Several had even greeted me and were congenial. I wondered which one I was going to have to fight. Of all of them Master Shue’s top student, Xiang, was the one I hoped not to have to spar. He was not just an indoor student, but he was also a lineage holder. This meant that not only was he taught all of the most advanced material, but he was slated to be the one to succeed Master Shue. From my conversations with the Master, I’d learned that Xiang had gotten to the level where he could regularly best him in sparing matches. I was damned proud of the few times out of so many ass whippings that I had beaten him. To do so regularly said everything that I needed to know. He was just as lethal as our teacher if not even more. We all rose and bowed as the Master entered. He wasn’t one too much for the ceremony and so he got right to business. He called out two students at a time to have them spar each other. These were some really great matches and I watched with wide-eyed enjoyment. All of them were doing techniques which I found extremely difficult, and all were high level.
The choice of possible opponents was rapidly dwindling, and it soon became apparent that I would indeed be sparing Xiang. This made me groan inwardly. I knew it was going to fucking hurt. After the match right before ours, the Master instructed us to put on our sparing gear. This wasn’t much though, mainly consisting of the groin cups we already had on, and a mouth piece. The lower level students had much more protective equipment they wore, and at this point I sure wouldn’t have minded some head and chest padding. That wasn’t our fate as advanced students however. No, we were supposed to be skilled enough to avoid most blows. The only problem was that our opponents were equally highly skilled at delivery of such pain and suffering. Then Master Shue called us both to the floor. This was it!
I may have been much bigger and more well-muscled than Xiang, but he proved that he was faster than me by a long shot. He started with Lost Track Boxing style which was constant and blinding fast lunges with various combinations of kicks and punches instantly followed by him retreating just out of my range. Then he would shift his position rapidly to another angle and repeat the process with a plethora of different attacks. I would have figured that he would be the one getting winded first because he was moving a hell of a lot more than me, as well as delivering many more strikes, but I was the one taking all the punishment and that wore me out quickly. Before long, my guard was dropping and I was heaving for breath. That is when I saw a gleam in his eyes, and I knew I was far outmatched. When he switched styles to the predatory circling of BaGua Zhang I started to panic. He easily worked into my weak sides with sharp penetrating angles of attack and began to toss me at will. These throws were instantly followed by drop or flipping kicks. It took everything I had just to try to block these potentially maiming attacks, possibly even deadly. Before too long I was waking up on the floor with Master Shue running smelling salts under my nose. He and Xiang tended to my wounds and bruises with care and gentleness.
“You did well Ricardo.” Master Shue told me.
I chuckled, “You could have fooled me.”
“You are still breathing, so that says a lot.” He grinned.
Xiang smiled and said, “You are no easy opponent. I had to go all out.”
“Thanks. I guess that makes me feel better.” Then I tried to sit up more. “Ohhhh, not so much.” I groaned.
They both laughed.
When I got home, I saw that I had two black eyes, a swollen, busted up nose and my ribs hurt like hell. I kept ice on them as much as I could but knew that I would cause some gossip and rumors at school the next day. I figured that I had to come up with an excuse. Then I thought to just keep any explanation simple. I got the shit beat out of me. It was the truth.
Chapter 7
-Cassie-
The next class of Professor Riachuelo’s he entered wearing big dark sunglasses. There were some cuts and swelling on his face, and the students all became deathly silent. It broke my heart! He set his backpack down and pulled his laptop out.
“Are you alright, Maestro?” I asked.
He looked at me and something about seeing him with dark glasses rang a bell. Like it was Déjà vu or something. Then he turned his head as if trying to hide, and we saw him remove his glasses. When he turned back to face us, he had two massive black eyes.
“Holy shit Professor! What happened?” Lara exclaimed.
“I ran into an old… nemesis.” He dryly stated.
“Damn!” Jerry gasped.
He grinned, “You should see the other guy.”
I wasn’t chuckling along with everyone else at that. I was far too concerned for the man.
“Did you go see your doctor about those injuries?” I demanded.
“I’ll be fine.” He smiled at me. “Anyhow, enough about me. This class is about you all, and Music Theory, if I am in the right place.”
That made me relax and even laugh lightly with the others. He still had his morose sense of humor, which meant that he probably wasn’t brain damaged.
“Today we need to go over the numerical translations from complex measures of music. There will be a fair amount of these problems on your finals. First however, let’s revisit a haunt from the past. Thus far we have covered melody, rhythm, counterpoint, harmony, form, tonal systems, and scales of music. The second semester we will be looking at tuning, intervals, consonance, dissonance, durational proportions, the acoustics of pitch systems, composition, performance, orchestration, ornamentation, improvisation, electronic sound production, etc.” He pretended to wipe sweat from his forehead as he said, “Whew!”
Lara nodded, “That’s a mouthful!”
“And how!” Coby agreed.
Maestro went to the boom box and put a CD in it. He was so old-fashioned.
