Bach 'N' Roll [Celeste]

Despite the glaring directed toward the inert doors, none of them decided to move to let her pass. Maybe it was because they were unable to move without help, or perhaps because there was no one nearby to operate them. Unlike the modern shop that she used to attend where the doors were not only mechanized but were also paired with employees to greet customers.
Fortunately her bodyguard found the task of opening the doors very easy. A pleasant artificial breeze escape the building to the street, both temporary cool her rage. At least the store had air conditioning.

Once inside the store, Celeste noted with sadness the prevailing decadence. As she expected, no one ran to receive her with the honors she believed to deserve and what was worse, no one seemed frightened by her presence as often happened in the stores where she was habitual. The inattention was something to be expected in a store that category, but the lack of recognition and terror were two entirely new things that the girl could not understand. Does the name Manfrella meant nothing there? Apparently not. She had to fix that...

While she was still trying to find a polite way to break the employees, her sensitive ears caught an eerie cacophony that penetrated the monotony of the Jazz music that was playing in the background. The rhythm of the notes and the quality of execution were not bad, but the piece itself was a mockery toward all the great composers... so with a new goal obtained, she moved directly to the center of that soft and modern music.

When Celeste found the culprit of such disastrous concert, she took a seat in one of nearest pianos to observe her behavior but when she read the sheet music, she realized what the problem was. Almost all the pieces were modern and therefore lacking the strength and energy of the old symphonies.
Putting aside the score, her fingers nimbly descended over the keyboard to produce the first thundering notes of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. For a moment, the old notes devoured the world leaving only Celeste and her piano alone.

The force imbued in her symphony soon began to take over everything around her, removing the ugly store, its employees and the other girl toying with the piano. The whole world seemed to crumble under the sweet vibrations of each note. It was then that the powerful beginning of the symphony gave way to a softer chorus of notes that the sounds produced by the other piano used as a soft spot to penetrate inside her mind to finally win the battle and impose their physical and mental presence, destroying the music she loved.

Celeste finally lost the pace and made a mistake, then another and then one more. Her interpretation ended when her two fists fell with fury on the innocent keyboard, producing a cry of agony from the inert piano.

She then stood up and driven by an almost animal rage moved toward the piano of her rival. Once there, she pulled the music sheet from its small stand to tear it into small pieces. Her voice though somewhat impolite did not manage to say how much she hated interruptions. "Try now." The girl demanded with a sweet smile of satisfaction on her face.

When Celeste finally managed to escape from the circle of envy and hatred, it was too late for the poor music sheet. A little voice inside her head said that was wrong, she was just discharging all her tension with tat girl but every time that voice tried to convince her, another voice even louder responded by stating that the girl had started the battle. Celeste was just a victim of that savage who had no taste for classical music.

Her opponent stood, her face showing an expression of pure anger that gave the impression that she would kill her. For a moment Celeste expected the worst, a direct blow to the face, a bite, a slap but nothing happened. The only thing she let go with that murderous intent was her words that caught her off guard. The surprise and rejection changed Celeste´s expression a long moment before she could hide it behind her smile again.

Still, she needed all her willpower to avoid answering with a resounding "you". Judging by the questions and tone of voice that followed, to remain silent was the best thing she could do. And Celeste did it. She closed her lips and kept them closed in a small smile that attempted to hide her nervousness.

At the first opportunity, she ran again back to her piano as if that small distance could give her any protection. Celeste knew she was wrong but she was not going to apologize. Therefore she forced herself to remain silent, without touching a single key on her piano to listen to her rival.

The first notes of the new melody were filled with such passion that Celeste could not react, she just stay silent feeling her heart race with each vibration. It was the same she felt with that deadly glared that hide much more anger than her words.
So, she continued with her silent contemplation that was not only a way to analyze her rival but an opportunity for her heart to calm down but even when she tried hard, the music keep accelerating her heart against her will. She was buried deep inside these feelings of regrets and discomfort and nothing she tried seemed to work, until, magically with the change in pace the violence and speed of the song soon relaxed into a more pleasant and enjoyable melody. It was then that a little more relaxed, she put aside her musical tastes to start enjoying that interpretation that was not bad at all.

