[SpringsSong]

“Oh, it’s bad,” Ciren said.  “It’s something like… oh, akin to The Worried Drummer, which I’m sure that Aila—”

“Don’t remind me,” Aila said sternly.  “I hated that piece with a burning passion.”

“I think we all did,” Sylira said as she sat down in the flute section.

[SpringsSong]

“I’m not sure what’s worse, the fact that this piece is akin to that atrocity, or that I could sadly find the photocopy I made of it when I was paranoid about losing my music,” Aila said, and Sylira groaned audibly.

“The fact that you even THINK that you still have it, Aila,” she said.  “Why would you keep such a horrible thing like that?  It deserves to be burned.”

“Well, I’m saving for once we graduate, Sylira,” Aila said plainly.  “I’d rather have a whole stack to burn than just one or two.”

[SpringsSong]

“Can I add all of my lesson music to that?” Sylira asked.  Ciren, Aila, and Ekal all laughed at this statement.

“I second that statement,” Ciren said.  “The music that the Vorisians have… it’s awful.”

“Can’t be any worse than the Inailians,” Ekal said flatly.

[SpringsSong]

“They probably think that Nycisians play is awful, too,” Aila said, chuckling.  “Each country has their own music.  But I agree, what our Inailian mentor gave us over the apprenticing portion of the year was awful.”

“Maybe this year, we could all apprentice in the same country,” Ciren suggested.  “I heard that Nyera plans to apprentice in Athilia.”

“I’d rather live in Athilia for half of the year than Inailia,” Aila said, laughing.

[SpringsSong]

Ciren had been right.  The music which Han’am had dumped upon them was almost worse than the first song Aila recalled playing with the band.  The other part that made the song unbearable was how long she and Ekal sat there without playing a single note.  For them, the end of the rehearsal could not come fast enough.

The end of rehearsal meant study hall—and, for Aila and Ekal, more practice time.

[SpringsSong]

“Oh, come on, Aila—it’s not like they’d catch us.”

“I already told you, Ekal; not until lunch.”

Aila sighed as Ekal protested about walking to a nearby Oriental food restaurant to have lunch.  Ekal knew that Aila loved their crab wantons more than anything else there.  They both, however, were aware of how long it could take to get food at that place.

[SpringsSong]

“We have to sign back in at the end of study hall!” Aila protested.

“She knows we’re practicing for a concert,” Ekal said.  “She’ll think that we just lost track of time.”

“Well, we do lose track of time easily,” Aila said.  “I think we learned that during our apprenticing.”

[SpringsSong]

“Yes, we certainly did…”

Ekal said this as he took Aila’s hand and walked out of the school after verifying that nobody was watching them.  They both remembered the time when their mentors had given them the day off.  They had decided to stay in their apartment, which was in a hotel-like place.  They had ordered for room service, sparing no expense as it was covered by the program they were enrolled in.

[SpringsSong]

They had ordered all the expensive, rich food.  Aila had almost gorged herself on lobster, scallops, and other seafood.  Ekal, however, had indulged in a rich filet mignon.  Also among their splurge had been cheesecakes, crème brûlée, tarts, and other such delicacies.

“It’s all so delicious,” Aila had said as she slid a spoonful of crème brûlée into her mouth.

[SpringsSong]

“Not as delicious as you,” Ekal had said.  He had gone as far as to place a dollop of whipped cream on her chin, then sucking it off.  Aila had giggled, which prompted him to move onto her neck.  From her neck, it was only a short trip to her chest…

They would not wake until the next morning, with his arms wrapped around her and both of them naked.

[SpringsSong]

Almost immediately, Aila had scrambled for the sheets to cover herself up.  Ekal was awoken by her sudden movements, and he placed a gentle arm on her shoulder.

"Why cover yourself?" he asked.  "You need not cover that wonderful body of yours."

"Do you even realize what we have done?" Aila asked quietly.

[SpringsSong]

It took a few moments for Ekal to register what they had done.  Once he had, his face paled considerably.

"We... did it, didn't we?" he asked, his voice quiet.

"Did it really take you that long to remember?" Aila asked as she wrapped a sheet around herself.  "I... I can't believe this!"

[SpringsSong]

The flashback ended soon enough, and Aila and Ekal were walking towards an Oriental restaurant.  She smiled as she held his hand tightly, but he sighed and grimaced.

"You know that I have no love of Oriental food..." he said.

"We're only getting the crab wantons here," Aila said.  "We can go wherever you want after this, since we have time."

[SpringsSong]

"Well, there is that supermarket across the street," Ekal said.  "How long should it take for you to get those wontons?"

"They should have them done in five, eight minutes max, I believe," Aila said.  "They never take that long to get things done here, especially  when it's just a small order of wontons."

"If you say so," Ekal said, following her into the restaurant.

[SpringsSong]

"One order of crab wontons, to go, please," Aila said.

"I suspected as much," the clerk at the counter said.  "Are you certain we cannot interest you in anything this time, sir?" she asked.

"No, thank you," Ekal said politely.  "I'm not in a mood for oriental food today."