The Humor of Dr. Langley

The classroom, though built such that a pencil falling to the floor sounded as loud as a slamming door, was silent as tired and nervous students sat, waiting for Dr. Langley to appear. There were lots of rumors spread by upperclassmen and it was up to everyone in the class to determine which were true and which were not. Severin looked around, studying the people around him with the same fun that Moira had as they had walked to school. Nathan had gone back to reading his book and it was very quiet inside so Severin tried to memorize the people and try and guess their instrument. Near the door was an obvious couple- a tan skinned boy and a girl with long black hair were holding hands, looking around with poker faces, trying not to make eye contact with anyone else. Severin thought that they looked like percussionists or maybe violists.

Just then a big group of boys came in, breaking the silence with their chatter. They took seats in the middle of the room and this alone seemed to break the tense air. Suddenly the room erupted with the noise of people talking to each other which lasted for about a minute until finally a tall man with combed blond hair and dark eyes strolled in. Immediately the class hushed to nothing, causing Dr. Langley to stop abruptly and look at them quizzically.

"Why did y'all stop talking?" he asked. "It's because I'm wearing the green shirt, isn't it!" A rather awkward moment passed as people weren't sure whether to laugh or stay quiet. Severin was about to be the first one to talk but Dr. Langley did that for him. "Well, Say something!!! Good morning everyone!!"

"Morning..." the class chimed in, mumbled and unclear. Some giggled while others were still petrified.

"That'll do I guess," Dr. Langley said as he began writing on the board. "For those that haven't met me before, I'm Dr. Adam Langley. My degrees are in Music Theory and Hitting Things With Sticks. You should be in Theory 3 right now. If you're supposed to be in conducting, it's in the band room down the hall. If you're supposed to be in Theory 1 you should go upstairs and tell Dr. Kye a cheery hello from me. If you're supposed to be in Music History wellllll then I'm obviously the wrong guy. I'm not nearly as tall. He's up where I'll be in two hours so you better get crackin' so you don't miss something important."

He then stopped and stared at the class, poised as if he was going to say something else, but just hung there in odd silence. After a good minute he suddenly clapped his hands, causing some people to jump, before going on, "Well, I guess everyone's in the right class then. You know who I am now, but who are you? When I point to you I want you to say 'Hello Dr. Langley' (he said this in a strange, falsetto voice) and then tell me your major and instrument when I ask you. Got it? Good! Let's do this!"

With that, he put on some half moon specs and grabbed the role sheet. He swirled his hand in the air, making a buzzing sound, before stopping at the girl Severin had suspected was a string player in the corner holding the hand of her boyfriend with a "Ding!" from Dr. Langley.

"Do I have to stand up?" she asked.

"Nawwwwwww just say your name clearly enough so I can find it on the role. Also your instrument if you please. You can say major if you really want to but it changes a lot so you don't have to anymore. I changed my mind."

"Ok cool. I'm Trey Dale and I play Bassoon."

"Trey Dale... You possibly related to Vikk?"

"Yeah she's my sister. So is Quinn."

"Cool, cool," he said as he marked his role. He then pointed to her boyfriend.

"Yeah I'm Benjamin Torrell. I play the best instrument on Earth-"
"Tahaha oh please!!" Trey interrupted him.

"No seriously, chill guys I play oboe. It'll be ok!"

"I like your style, young man!" Dr. Langley said cheerfully. "Ding!"

Dr. Langley continued across the room, pointing to random people each time. Finally he arrived near where Severin and Nathan sat, both smiling with amusement at how eccentric Dr. Langley was.

He then pointed at a boy in the front row who was in a wheelchair. He had a hat on, covering his eyes, and brown hair peeked out from around it.

"Oh, I dunno Dr. Langley, who am I?" he said laughing.

"Yes hello Erik," Dr. Langley said calmly and quietly, "You've finally become old enough for my class. I hope you like it." With a wink, he looked up at Erik and in perfect unison they began singing out the beats to an etude that Severin was actually familiar with from his days as a percussionist. The class laughed and he moved on, this time pointing at Nathan.

"I'm Nathan Surcaston," he said quietly, "and I play Horn."

"Hello Nathan! It's so nice to have you here. Don't forget to stop by and say hello after your lesson," he said smiling. Nathan smiled back, a twinkle in his eyes.

Finally Dr. Langley pointed at Severin. As soon as he spoke the whole class turned to look at him because of his thick accent. "My name is Severin Lochgren. I play flute and percussion."