“Now I am quite sure that you all recognize this piece by now. I’ve only highlighted it half a dozen times. Composer and title of the work… anyone?”
He hit play and within one measure five hands shot up, including mine.
“Cassie.”
“Johann Pachelbel, Canon in D.”
He nodded with a smile.
I relaxed, mainly because the piece was so utterly comforting. It spoke to me of patience fulfilled. Of reaching that time in life where all the hard work had paid off and it was then nothing but well-earned bliss.
“In a short sentence, or even just a word or two please describe what the composer is sharing.” Maestro directed. “Jerry, you first.”
He thought about it as he listened, then said, “Peace.”
Professor Riachuelo nodded with a grin and pointed to Elan.
“I’d have to say… sweetness.”
Vicky was next. “Understanding.”
“Nice.” Maestro said. “Lara?”
“Soothing joy.”
“Good. Zack?”
“Happiness.”
With a nod he called on me next.
“Well done.” I responded. It was what came to mind.
“Excellent! Well said.”
“Herr Pachelbel said it the best.” I chuckled.
“Indeed, he certainly did.”
After he’d gone around the class and gotten everyone’s take on the piece, he then told us to analyze the composition’s rhythm, counterpoint, form, tonal system, and to translate the scales into algebraic form. Of course, he handed out printed sheet music of the master’s piece for us to work with. It amazed me that in just a few short months I was finally comprehending music in the way I’d always dreamed of, and I wanted to learn more… I wanted to understand it all.
When class was over, I stayed after to make sure that Maestro was alright.
“Yes, Cassie?”
“I was just wo
rried about you, Maestro. You’re all beat up!”
“I appreciate the concern, but I’m fine.”
“No you’re not! Look at you! What the hell happened?”
“I’d rather not relive the encounter, please.”
“I hope the police catch the bastard.”
He raised his brows at me, and I got the feeling that I was missing something.
“Or was there more than one?”
He chuckled. “Let’s just say that one was more than enough.”
“This guy must have been a damned monster!”
He looked at me with furled brows. “Just what is that you want to know, Miss Holt?”
I could tell when he was perturbed with me as he’d reverted to using my last name. “Sorry! I was just worried about you. I do have a vested interest in your wellbeing you know.” I defended.
“Oh, and what interest is that?”
“Damn, you are so totally full of yourself, Ricardo! I need you to teach me about music! Duh!”
His eyes widened as if in shock. I knew I’d struck a chord by using his first name with familiarity. “I can assure you that I will fulfill my obligation to you, Cassandra.”
I had to suppress a smile. His attempt to strike back with familiarity, yet by using the full formal version of my name was weak. I knew which buttons of his I could push with good effect. “Fine. Try not to get yourself killed before I’m done with you then.” I did let a slight grin loose.
He smiled and slightly chuckled. Then told me, “I’ll try to do that.”
Lara caught up with me in the quad.
“Hey Cassie. What the hell do you think happened to the Professor? Did you find out anything? Holy shit someone fucked him up!”
I laughed. “No doubt! No, he didn’t want to talk about it.”
“I wonder if he did something stupid.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he pinched a stripper’s ass and got rough bounced out of a club.” That busted us both up.
“I can see that happening. That dirty old perv all drooling and shit one minute and bleeding the next.”
She shook her head. “He’s not old, damn it!”
“You sure you don’t have a thing for him, Lara?”
“What if I did?” She challenged.
“Oh! You naughty girl! Lara has a thing for the Professor.” I teased.
“Could be a possibility. Imagine him bent over his desk, and me pegging him.”
“Pegging?”
“Never mind.”
Then it came to me what she meant. “Oh my god! I think your kink has bent your brain, girl!”
“Don’t be jealous.” She grinned right back.
“I’m not! You can have him.”
“I meant about my kink.” She narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing me.
I tried to blow it off. “Oh.”
“Anyhow, only three more days!”
“God, I can’t wait!”
“This is going to be so good. I can’t believe we’ll get to see them perform live for the very first time.”
“Yeah. I hope they don’t suck.”
“Fat chance.”
“Well you never know. Some groups are great in the studio, with an expert producer, but then they suck-ass live.”
“Well, we’ll see. Most of the band members have performed live before, and for a while too. They’ll be great. I know it!” She sounded ultimately confident.
“They’d better be. Eighty bucks for a ticket is a lot for me.”
“Shit, that’s fucking cheap compared to some bands.”
“I guess so. Fucking greedy bastards.”
Lara huffed. Then said, “You’d be soaking up every dollar you could too.”
I shrugged. “Probably.”
“Ain’t no probably about it. We both would. Say, what would you do if you won the lottery?”
“I don’t know. Maybe go on a kick-ass vacation.” I said.
“Totally! Where would you go?”
“I haven’t really thought about that. I guess Europe would be for starters. Wouldn’t mind seeing some classic cities.”
“That’d be cool. I think a tropical island paradise would be awesome too.”
