Mediocre Piano Music at RTCC is Greater Constant in Girl’s Life Than Father

by Eloise Rollins-Fife

RONALD TUTOR CAMPUS CENTER — Whether it be Mozart attempted by an aspiring Thornton student, Chopsticks banged out by a lost international child, or the sound of random keys being pressed as someone eats their meal on the piano bench after every other seat has been filled, sophomore Alexis Gordon can count on the sweet, consistent noise emanating from the Ronald Tutor Campus Center courtyard piano to fill the void in her life left by her father.

RTCC’s infamous piano is open for all to play, much like Gordon’s mother after her father abandoned the family. It is this inviting nature that keeps the music that drowns out Gordon’s thoughts flowing daily.

“I come to RTCC at least twice a day, just to study, grab some food and hear some weirdo practice their waning piano skills,” Gordon said. “Sure, the music isn’t very good, but at least it never said it was going out for a carton of low-fat milk and then didn’t come back.”

Gordon assures others that she doesn’t have “daddy issues,” she just happens to enjoy the consistency of a person or uninspired tune’s presence in her life. She also credits the piano with saving her from more dangerous vices.

“Some of my friends whose fathers abandoned them turned to stripping or eating lots of Oreos to cope,” she said. “But me, I found a man who can never leave, because it isn’t a man. It’s a strange, ever-present barrage of shitty piano covers. I owe everything to the RTCC piano.”

Gordon was last seen introducing a new boyfriend to the piano and telling it she’s “not a little girl anymore.”