A Little Night Music

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 2, Post Number 46

-The outskirts of Hargeon Town, early evening-

Blurring into existence on the edge of Hargeon Town, Diana had used her teleport spell to get here from Capital Crocus in a matter of seconds as opposed to the hours it would take to walk here from home. Wearing her casual outfit of purple long-sleeved t-shirt, black skirt with pockets, black thigh-high stockings, and black tennis shoes, Diana looked around her and saw that no one was around except for her. That was good because she wanted to keep her teleport ability a secret for as long as possible so that her enemies could not set up an ambush at a teleport point like seeding the area with landmines or hiding teams of gunmen.

Now that she was part of the physical world again, Diana remembered her mission. She had been hired by a local man named Nathan Jones to watch over his younger sister Natalie, who was a guitarist of great enthusiasm but low skill. After numerous noise complaints from the neighbors Natalie decided to take her practice sessions to the docks so that she would not be complained about nearly as much. It was Diana's job to watch over Natalie and make sure that no harm came to her while she practiced.

Diana pulled the job notice from her right pocket and read the directions to the Jones residence, which was in the decent part of town. The huntress clutched the job notice in her right hand and walked towards the port town to find the Jones residence and meet up with Natalie.

-Twenty-five minutes later, outside the Jones residence-

It took a bit of walking and at least one stop to ask for directions, but Diana had finally located the house on 1314 West Lane and rang the doorbell. Within a minute the door opened and a young man in his twenties with black hair wearing a blue Power Overwhelming band t-shirt, blue jeans, and sandals opened the door.

"Oh, hi there! I'm Nathan Jones! You must be the mage who answered my job notice!" He greeted her. Diana nodded and presented the job notice. Just then she heard the sound of an out-of-tune electric guitar being played rather badly drifting down the hall. The playing was a screeching noise like a group of bats had flown by. An amplifier was adjusted and moments later the noise went from bad to worse as it now sounded like someone dragging nails down a chalkboard.

"So you're the one who's going to take my younger sister to the docks and make sure that she's safe while she practices. If you wait here I'll get her so that you can get to the docks before it gets too late." Nathan told her while giving a pained smile as the "nails on chalkboard" sound continued to torment him. Diana nodded and the youth turned around to let his younger sister know that her chaperone had arrived. The awful guitar playing reached a new intensity as it got faster until it reached a level of awful that was hard to describe. After about two minutes and a lot of shouting the guitar finally stopped and Nathan walked back down the hall with a young woman carrying a guitar across her body on a sling and a carrying case for what was presumed to be the amplifier and its cords.

"Hi there! I'm Natalie Jones!" The young woman introduced herself. She was wearing what looked like a school uniform consisting of a blue jacket, blue skirt, and brown shoes with black pantyhose.

"Hello, Natalie. Are you ready to go to the docks and practice?" Diana asked the youth. She nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah, lady! Let's go!" She said, handing Diana the bulky case and striding past her brother. Diana quickly moved out of the way because the young woman was not going to slow down for anything.

"Be back in awhile, Nathan!" Natalie said. Nathan gave a slight smile as his sister left the house.

"Be careful, Natalie!" Nathan called back. Diana hurried to join Natalie, who was walking briskly for the dock without regard for the fact that she had left her chaperone behind. The huntress had to hustle to join the amateur guitarist before she got too far away to easily find.

-At the docks, twenty minutes later-

Diana and Natalie reached the docks just as the sun began to set. Natalie walked through the lower docks and eventually stopped in the middle: the area was empty except for the two of them. Diana stopped about two feet away and waited for instructions.

"Hey lady! Get my amplifier out 'cause I'm about to rock!" Natalie commanded. Diana wordlessly complied and set the case on the ground, then carefully opened it and brought the amplifier out for the guitarist. Diana carefully got the cords out and Natalie took over from there. She plugged in the guitar and turned on the amplifier, carefully adjusting it so that it did not sound like nails on chalkboard. Diana walked about five feet away from the amplifier and saw Natalie tune the guitar.

"YEAH! IT'S TIME TO ROCK, HARGEON TOWN!" Natalie shouted to no one in particular. Diana witnessed the young woman pull a blue guitar pick out of her right pocket and take a deep breath. Then the playing started and it was best described as "mediocre." It was a discordant, out-of-tune mess that sounded like either an awful imitation of metal music or a horror movie piece that played whenever the serial killer was murdering someone. Diana was not sure what she was hearing, but after hearing it she now knew that the noise complaints from her neighbors were completely justified.

