Assignment No. 1 (open)

[Gabriel James]

Gabe was somewhat happy classes had started up again. This term he was teaching even more than he had in the past - 5 classes total, plus he was over-seeing a study-hall alternative that allowed students to practice their instruments or work on their pieces. But at the moment he was standing in front of his "Music and Lyrics Composition" class - a course offered so kids could learn to write their own music. Anyone in the class was required to have taken Music Theory I, or be able to demonstrate that they knew how to read music, so it was nice to have a classroom full of kids who actually cared about what they were learning, and actually wanted to take the class seriously.

That being said, it was still pretty hard to keep the class's full attention on a Monday while touching on scales and chords - the building blocks of song writing. It was boring, yes, but necessary. Gabriel sighed, though, realizing he had lost even the most devout student's attention. He looked at the clock, and clapped his hands together. "Alright kiddos, listen up," he said, getting everyone's attention again. "There's only 10 minutes left. I'm going to dismiss you in a second... but here's the deal. Remember, you have to have something to share with the class by Wednesday - at least 10 seconds worth of music. Or a full song, I don't care. I'll stick around and help out whoever feels they need it, and I highly suggest taking these 10 minutes I'm giving you to work on you pieces. We'll finish up with chords tomorrow," Gabriel explained, pointing to the assignment he had written on the board the previous Wednesday, reminding his students of their first real assignment of the term.

It was an easy assignment, and was to be graded on effort - and Gabriel knew when there was effort put into a piece. It seemed like some of the kids were well on their way to having something to share with the class, but others were procrastinating. This would be a good chance to see who actually cared about the assignment, and may deserve a better grade despite a short, seemingly thrown together piece. They could do anything they want with the piece. They didn't have to have lyrics. They could sing, they could play an instrument, they could put the piece together on a computer, they could have Gabe play it in front of the class. All they had to do was put something together so Gabe could see how serious they were and what their skill set was.

"Feel free to use the practice rooms," Gabe offered, gesturing to the smaller spaces located off of the main music room. "I'll be at my desk if you need me."

[Salem Hirch]

Normally Salem would have been paying attention. Normally he would have cared what was going on in class. Especially in music, but right now, he didn't care. Even his new guitar sitting in his lap felt off, just like everything else did. Occasionally he'd glance around the room at the other students and wonder what they were doing, how they were managing in their day, then he'd just go back at staring at the blank sheets of music in front of him. Honestly, the blonde boy hated feeling lost in this class. Mr. James was talking about scales and chords and it was sinking in, but he was still miles away.

He was actually a little happy when Mr. James decided to let the class use the last 10 minutes to practice or whatever they needed to do for their assignment. It seemed like everyone was milling around like ants, except Salem. He stood and made his way closer to the door and flopped on the floor, his guitar gently seated next to him. From his bag, he produced a notebook and started to write, humming to himself a little as he did. The words were so varied and confused that even Salem got mad. At first it was just the occasional curse word under his breath, but then it slowly turned into him ripping a few pages from his notebook and stuffing them in his bag.

Eventually, he just tossed the whole thing in his bag and rubbed his face. He didn't want to think anymore, the words were hurting his head. Salem was caught in a bad place, and his usual only escape was failing him. Feeling sort of lost, he closed his eyes and tilted his head towards the ceiling.

[Gabriel James]

Gabe tried to be really in tune with his students. It was usually pretty easy - especially since he was a young teacher. Some of the seniors were actually just starting at Hammel the year Gabe graduated. He wasn't too far removed, and not much had changed at the school since he'd been gone. He liked to think he understood his students, and knew them pretty well.

It didn't take too much time for Gabe to notice Salem was frustrated. At first he chalked it up to writers's block and ignored it. It happened to the best of artists, after all. But it soon became quite clear that it wasn't just the various wasted bits of paper that was crumpling. Gabe raised and eyebrow, watching the boys face tilt up toward the celing, eyes closed. He looked... incredibly tired to Gabe.

He wasn't sure if it was his place to go and ask the boy what was wrong, but it seemed as if something had to be said. He could at least check on him. So after helping another student with a chord progression, Gabe got up from his desk and walked over toward Salem who sat on the floor near the door where most of the students had already started exiting. Gabe pulled up a chair and straddled it, arms resting on the back as he sat on it backwards. "Hey Salem," he said kindly as he sat, keeping a few feet away - not wanting to crowd the boy or seem intrusive. "I... just noticed you seemed kind of frustrated. So I thought I'd check in and see if everything is alright," Gabe offered. He wasn't sure what was upsetting Salem - the assignment or personal matters - but he'd do his best to help in either situation if the boy asked for it.