asmine grabbed her backpack and her instrument case and kissed her mother goodbye before she headed out of her house. It was the first day of the school year; she was officially in grade twelve today. A mixture of nervousness and excitement ran through her body. She had a feeling that she should do something memorable and unforgettable, but she didn't know what or how.

Knowing who would be outside waiting for her, Jasmine opened the door. A guy in a hoodie and shorts was there, and he smiled when he saw Jasmine.

"Hey. Good morning, Mrs Ryder," he greeted them.

"Good morning, Ryan. You two be careful." Jasmine's mother replied and closed the door behind them.

"Let's go," she said, grinning. They set off and started making their way to their school. Usually, Jeremy, Jasmine's older brother, would be walking with them as well, but he graduated a few months ago and was off in university now.

"Wow, it's so quiet without Jeremy..." said Ryan, who laughed a little. Jeremy was the complete opposite of him; while Jeremy was extremely talkative, Ryan was shy and quiet. He actually liked that a lot-that way, he didn't need to do a lot of talking. He wasn't exactly into what Jeremy liked, so he never knew how to reply. Thankfully, Jeremy never needed him to do so.

"Yeah...I finally don't have to listen to him going on and on about football anymore." Jasmine frowned, but her face turned into a smile again. "Hey, we can start working on the lyrics right after we get to school. It's really nice to have band in the first period of the day," said Jasmine happily. Band had always been her favourite class, and writing songs with her best friend was simply the best thing.

They chatted about writing songs and everything on their way to school. She knew she wasn't supposed to be staring, but Jasmine found her eyes being attracted to Ryan as if he was a magnet. They traveled from his light brown hair to his soft, blue eyes. He had grown taller and thinner, but his eyes were as gentle as the ones she saw the first day she met him. Despite the change in appearance, he was still the same Ryan.

But it started to feel so different around him recently; she didn't even know when it began. She lost the ability to stand beside him without her heartbeat going up or her eyes staring at him.

Of course she knew what kind of feeling that was, and she knew that she didn't have to avoid it. But it seemed like he didn't like her back; he always treated her as a best friend. Rarely interacting with girls, he didn't show any sign that he liked anyone at all.

And would best friends still be best friends if one of them fell for the other one? She couldn't ask anyone around her; two of her friends were dating now and they were not best friends when they started dating each other, and there was another friend who had never dated anyone before. Not to mention Ryan, who was definitely not an option.

After they arrived at school, they went to their lockers quickly and headed off to the band room. Jasmine pushed open the door of the band room and they entered. She smiled at the familiarity and friendliness the band room possessed; this was the place she had missed during the summer.

Before they could start working on their song, however, someone pushed open the door and the noise interrupted them.

"Yeah! Now we are the oldest at school! Everyone is younger than us now!" the newcomer yelled loudly while his companion rolled her eyes at him.

"Oh! Hey Terry. Hey Melanie." Ryan smiled and said.

"Hey. Can't believe we are already in grade twelve now..." said Melanie as she sat down on a chair.

"I know! And we are graduating next year! You really should join the band, Mel..." Jasmine tried to persuade her.

"I'd love to...but I know nothing about music. I can't even sing." Melanie frowned.

"Don't you think you have to learn the thing your boyfriend loves the most, redhead?" Terry joked.

"There's nothing wrong with being red-haired!" She punched his arm playfully.

Jasmine couldn't stop smiling. She liked to see them being together; it made her think that maybe being in a relationship in which both of them loved each other truly was not that difficult after all.

Sometimes she doubted it, though.

"Hey guys!" A girl with blond hair entered the room. Her face was flushed with excitement like usual.

"Hi Kelly," Melanie greeted. She stood up. "The bell's about to ring; I have to go. You guys all have band for the first block, right?"

"Yeah. I'll walk you to your class." Terry stood up and kissed her on her forehead. They exited the room together with their hands joined.

