Chapter Text
A moan-
No, plural…. Moans.
Not hers, but from the unit next door. Gigi would want to just close her eyes, put the punk rock music on max volume and have her ears bleed from the screamos than the moans of her own neighbor. In a way, she is very much impressed with those two since she knew that the said walls were not even thin to begin with.
Oh Ame, faster please~
A muffled voice from the other side of the wall said along with another set of moans. It has always been like this for over five months already that Gigi has gotten immune to the moans aforementioned- to a point that she would genuinely nod and think ‘good for them’.
“They’re really into it, huh?” Gigi absentmindedly muttered as she twirls the pencil in between her fingers, trying to focus on the textbook on her table and the worksheet just beside it.
“Go get her, detective” Gigi said to herself as she quickly pumps her fist up to cheer.
Amelia Watson was Gigi’s high school upperclassman and now, she’s her college upperclassman and neighbor. Amelia and Gigi didn’t interact much back in high school but for some reason, Amelia showed up at Gigi’s front door one summer afternoon and dropped off all of her cram school study materials to help her ace the entrance exams to her current university.
Lo and behold, here she is now- a freshman Architecture student.
Oh my goodness~
Gigi closes her eyes shut and sighs, they have been going at it for almost 15 minutes now. The stamina on an athlete surely isn’t the one to mess with. Knowing that Gigi isn’t going to finish anything at this rate, she heads over to her living room area along with all of her study materials in the hopes that the moans die down.
In Gigi’s theory, all apartments are built with the same layout. Given that Amelia and her girlfriend are fucking in the bedroom, the noise probably dies down if she heads to the living room since it’s at least a bit farther away- and more spacious than the bedroom.
Surely enough, it worked. Gigi laid her study materials on the coffee table and sat on the carpeted flooring of her living room and went back to studying.
Oh Baee~
Gigi perks up, hearing another set of moaning from the living room wall behind her.
“OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD”
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They said that college is a different kind of struggle from what you’ve had from high school since it’s a bit of a sneak peak of being an adult living away from home. Gigi locks eyes with her friend as they meet each other at the front gate of the university, both with dark circles under their eyes.
“You had a hard time with the worksheet?” Gigi asked Koseki Bijou with a deadpanned tone.
“No.” She answered with a sigh “My neighbors were banging until early this morning. I don’t think my neighbors know that the walls on our apartment are paper thin.”
“Argh. Same.” Gigi replied as they both made their way to campus “My apartment building’s walls aren’t thin but boy, were they at it- left and right.”
“Your neighbor must have a very active love life.” Bijou commented
“She’s- happy. Word has it that she had the reputation with sleeping around with women a few years back. I guess now she’s found someone who can warm her bed for a long time- I hope.”
“Well, consider yourself lucky that you didn’t catch her during that era.”
“Agreed.” Gigi said as she rolls her eyes “Oh! Maybe we can catch some sleep later at arts class. We’re required to attend that recital concert for the conservatory music students later, right?”
Bijou’s lilac eyes light up with Gigi’s statement. Some days, they are a pain in the ass and on rare days like these; Gigi is thankful for the stupid things their minor subjects require them to do so that they could get some shut eye.
“Air conditioning and Classical music in the background? Who could ask for more?” Bijou said excitedly
“I can’t believe I’m saying this but- I am very excited for Art Class.”
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Gigi had the privilege of having a free period where she can do whatever she wishes- unlike Bijou who needed to be at the student council office during her free period. As what she’s always done, she would go ahead and locate the building where her next class would be held and sleep.
In this case, her next class would be her art class that required them to go to the auditorium for the recital- or from what it said on the poster from the glass door ‘a qualifying showcase for aspiring conservatory music students’. Basically, an entrance exam specially made for students aspiring to join the program.
“Quite early for this afternoon’s class Ms. Murin.” Her art teacher said, suddenly appearing right beside her. There really is something about art majors that makes them so quiet that they could pass as ninjas.
“I just happened to have some free time.” Gigi explained- which she thought immediately as the wrong answer to give because her teacher had just given her the widest grin.
“Perfect!”
“Oh dear” Gigi whispered to herself as her teacher looped their arms together “I have just the pre presentation task for you.”
“Will this give me extra points?” Her teacher merely just chuckled at her remark.
Her teacher handed her paper with the list of students who will be performing for the whole afternoon. To think that art class is the only class Gigi had this afternoon meant that either she stays until all of the 12 performers are done.
“If you see the people on that list, would you mind having them sign under their names for attendance purposes.” The art teacher said as she gave Gigi the list.
“Most of them are already inside the building so, it shouldn’t be too hard.” She added. Gigi was cornered and only had the chance to smile politely and nod.
Gigi started with the group of musicians at the back stage area and finished half of the names and pictures on the list in the span of 15 minutes. A smug smile forms on her face as she exits the back stage, thinking that she may actually get more extra sleep than she had originally thought if she finishes the attendance list early.
After finding the next half on the audience area, she was down to the last musician on her list. A transfer student who went all the way from Germany, she knew because of the school indicated just below her name.
Cecilia Immergreen
Gigi roams around the auditorium in hopes to find the girl on the attendance sheet list. She went as far as the offices and bathroom stalls to find her and get that sleep that she’d hope she’d get but to no avail. She was starting to think that maybe this transfer student is still jet lagged from the whole trip and slept in- or decided not to push through with flying halfway across the globe because music schools are better on her side of the world.
Whatever the reason may be, it’s 30 minutes before the evaluators come and start the whole recital process- she is late.
“Are you done with the attendance sheet?” Their art teacher asks, suddenly creeping up again silently- like a ninja.
“Geez, Ms. Sana. Could you at least make a tiny sound when you approach me?” Gigi said, clasping the fabric of her shirt near her chest.
“Sorry, force of habit.” She says with a wave
“I am almost finished, except there’s this one last student that hasn’t showed up yet. The transfer student from Germany.” Gigi said as she handed over the attendance sheet. Her teacher gave it a once over and nods.
“Alright, you have done plenty. You can take your seat and wait for the program to start. I’ll take it from here. Thank you, by the way, you’ll be exempted from the quiz we’ll have next meeting.” She said with a wink and smile.
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Koseki Bijou was already snoring beside her when the second student had started performing on the piano.
And for some reason, Gigi can’t seem to fall asleep despite having a 15 minute vacant time before the rest of her classmates and other students who got scammed to come as a requirement came. Some of her classmates were busy copying other’s workbooks and some are also sound asleep.
“Next performer, Cecilia Immergreen from Justice School of the Arts, Germany.” One of the evaluators said before a round of applause was heard and the person, whom Gigi was not able to meet claimed the center stage with her violin.
She was short but looks exactly like the picture that was on the attendance sheet that was handed to her. She gave a polite nod at the pianist behind her and started playing her piece. She was shorter than what Gigi had envisioned in her head- for a European at that.
Her performance started with a low melancholic tone that felt like it was a scene from a movie where the male of female lead dies in the end after a long and rocky road of development. The melody progressed into a more aggressive yet soothing tone like the feeling of grief in the middle of the night. Gentle but all the more heartbreaking.
Gigi was no classical music expert and not an enjoyer, even. Yet, when this transfer student had finished playing her piece, Gigi was already in tears.