Presents (Part 4)

“Dammit…” I muttered to myself, rubbing my eyes with the back of my hand. “This is too much.”

“It wasn’t that expensive, actually,” Mila said. “But we knew we wanted to give you a new guitar, so we bought it together. We did have to ask Isabelle for what model you’d like.”

I looked at my sister. “And… you remembered that I like these?”

“You were looking these up in every store up until last year,” Isabelle said. “I was worried you wouldn’t want one of these anymore, but it seems we hit jackpot.”

“Try it out,” Sarah said. “If you don’t like it, we can still return it and get something else.”

I chuckled. “I’d rather not.”

I picked up the guitar, sat down on the couch with it on my lap and played a few random chords. I tuned it up a bit, and once it was ready, I played a hard solo for a song I’d just recently learned.

Honestly, while it sounded different to me, it probably didn’t to everyone else. The sound difference was subtle, especially so unplugged. Still, having this one in my hands just felt different. The weight, the fingerboard, the strings… I’d have to grow used to the new sensations, but it already felt better to play.

“And then there’s this one,” Noelle said, patting the other present. “You can probably tell what it is, though.”

I nodded. It was more than likely the amp that usually comes bundled with guitars. Yet regardless of it being bundled, it was also better than the one I had already. That old thing was starting to have crackling problems with the cable input.

“I… don’t have the words,” I said, unable to stop smiling. “Thank you so much. This means the world to me.”

“Maybe mom and I should’ve gone first,” Isabelle said, laughing. “Now ours will look worse in comparison.”

“No, of course not!” I said that, but… Yeah, it’d be hard to surpass this. Not that they had to. However… Isabelle’s present had a very similar shape to the box the guitar came in.

I set that one aside and began to unwrap the other long present. My first guess was that Isabelle had gotten me a guitar case to go with the new instrument, since it was now obvious she had coordinated with the girls. I was wrong, though.

My jaw dropped when I finally saw what was inside. It was a budget and relatively cheap brand, close to what Isabelle would be able to afford on her own, but nevertheless, my sister had gotten me a bass.

Its body was of a deep crimson color and its fingerboard black. I looked at Isabelle in disbelief. She blushed and fidgeted, yet also frowned at me.

“You said you were thinking of playing the bass, too, remember?”

But I said that in passing! I wasn’t planning on buying one, much less expecting her to…!

I went up to her and gave her a hug, laughing, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around twice.

“H-Hey…! What are you…?”

“I can believe this,” I said. “Was THIS what you were saving for?”

“W-Well… Yeah. Knowing you, you’ll stick with it, so it’s not a waste of money.”

“It won’t be, I promise. Thank you, sis.”

Isabelle smiled. “Okay, now open mom’s present.”

Mom chuckled. “Like with you, this one was Isabelle’s idea. I had it pretty easy this year, now that I think about it.”

Isabelle’s idea?

W-Wait. The guitar, the amp, the bass, that last present being a smaller box than any of the others… It couldn’t be. It was too much already, but I was right. Mom had gotten me an audio interface.

“Whyyy?” I asked, shoulders drooping. “It’s too much!”

An audio interface was used to record sound directly from an electric instrument to your computer so you could later edit and mix it with the software of your choice. I had considered buying one myself, but it was too expensive for the use I’d get out of it. I wasn’t planning on uploading anything online, after all, so I didn’t have much use for it.

“Your sister put it well,” mom said, shrugging. “You’ll put it to good use. You’ve been playing that old guitar from the day you got it. It’s plain to see that you’re serious about it, so I think it’s good that you start thinking about taking the next step, especially if you’re serious about studying music in university.”

“But… It’s expensive…” I said.

“Oliver… We’re not as poor as you think we are.” Mom chuckled. “I taught you to be frugal and told you to spend your money carefully, yes, but you take it to the **** at times. If it’s for special occasions like these, we can afford it. That said, don’t expect any other presents until your birthday. Maybe not even then.”

I… think that last one was a joke. Well, it didn’t matter if it wasn’t. This was huge to me. I didn’t need anything else. Sure, I like to play my video games and all, but I’ve always said that if I had to choose, I’d always pick music over games.

“Thank you, mom. Really. I’ll… try even harder from now on.”

“You’re doing a pretty good job already. You deserve it,” she told me. “Now, let’s clean up here and I’ll let you kids to your business.”

We started putting away all the presents, moving the boxes, throwing away the torn paper and storing the ones in good condition. I carried my new equipment to my room and stopped to look it over one more time.

It was still hard to believe. I started playing guitar on a whim, but before I knew it I’d gotten serious about it. I had a fair amount of skill, and the prospect of learning a new instrument was even more exciting than when I got that first guitar. The next day I would build Isabelle’s PC and shut myself in my room to play the bass. Oh, but I also wanted to play the new guitar…

I went back down to the living room, where the girls seemed to be waiting for me in eerie silence. It… worried me.

“Um… did something happen?” I asked.

“Oliver,” Grace started. “The truth is that… The presents you received come with a big stipulation.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“February 13 of next year,” Alice said. “That’s the official date for our school’s reborn talent show.”

“And we want you to participate,” Mila said.

Oh.

That… really was a big stipulation.

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