Teaching.. Or attempting to teach. (open for now)

Posts : 1544 Join date : 2011-09-25 Age : 24

Essie went to the ampitheater to met with Melina. She sighed and sat at the piano. She played a tiny melody, she played Piano Man by Billy Joel(ironic! :) ) she continued that while she waited for Melina to come. She was ready to teach her, she figured out she would start somewhat easy. She would see how fast the Athena kid learned things.

Teaching.. Or attempting to teach. (open for now) 1293479855_5948_full

Melina Riley Johnson

Melina was just finishing up her swordplay training in the arena with Chiron and the other students before heading off to her lesson with Essie. Sweat fell from her face, and small scars from previous battles when the Athena child was on quests exposed themselves in the sun's light. Unlike most, Melina was proud to show them. It showed how far she had come in the past six years, and she wasn't afraid to admit that the large scar on her abdomen was from Hades' scythe when she was rescuing friends in the underworld. The time her mother, Athena, saved her from death.

Shaking away the memory, as it was one that she regretted remembering, Melina headed toward the showers to cleanse herself from the sweat and dirt. After that, she put on a fresh new orange Camp Half-Blood T-Shirt, skinny jeans, and her usual sneakers.

Upon entering the arena, Melina already saw Essie playing a tune on the piano. She hoped she wasn't late, as she didn't want to make a bad impression, or show that she didn't care, because she really did. "I'm here. Hopefully I'm not late, am I?"

Posts : 1544 Join date : 2011-09-25 Age : 24

Essie slightly jumped and looked up to see Melina. She smiled at her, "No, not really." she said to her. She got up from the bench, "Okay, so..." she snapped her fingers. "How fast of a learner are you?" she raised an eyebrow. She had an idea if she learned quickly, but she didn't know if it would work well.

"Yeah, I've always been a pretty fast learner. Though, I think music would be a different concept for me to grasp." Melina looked at the piano beside Essie. Right off the bat, the daughter of Athena could tell you that the white keys are naturals, and the black keys are sharps and flats, but that's all she knew. She didn't know which notes they were exactly, or even where to start.

Posts : 1544 Join date : 2011-09-25 Age : 24

"I play by ear. That's slightly easier." she said to Melina. "Let's see if you can get this..." she put her fingers on the piano. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rptV6K7nqu0 :the link to what I imagine her sounding like.) She started to play Bohemian Rhapsody on the piano. She turned, "You think that you could handle that?" she looked at the girl, awaiting a response.

Melina looked at the piano, almost like it was a fight for her life. Surely Apollo wouldn't be offended even if she did mess up a little bit, or the whole thing. Just to be safe, she silently prayed to the god, and then placed her hands on the piano, just as Essie did.

The sound that the piano projected didn't sound right, at least to Melina. It would've been okay, for a beginner, but not good enough. She missed a few notes here and there, and sometimes even managed to get some of them right. Though, the song didn't come out exact.

"Uh, like that?" she asked shakely.

Posts : 1544 Join date : 2011-09-25 Age : 24

"i have to say I'm impressed. You didn't comepletely butcher the song, like I thought you would." she looked at the girl, "It's a hard song." she thought for a moment, "Let's do something a bit easier thought yeah?" she asked, not really wanting an answer. She played a very basic version of 'Singin' in the Rain'. ooc: actually a very easy song. I learned it when i was like 8. :)
bic:Think you can do that one?" she looked at the piano.

~ Yeah, I know. I play a little piano myself. :D

Melina gave Essie a small smile, proud of the fact that she was able to achomplish something she didn't think she could. Then, she watched as Essie played another tune on the piano. It was much easier, as she said. This time, Melina was able to play through the song perfectly, hitting every note as if it came naturally. "That was right, right?"

Posts : 1544 Join date : 2011-09-25 Age : 24

Essie smiled, she didn't expect anything less from a child of Athena. "Perfect." she smiled at her. "You know any songs you want to learn? Any at all?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. she rubbed at her sleeves. they felt like they were coming up.

"Well, there is this one," Melina's voice trailed off. The song itself was depressing, and not only that, it reminded her of the death of her sister.