Diana was also not sure as to whether Natalie had any real musical training like guitar lessons or was self-taught from how-to videos on the Lacrimanet. In any case she would give Natalie the benefit of the doubt because even though the "music" was awful Natalie was giving it her best effort. Diana's situation was also helped by the fact she was being paid to watch over the guitarist while she practiced, so the blonde was willing to endure the awful music for awhile if it meant getting a decent paycheck. The wailing of the guitar continued as Diana watched over Natalie and the sun continued to sink below the horizon and the ocean flowed gently beneath the lower docks.

Natalie Jones:

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[Total Word Count: 1,074/2,500]

-The lower docks, one hour and thirty minutes later-

After an hour and a half of playing a screeching guitar with no end in sight, Natalie finally stopped and let her guitar dangle from the sling while she took a break. Diana remained where she was and tried to get over the nonstop attack on her ears that had been going on for the past hour and a half while keeping a straight face. This job was tougher than she had imagined, but Diana had been through a lot worse in her time. Compared to dealing with a vampiric labor dispute in Haunted Castle or performing two search and rescue mission in one day when she had went to both Fat Monsterland and Forgotten Deserts, listening to an out-of-tune electric guitar was practically a vacation.

"How are you doing, lady? Are ya still with me?" Natalie asked Diana. Diana gave a small smile and wordlessly flashed a thumbs-up. While the brunette's playing was atrocious, the blonde mage did not want to crush Natalie's spirits by saying that out loud. Diana recalled how her mother Elizabeth had trashed her piano playing by comparing her to Melody every time Diana made a mistake, which was often because the youngest Winchester sister did not have nearly as much time to practice piano as Melody or Lucia did. Suddenly the pair heard stomping above them.

"FOR THE LOVE OF THE WIZARD SAINTS, THROW THAT GUITAR IN THE OCEAN!" the voice of a young male voice shouted from the upper docks. Natalie's face sank when she heard the criticism of her playing and what she could do with her guitar. Diana kept a neutral face but felt somewhat sorry for the young brunette standing a short distance away from her. While the brunette's choice of place to practice was not the best, it did not give people a blank check to hurl verbal abuse at the amateur musician.

"AND THROW THAT DAMN AMPLIFIER IN AFTER IT!" An older man added before laughter sounded from above. Natalie looked down at the dock with a sad face. For a moment she took the guitar off of her body and looked towards the ocean... it looked like she was seriously considering following their "advice" and disposing of her instrument and amplifier. Diana remained silent and watched Natalie as she took the guitar by the neck with both hands, unplugged it from the amplifier, and made ready to hurl it into the ocean before stopping herself and pulling it back in and holding it close to her body.

"I've had enough practice for one night, lady. Let's go home." Natalie said in a defeated voice. Diana nodded and wordlessly turned off the amplifier, then packed it and the cord up in its carrying case and snapped the case shut. The huntress hefted the case and followed the defeated Natalie as the latter glumly walked home while fighting off tears. Diana followed on Natalie's right and felt bad for the young woman who had dared to practice guitar in public.

-At the Jones residence, twenty minutes later-

"Hi Nathan. I'm home." Natalie said glumly, keeping her guitar close to her body as she walked through the hall. Diana followed wordlessly behind while holding the amplifier's case. Nathan poked his head out of a doorway down the hallway and to the right of a closed door that had a blue Power Overwhelming band poster on it.

"Already?" Nathan asked. Diana made eye contact with him. Nathan looked towards his sister and saw her expression, then turned back to Diana as Natalie opened the door across from him and walked inside, shutting the door. Diana faced Nathan and looked at him as if silently asking him what to do.

"It didn't go well, did it?" Nathan asked Diana. The blonde shook her head. He looked momentarily upset.

"I figured. The neighbors weren't too happy about her taking up guitar a month ago. I tried to convince her to take up the piano or the clarinet, but she wanted to play the guitar like I did, so I let her use my old guitar and amplifier." Nathan said. That explained where Natalie had gotten them from. Diana remained silent as Nathan looked at the floor and then looked back at her.

"Is there anywhere in Hargeon Town that Natalie can get guitar lessons?" Diana asked Nathan. Nathan nodded.

