song 18

“Do re me so fa la di do,” as Jonny played each note of the piano, Meloria sang up, trying her best to hit the notes. Jonny sat straight, his fingers dancing against the keys with a skill only obtained by years of hard work and dedication.

A skilled pianist for over thirty years, it wasn’t just his hands that were well-inversed in playing, but his ears also. Jonny visibly cringed as he heard Meloria’s vocal range stumble off-key at ‘ri mi’, bringing his playing to an abrupt halt.

Jonny scowled as he stood, moving behind Meloria, his hands on her shoulders, correcting the posture of her back, a hand under her chin to lift it. He patted her back as he sat back down, hands ready to begin to play again. “From the top, Meloria,” he instructed, striking the first note.

“La, la la,” Meloria sang, shifting to try and keep her composure. Damn it, she whined internally, trying to maintain the correct posture. I never had a vocal coach in my past life; if they are anything like Jonny, I’m actually kind of glad I didn’t.

“Back straight, Meloria,” Jonny ordered with a stern tone, his eye never leaving the keys. Meloria quickly straightened he back, wincing as she swore she felt something crack. Jonny looked to Meloria through the corner of his eyes, reaching for the baton that lay in the piano stand. With one hand, he used the baton to tap the side of Meloria’s feet, encouraging her to move her feet apart. “Better,” he mumbled, seeing her feet now shoulder-width apart as both hands returned to playing the keys.

After the vocal exercises, Meloria fell back into the chair, allowing her body to slump and relax. She would never have thought her posture could be so off-centred. All this time, she felt she was standing tall and presenting herself well, but based on today’s exercises, Meloria couldn’t be farther from where she needed to be. Managing to lift her head, she watched as Jonny pulled a small black notebook and a pen from his pocket, scribbling down something she couldn’t make out. “We will need to work on many things, Meloria,” he proclaimed, the pages of the notebook causing a thud as he slammed it closed. “The first thing we will be working on is your posture. Keeping a good posture, at all times and not slouching while singing, will help keep you balanced as well as your vocal ranges consistent.”

Meloria pushed herself up, sitting up straight in the chair. “How am I meant to do that?” She asked, her voice already shaking, too scared to know the horrors that awaited her.

“We will devise an exercise routine designed to help strengthen the core muscles,” Jonny began to explain. “As well as some basic stretches you can do every morning as you wake up and every night before bed.” He raised a finger, his eyes growing more serious. “I can help put these into place for you, but if you are not mindful of your posture at all times, I won’t be able to continue your training further.”

Meloria’s eyes widened. If her posture remained poor, Jonny wouldn’t train her anymore? The idea sounded absurd, but then again, thinking about it on a deeper level, she had never seen her favourite idols slumped over in a chair, even in backstage photos. Every idol always seemed to be sitting correctly and looked almost graceful. “Wait,” Meloria’s face softened, her lips curling down into a frown. “Does that mean my dancing-”

“Your dancing is stiff,” Jonny spoke honestly, placing his hands in his lap. “While you have potential, there is a lot of improvement you require in a multitude of areas. If we focus on fixing your posture, you will begin to find your body loosens up more, you will naturally walk with more confidence, and the fluidity in your dancing will increase greatly as you will have more energy and stamina.”

“You learned all that from one show?” Meloria whispered, hanging her head in shame, her heart sank into her stomach, making her feel sick. Her ears still rang with the cries from the students and the teachers that cheered her on the day of the secret concert, and yet, here was someone telling her all the things that were wrong with the performances. The lack-lustre parts, that if one person noticed, surely more would see.

She felt like a fraud.

Noticing her silence, Jonny stood up, placing a hand on top of her head, ruffling her hair gently. “Don’t get disheartened,” his tender voice softening into a more encouraging tone. “If I didn’t see potential in you, I would not be spending all this energy or time with you.”

“But you noticed how bad I was.” The tears slowly started to fall from Meloria’s eyes, pooling on top of her hands that clenched her skirt. “How many other people thought I was bad? I – I just wanted to be able to make people smile with my singing.”

“And you do,” Jonny assured, kneeling to look Meloria in the face as he spoke his following words. “You made me smile that day. A smile, I thought that I would never get back after I lost my dear Lyra.”

“R-really?” Meloria sniffled, using her sleeve to wipe away the mucus and tears from her face.

Jonny chuckled, pulling out a handkerchief and wiping Meloria’s flushed face. “Yes, really,” he assured again. “Think of yourself like a buried diamond. Under the dirt, there is a beautiful jewel waiting to come out and show its shine to the world,” he tilted Meloria’s face up, showing her his smile. “It just takes a lot of hard work to get that diamond out, but if we stick to it, one day that diamond might become something exceptional. It could become a necklace, an engagement ring, or even part of a crown that will be worn by the most influential people of our world.”

Meloria hesitated as she pointed to herself. “You think I’m like a buried diamond?” She repeated.

“I know you are,” Jonny chuckled, pretending to search for something on her face before poking Meloria on the tip of her nose, making her giggle. “I see a little bit poking out right there. It just needs a little more polishing to shine truly.”

“Thank you, Jonny,” Meloria smiled softly, holding her pinkie out. Jonny looked confused between Meloria’s face and her extended pinkie before laughing at the childish gesture, interlocking his pinkie with hers. “I promise, I will work hard to polish the diamond. I will work hard to become the idol this work needs.”

“And I promise you,” Jonny used his other hand, pointing towards Meloria. “That I will stand by you and work with you to help the precious diamond in you shine. If you ever feel like you are going to give up, I promise that I will push you twice as hard to make sure you remember the promise you made to me today.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Meloria chuckled, pulling her hand back. “After you all know what happens if you break a pinkie promise, right?”

“I imagine it’s not anything pleasant,” Jonny chuckled, standing back up.

Meloria giggled and nodded: “The punishment would be worse if you also crossed your heart.”

Shaking his head, Jonny laughed, heading back to the piano. “Well, I will save that server as a promise for when the time is right. Until then, how about you and I continue with our lesson?”

Meloria gave a thumbs up, getting back into the position, taking a mental note of her posture as she started to sing again.