A Lesson Learnt

"Hey, hows my favourite little bass player?" Mike greeted James as he opened the door.

"I'm good thanks Mike. I've been practicing real hard!"

"Now that's what I like to hear. Do you want a soda before we get started?"

James nodded in agreement so Mike wandered off into the kitchen, leaving the boy to set himself up.
---

"I must say I'm impressed little buddy! I can tell you've been practicing!"

"Thanks! I've had help from Tiffany as well."

Mike felt his heart flutter when he heard her name. He quickly pushed the feeling aside and continued complimenting James.

"You were Tiffany's favourite you know," he suddenly said.

"Erm---pardon?"

"Yeah, out of Green Day. You were Tiffany's favourite. That's why she started playing the bass---"

"Oh---uh---thanks for telling me that." Mike could feel his cheeks flush.

"Why are you going red Mike?" James asked curiously.

Mike scolded himself for blushing; "I'm warm," he said sheepishly. "Now let's stop talking and carry on with the lesson."

"Uh Mike---we've kinda already finished---"

"Uh---yeah that's right. Do you have a lift home?"

"Yeah, TIFFANY is coming to pick me up. She says that if you tell her that I've had a good lesson then she'll take me out for ice cream!"

"Well that's nice of her---shame you haven't had a good lesson."

The little boy's eyes widened in despair. "But Mike---!"

Mike laughed and ruffled his hair. "You haven't had a good lesson---you've had a GREAT lesson!"

At that moment the doorbell rang. "That'll be Tiffany now," James gushed.

Mike laughed as James ran to the front door. Sure enough, when he opened it, there stood the beautiful form of Tiffany. His heart once again beat that little bit faster when she smiled at him, just as it did every time they had a lesson.

"Can we go out for ice cream?" James asked excitedly. "Mike says I've been great!"

"Really now! Is this true Mike?"

"Yeah---he's worked really hard today. I'm really impressed with him!"

"Well that's settled then---ice cream it is!"
James grinned excitedly and hugged his elder cousin; then grabbed his bass and ran out to the awaiting car.

"Was he really that good?" Tiffany asked.

"Yeah---he says you've been helping him."

"Yeah---I get bored sometimes so we often jam together. It helps me improve too."
"
That's real smart of you. I never had anyone to practice with. It was just me usually trying to fit round Billie's guitar riffs."
"Well you must have done something right to be as great as you are Mike!"

Mike felt himself blush again. Tiffany picked up on this and laughed. "Oh, is Mr Dirnt not used to getting compliments?!"

This made Mike blush harder and Tiffany giggled furiously at him.

"Well I guess I'll see you for my lesson tomorrow Mike," she finally said after her fit had subsided.

"Yeah---no problem. I'll look forward to it."

With that Mike shut the door and slumped his back against it. "She's twenty two, with a boyfriend and she's your PUPIL," he scolded himself. "You shouldn't blush when she talks to you!"

He angrily shook his head and made his way back to the music room. Beating out some furious bass lines was all he wanted to do right now.

---

"He didn't?"

"He did!"

"I'll kill him!"
"
Why?"

"Coz I seem like such a teenie!"

"No you don't! I think its kinda cute!"

"I hate you!"

"No you don't."

"Yes I do."

"No---you don't."

"Mike!"

"Tiffany!"

She sighed in anger and threw her music book at him.

"What? I know you don't hate me! James told me so!"

"Well he shouldn't have said anything. I feel so stupid right now."

"Well you shouldn't. You know---I felt just as embarrassed as you do now, when he told me!"

"So I'm an embarrassment now?"

"I didn't mean it like that! What I meant was---was---I haven't had attention like that in so long. It was weird to hear stuff like that again."

An contemplative silence fell between the two of them.

"Do you miss the band?" Tiffany tentatively whispered after a moment.

"Every single day."

Mike sighed sadly as his mind drifted back to better days. Tiffany smiled to herself as she noticed Mike's pensive state, and so picked up her bass and began to play 'Longview.' She prided herself on this performance as she was exceptionally good at it.

The music seemed to bring Mike back to the real world and he too smiled when he realised what Tiffany was playing. "Guess I drifted off there for a second," he said when she put her bass down.

"Yeah you did."

There was another content pause between the two of them which was suddenly broken by the ringing of Tiffany's cell phone.

"Hello?" her answer was sharp, she seemed annoyed. "Oh---oh shit! I didn't realise I'd been here that long! Yeah I'll be right over. Love you."

Mike's ears pricked up when he heard her say 'love you.' 'Please let it have been her mother,' he thought to himself as Tiffany hastily packed away her things.

"That was John," she said quickly. "I forgot that I was supposed to pick him up from work over an hour ago!"

Mike looked at his watch; they had been in 'lesson' for over two hours. "Uh---well I guess you best get going," he conceded. "You've done great today---as per usual!"

"Thanks Mike. I'm sorry about rushing off. I'll you next week."

"Bye."

Once alone, Mike pondered over why Tiffany had apologised for rushing off. After all their lessons were only supposed to be for an hour. Technically HE should have apologised for keeping her there.

But then thinking back over the past couple of months that she had been having lessons with him, it suddenly dawned that they were becoming that little bit longer with every passing week.

AND her own cousin had told him that he was her favourite.

A grin spread across his face. 'I've still got it,' he thought to himself as he walked over to the phone and dialled Billie's number.

"Hey Adrienne, its Mike. Can I talk to Bill?"

"Yeah sure Mike. BILLIE---PHONE! How are you anyway?"

"I'm good thanks---slightly deaf now though, thanks to you!"

"Sorry about that, he's playing Nintendo with Jake and Joe. Sometimes I wonder who the kids are in this house."

"Hey I'll ignore that remark," Mike heard Billie say. Then came a kissing sound as Billie took the phone from his wife. "I'm having you later---"

"Well thanks buddy but unlike you---I don't dig men," Mike laughed.

"I was talking to Adie---but you can join in if you like."

"No thanks---"

"It's your loss. What you call for anyway?"

"My lesson with Tiffany just lasted over two hours. And then she apologised for having to leave!"

"Man, she's got it bad! Good for you! When you gonna put the moves on her?"

"No Billie it's not good! She's nearly ten years younger than me for Christ sakes! And she has a boyfriend!"

"So? Adie was engaged and that didn't stop me!"

"Tiffany loves her guy."

"Yeah but---she's just spent two hours in your company. Then she APOLOGISED for leaving which meant that she didn't want to go. And she takes time off from work to come round to your house to pick her cousin up---just agree with me, man---she LIKES you!"

Mike was dumbfounded at Billie's reasoning, but couldn't suppress the little glimmer of hope inside of him that maybe what Billie was saying was true.

"See I'm right! You can't think of what to say! I rule!"

"No Billie, you do not rule---I was just thinking that's all."

"Yeah---thinking about how right I am!"

Mike laughed. "If you say so---"

"I do say so. Now my side-burned friend---do you have any other reason for calling me or can I go hump my wife now?"

"Billie---its four o clock in the afternoon and your children are at home!"

"Well they know that mommy and daddy like to CLEAN the bedroom at this time!"

"You never cease to amaze me."

"That's why you love me!"

"Yeah maybe! Go and hump! I'll talk to you later. And Billie---thanks."

"No problemo Mikey. Laters."

Mike's grin spread considerably wider once he put the phone down. He could always count on Billie to make him feel better about himself. And suddenly, falling for his pupil didn't seem like such a crazy thing after all.