"I've been looking into getting her lessons, but money's been kinda tight ever since our parents died five years ago. She's been looking at Lacrimanet videos on how to play the guitar, but it's just not enough. She needs someone to actually teach her how to play, but I'm working two jobs to help make ends meet, so I can't spare much time to teach her properly." Nathan informed Diana. The blonde had never learned to play guitar, so she could not be an instructor. She also did not know any instructors, so she could not make any recommendations to the young man.

"I wish I could help, but I do not know anyone to recommend and I cannot play guitar myself, so I cannot teach Natalie. I only know how to play the piano." Diana said to Nathan. He took a breath and nodded.

"Even though it didn't work out, I appreciate you looking after Natalie while she practiced at the docks." Nathan thanked Diana for her effort. He looked towards the amplifier and motioned for her to hand him the case.

"I'll take that from you so that you don't have to stand around holding it while we talk." Nathan offered. Diana wordlessly walked over to him and handed the case to him. He took it in his right hand and turned, setting it down in his room behind the door. He turned back to the waiting huntress.

"Well, I wish the practice session had worked out better, but it is what it is. Playing a guitar with any skill takes a lot of work." Nathan said to Diana. Diana nodded. She knew exactly what he was talking about. It took a lot of practice sessions with Lucia for Diana to become any good at the piano and she was nowhere near as good as Lucia or Melody. Even with Lucia's help Diana did not know very many piano pieces... only Mozart's Rondo Alla Turca, Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata and Fur Elise, Debussy's Claire De Lune, Satie's Gymnopedie No. 1, Chopin's Nocturne Op.9 No. 2, and a few other popular piano pieces.

Not everyone was cut out to be a musician. Diana wished that she could help Natalie reach her goal, but this might be a case where she just could not help someone.

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[Total Word Count: 2,194/2,500]

-Capital Crocus, late night-

Diana had been paid by Nathan Jones for her work and had teleported back to Capital Crocus to pay a visit to Capital Coffee. It was fast becoming a place of comfort for the huntress. Despite the fact that becoming a creature of habit could get her hurt or killed along with a lot of innocent people if any of her enemies attacked the place, Diana fell comfortable there. When she entered its doors she was not Diana the contract killer or Diana the lost soul. She was just another young blonde twentysomething sipping coffee and looking out the window that looked onto the mall entrance.

Diana walked down the somewhat populated street that led to Capital Coffee and made her way to the glass doors of the coffee shop that seemed to glow as if welcoming her. It was just the glass reflecting the light that came from within the shop, but it was still a comforting sight. Diana was going to get an espresso and drink it while watching people go to Capital Crocus Mall. There she would spend about an hour before heading home to sleep and browse the job boards the next morning.

-Inside Capital Coffee-

Diana had ordered an espresso and was sitting in her usual pod chair listening to smooth jazz, a genre of music that she found to be tolerable. Classical music was much more to her liking, but she knew that not everyone was a fan of classical music. Diana listened to the sound of a saxophone being played slowly while she sipped on her coffee and thought about Natalie.

Diana wished that she could have been of greater help to Nathan and Natalie, but since she did not know how to play guitar and did not know an affordable instructor there was not very much that the blonde could do for them. Nathan had expressly told her that he had unsuccessfully tried to get Natalie to take up the piano but his younger sister was adamant about learning to play the guitar. While learning to play a musical instrument was not an issue of life or death, Diana still felt bad for Natalie after the latter had been heckled by those two insensitive men at the docks in Hargeon Town.

There was nothing she could do now but hope that Natalie could get help from someone else. Diana sat in silence and sipped her espresso while the overhead music changed from smooth jazz to an upbeat pop piece with a synthesizer and high-pitched female vocals. It sounded somewhat familiar, but since Diana did not keep up with pop music or pop music culture, she had no idea who the artist was. Maybe the announcer for the radio station would chime in with the artist's name sooner or later so that Diana could find out whose song was playing.

Diana sat and watched people go into and leave the mall as the pop song played and the female vocalist sang a song about how life moved faster than a sports car while the synthesizer played at a fast tempo and the sound of a car revving its engine briefly played before the vocalist resumed rattling off another round of rapid-fire lyrics. As soon as this cup of coffee was finished she would go home and sleep, then look for more work in the morning. Tomorrow was another day and another chance to earn money.

[Post Word Count: 576]
[Total Word Count: 2,770/2,500]