The bell rang and people flowed into the band room. Have to focus, thought Jasmine. She was happy that there was something to keep her from thinking too much.

Mr Harris, the band teacher, walked up to the front and started to speak. "Good morning, guys...I know it may not be what you're expecting, but we are having a playing test now!" he announced excitedly, "and we'll do it in a fun way. I'll call someone up and after that person goes, he or she chooses who goes next. I'll hand out the music you are playing in a moment."

"Well, that is kinda...fun?" said Kelly, and it sounded more like a question than a statement.

"It's fun! Terry, you are up!" said Mr Harris a-little-bit-too-excitedly as he handed out the music. Terry, who just got back in time before Mr Harris found out he was late because of his walk to Melanie's classroom, rolled his eyes and took the music from Mr Harris. Everyone played one by one after Terry played the drum.

Kelly played the alto sax. Despite the slower-than-usual speed, she played very well. One or two minor errors occurred during Ryan's test, who played the clarinet, but those didn't affect much. Jasmine played the clarinet as well, and although there were some pauses between some complicated bars, Mr Harris looked quite pleased with her performance.

The playing test ended with a trumpet player, or at least that was what everyone thought. "Everyone has played, right?" asked Terry while busying himself with folding his music into a paper plane.

Mr Harris looked at the paper plane reproachfully. "You'd want to keep it. We'll play this song for the fall concert and there's a lot to work on." Terry muttered something indistinctly and unfolded it. Mr Harris went on, "And the test isn't finished yet; there's still a person on the list. Ah, I forgot to introduce our new student, Derek. Derek, welcome to West Forest Secondary! Let's hear you play." Mr Harris beamed at someone who wasn't noticed by anyone until then.

Everyone started murmuring when they heard the new name. Jasmine followed Mr Harris's eyes and saw a guy she had never seen before. His green eyes looked so pale against his tanned skin and black hair, and they were radiating some kind of coldness. She looked around to see her friends' reactions: Terry and Ryan exchanged a look, and Kelly looked at the new guy with curiosity shining in her eyes.

All the whispering died away at once when the new guy started playing. Notes flowed out from his tenor sax lightly like streams, with every slight detail being played perfectly. No single mistake was made. Some people's mouths were hung open widely in astonishment; others, like Jasmine and the three others, couldn't keep their eyes off him.

Mr Harris couldn't smile any wider when Derek finished. "That was awesome, Derek! How long have you been learning to play the tenor sax?" he asked earnestly.

"Ten years," Derek replied curtly, not looking at Mr Harris. He started to put his tenor sax away without being asked to do so.

"Okay, guys. I heard some really good stuff today, and I hope you guys can keep practicing and..." Mr Harris continued talking, although no one was really listening. Jasmine glanced at Derek for the last time when she put her clarinet away. Unlike those new students before, he stood at the corner alone, not talking to or looking at anyone. The bell rang and he walked out faster than Jasmine had ever seen anyone did before. "Come on, Jas!" yelled Kelly. She quickly turned away and followed everyone out of the room.

At lunch, Jasmine and Kelly joined Ryan, Melanie, and Terry at the lunch table. The cafeteria was filled with noises and laughter like usual. She sat down and joined their conversation.

"The new guy was too cool," said Terry, a grin crossing his face.

"You mean that Derek guy? Everyone is talking about him. Is he really that cool? He didn't talk at all in my English class..." said Melanie, who didn't understand why this new guy was trending in the school. It was the one thousandth time she heard someone saying Derek was cool today.

"Well, I don't know if he's cool or not, but he's very good at playing the tenor sax," remarked Ryan.

"He's the best tenor sax player I've ever seen," added Jasmine.

"He's really cute," said Kelly matter-of-factly.

Everyone turned and stared at Kelly with their eyebrows raised.

"What! He is cute." Kelly blushed.

"Yeah...every new guy is cute, right? Like Ken the jerk and Mark the teacher's pet..." Terry joked, dodging Kelly's book, which was used to hit Terry's head by its owner, at the same time.