Dr. Langley smiled at him and Severin's began to sink into his desk as he felt everyone's eyes on him. "Ah! Our lovely visitor from across the sea! It's so nice to have you here at our school and I look forward to seeing you in my ensemble!" Severin smiled and nodded, happy that the professors had all so far heard of him.

Dr. Langley continued on until he had reached the last two people. They too were a couple and were sitting closely together. The girl was tall and thin and had no hair. Her head looked like it had been shaved and she wore a headband with a flower on it. She had on a lime shirt and a crimson shirt and appeared to be an art major.

"I'm Willow Gray," she said, "and I play flute."

So I'll be in her section, thought Severin. He was excited, for he thought she would get along well with Moira.

"Ah, welcome back, Willow! I'm so glad you're still wearing the same bright clothing as always. It always brightens my day!"

"Yes, especially for you!" Willow said jokingly.

With one person to go, Dr. Langley studied the role for a minute. Finally, he spoke. "I have no idea how to pronounce your name so surprise me."

Willow's husband, as he turned out to be, had long black hair in a ponytail and a ring in his ear of gold, signifying that he, along with Willow, was from Isle del Akai. "Haha, do you want me to give you multiple choice?" he asked.

"Nah, tell me at once. It'll be a bigger surprise."

"Kay. My name is pronounced... FeeeeeeeeeRENzaahhhhhh." He said this very slowly while those that knew him laughed.

"Dang, I would have been close to right! Dang that Catin E on the end throwing me for a loop! I was gonna say FEE-run-zay. Better luck next time, right?"

"It's all right, only Catins really get that right the first time. It looks weird."

"Right on, I think that's everybody," said Dr. Langley, concluding the roll. "Hopefully I'll know everyone's name now, though," he said turning to the guy in the wheelchair, "I may forget your name."

He did a rimshot impression and then walked to the board. "All right everyone, flip open those pristine books that you got last year and that you've treasured always. We're going to do a little review today. Not a whole lot of lecture, just this little test-quiz-paper to see what we remember so I know if I can skip something. Feel free to talk to people around you as well. It's not like cheating will help you so go for it!"

With that, Severin and Nathan got to work together and began to talk in Keòen about the work in front of them and things about their lives and what they liked to do. They also talked about places they'd been and things they wanted to do. At the early conclusion of class both were confident that a great friendship had been formed. They made their way upstairs to wait for Moira to get out of class and easily found a seat now that the halls were empty of nearly everyone.

The Ice Queen

The next morning was upon them and Moira and Severin got ready as usual. They wondered what kind of night everyone in the dorms had and were both secretly grateful to have avoided that part. While Moira was very social she knew enough from Severin's college experience that dorms were not fun in the slightest. Severin was less social, having inherited much of his mother's qualities, and was deeply grateful to have avoided the lonely, awkward experience a second time. Plus, he was worried that something might happen and that he would have a lot of explaining to do which he always sought to avoid. As he pulled on his shirt he couldn't help but wonder what Aslan would think when he inevitably found out...

"Are you ready?" asked Moira as she peeked around the corner, breaking his train of thoughts.

"Yeah let me find my cloak pin and I'll be ready to go." he replied, furrowing his brow as he tried to dispel his thoughts from coming back and focus instead on the upcoming events.

They were to go straight to the Student Center that morning for a breakfast and to receive their ID cards and other useful information. Their house was fairly close to the SC and they arrived almost before anyone else and upon entering the ballroom grabbed name badges from the center of their round table, writing their names on them. Since there were hardly any other people there besides a handful of parents and people who opted out of staying in the dorms Moira decided to make intricate doodles on her nametag to make it prettier before she peeled the backing away and stuck it to her shirt. Severin smiled at her creativity and decided to impose his calligraphy skills on his own nametag, making it look as if it were written by an ink quill and lifted from an old book. By the time he finished more students were beginning to pour into the room and luckily Aslan was ahead of the crowd and easily spotted.

"Hi! I was hoping you two would be here early," he said as he quickly trotted over to them and had a seat. He was wearing a blue sweatshirt which, Moira noticed, only increased the intensity of his large, round blue eyes. She blushed as he sat next to her and the three of them began talking in Keoen, discussing their evenings and reflecting on the day prior.

