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Alexander idly strummed at his guitar. The acoustic instrument was in perfect condition. The light wooden body had an unblemished finish over it that reflected the sun's rays. His long fingers ran up and down the neck of the guitar pressing down on the strings in just the right place. The guitar let out a melodious tune that was soothing, but warm. Alex's light blue eyes were half lidded and he seemingly started at nothing. His gaze seemed to be resting on what he was doing, however, he wasn't really paying attention to the physical world. Every once in awhile he'd hum a bit along with the chords he was playing. The slumping boy would move his mouth to form words as it came to him. His foot was consistently tapping along with the beat of whatever he was playing. The tune started to repeat itself, changing in some places, and returning to the previous idea in others. There was no pause in his playing. The volume never rose to a level above the chirping birds that seemed to want to sing along with the strange tune. 

It wasn't until heavy footsteps stopped right in front of Alex, did he stop playing. He looked up a bit startled, like a student awoken after falling asleep in the middle of class. Standing over him was a seemingly intimidating man. However, Alexander simply smiled and greeted him like an old friend. “Hey, Marc. How are you?”

“I'm doing fine. You should be more worried about your sister. She's the one working with sharp objects.” The security guard's brown eyes looked over from where he came from.

“I'm more worried about the people who cross her while she is still in reaching distance of those sharp objects.” Alex grinned, slipping the guitar pick into the pocket of his jeans. It was still warm enough to not need a jacket, but fall wasn't too far off. At least it wasn't blistering hot. Marc laughed, it was deep and throaty. His charming smile seemed to brighten up the early morning.

“I suppose you're right,” He said, checking his watch. “Not a lot of people are actually up this early since it's Saturday. Hopefully, that means no one is going to die on Eden Gardens premises today. Your sister does a great job with the flora, but she sure does need some work when it come to tending to people.”

“Well, I'm doing the best I can,” Alex shrugged. He was outside because his sister was taking care of the gardens. He decided to give her something to listen to while working. That and he wanted to practice anyways. He also didn't want to bother some of the other tenants with his playing.

“I heard you playing just before.” Marc nodded to the guitar as he slipped his hands into his pockets. “I’m surprised you haven't gone off and become a musician yet. You work so hard at it. Why are you bothering with a college degree that will just get you waist high into debt?”

“I've already explained this to you.” Alex sighed, looking down at his guitar. “There are a lot of reasons. Plus, you should be encouraging me to stay here so you can keep your job.”

“Hey, I'm just looking after you kid.” Marc ruffled Alex's silvery white hair, before walking off in another direction. “See you later,” He called back before rounding a corner.

“See ya,” Alex waved. He then hoisted his guitar back up, inspecting it for a little bit. “I'm not [I]that[/] young. You don't have to call me a kid.” He muttered to himself, plucking at the strings and adjusting the pegs to tune them. After fiddling around with it a bit, the musician began strumming again. This time, though, he consistently hummed with the tune. His vocal chords were warmed up a bit from talking with Marc. This time the sound was a bit louder and bolder. As if to rouse the other residents gently from their sleep.