Will You Remember Then?

"Ajie! "

"Andrew! "

"What a small world! You're also studying here? " Andrew asked, wide -eyed.

"Yes, just started. I was in Cebu branch for two years. "

"Jjie, can we invite you to the student council's office, please? " Andrew begged, as if Ajie didn't know about his stubborness in keeping grudge.

"Sure. "

"By the way, I'd like you to meet Cherry, my girlfriend. " He said as he placed an arm around her shoulder.

Ajie extended his hand towards her with a polite smile.

"Ajie, short for Adrian James."

"Nice to meet you, Adrian. "

Soon after that, they gathered in a long table inside the office. Without delay, Andrew explained to him the objectives and the projects of the student council under the leadership of Cherry, including their dire need of a male lead vocalist.

"Adrian, would you be willing to

help? " Cherry gave him a tender look that stirred up Andrew's insecurities.

Ajie turned to Andrew. "I'm no match to your talent, Andrew. You play like a pro and it's such a shame for an awkward amateur like me to be mingled with your dexterity. "

Andrew smiled, his self - esteem boosted.

"Constant practice makes it perfect, Jie. So just try. We will tell you right away if you would not fit. "

Cherry fidgetted, it was rather boastful of him. Yes, they played like a pro and Andrew's talent was exceptional but he shouldn't be lifting his own chair.

Having understood her uneasiness, he glanced up and smiled. He was already used to Andrews superiority complex and he also understood that it was only a defense mechanism to hide his many insecurities.

"Okay, I'll try! "

The truth was that Ajie had been trained to sing since he was five years old. Leo recognized his talent in singing even as a child so he inquired for anyone in the town who could train him up. It so happened that there was a music teacher who retired from the hustle and bustle of a city life and went home to their town. He opened up a music school and offered lessons such as voice, piano, guitar, violin and flute.

Ajie and Andrew were one of the students. Ajie took up voice lessons until he was in high school while Andrew was trained in piano. There were many times that a talent scout went to their school to hire Ajie but Leo refused. He rather wanted him to finish his studies first before he could join into the music world.

"Can I hear you now? " Cherry suggested.

"Sure. "

Cherry then turned on the music player inside the office and handed the microphone to Ajie. The latter stood up with a great air of confidence and prepared himself. As soon as Ajie sang the first stanza, Cherry felt her spine crept up with goosebumps rising to her nape. He sang just so beautifully, his voice was full and deep even in high notes.

Andrew saw Cherry's expression and he was not happy about it. When Ajie finally put down the microphone, Andrew spoke his mind right away.

"You can do it with more practice, Jie. Just keep on trying. "

Cherry was horrified! How could he say that? She was also music - minded like him who could tell the minutest flaw of a singer. And for her, Ajie even sang better than Jeff, their lead vocalist. On top of that, Ajie would surely be an apple of the audience eye. The word 'handsome' was just too simple a word to define the truest sense of his physical attributes.

To Cherry's surprise, Ajie just smiled and agreed. There must be something in the mind of Andrew! All of a sudden, she felt she did not know him after all.

She then tried to catch Ajie's attention and smiled at him apologetically.

"Not bad, Adrian. Tonight, we will have a rehearsal. " She then dismissed him with a thumb up.

The next day, the Glitter's Band gathered and positioned themselves inside the music room before the hotel's administration council arrived. They were specially requested by Miss Perez to come because she submitted to them a proposal to ask for a slash of their charity fund for this student council's project. She understood the importance of an in - house review where the students were requested to stay in a dormitory so that they could give a full focus on their studies for the board exam. The cost would be high because they would be paying for their stay as well as their food for the whole term. Usually, the term for the review would last for six to eight weeks.

Few minutes after they had prepared everything, Andrew opened up their presentation with a piano rendition titled, "Fur Elise". This piece was written by Ludwig van Beethoven for a lady named Therese, nicknamed as Elise in 1810.

Therese Malfatti was a pupil of Beethoven's. He fell in love with her and decided to propose a marriage to her. His plans, however came to naught, probably because of an extremely embarrassing incident. This piece was not published until 1865, long after Beethoven's death.

This was such a beautiful piece that all pianist wanted to master it including Andrew. And right before the scrutiny of the council's senses who were reluctant to release the budget, the beauty of this music pierced into the deep recesses of their hearts, bringing each of them back to their memories of how they first fell in love.

Andrew's music instrumental was then followed by a duet of Cherry and Ajie. They chose a hit love song from the 90's titled "Endless Love" by Diana Ross and Lionel B. Riche. Ajie's resonant and full voice combined by Cherry's angelic voice was so spellbounding that the audience was gripped inside their core and dragged forward into the ninth cloud!

Everyone around stood up and applauded them. Their congratulations seemed endless and the budget that Miss Perez proposed was right away granted! Not only that, Andrew got a one year contract as a solo piano performer while Ajie and Cherry were hired for special occasions.

"Miss Perez, you never told us about how well your daughter can sing. Not only that, she and Adrian look good together. '

"Adrian, you deserved to be a professional artist, not only because of your talent but also because of your good looks. You and Cherry is really a good pair. "

"Mr. Andrew, I can foresee that you will become a renowned pianist in the future. "

However, their compliments about him did not make him happy because unlike Ajie, they did not link their prediction of his success with Cherry.