Finally the place was full of the young college students and the droning buzz was so loud that the three of them had to practically shout. They had since been joined by Aurora Fraley, the girl with the older sister that knew Seylah, and Carey N., the boy with the limping dad they had seen while in line to register. They were chatting among themselves when Aurora noticed a tall, thin boy with straight brown hair parted down the middle enter, craning his neck as if looking for someone. She got up and ran over to him and they disappeared into the crowd, not to be seen again until much later. Now that Carey had lost the girl he was talking to, he turned to Moira, Severin, and Aslan and engaged them in conversation. They were interrupted when Josh and Seylah joined their table, happy to talk to some music folk.

Once everyone was seated an array of breakfast food was rolled in on metal carts and each table was excused to get a bite to eat. Severin slinked his way through the crowd and quietly got his food, hardly looking anywhere but the floor. Moira was close behind him, surveying the tables of food as if examining their neatness and presentation, before catching Severin's eye and putting some fruit and bread on her plate. They quickly returned to the table and before long all of them were in conversation again. After a time, the conversation turned to faculty and students.

"So what are the professors like?" asked Carey.

"Hmmmm... That depends entirely on who the teacher is!" replied Josh cheerfully, his flaming red hair so bright it looked like it could outshine the room. "Who would you like to know about?"

"I want to know who teaches the first year classes. I mean, I know several already but I want to know from a student and not from my dad."

"Wait a minute Carey... Who is your dad?" interjected Seylah.

"Oh! My dad is Dr. Nihael. He subs for Sorela occasionally and works in the KSB Office as the auditions manager. He's the 2nd obby- ...I mean, oboe. Did I say Obby out loud? Sheesh, I need more sleep!"

"Holy crap are you for reals?!" said Josh, almost coughing on his orange juice. "I love that guy! He subbed for our history class when Dr. Sorela was out. You're his son! I can't believe it! That's so awesome!!"

Carey smiled modestly and nodded proudly. "He is indeed. I'm sort of following in his footsteps so I might see you in a quintet or something"

"That's so awesome!" Josh replied. Leaning in, whether for dramatic effect or as an effort to keep his voice from carrying Moira was unsure, he went on.

"Ok, now here's the scoop on the teachers. Theory 1 is being taught by Kye and Kribana again. Both are excellent so it really doesn't matter who you take it from. They're also both doing ear training again. It's kind of their specialty. I think Dr. Tao is also teaching ear training and I heard somewhere that our new violin teacher will be doing theory also. The intro to music class is being taught, as it has for billions of years, by Dr. Langley. He's way nice. And Severin since you're a sophomore I assume you've taken all those?"

"Yes I have indeed. I'll be going into the 2nd year stuff."

"Ok you have two options for theory. You could take it from Langley or Lay, and both are amazing since they're keyboardists. Ear training you have Tao or Hieldin Sorela. They actually got her to teach that class finally!"

Severin's eyebrows raised as he heard a very Keoen name. "Hieldin Sorela?"

"Oh yeah, she's Dr. Sorela's wife! When she teaches she goes by both of her last names to avoid confusion. She has taught part time here for years as a choir teacher and accompanist and after we lost Burke from retirement she agreed to fill his place. Hopefully she does a better job. Heh..."

At this news Severin became very interested and wondered what sort of a person she was. He'd heard things about her obviously since Dr. Sorela was so famous in Jadali and knew that they visited every summer, but didn't make the connection that she would also be a teacher here. At that moment he felt like he'd won the lottery- a school with TWO Keòen-speaking music teachers from Jadali, a new friend fluent in Keòen, and a lovely small house that would soon be getting another housemate.

"I'll have to consider that! ...When do I get to take classes from Dr. Sorela?"

"Ah! He teaches the first two music history classes. You can start them as soon as this coming spring if you'd like. I'm sure you're dying to meet him!"

"Yes I kind of am, actually. I'm very excited!"

The conversation turned once more and soon someone stepped on the stage that almost everyone had overlooked and began to speak into a microphone. Seylah and Josh left to go up front with all the other OL's and the chatter began to die down. After a long and pretty boring speech they were excused by majors to receive their ID cards and then to go to the computer lab downstairs and register for classes. As the music majors were excused Moira and Severin looked around to see who else was around. She immediately noticed Rachael by her bright red hair talking to Aurora and a couple other people. On her way out from getting her picture taken she looked back and noticed a short and filled out girl with snowy white hair and very pale, fair skin- her pale blue eyes hidden behind a dark frame. She had on bright red lipstick and was chatting eagerly with a shy-looking Catin boy who was apparently having trouble with the language. She overheard her say the word "flute" and as she and Severin left the room she waited for her.