"Give her a rest, Terry...anyway, don't you think he's kind of...kind of isolating himself?" asked Jasmine. She saw their questioning looks and explained, "I mean, those new students that transferred here before...they tried to make friends, didn't they? But Derek didn't try at all. He didn't even look like he cared about this school."

"Maybe he's just shy." Melanie lifted her shoulders.

"Maybe someone has to go talk to and befriend him," added Terry.

Jasmine thought quietly for a while. An idea suddenly popped into her mind. "That's it! We should start a band...and invite Derek to join us!" she said loudly. That's right, she thought. She had been thinking about doing something special in grade twelve; there was no reason why they shouldn't do it. And they could get to know this new student more. They hadn't met anyone who was so talented at music before.

"Oh! We should totally do it!" Kelly let out a squeal.

"Sure." Terry agreed after he thought for a while.

"I like the idea, but it's gonna be tough. Are you sure you're doing this?" asked Ryan, surprised by the idea Jasmine had.

"Yeah, the band idea sounds good, but do you think he will join you guys?" said Melanie, glancing at Derek.

"But we have to try, right?" asked Jasmine, hoping to convince them.

"Come on, you know how convincing I am. You rejected me for the first two times I asked you out, but I succeeded, didn't I?" Terry smirked at Melanie. She shot him a warning but playful glare and said half-jokingly, "Jasmine, please do the asking. I can't trust him."

Feeling warmed, a thankful smile lit Jasmine's face. "Thanks, guys. I knew you would support me...now let's go ask him."

"Seriously? Now?" Now Terry was taken aback.

"Now. Or when are you gonna ask him?" said Jasmine with determination suddenly rising inside her as she stood up.

The five teenagers walked to the table Derek was sitting at, which was not very far from their table. He glanced up for a while but soon had his eyes back to his phone, apparently not willing to talk to them.

"Ahem. Derek, right?" Terry cleared his throat and began.

"Yeah," acknowledged Derek simply.

"Do you play any other instrument other than tenor sax? You know, instrument that's more pop-music-ish..." asked Jasmine, trying to be friendly.

"Bass guitar. What do you want?" asked Derek pointedly. His tone was emotionless but intimidating.

"Well...you play the tenor sax really well, and..." said Jasmine slowly.

"Get to the point," he commanded coldly.

"We want to start a band, and we decided to invite you to join us," she continued on.

Derek's body tensed up. "No," he replied rather bluntly without even thinking about it. He shoved his phone into his pocket and stood up to leave.

"Hey, not so fast!" Terry blocked his way. "We really think you'd make an amazing member of our band," said Terry.

"I said, no. Also, I hate music. Don't try to ask me why or ask me to join your band ever again," said Derek through gritted teeth. For a moment, anger flashed through his eyes but it faded away quickly and returned to coldness again.

"But-" Derek squeezed pass them and walked away without waiting for Jasmine to finish her sentence. Something he said confused her. He hated music?

The bell rang and the cafeteria emptied quickly.

"Well, Mel rejected me the first time I..." Terry went on with his story again.

"But you succeeded, didn't you?" Melanie mocked his tone, finishing up his story for him.

"It was harder than I thought..." said Kelly, kind of depressed and disappointed.

"That's okay, guys...he'll agree to join us if we keep asking," said Jasmine, trying to encourage everyone. "Let's just get to our classes first."

They parted and went to their classes. Together, Jasmine and Ryan walked to their chemistry classroom and sat down at a desk.

"There was something he said that confused me. He said he hates music," said Jasmine, propping up her head with one hand.

"Yeah, I don't get that either. I mean, why did he take Band in the first place if he hates music?" Ryan agreed, his head tilted. "Anyway, are you serious about the band thing?" He changed his tone when asking about that.

