Reliving the Past (Open to first poster)

She hesitated on the threshold of the room. Should she press on? Or should she stay where she was, where it was safe? The little blond bit her lip, stood wavering between two choices for what seemed like a very long time. In less than a moment's time, in reality at least, the child stepped into the empty practice room. Shyly, as though there was a living, breathing person watching her, Evalee stepped up to the piano that took up the majority of the little room. Small fingers ran over the smooth, polished surface...And trembled.

Hesitantly, she circled the massive instrument until she reached the bench...Glancing back at the door carefully, she took a seat. Closing her eyes, Evalee's fingers found their way to the smooth keys and rested in place for a long moment. Finally, she applied pressure. And sound, that magical, beautiful sound called music filled the room. It bounced off the walls and returned to Evalee, dancing around her, taunting her with whispered secrets. Suddenly, she wasn't wearing a t-shirt and jeans, she was wearing a velvet gown. Her bench was onstage and in the darkness beyond the stage lights sat adults, watching her.

Judging her.

Evalee instinctively flinched away from those piercing eyes of the past. The music she'd been playing cut off abruptly and the little blond fell off the bench, hitting the floor with a soft 'thud'. Surprised, she stared at the piano, wondering if it was going to spawn a bogeyman or something equally as ridiculous. "Calm down, Evalee...It was just your imagination. All of that concert nonsense is in the past...." She trailed off, suddenly frightened blue eyes sought out the door, yet there was a body blocking it now. She saw a cruel smile, an unshaven face. Trembling, she shook her head...That was in the past. This was now. In any case, who would be here? Evalee's gaze rose questioningly to the person in the doorway.

It had been a long while since Darnell had attempted the piano. Over the summer the keyboard at his father's house had broken- pushed off the third floor balcony actually- his father could have quite the temper- got pretty riled up when he found Darnell's old stash of "goods" hidden beneath a squeaky floorboard. And so the keyboard had paid for his lack of innocence. Darnell sighed, hands in his pockets, trudging down the practice hallway, glancing into each room as he passed. He was kind of hoping they were all empty, regardless of the fact that they were soundproof, he just liked the idea of being on his own for this- he was trying out some music he'd written himself and- oh- wait- there was someone here. And sound, very beautiful sound... a door was open...

Darnell backtracked a few steps, coming to face the glass of the one room with a person inside. One of the younger students no doubt, a girl. Darnell'd never met her before. She looked a little... scared, maybe? She looked very young. Somehow reminded him of Alicia... She turned and looked up at him, and he flinched- oh- was he just standing there? Well... yes, he was. Creepy... but that's not how he meant to come off.

"Uh- hey- that song you were playing- does it have a name?" It wasn't anything he was very familiar with- and he did know quite a bit of classical music, the typical stuff a young pianist was given to play.

Evalee's eyes widened as they focused themselves on the male figure in the doorway. She felt rather breathless, perhaps because of her violent reaction to dark memories. In any case, she probably looked a ridiculous sight, sitting there on the floor. Staring at him. Finally, something clicked in her head when he spoke. He...was an upperclassman. How much older was he? Was he mad? Were their rules she hadn't read? Crap! Panicking, she froze in place, unable to bring herself to stand.

And then her brain came to a complete and utter halt.

Wait just a moment. If he was angry, wouldn't he look it? Evalee Aarianna Hart DeMontclier! Stop being such a silly head! Okay, inhale...now exhale. Stand up slowly, calmly. The young man looked more surprised than anything. She'd probably startled him by throwing herself off of the bench like that. Embarrassed now, she stood slowly, glancing at him from under long lashes shyly.

When he didn't do anything to further her embarrassment, she gently nudged that emotion aside and thought back to the words that had spilled out of his mouth earlier. Words that formed a question. It felt like it'd been a long, long, long time since he'd asked the question, but it had taken less than a minute for her mind to come to its current embarrassed, but hopeful state.

