[Spirit of Lust 2] Chapters 308 & 309. (Patreon)

Chapter 308: 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 extreme 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.

************

Chapter 309: Thomas comes to visit.

What the girls had said had left me thinking all night and even the next day. It didn’t sour the night at all, but it did leave me with a faint, uncomfortable feeling that still bothered me as I was working on putting together Isabelle’s PC in her bedroom.

Participate in the talent show? Me? I’d been hearing for a long time about how Alice and Noelle were working hard to bring it back, but I always thought of it as someone else’s business. Like… Sure, it was a good thing that all the people with cool talents and skills would get to show their stuff. By all means, go for it, everyone. Break a leg. Participating myself never even crossed my mind.

“Oliver, you’d do far better than most,” Isabelle said from behind me. She was sitting on her bed with Cake on her lap while I installed the parts inside the tower. “I know people who’re going to sing, and they can’t keep a tune to save their lives. Another friend of mine is going to read poetry and a classmate is going to juggle. I’d bet all my money you’d do better than them.”

“Aren’t you broke right now?” I asked her.

“...Not the point.”

Well, I was broke, too, actually. Christmas really does a number on your pocket, doesn’t it? Anyway, it was worth it. Last night was fun. We ended up playing cards most of the night, and while I find card games boring most of the time, we laughed a lot last night.

“My point is that you already play like a pro. Of course the girls aren’t going to force you to sign up, but they want you to show everyone just how good you are.”

“I know,” I said, sighing. “Look, I’ll give it some serious thought, alright?”

“You need to be quick, though. You have about a month and a half to get ready.”

We suddenly heard the doorbell ringing. I glanced at my phone to see it was 10:40 am. “Ah, can you get that? That’s probably Thomas. he called and asked me if he could come over for a bit.”

Isabelle stood up with a chuckle. “What? Did he get dumped?”

“On the contrary. He’s making time to come say hello because he’s too busy getting busy.”

My sister snickered. “Still hard to believe he’s dating an older woman,” she said on her way out.

Easier to believe than what I was doing, at least.

A minute later, the big guy came into Isabelle’s room with her in tow, a backpack hanging from his shoulder.

“Hello there,” he said, grinning goofily. “Merry Christmas, even if it’s late.” He extended his fist and I bumped it.

“You’ve been a stranger lately,” I told him, getting back to work on the PC.

“Y-Yeah, sorry about that.” He laughed. “But if anyone can forgive me, it’s you, right? You know how it is.”

“Okay, I’ll leave you boys alone,” Isabelle said. “I don’t want to be here to listen to whatever it is that guys talk about.”

“Beer, football, and porn, sis,” I told her casually.

“Every day of the week, every week,” Thomas said, nodding solemnly. “Ah, but don’t forget the cars.”

“And all the bricklaying we have to do tomorrow.”

“Yes, very funny.” Isabelle did not seem to find that as amusing as Thomas and I did. “Anyway. In return for you building my PC, I’ll make lunch today. You okay with that?” she asked me.

“Sure.”

“You staying?” she asked Thomas.

“Sorry, but no. I have… plans for lunch already,” Thomas said, his grin growing by the second.

“Alright, leaving. Don’t touch my stuff.”

I immediately started poking her closet over and over. Isabelle just sighed, shook her head and left, closing the door behind her.

Once we were alone, Thomas laughed. “You can be kinda childish sometimes, huh?”

“It just means things are finally going back to normal between Isabelle and I,” I said, shrugging.

“That’s good.”

“So? How was your Christmas?”

“Christmas Eve with my folks, Christmas day with my girlfriend.”

“Just you two?”

“You know it.”

“No wonder you’re smiling like an idiot.”

“And you’re grumpier than usual. What? Didn’t get any?” he teased.

“I didn’t, actually. Had to keep it family friendly.”

“Hahaha!”

“Yeah, laugh it up. That’s not why I’m grumpy, though.”

“And why are you?”

“They want me to sign up for the talent show in February. The girls gave me a new guitar, Isabelle a bass and mom an audio interface. I basically can’t say no.”

“Hmm. And what’s the issue? Don’t you know how to play, like, hundreds or songs already?”

“I don’t know about ‘hundreds’, but…” I sighed. “If it was just about playing a song, I could do that tomorrow. But… What song would I even play? Not to mention standing in front of an audience. I’ll freeze like an idiot.”

“Oliver, you’re talking to customers at the shop every other day, aren’t you? And most of them are girls trying to flirt. You can handle standing in front of a crowd. As for what song to play, just do your favorite and call it a day. You’re not gonna tell me you’ve never imagined yourself playing your favorite song in front of a crowd while listening to it, right? I sure have.”

“...” He got me there.

“You can think of the details AFTER you decide whether you want to do it or not. If you ask me, I think you should do it. I bet you could give the music club a run for their money.”

I grumbled and rubbed the back of my neck. “Like I told the others, I’ll give it some serious thought.”

“You do that. Oh, but I didn’t come here to talk about this.” Thomas began to rummage through his backpack until he found a small box wrapped in red. “Merry late Christmas.”

I laughed. “Did you come here just for this? I was going to give you yours at school.”

“I believe in doing things properly.”

“A day late.”

“Let’s just say I wasn’t looking at the time, alright?”

I took the box from him and opened it. It was… an ocarina. A black ocarina made of plastic.

“Don’t look down on it just because it’s plastic. I did my research and those are pretty durable and have good sound quality.”

I smiled. “Man, now I have two new instruments to learn? I’m gonna be busy.”

“I expect you to master it by next week,” he told me.

“Give me three days.” It was mostly a joke, but I did have a feeling it wouldn’t be all that hard. If I practiced, of course. This was actually really cool. I had considered getting a wind instrument before, but never settled for anything. “Thanks, Thomas.”

“Glad you like it.”

I stood up and went to my room, coming back with Thomas’ present in my hands. I gave it to him and he was quick to open it.

“Oh shit!” he exclaimed, looking at the book in his hands. It was a hardcover compilation of a comic Thomas had said he wanted to read. “This is the one! Thanks, man.”

“No problem. You don’t read online, do you?”

“Nah. I like physical comics.”

And that was the second to last present I had to give. Thomas and I talked some more before he left to meet Maria again.

A bit later that day, mom’s present arrived. She loved the new couch. It was longer than the other, so it fit more people. That said, mom decided not to replace it and instead rearranged the living room to fit them both. Kind of defeated the purpose, but it was her living room, so whatever.

I finished setting up Isabelle’s PC later that evening. I made sure everything was running well before going back to my room. The first thing I did was pick up my new guitar and played a few songs, thinking of which one would be better to play at school.

I said I’d give it some thought, but… I think I had made up my mind already.

I wanted to do it.

I would step out of my comfort zone once more.