"Yeah...you know, I really want to do that...I just came up with it, but it's exciting, isn't it? To do something like starting a band," said Jasmine, who started smiling because they were talking about the band. "Actually, I just got that all planned out awhile ago! You and I can write the song for us to practice. I'll be playing the guitar. You can play the keyboard. Kelly's the singer and Terry is the drummer. Melanie can do stuff like recording our songs. And Derek...if he agrees, he'll play the bass guitar!" she gasped out every word excitedly.

"Well? What do you think?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I think it sounds fun," responded Ryan with a coy but sincere smile. He knew that Jasmine always started doing things she wanted to do the instant she came up with the idea.

Jasmine flashed a smile back and turned her attention to the front of the classroom, where the teacher was talking. He had to admit that it did sound interesting, but he was also kind of scared. He never did anything like this before. What if Derek didn't want to join them? What if his songs were not good enough? What if anything went wrong? What if...

He sighed. He really should stop overthinking. Jasmine and everyone had been telling him to be more confident and believe in himself, but it was just kind of hard for him. His attention had somehow turned from the teacher to Jasmine. He had always wished he was as bold as her, and he really admired the confidence she had in herself.

Yeah. He admired her. For as long as he could remember, Jasmine always believed in herself and encouraged him to build confidence in himself. It was her who came around and talked to him when everyone was playing and laughing together and he was too shy to join them. It was her who made him smile.

And that made him think of how people always asked them if they were dating but he was not sure why he thought of it. It became really awkward when they were asked about that. Usually, Ryan would deny it and Jasmine would tell them not to misunderstand. They were best friends. That was all.

But something always flashed through her eyes when he denied it. What was that?

He forced himself to focus on what the teacher was saying, knowing that he shouldn't be distracted.

What he didn't know though, was that it was disappointment that always flashed through Jasmine's eyes when he denied that they were dating.

Derek placed his tenor sax carefully on his bed, annoyed for no reason. He looked out of the window, trying to calm himself down. Thinking of those people at school today again, he couldn't help but feel rage rise up inside him.

Those people... His fists tightened and his knuckles turned white. Why did they have to be that annoying? Out of everything they could have said to him, they picked the one thing that got on his nerves.

He didn't want to admit that he was actually jealous of them, jealous of how they could enjoy music like he once did. They sounded so excited when they discussed starting a band, which he all heard. He used to enjoy music, but now he wanted to throw up whenever his parents mentioned music lessons or upcoming concerts.

He also didn't want to admit that he was actually happy that someone came around and talked to him on the first day of school. Not many people had ever talked to him.

It was not like he didn't have friends. He used to be the popular kid at school; he was athletic, outgoing, and nice. The fact that he was a remarkable tenor sax player didn't make him less charming at all.

Until what he called "that day".

"That day," someone important to him left him forever. Afterwards, an uninvited person took that person's place and started to suffocate him with overflowing concerts and music lessons. Free time had been taken away, so he couldn't hang out with his friends anymore.

At first, they were fine with it. But then they started to alienate him gradually, and the next thing he knew nobody was willing to talk to him anymore because he couldn't spend time with them. He then stopped trying to get back with his friends after few tries that failed.

And what was the point to put effort in getting to know people when he got to a new place? One day they would all leave him anyway.

He almost forgot what it was like to have a friend. And it hurt when he thought of those happy times he had had.

"Derek, I'm not hearing you practicing!" a voice came outside his room, with rapid knocks on the door.

"Alright!" he yelled and realized he shouldn't have done that to his mother. The door opened and a woman who was supposed to be his mother came in.

"I'm sorry, Mother, I shouldn't have yelled at you..." His tone was robot-like. He hoped that he sounded like he was sorry, but instead, he sounded like he was reciting the multiplication chart or something.

"You really should be practicing. The concert is on next week...and it's a very, very important one..." his mother began.

He didn't really listen to what his mother was saying; he didn't care anyway. He promised that he would practice more and after she left the room, he picked up his tenor sax reluctantly and started practicing.

He swore that if he ever got the chance to smash his tenor sax, he would.