A Synderella Story

Brian Haner Jr stood in the middle of the football field, watching his friend Daniel Matthews explained the importance of the game. He’d never really taken an interest in the sport before and still did not. However, Dan was intent, and persistent, and believed football was a key concept to his learning at Huntington Beach Academy.

While he listened to Dan, Brian’s mind began to wonder off elsewhere. He started to compare it to the field back home. It was obviously HBA could afford better grounds, which just made Brian more ecstatic knowing that he attending the school. The old saying ‘the grass is greener on the other side’ applied to himself substantially at the moment, both theoretically and logically. The grass was indeed greener on the other side.

Brian noticed there weren’t a lot of people on the grounds. A couple of guys from the football team were standing off to the side, passing around a ball, while a small group of girls stood at the other end of the field chatting to one another. Apart from that, there was only one other girl who sat in the third pillar from the bottom of the grand stand, hunching over a small note pad on her lap. She had beige skin and wore jeans with a shirt. He tried not to pay much attention to her in fear she would look up and find him staring. He decided it would be best to focus his thoughts with football. Listening to Dan’s rambles wasn’t of interesting to Brian, but he tried to pay attention; he just couldn’t see to keep his mind of this girl, by herself, without a friend.

“Who is she?” Brian asked looking in her direction again.

“That’s Ashlynn Carter” Dan stated. “She’s been here since last year, I think.” Brian nodded and continued to wonder. Dan could tell Brian was more interested in Ashlynn than football, but didn’t find that out of the ordinary. Ashlynn was an attractive young lady. “Why don’t you go talk to her?”

Brian thought about it for a moment. What would he say to her? He thought it to be rude to say he saw her sitting across the field and was wondering why she was alone and what she was writing. He would sound like an idiot and she would probably leave. “What, no. I couldn’t.”

“You’re fucking Brian Haner, why not?” Dan pointed out. He was Brian Haner. All the girls back home would have loved if he initiated a conversation with them. However, Brian wasn’t home, he was here at Huntington Beach Academy in California. It would be a while before his self-confidence returned and he could confront someone like that again. “Look.” Dan placed his hand on Brian’s shoulder pushing him forward. “You say hello to Ashlynn, and I’ll see you in rehearsal’s this afternoon.”

Brian nodded and left for the grandstand. He turned back and saw Dan holding two thumbs up. Brian rolled his eyes but appreciated the gesture nonetheless. He climbed each pillar step by step and started asking himself why he was so uneasy about talking to Ashlynn, but couldn’t give himself an answer. Climbing the final pillar, he took a seat next to Ashlynn, making sure he left a good distance between the two. “Hey.” He said a little unsure.

Taken aback Ashlynn raised her head and noticed a stranger with piercing brown eyes staring down at her. He looked a little uncertain of himself and played with his hands in his lap. It was always little things like this Ashlynn noticed in a person. She didn’t know why he would be nervous to speak to her, but she was nervous to speak with him too. She found it a little nerve racking speaking to someone for the first time, but smiled and greeted him nonetheless before turning back to her notepad. “Hey.”

When Ashlynn lifted her head, Brian saw her face. She had a small angular chin, which curved at the same angle as her bottom lip. Her lips were glossy pink and slightly tugged up into a smile. Her nose was small and the perfect size for her face. Her eyebrows sat high at the corners, drawing attention to her shinny crystal eyes which where the lightest shade of grey and brimmed with a small amount of eyeliner. Her skin was fair and her sandy blond hair parted perfectly down the middle, with the slightest of curls making its way to the tips of her long hair.

Brian continued to look at Ashlynn once she started to write on her notepad again. “I just transferred,” he stated. “My name’s Brian.” Ashlynn wasn’t looking at Brian anymore, but he was still making eye contact with her as if she was. “You are?” he asked even though he knew her name.

Ashlynn was curious to know why this Brian fellow wanted to talk to her. He just transferred to HBA, which meant he had never been able to talk to her before, but she still found it uncomfortable having a conversation with someone she didn’t know.