The name of the song. Oh dear..."My apologies, sir. It doesn't have a name...I never thought about it. It was just a little scribbling I'd memorized, nothing special. I hope your ears aren't bleeding?" Boldly, Evalee lifted her gaze to meet his, her expression full of mischief and some concern.

There was no way she'd written the song by herself. Oh no. It had been a concoction that she, Hunter and Mallory had come up with together. Some bout of 'I want to play something I created'...Then she'd hit a wall and gone running to Hunter, who'd searched out Mallory. The afternoon of laughter glowed in the back of her mind.

The girl was standing- Darnell had only caught sight of her when she was already on the ground and he'd wondered why she'd be on the floor but only for a moment- he'd been more concerned about the music at first. That wasn't any old book music. It had something different in it- something that he really really liked. This young girl was odd- but not in a bad way. Most of the kids here were. Oddity was a sign of genius, Darnell'd learned.

Darnell entered further into the room, recognizing the large height difference with each step he took closer. He stood casually beside the piano, there was no sheet music around that he could see- had she done that from memory? The answer soon came.

"Sir?" Darnell laughed, "No, no, no- Darnell. I'm a senior, by the way. And no way! That piece- whatever it was- it was amazing! You've got some pretty insane talent-" He nodded, smiling at her. "What's your name?"

Evalee remained where she was as the much bigger student stepped closer...and closer...and even closer. Some part of her, in the very back of her brain, recognized the reality that this boy could squash her if he fell on her. For some reason, she found that to be an amusing thought. Immediately, she stomped on her own amusement, to keep it from showing on her face. Some boy or another, one of the servants' children and told her horror stories about high school...And upperclassmen in general, really. She couldn't help but think of them. Hopefully this young man would prove her source of logic wrong.

His laughter made her smile. Obviously, Darnell was not a hostile force to be reckoned with. On top of that, he was a senior. Wow...She couldn't wait until she could tell Oz that she'd met her first senior. Yanking herself back to the here and now, Evalee's eyes widened. "Oh no, s-Darnell. I..I don't have much talent. Really..." She hesitated and then decided it didn't matter if he knew her name, he'd probably forget all about her soon enough. "Evalee." Grinning (yes, it was a natural expression), she offered her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Darnell 'I'm a senior', sir."

"Evalee- you have a nice name, Evalee- I'm glad to have met you." He leaned against the wall, wondering how old this young girl was- and now wondering why she'd been on the floor. There usually was method to these kids' madness- and he wondered if that was some type of... warmup?

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Darnell 'I'm a senior', sir."

Darnell laughed again, even harder than the first time. As he wrapped up his chuckle, he tried to think of what he could do to make this girl stop seeming so scared- timid- serious. Sir? Mr.? Really? He never wanted anyone to call him that ever. Uh-uh- made him feel like his father or grandfather or great-great-great-great-grandfather or something. Yuck.

After a short while of thinking this through, he decided. Shaking his head he lowered himself to Evalee's height- sitting on the piano bench in front of her, his hands clasped between his knees as he sat casually leaning toward her. "How about uh- how about a high five instead, ah?" He held his hand up as opposed to her extended hand. "And uh- also- just call me Darnell. No Mr., no Sir... I'm just Darnell."

He thought for a moment. "So, you must be a first year, huh? How are you liking Harriman?"

Evalee flushed. "Well, thank you. Your name is very...ah...shall we say handsome?" She probably seemed like a bit of a fool, seeing as they'd met while she'd been on the floor. Yet, there was nothing she could do about now. Only hope to be able to rewrite her first impression with good words and a friendly face.

His laughter filled the room. Was her term of address incorrect? Somewhat confused, Evalee waited patiently. Her facial features filled with a smile, a natural reaction to his laughter. There was no awkwardness in the curve of her lips, the flash of pearly whites. He was a guy, so that made him Mr....Or Mister...Wait, would he have preferred Mistress or something equally as backwards? He might've, considering the people she'd met at the school.