Wasn't music supposed to be about emotion, though? Wasn't it supposed to help you through your problems, and take everything off your mind? Isn't that why music is here?

"It's depressing," she explained, holding back tears. "I wanted to learn it because of my, well . . . sister."

Posts : 1544 Join date : 2011-09-25 Age : 24

"What song?" she asked softly, looking at the girl. she tilted her head to the side. "Your sister..." she trailed, she had never met her sister. It was most likely seeing as she never talked to anyone before.

~ Here's the link to the song. It usually makes me cry. :( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MHGtlEYZBA

Involuntarily, Melina put her hands on the keys of the piano and played through the song that she had meant, "Hello." Her sister had shown it to her years ago, and she seemed to have remembered the tune. Though, it wasn't like she was playing, but something else was helping her. Like someone else was directing her fingers to the right keys, and to play the right notes with the right timing. Could it be?

"Hello by Evanescence," she said. "At least, I think that's the band's name."

~ As you can probably tell, I'm a huge Evanescence fan. xD

Posts : 1544 Join date : 2011-09-25 Age : 24

~ 1) i freaking love you right now because you love Evanescence. ;)

Essie watched her fingers move across the piano smoothly. She reconized the song. "I love that song." she whispered when she was done. She smiled "Thats was really good. I don't see why you need me to help you though." she smiled at her.

~ Aw, I love you too. xD

"No, no, no. I don't know how to play. I don't even know how I managed to do that!" Melina's rushed words made it seem like she was talking a million words a minute. "I still don't even know what this note is," she said, tapping a key on the piano and allowing it to heard throughout the amphitheater.

Posts : 1544 Join date : 2011-09-25 Age : 24

Essie raised an eyebrow. "Okay, but I don;t know how much i can teach you. I'm still learning myself." she half smiled, "But we'll see how it goes." she smiled.

Melina nodded, returning her gray-eyed gaze to the keys of the piano. They seemed to sort of enchant her, and put her into a sort of daze. Memories of her past played in her head. She remembered the time when she was only three, and she had begun playing with building blocks. How proud was her father, already seeing that his daughter was taking an interest in architecture! Then there was Stella, the artistic genius of the family. The memories were pianful, but wonderful all at the same time . . .

"Alright, I'm ready."

Posts : 1544 Join date : 2011-09-25 Age : 24

Essie looked at her. She nodded and started to explain about the notes and the most simple chords. "And that's a G chord." she looked at her, "Do you understand a any of that?" she asked smiling.

ooc: I'm horrible at chord names, I just read sheet music...lol. So I searched a simple chord. :)

~ Yeah, I can get easily confused with the chords, too. xD

Melina followed Essie's example and played the chord. "Yeah, I get it. So basically, with scales, you can form chords? Is that right?"

~ And there goes my muse again. >_<

Posts : 1544 Join date : 2011-09-25 Age : 24

Essie smiled, "Yes. Pretty much. Knowing the names of the chords isn't that important in my mind, as much as reading sheet music." she smiled. (this is what i really believe. :) ) Anything you're confused on? If not, we can just meet here tomorrow after training if you want to." she smiled at her again.

Melina reviewed what she had learned in her head. Well, she didn't fail as badly as she thought she would, being an intellectual rather than one born with artistic talents. Hopefully her sister would help her through it all, because she was sure these piano lessons were going to become much more difficult.

"No, I think I understand it all," she replied. "I guess we'll meet tomorrow after training, then?"

Posts : 1544 Join date : 2011-09-25 Age : 24

Essie smiled, "Sure. After training." she sighed and started to grab her bags and music. She was thinking about actually performing the next time they had a sing along. She shook her head. Not her. Definitely not her.

Melina packed up and headed out to her cabin after waving a final good bye to Essie. Today went well, she thought to herself. Now if I could just get situated again with my camp activites, I'll be set for another year at camp.

That was, if she didn't die.

As a half-blood, it's dangerous just to go out into the city and buy a burger. What would happen if she was offered another quest? Would she return safely, or finally rest in peace? The Fates could only decide.