Distracted, Ashlynn lifted and turned her head to do the one thing she thought appropriate at the time. Answer his question. Her eyes were met with his pair as she talked at him. “Ashlynn.” The words barely escaped her mouth but were heard by Brian nonetheless. “You said your name was Brian?”

Enticed by the pair of crystal grey eyes embedded into his, Brian nodded his head and mouthed the word ‘yup’. She noticed he had very distinctive check bones along with very precise lip lines. It was a difficulty in itself for her not to let her eyes wonder to those lips of his.

It was nearly time for her last period class today but she wasn’t prepared to give up her time with Brian. Only few words had been said between the two, but she was starting to like the company. Hoping she could at least show him the way to his class, she asked with uncertainty in her voice, “where is your last class?”

Brian was broken from his trance by her question. He knew the answer although his brain wasn’t functioning properly. He pulled the purple sheet of paper from his back pocket and saw Popular Music printed under today’s date and time.

“I can show you the way.”Ashlynn swung her small backpack over her right shoulder when she stood. She was disappointed that they didn’t have the same class for final period but it couldn’t be helped. She couldn’t help but think to herself that if she hadn’t of taking an interest in Brian, they probably would have been in the same class.

Brian stood and made his way down the grandstand. He watched as Ashlynn’s backpack swung with each step, colliding with her lower back softly. “Do you take Popular Music?” he asked.

Ashlynn shook her head and continued to walk off the football field with Brian by her side. “No. I take Creative Writing on Monday Afternoon.” Brian sighed and looked down at his ripped jeans and Guns N’ Roses shirt. Of course she didn’t take Popular Music. She wore a plain black sleeveless shirt, and her light blue denim jeans were ripped and baggy. Compared to him, she looked perfect. “But I do take Music on a Wednesday morning.”

Brian let a smile creep across his face. He knew for a fact that he also took Music on a Wednesday morning. They continued to walk in silence until Ashlynn stopped outside a newly built building Brian believed was the performing arts complex. She pushed the door open with her shoulder and held it open for Brian to step inside.

“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then?” Ashlynn looked at Brian slightly confused when he spoke, but he was soon to catch on. “I take Music on a Wednesday morning too.” He noticed the smile appear across her face and Brian did the same.

“Yeah, I guess I will then. Goodbye Brian.” Ashlynn stepped back out into the shinning California sun as she made her way to her Creative Writing class. She was anxious to be seeing him again tomorrow.

Brian stepped inside his final class of the day to be bombarded by Dan and his questions. “So how did it go with Ashlynn?”

Brian thought about it for a moment. He really didn’t know how it went with Ashlynn. The two had only spent a small proportion of lunch together, and not much was sad, but after they started talking it didn’t feel awkward either. Stumped for the right words, Brian smiled and said the one thing he could. “She seems really nice.”

A majority of the class started to take their seat in the first few rows of the theatre as their lecturer entered. Placing his belongings on the front of the stage, he turned to Dan and Brian. “Who is your new friend Mr Matthews?” he asked giving Brian one of his inviting smiles.

“Brian Haner, sir” Brian was quick to answered.

“Welcome to HBA Mr Haner.” He handed Brian a sheet of paper tucked inside one of his books. “I’m Scott Douglas. Here is this semester’s outline. I think you’ll like it at Huntington Beach Academy.”

Brian thanked the teacher and took a seat in the third row next to Dan. “Popular music is an ever-present part of our lives. It has the power to uplift, stimulate, comfort, motivate, and communicate like no other art form,” Scott stated. “Its attractiveness lies in its ubiquity, openness and lack of convention. It provides the raw material for a vast international industry. This class my not answer some of your fundamental questions about music, but it will help you to understand your own response to the music and the society in which you love, it will help you to express yourself in writing and in music production, and it will inspire you to consider and experience the power and wonder of music.

One thing was clear to Brian at this point, Huntington Beach Academy was definitely different to his old school, but he was up to the challenge nevertheless as he looked down at his planner for this semester.

Notes