And then Darnell did something that raised the respect Evalee had for him. He lowered himself to her level, without making her feel inferior or childish. The offer of a high five instead of a handshake caused giggles to spill out of her. Pulling back her own hand, she let it shoot forward and meet his with a resounding SLAP. "Alright, Darnell it shall be."

Evalee paused, settled herself comfortably against the wall. "Yeah, I'm a measly little first year. Doesn't that mean I'm supposed to be your hench...person or something? Or that you're a big bogeyman?" Shaking her head, she considered his second question. "I find it to be a most exhilarating experience. I was home schooled until now....Darnell? Might I beg a favor of you?"

Darnell smiled at Evalee's response. She was in fact an odd child. Nothing like any child he grew up with- and yet- she really wasn't a child. She was old enough to deserve a title greater than that. She was a very young woman. Or maybe, she was just Evalee- and that sufficed. "And thank you," he replied, holding in some more resounding laughter. He didn't want her to think he was making fun of her or anything.

Shall? Darnell wondered where this girl had grown up to learn to say shall. And measly, and exhilarating, and ahhh- home schooled, and wealthy, no doubt. That might clear up a few things. But hey- at least she knew what a high five was.

He'd been staring down at his feet, his smile growing wider and wider as she spoke of him as supposedly being some sort of villain. He was shaking his head again- no, definitely not a bogeyman. He had no sort of affinity for closets- and in fact- if he were the bogeyman, then he'd have to check his closet for Chuck Norris! Uggh, what was that? The stench of a bad joke? Well, at least he hadn't spoken it- this girl'd probably take him for an even larger lughead than he was.

His head rose at the last bit of her sentence. Beg a favor huh? "No need to beg- I'm sure I can help- what is it?

Evalee met his gaze evenly. All laughter and mischief had disappeared. "If...Well.." She huffed in frustration. "My last name is DeMontclier. I have a brother, a freshman, who goes to this school." Evalee turned and paced away from him, her fingers falling to trail longingly over the piano keys. An unconscious act, for when she noticed where her hand was, she pulled it away, careful to make the action as natural as possible.

As though coming to some sort of decision mentally, she turned around to face Darnell. "I don't know if you know him, but...No matter what, don't tell him about me. I don't want him to know. I don't even want to see him, I-" Abruptly, the child cut herself off and looked down. "My apologies, I delivered more information than you probably care to know. I shall leave it with the fact that there are personal matters at stake here. You are a senior, so I thought it might be in my best interests to apply to your kindness."

Raising her head, she smiled at him. "Please...what path are you pursuing at Harriman?"

Things became very serious, very quickly as Evalee frustratedly tried to get her favor across to Darnell. And it wasn't sinking in all too well. Of course, Darnell could do what she was asking him to do- but it seemed to him that whether he did so or not she was in some deep doodoo if she thought she could get away with hiding for the rest of her- or her brothers' years. She was a first year after all- and he was a freshman. They had four years to go before she'd be able to breathe easily if this was so important- four years was a long time.

"Eh, I'd say not enough information," Darnell clarified as he sat up a little, looking Evalee straight on. "Not that I'm demanding you to explain yourself- but a little insight might help..."

Darnell turned toward the piano at her next question- played a little diddy he remembered playing at his interview to the school. The fingers of both hands glided key to key, exchanging notes swiftly- notes which seemed to hover in the air and hang over the two listeners. "Band," he smiled. "I play piano and guitar and drums- and you are trying to change the subject." He chuckled. "So be it- are you planning on attending Homecoming then, Evalee?"

Evalee worried she might've scared him off with all her seriousness. She began to wonder if she'd pushed the boundaries of first year to senior relations too far. Was there some social code that said she wasn't supposed to ask an almost-adult for a favor? The second guessing of her every word was beginning to get to her. The little blond was seriously beginning to regret that she'd had tutors for the majority of her life. There was an entire society in school that she'd missed out on..In any case, that was the past, this was now. Second guessing herself would have to do.

