𝒖𝒏𝒓𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 • 𝙩𝙬𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙩 • ✓

{13th of July - b.y}

it was another day in the rehearsal hall. probably the 3rd or 4th practice, i don't remember. but i know for sure that we've all pissed off our conductor and spending most of the time repeating and repeating the concertos just so we could get on his level of "perfection". by the time they gave us a short break of just 10 minutes, everyone one of us were groaning in their seats, stretching the arms out and going out the pit to take a walk around and get their body active again. beside me, ray sighed as he leaned back to massage his sore shoulder.

"that was inTense."

"yea it definitely was pretty exhausting." i chuckled, taking a sip of my room temperatured bubble tea.

"pretty exhausting? it was tiresome and gruelling!" he spat. "i might even dream of the melody when i sleep tonight!"

we went on ranting about every other thing that happened during the practice when we overheard from some of the brass members - specifically the trumpeters.

"hey, i've heard of the soloist for our orchestra. he's younger than all of us! and cute too! i saw him practicing our piece around in the practice rooms." the girl squealed with joy to her equally interested friend. they went on and on about the mysterious soloist, but did not mention his name at all.

"did you know he's joining our practice today?"

"really?! you mean like, right after our break?"

"yea! i heard from the teachers whispering to each other about it!"

"ooooomg i'm so excited to meet him! i wonder what type of person he is."

"or what type of person he is as a boyfriend right?" the girl snickered and elbowed her friend, who blushed furiously.

"NO! that's not it!!"

as they continued to tease each other, the teachers motioned us to get everyone to be ready for the next rehearsal. everyone came flooding into the pit in minutes time, hustling to their seats and tuning their instruments big and small. midway through the preparation, the door of the auditorium opened.

most of us turned around, including me, and was taken by surprise when the person by the door was eddy.

(probably just me but fineee)

he wore a casual, long-sleeved light blue buttoned shirt that hid under a denim jacket. in his palm was his violin case, and i could tell he was clutching it quite tightly. he had a nervous face and a forced smile, it was the type of omg-maybe-i-shouldn't-have-come-here-so-many-people-are-staring-at-me-it's-giving-me-social-anxiety-omg-i-suddenly-wish-i-never-came-and-just-hid-inside-a-hole-and-never-came-out look. the teacher spotted him and ushered him inside quickly. as he scurried in, all eyes were landed on him.

his gaze caught mine and a shocked ray's in the crowd. he gave an awkward smile and proceeded towards the teacher. beside me, ray whispered.

"how did he get in here????" and i could only shrug at that question because i am also clueless. as he and the teacher conversed, i heard some other girls (should be the second violins) talking again.

"omg, is he the soloist?"
"he looks young! most likely younger than us."
"he looks dashing omg i think I'm falling for him—"
"same here! he's cute!"
"omg i think he's my type–"

and so on so forth. my ears hurt hearing all those comments. meanwhile, the teacher called for silence.

"guys, i would like you to meet your junior," she motioned towards eddy. "eddy chen."

"he shall be the soloist for the concertos picked for this year's
symphony night. as this is his first time, please go easy on him. eddy, would you like to play us the concerto with the piano accompaniment before the whole orchestra joins in?"

eddy gave a shallow nod.

the pianist takes his seat in front of the grand piano. meanwhile, everyone looked with anticipation and expectations. ray and i fixed our gaze at him with high hopes.

we watched his every move. we watched as he pulled out his bow and violin, positioning it on his shoulder. we watched him play the violin with such passion, expression and musicality. we watched as the piano music and the violin music unfold the melody together, every note combined perfectly. we watched on in awe and envy. we watched how he played, how he twirled around gracefully. we watched every intricate detail, all the slightest things he did. we watched as he ended the soloist part, and watched as he was bombarded by applause from the whole orchestra, with palms smacking against each other.

i watched him thank everyone humbly and turn towards me to give me a big, wide smile.