“I wouldn’t mind that either.” I agreed.
“Well neither of us have to worry about that for while I guess.”
“Yeah. Until your review blog gets a million subscribers, and I sign a group like Alulim.” I sighed.
That was Lara’s plan. She already had a blog doing music reviews, but no one took her seriously yet. Hell, she only had five subscribers, and less than a thousand likes. I was one of her five patrons.
“We’ll make it. I have a good feeling.” She smiled.
I sure hoped so. There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do to get into the business. That is if it was for real anyhow. The big time! I wouldn’t settle for anything less.
The night of the concert finally arrived. Lara and I took a Lyft to the venue, the Fox Theater in Oakland. It was crowded like hell, as we’d expected it to be because the show had sold out shortly into the first day of ticket sales. I wore my skinny jeans and a tank top, even though it was chilly out. Lara rocked a denim mini-skirt and a tank top as well. Both of us went braless. Hey, rock and roll! We had a plan to find and hook up with some guys after the show, and we didn’t figure this would be too difficult of a proposition as we knew we had the sex appeal working for us. I knew that I would be absolutely horny afterwards, and it was about time that I got fucking laid. Lara was also due, as it had been a while for her too. I liked that about her, she wasn’t a total slut, just as she’d told me she wasn’t when we first met. That night was a special occasion however and we were so ready to cut loose and just have some fun!
We had damn good seats for the money we spent, only three rows back, and pretty much center stage. There was no opening act listed on the tickets, and when the MC came out to start the show, he simply told everyone to give it up for our hometown band that was going to rock our world. The crowd went fucking nuts! Of course, this including Lara and me too. Then the lights went down, and the rabid cheering died slowly. A single spotlight came on and there was Denny Blake, the lead singer, right in front of us. He was so close!
“Good evening Oakland!”
Again it became deafening with screaming fans.
“You know we love you!” He screamed over the roar. “You get it first!”
Oh my god it really erupted then.
The spotlight faded and as the din grew a bit softer, though with much whistling still. Then the auditorium was slowly filled with the most perfectly pitched guitar harmony I’ve ever heard. We all knew the song right away, and everyone exploded again with rabid cheering. They were opening with ‘Sentient’ which was one of their biggest hits, so far. The spotlight suddenly popped on, but to the right of center, and there was D.D. himself playing the intro melody with absolute perfection. It was instantly all over for me. I fell in love, in lust, with the greatest desire I’d ever felt before. Even though I couldn’t see his face hardly at all, I knew he had to be amazingly handsome. He wore jeans and an open leather vest exposing his fucking amazingly ripped and cut body. My pussy got wet in a second. Damn I wanted him! The melody was intricate yet soothing in a way which reminded me of the calm before a storm. That storm sure came too just as he finished with the harmonic beginning. All the stage lights burst on with a heavy guitar break following a moment of silence after the intro. There was the whole band; Denny, Kyle Richards on bass, and rounding it out was Jason Hoff the drummer. They sure weren’t a hack band that sucked live. Oh fuck NO! These guys were absolutely spot on. Even though the crowd was going wild again, you could still easily hear the song. Yeah, it was loud! I soon found myself orgasming from the music, and being there so close to them all, well… fuck me! It was so good!
The night became a sex drug induced blur, and the first set finished way too fast. God, how I loved every blessed second of it.
The smell of pot filled the air as the lights came up for intermission. Maybe it had already been smoke filled, but I sure hadn’t noticed until then.
“I think I’m getting a contact high.” I laughed to Lara.
She nodded, and suddenly a joint was passed to her. She shrugged and took a hit, then passing it to me. I figure why not, and sucked on that bad-boy too, then passing it back to the guy who’d handed it to her.
He winked at me and I thought, ‘He’ll do just fine.’
Right then, one of the many security personnel, a big tough looking dude, made his way towards us. I thought maybe we were in trouble for the pot, but then remembered that it was legal.
“You want to go back stage, ladies?” He asked.
I just about shit my pants. I could tell Lara did too, but then we both screamed ‘YES!’
He led us up to the side of the stage and then put a lanyard with a backstage pass around each of our necks.
“Have fun!” He smiled and motioned for us to go on up.
One of the stagehands waved for us to follow him to the side of the stage out of the view of the crowd. There were perhaps a dozen other young women there, all wore the same wide-eyed, shit-eating grins on their faces as I knew I did too. The band was nowhere to be seen though. I didn’t care. I was back fucking stage!
“Oh my fucking god! Is this for real?” Lara asked.
I giggled and pinched her waist.
“Oww!” She burst out laughing.
Just then a stage manager came up to the group of us. “How are you ladies enjoying the concert so far?”
“Holy shit! This is the bomb!” One of the girls cried out.
“Fuck yeah!” Another joined in.
“They are the fucking best ever!” I heard my own voice squeal.
He laughed, then said, “Stick around after the show for a meet and greet with the band if you’d like.”