Darnell asked for more information. Evalee stiffened. "It's a bit silly...You see, I don't want to be an embarrassment to him. The last time I saw him I was an infant and he was five." She shrugged, feeling as though she'd probably laid out too much, although the fact that Darnell had cared enough to ask made her feel better. Hesitating for the merest moment, she continued. "I grew up in Colorado. He moved around with our parents." She gave as little detail as possible. Some part of her mind commented that it was because she thought Darnell would agree with her father. Why, she had no idea. She just didn't want to be rejected. It was probably part of the reason, she was so attached to Ozzie...And also why she'd yet to tell him too much of her past.

So, why was she allowing more to slip with this young man? He had no reason to care. However, even if he forgot all about their little run-in, Evalee would be happy it happened. "Yes, my apologies. Thank you for letting me change topics so abruptly." She paused, contemplating his question. "Yes. I like it. Harriman is so very different from the mansion. There's an entire society at the school and I find it to be the most intriguing thing in the world."

The next set of information that met Darnell's ears was even more interesting than the first. Embarrassment? Yes, this girl was wound a bit too tight. Darnell had always been a person instilled with a great deal of self-confidence. He had no clue where he got it- but he'd always had it- he'd always been sure of himself- always known- that is- until around the time Alicia came back into his life. Then he'd watched his every word and move, trying to be a good big brother... yeah... he guess he kind of understood after all...

"Hmm, intriguing? Yeah, I guess you could call Harriman intriguing. It's definitely fun- definitely not your ordinary school... but you still didn't answer- are you going to Homecoming?" Darnell was getting tired of the small talk thing already- he was more than intrigued by this girls' story- he empathized, sympathized... he wanted to help her out- be the total opposite of your stereotypical bogeyman senior. Plus, subconsciously, this was like a chance to make something up to Alicia- to be a good big brother- not to his biological little sister- but a girl in similar circumstances. "And y'know- I have a little sister who goes here- Alicia Allred. I guess we're kind of like how you and your brother are- 'cuz when our parents split, my mom and her family took me around with them for a long time and my sister just stuck around with my dad. Now when I got here and she was here too, I was afraid of embarrassing her," he chuckled. "I think I did some of the stupidest most non-helpful stuff when I was nervous about that. You should think about just dropping this whole hiding thing and showing your brother you're here- what's the worst that could happen? But in the meantime... you need my help with anything, you just ask. I'm never really busy around here."

Evalee knew she was dodging his question behind small talk. Perhaps it was irritating him...And since he'd once more pinned her with the question, she figured it was best not to dodge. "I'm not planning on it, no. But if I know Mallory and Hunter, they might try to do something about that." She smiled. "Sorry, I guess I'm kind of a disappointment as a sixth grader." Yet, there was very little meekness in her expression, instead her smile was filled with mirth.

When it came to everything except her family, Evalee could be pretty self-confident. Her father's treatment was slowly wearing her down to the point of utter and complete defeat. However, as that had not yet happened, the blond felt that keeping a positive attitude, and outlook on life, would keep her from having a break down every time someone rejected her off of friendship. So far it had worked, unfortunately a little too well. She hadn't quite had the courage to go find anyone until Oz had asked to sit with her that oh-so-fateful day. Evalee would be forever grateful to him for it. Although she was rather disappointed with herself. Darnell had found her not the other way around. She really needed to take notes on this whole meeting new people thing.

Suddenly, the senior was telling her his own story. As each word fell to make a sentence and to help paint the larger image, Evalee felt she might understand him a bit better than she'd originally thought. Consequently, she relaxed more freely and her expression, which had been guarded with a smile, opened into something quite a bit more real. "That's just it, Darnell...I don't know what could happen and I'm afraid. To be honest, I doubt my father would want us to interact, as much as I'd like to what my brother is like." Flushing, embarrassed and thankful for the offer, Evalee nodded. "Thank you. I will."