"Hi! I overheard you talking about the flute!" said Moira, cheerfully. The snowy girl stopped and looked at her, smiling. Up close, Moira could tell that she couldn't see very well because her lenses were very thick and her eyes were all over the place.

"Why yes! I do play flute! Do you as well?" she replied, stepping closer to get a better look at Moira.

"I do! I have good ears and just picked that right out. What's your name?" Moira asked, as they began walking side by side towards the stairs.

"My name is Fiara May. I'm from here and have been playing flute for as long as I can remember. Would you mind helping me down these stairs? I'm as blind as a bat!"

"Certainly," said Moira, holding her arm as they slowly walked down, noticing that Fiara was wearing ice-blue jeweled earrings and had her hair braided back nicely, the same way her own mother did her hair on occasion...

"You have an accent from far away," said Fiara lightly, "are you from Jadali?"

"I am indeed! How did you know?"

"Oh I've heard some people on the tv and they had that accent so I asked my mum," she replied with an air of mystery in her voice. "Is it true that you have two colored eyes?"

"Yes indeed it is, look!" Moira stopped and held her eyes close to Fiara's so that she could see them.

"I see it! That's excellent!"

They continued on, Severin ahead talking to Aslan, when Fiara suddenly continued.

"I hear people speaking in Keòen. Are there more of you?"

"Oh yes, my brother is here too. He also plays flute and also percussion. His name is Severin. My name is Moira, by the way. We managed to find someone here that also speaks Keòen although he's not from Jadali. We're hoping he moves in with us."

"Amazing! I love people from afar! I look forward to playing music with all of you."

They were almost to the computer lab when Fiara suddenly spoke again, as if she felt her looks needed explaining.

"My friends call me the Ice Queen," she said with a mysterious grin. "I'm half Catin but have no pigment in my skin so nobody would know. It's like all the color melted out of me. I'm clear, like an icicle in a mystical ice cave."

"Oh! That's very nice," said Moira, surprised. She was delighted by this young girl and could hardly contain the excitement she had for being in a section with her.

They chatted the whole time they were in the computer lab, stopping only to listen for instructions. Fiara needed some help reading the small print but was able to register all right for class. They made sure they took a class together and ended up taking everything together. As they were leaving, Moira saw the Catin boy again and turned to Fiara.

"Who is that Catin boy you were talking to earlier?"

"Oh he is an international student from Catarika. He's Dr. Kribana's nephew. His Kevian is decent but he doesn't have a full grasp on it yet. I was speaking to him in Catin helping him learn some terms. I'm sure he'll be speaking all right when school starts. His name is Ravosilu Kribana and I hear he's a quite gifted horn player."

With that they exchanged contact information and parted ways, as the orientation session had come to a close. Moira and Severin stayed behind with Aslan, preparing to call Mr. Charles and sign Aslan onto the rent. They were beyond excited for school and to room with someone so similar to them. As they headed for the parking lot they shared their thoughts and speculations for the year as the shapes of Aslan's brother and sister in law came into view.

Through the Eyes of Lleyton Charles

A lot of people have asked me how I got to where I am today. I mean, if you would have asked me 5 years ago what I'd be doing right now, my answer would be very different. Here's a little explanation of how I became a percussionist.

It all started back in high school. No, before that. I was finally old enough to pick an instrument and play it! I have always loved music and now that my brother was old enough and triumphed all odds to be in band I wanted to be there too. We're inseparable, you know. I didn't wan to play horn like him, because that's copying, so I shyly browsed my options and settled on the tenor sax. I was told that sax was easy and I still wanted to be different from the norm which is why I chose tenor over alto. I was handed an instrument of my own, taught a quick lesson on how to put the thing together and make a noise, and sent on my way.

I played it all through middle school and got pretty good. I took casual lessons from an older college guy and by the time I was in high school and the band geeks had been weeded out I was pretty much set. Around the time I switched schools I decided that being a music major was the cool thing to do and I was going to become a great sax player and play.... play..... Play what? Jazz? Uh oh, not into jazz. Play in some symphonic band? Maybe. The more I sat down and thought about it, the more I realized that my favorite ensemble was orchestra, and there aren't many sax parts in orchestra, let alone tenor sax! This was a problem. Little did I know an answer and a solution would not be far away...

