Chapter Text
“Alright,” Karnak checked his watch. “We have about thirty minutes left so you all pick a song to show me. Ricky, with me.” He walked to the piano and Ricky followed him, as requested. As they sat down he started talking quietly, but they were too far for Mischa to hear.
Ocean turned to them. “We should do Fall Fair Suite. It should be fresh on everyone’s mind and it’ll be a nice way to honor Father Markus.”
“That does seem smart,” Constance said with a smile.
“I know.” She flicked her hair over her shoulder with a smug look. Noel just sighed. “We’re going to sing a song that Father Markus wrote.” Ocean smiled at Karnak. “Do you have his sheet music?” She asked.
Karnak nodded. “Which song?” He asked, reaching a hand up to the binder sat on the piano.
“Fall Fair Suite! We practiced it a lot recently so we thought that would be best.” She explained.
“That works for me.”
He found the song and started playing, Ricky watching over his shoulder.
As they started singing, Mischa pulled out his phone.
Talia
3:27
I love you
3:28
I’m at choir right now, it’s boring as hell
He put his phone back in his pocket to spin Ocean around, before immediately pulling it back out.
Talia
3:30
Can’t wait to talk to you later
As they finished the song, Karnak sighed.
“We have some work to do.” He said. “First question, why the weird gap between Noel and Mischa?”
“Huh?” Ocean turned and looked. “Oh! Ricky normally stands back there.”
Karnak hummed. “Alright, I will figure out a way for you to stand that doesn’t look so awkward.” He thought for a second, before shaking his head and moving on. “Next, Ocean, your voice is too prominent. You need to lower the volume and mix in with everyone else.”
Ocean immediately tried to defend herself. “I’m only that loud to cover their mistakes!”
Karnak raised an eyebrow. “Constance and Noel sounded perfectly fine.” He said and then turned his unimpressed gaze to Mischa. “Mischa probably would have too, had he been paying any attention.”
“I didn’t want to be here in first place.” He said, glaring at Karnak.
“Be that as it may, you are here now, and you have a very nice voice, so will you try to put at least a little effort in?” He asked gently.
Mischa rolled his eyes but agreed. It’s not like Talia was free to talk to him right now anyway.
“Thank you. Now, you all try that again.” With that, he started to play.
Every few lines Karnak had to say a stern “Ocean” and glance up at her to get her to fall back in with the others.
Mischa paid more attention this time and his voice came out a little stronger, a little smoother, surprising him. He glanced over at Noel, shaken, and Noel was smiling at him, pride, encouragement, and something Mischa couldn’t decipher shining in his eyes.
“Okay, pause.” Karnak stopped them suddenly. “Lets try that again from the beginning of the last line.” They did and he stopped them in the same spot, looking at the sheet music confused.
Ricky leaned forward and pointed to something on the paper before pointing to Mischa and Noel. Karnak’s eyes shined with realization and he looked up at them.
“Alright,” he said, “Let's go back two lines this time. I want Ocean and Constance to sing the first one and Noel and Mischa to sing the second one.”
They ran through the two lines and both sounded a lot better. It felt better too; Mischa wasn’t having to reach for a note he could barely hit anymore.
Karnak smiled. “Much better. Most of you have a high voice range so that second line was sounding too high.” He explained to them.
“How did you figure that out?” He asked Ricky.
Ricky typed in his phone for a minute and Karnak waited patiently.
“I’ve always thought there was something off there, but I could never figure out what. This is the first time I’ve been close enough to the piano to hear the actual notes. After that it was just a matter of figuring out if they sounded too high or too low.” The phone said.
“Do you play any instruments?” Karnak asked him.
Ricky shook his head. He pressed his finger against his palm and the first joint bent backward to almost a ninety-degree angle. He typed in his phone again.
“Hurts after awhile.” The robotic voice spoke out.
Karnak nodded slowly, clearly deep in thought. “Alright kid.” He said, and positioned his hands back over the piano. He counted them off and they started singing again.
They ran through the song a couple more times, trying different things. Eventually practice was over, and Mischa was surprised to find himself a little disappointed.
As he picked up his bag, Noel ran up to him, a bright smile on his face. “Mischa!” He exclaimed as he picked up his own stuff with some struggle.
Mischa helped him, and finally asked the question he had had for months. “Why not use bag?”
Noel flushed a bit and glanced to the side. “Ah, It’s not safe if I can’t see it.” He admitted.
Before Mischa could ask what he meant, Noel brightened up again. “That was great! Your voice is amazing.” He praised.
Mischa smiled a little. “Thanks.”
Maybe choir wouldn’t be so bad, if Noel kept looking at him like that.