The lack of glamor in the store forced her to set her eyes on the second most beautiful thing, the beautiful black and white keys of the piano that rested silently before her. In order to calm down more, she tried to imagine that she was the one playing the melody, so she mentally began to press keys while trying to keep up with the song that was not as familiar as she would like it to be.
That silly game proved more difficult than Celeste expected since she had to identify not only the notes, but also restrict her hands from jumping on the piano keys to press them physically.

Halfway to the end of the melody, Celeste left the game complaining silently that it was too boring rather than admitting that the other girl played the song better than her.
By then the melody that started as hellish screams of anger changed to a soft and easy to enjoy sounds that Celeste could not ignore. Although she did not totally agree with the choice of the other girl, she had to admit that she was doing a great job. In fact, she was doing such a great job that Celeste wanted to stand up again, to run to her piano and ruin her execution in some way... That melody had no right to sound as good.

Although jealousy continued to grow inside her, these were kept in a fully acceptable level that Celeste knew how to channel very well. While listening to the other girl she started to get a small interest on her, despite the horrible first impression. Maybe she could replace her old rival Stella, who just could not compete with her skills or her beauty.
Still contemplating such ideas in her head, Celeste stood and headed back to the other girl´s piano. "That..." She said. "... was a lot better." Finally she completed the sentence with a shy smile.

What she had done during that moment of rage was simply stupid, plain stupid. For a moment her brain turned off, then on again just a second after the music sheet was destroyed. She needed to apologize even if she did not want to do it, so she uttered the closest thing to an apologize she dared. "I will pay the music sheet."

Even when Celeste was expecting a verbal acknowledgment after her beautiful and sincere compliment, she did not even dare to protest when the other girl accepted her words in silence. Still, she was disappointed at the lack of response and she could not hold a crooked smile from forming on her lips. Incredibly, Celeste managed to remain silent and avoid starting a new fight for the great discourtesy she had just received.
So after a few seconds of silent, she managed to store her jealousy and anger for a future tantrum.

But when she dared to say that she had apologized, Celeste could not resist and started to shake her head vehemently. When that was not enough, the girl added the motion of her hands that began to move as windshield wipers, and then her voice. "I am not apologizing!" She said, raising her voice to the limit of a shout. It was one thing to pay for that piece of worthless paper and quite another to let someone like her to mock and trample her pride. Celeste continued to stare angrily at her end even after all her denials ended. Finally she crossed her arms over her skinny chest to inform her rival that she would not admit it was an apology.

Once she ended shooting invisible daggers at her new rival, she noticed the presence of the piano one more time and her thought raced to a simple conclusion that she stated once the malicious glances were not enough. "Can you really afford one?" She asked with malice while clearly looking at the piano. A faint smile touched her lips as she waited for the girl's answer.

Celeste knew very well that the coat of arms used by her family was an elaborate lie, because her family had never been noble enough to own one but each time she stared at the carved wood plate that represented the greatness of her family, she always imagined her family motto as "We do not apologize." There was no better phrase to describe her family. So under the accusation that she had apologized, Celeste burst with a totally justified denial.

To her delight, the strength and certainty of her commanding voice accomplished to frighten the other girl. Celeste in return, stepped forward taking a defensive position with her arms crossed over her chest. Her arms remained as firm as possible, as if that stillness could demonstrate her determination to not apologize and not let her win. It was almost as if an evil which had petrified her with a spell, turning her into a beautiful statue.

But before Celeste could enjoy that little moment of triumph, her enemy broke the silence with a question full of sarcasm that implied she had indeed apologized. Celeste flinched while her pride squirmed inside her chest under the weight of those simple words. Celeste ignored them as best as she could, saving all her anger for her next question about her social status and her inability to buy an expensive piano.

The fact that the response of the other girl was so brutal only meant that Celeste had found one of her weaknesses... but still, that small fact could not defend her against the adjectives and evaluations used against her. Her first reaction was to feel extremely insulted, then angry, but before she could react, a passive sadness descendent over her. Many of these things were true, and deep down, she knew it.

For at least half a minute Celeste remained silent, processing all the information while trying to find an appropriate reply, when she did not find anything to hurt her, she clung to the only thing that had worked before. "Then ..." Her words were almost shy, escaping from her lips very gently, slowly, almost as if she was building the phrase as the words became sounds. "...you can´t buy one."