My brother was in orchestra of course, being the giant band geek that he was. It was his favorite too and every time we dropped him off at rehearsal I would secretly wish to be there, playing something, being part of the music. I almost seriously considered learning a string instrument or something just so I could be a part of orchestra but that would not have been a good idea. Way too hard. My extremely lucky break came when I was a junior. It just so happens that the director of the JKSO was Dr. Kribana, who is also my brother's private instructor. Therefore, Gary knew him very well. As Gary can't drive, I went to pick him up one day, armed with a question on my mind. I got there and peered into the room. Dr. Kribana smiled and told me to come in, that he was expecting me. Gary had told him I had a question.

I did not know how to say it so it just came out, "Dr. Kribana, I really want to be in orchestra but I play tenor sax. Is there anything I could do to be involved?" Dr. K. looked up at me and smiled. He somehow knew that I would ask that and after thinking for a minute he looked at me and said "You know, there is something you could try..." I had no idea what he would say but I hoped it would be good. I was not expected for what he said. "You are a strong musician. I've heard you play before (his sons went to my same school). Why don't you try percussion? We need one for the spring."

Percussion? Really?? I'd never read a lick of percussion music in my life! I didn't even know how it was all notated. Despite this unusual and unexpected answer I was actually pretty excited. The words of my father came to my mind, "Never be afraid to try something new..." and so I put all my fears aside and said "Yes! I'll do it! Anything to be in orchestra! ...Now, how do I start?" Dr. K. smiled and said, "Well let's ask Dr. Langley. He's just down the hall!" In amazement Gary and I watched as he walked out of the room and knocked on the door straight across the hall from him, a huge grin on his face. An antisocial-looking gentleman with curly blond hair opened the door, mumbling "What is it, Kribana?" "I have a brand new percussionist here waiting for you to unlock the power of rhythm!" he beamed, pointing at me.

Dr. Langley looked at me and I could see his eyes study me up and down. I was pretty nervous but I saw his studious face begin to smile and he said, "Well, come on then. Let's find a time for us to meet." I shyly crept into his office, which was huge and full of all kinds of various instruments and things. I told him my contact info and scheduled it for the same time as Gary's lesson. That was that. He told me not to worry and that he would take good care of me and soon I was on my way, totally nervous, but way excited about learning some percussion.

My first lesson was totally awkward. I had no idea what I was doing and it was more hitting things with sticks than making music. The first thing he taught me actually was how to tune the timpani, since that was the instrument I'd be playing in JKSO. After we got that down, which was surprisingly easy, then I got to work learning how to make it sound like music and not a random thud. The first lesson is always the most awkward, because it's a new thing and nobody knows what the teacher is going to do... I left feeling like I learned one thing but I was armed with some tools and knowledge on how to read the music. Timpani music is written in notes, by the way.

I went to my very first JKSO rehearsal after that and managed to get everything tuned up and working... it only took like 20 minutes, haha. I kept forgetting stuff, like my mallets, pitch pipe, etc... I was such a mess back there but I actually felt like I was making music by the end. Man, it was tons of work. I still wasn't sure if I liked this whole percussion thing but then something happened. At my 2nd lesson, something clicked in me. It was like I belonged in the back! The things that I could barely do a week before suddenly became easy. Before long I was learning snare, cymbals, marimba! It was incredible! The more I worked at it, the more I loved it! By the time we had our first concert I felt like a legit percussionist and was totally into it. Thanks, Dr. K!

Of course I hid this throughout my junior and senior year, as I had to play tenor sax. We already had like 20 percussionists so I took the time to practice and play catch-up with the people who were really good. Before long, college rolled around and I made an easy decision. I decided to major in Percussion Performance. I wanted to become just like Dr. Langley. There was always a need for percussionists and I quickly learned the value of being good at it. I surprised a lot of people when I walked into band and orchestra with a mallet bag and not a neck strap. I was fortunate to have a good mentor who was my age named Eagle who made me feel like I had been there forever in the back.

By my junior year I had stopped playing tenor sax all together. I was in marching band on it for 2 years but longed to be in pit. Nowadays people know me as only a percussionist and barely remember that I once played something else. Sometimes it surprises me too. I have learned a lot in the past 5 years and Dr. Langley has become a very good friend and teacher. It no longer takes me forever to tune the timpani and I can read and play just about anything thrown back at me. I have become good friends with everyone in the section and of course remain the section leader in orchestra along with my good buddies. I am definitely planning to move back to my hometown of Kalta once I graduate and go to grad school there. Wow. I am a percussionist!

So that's where we're at now. I am halfway done with my junior year and things just keep getting better. I am so glad Dr. K. suggested percussion. It was a door to my rest of my life!