This choice: Rebecca Voll-Spillum -- the drink heavy genius. • Go Back... Reputation meant everything at Buttercombe. Throughout the years, the academy maintained its reputation of attracting the best of the best. The private academy vouched for the best teachers and the brightest young minds of the next generation of women. The partnership with the Yeng Corporation was a testament to that, as the company become one of the most prominent in the world and one of the best to work for.
And when it came to talent, one of the most notable the academy had attracted was a certified music genius. Even if she was a big tall ditz.
Rebecca Voll-Spillum had been a prodigy in the music arts from as far back as she was able to talk. She wowed her classmates through elementary and middle grade, received special attention and went through an entirety of graduate work in only a matter of years. Then, after choral and viola auditions, she became the youngest viola first chair of the Intercontinental Orchestra, debuting in their revival tour.
That was all before she started work at Buttercombe! Although, many critics and fans alike thought she was cutting her career in the orchestra short when she walked away to teach prep at an exclusive Virginian boarding school hidden away in the mountains. There had been rumors circling around for a time, when inquisitive minds started looking into what made the mind of the brilliant classical musician tick.
Some thought she had a failed marriage, indicating her hyphenated name as proof when compared to the rest of her family. Others dug into the Spillums directly to root out every last sordid detail. Of the Spillum family life that had moved about constantly to better Rebecca's music education at the cost of home life stability for her younger sister Pauline. Of a father who owned a nightclub with shady dealings, a mother with a maiden name of Francine Ulster who was a minor Buttercombe alumni in the same class as Headmistress Pollock. Surely her mother's connections had landed Rebecca her teaching career?
In truth most of that gossip was hogwash. Rebecca had been hired solely for her talent, not connections, leading to an awkward period as the gifted genius had to learn what it meant to actually teach. Rebecca's mother was remembered by the headmistress, as you would remember a former friend from your school years, but the connection ended there as time drew people apart. Half of Rebecca's initial year teaching was spent trying to reconnect with her sister, a transferred Sophomore, to variable success.
That was all in the past. To see Rebecca Voll-Spillum now, all these years latter, was a sight in and off itself.
"Now on the chord changes," Rebecca was seated at the piano, "the transference from the minor to major key brings a triumphant sound, especially with this crescendo to fortissimo."
It was her first music class of the semester, one of Rebecca's favorite times of year, when she got to meet returning students and see what new minds where brought to the academy. She usually pulled out all the stops of her repertoire.
It was hard to tell what about the music classroom was more unusual. Perhaps it was the tidbit that Rebecca was not leading off her Music Theory class with the likes of Chopin, Bach or Beethoven, but the ska beats of No Doubt while she imitated Gwen Stefani's singing perfectly. Or maybe it was the fact that you never saw a baby grand piano flanked by two water coolers.
Rebecca was known as one of the more fun teachers on campus. Her personality was sometimes far younger than her maturity suggested, plus she didn't mind if students brought snacks and treats to share in class. Although, having food remnants in your throat was problematic for most vocalists and musicians, so Rebecca ensured that plenty of water was on hand to flush down the phlegm.
It was quite common to see the music professor with water or beverage on hand. Her desk was a clutter of bottles and cans at any one time. When Rebecca stood to her full, full height the evidence of her lifestyle at Buttercombe was quite visible. She favored loose, flowing clothing with plenty of give, usually in dark or neutral colors. Her tall frame had rounded out considerably, although not to much fat graced her face or slender neck. Each curve had soft, shimmying fat that made Rebecca look like a human water balloon when she walked. That wasn't too far off of a description, given how long she could quaff a drink. Her stomach formed two rolls even when her belly was empty.
Rebecca liked all kinds of music. From classical, rock, bossa nova, blues, metal and many others, she used several examples in her lessons. Her tastes were as varied as the contents of her mini-fridge. Overall Rebecca was an enthusiastic if ditzy genius adaptive to change. The start of the school year was always one of change and for Rebecca this one would be no different.  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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