Then her eyes widened as a thought hit her. "Oh! I..ah..I'm in the play. Do you know anyone else in the play?" Evalee's expression flitted from minor concern to hopeful.

Darnell pulled back a little, brought his legs together and leaned, his hand supporting his weight on the bench. He smiled, having finally gotten Evalee to confess to her non-Homecoming plans. He had figured as much. She was that timid type- and looked down on herself obviously, considering her last statement alone.

He shook his head, "Disappointment? Nah- listen- you're talking to the kid who skipped half the eighth grade, snuck out every other friday night to go party, did a bunch of rotten things and then when he finally cleaned himself up- decided to take up the drums instead of a scalpel or one of those hammer thingies the judges always bang their desks with- what are they called?... uh..." Woah, way to get off topic Darnell. "Anyway doesn't matter- what I'm trying to get out here is it's best to just say whatever to all that disappointment crap and just get out there and do stuff. I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you unless you had some crazy awesome talent on that piano Miss Evalee." Darnell smiled. He'd learned at a very young age that living up to his father's standards would never be possible- and even if it were- he wouldn't be even the least bit interested in it anyhow. That'd be a horrible life, in his opinion- to work all the time and do boring stuff and talk to boring people at boring parties with boring food and boring dress. He'd much rather rock out, jump in a mosh pit, knock back a shot or two... or maybe just half of one would be best... either way...

"Ah- the play! Yeah, I know tons of those guys and gals. El- he's my right hand man. Abigail Applebottom- she's like my right hand wo-man. I know Izz kind of... Jay for sure- she's crazy nice. Gerard's a cool dude too... I'm sure that'll be loads of fun."

He stood, kind of jumping to his feet and bouncing on his heels a moment. He was feeling antsy, and that meant it was time to go scope out the rest of campus. He was glad he'd walked into the practice rooms though, even if he hadn't gotten any practice in.

"Well Evalee, I'm hittin' the hallway- but it was very nice to have made your acquaintance here," With a flourish he bowed, his face a rather extreme portrait of seriousness and decorum. What a ham. He laughed, tapping the door frame as he began his exit. "I'd better see you at the dance! Who knows, perhaps I'll save you one- eh?" He flashed a final smile, and throwing the peace sign up behind him, vanished from the doorway.

Evalee blinked as he explained exactly why she wasn't a disappointment. The things he said he'd done. Wow...She couldn't imagine herself doing that. Without really thinking, she glanced at his shoes and then looked down at her own shoes. Nope. His wouldn't fit. Okay, so perhaps she didn't realize that the saying 'a walk in someone else's shoes' wasn't meant to be taken literally. Say whatever to all the-? She couldn't help herself, she laughed. "Well, thank you, Mr. Darnell. I didn't mean it to sound so bad. I was joking, for I'm sure most of the sixth grades are rather shy about mingling with all the older kids. I certainly am."

Eagerness filled her as he told her about other people he knew that were taking part in the play. Mentally, she took note of each name, and the following description, that fell from his lips. Gerard...Mr. Crelia if she remembered correctly. He was to play her grandfather. She certainly hoped she'd be able to get along with him. From what Darnell said, everyone sounded incredibly welcoming. Evalee couldn't wait to meet them all and step into that wonderful world called 'White Christmas'.

And then the goodbye. He looked like he was ready to get going. Perhaps he was making rounds of the school? In any case, she should probably leave too, before she gave anyone else any ideas about her skill levels. She was an actress. Hopefully one day a lady, too. His last words caught her by surprise, Evalee flushed. "S-save...Well, I suppose. Yet..." However, she trailed off, waving absentmindedly to him as he left. A dance. Now that would be a most interesting experience. How did one dance at a homecoming? She ran her mind through the images of balls in movies. Was it to be like that, with waltzing? That would be fun! Wait, wait...she wasn't going, was she? Probably not, she didn't even have a dress. So it didn't matter anyway. Besides, Darnell wouldn't remember. Would he?