Play!

XXIII

After a minute or so, Eddy opened his mouth for a simple, one-syllable question. 
“Why?”
Brett blinked at him. 
“What why?”
“Why do you want to help me?”
“Didn’t you just say it’d be boring to lose against someone who can’t play?”, Brett winked, trying to bring some lightness back into their interaction. It worked. Eddy’s face lit up again like tiny rays of sunshine breaking through dark clouds after a big downpour. 
“And to be honest…”

To be honest, after hearing what Eddy could do on the violin, it would be a sacrilege not to help it become even bigger, brighter, deeper and more beautiful. It would be a sin to the world to withhold Eddy Chen’s abilities from it.
And to be even more frank, there was something inside Brett driving him on to make those feline eyes shine again like he’d seen during the teacher’s concert on the first night. Would they beam even more when it was his own music bringing forth emotions like this? Would the heaviness and anguish Eddy was carrying around lighten a bit? Or maybe vanish entirely?

“To be honest, I think you’re just a great person. And someone like you who helps out other people with his skills should get help too.”
“You know me for two seconds and you think I’m a great person?” Eddy’s chuckle sounded doubtful.
“Yeah”, Brett nodded, hoping he came across as genuine as possible, “For the record, I like to hang out with you. I really do.”
“Weird”, Eddy said, the smile he was carrying not reaching his eyes however. He meant it. He really did find it weird.
“Eddy, you’re not as terrible as you think you are, you know?”, Brett stated out of a whim, his filter across the ocean sunbathing on some island again. 
“Even if I ask you to finally tell me about that mystery girl you and Cole were suspiciously whispering about?”, Eddy grinned mischievously, completely catching the other off guard.
“You fucking…”
Eddy’s laugh rang through the garden and scared a bunch of blue birds sitting on the tree behind them.

But before Brett could consider explaining the matter, Eddy threw a glance at his iconic watch and dragged Brett back to the con in a hurry to get them a practice room. 
They didn’t even bother to try to get two seperate ones. 
“When do we have to be where?”
Brett rummaged in the depths of his backpack until he pulled out a crumpled up piece of paper. How fitting that Eddy didn’t know their schedule.
“I think the conductors want to talk to us before we get to have our lessons. It says main hall at 1:15 p.m.”
Another look at his watch. “Half an hour. Warm-up?”
“Guess so”, Brett nodded and opened his violin case. 

It was nice to play next to Eddy in the same room. He felt like he was in a safe zone with an air of creativity surrounding them. There was also a warmth grounding Brett, calming him down and at the same time motivating him to do his best. Whenever his mind trailed off from pure practice mode, he stole a glance or two at his practice partner. Eddy had his eyes closed most of the time, completely sunken into his playing even though it was just to warm his fingers, which moved with precision regarding position and tempo.
How could someone look this… elegant while playing scales and warming up? Every time he moved, his hair flicked, catching different shades of light coming through the window which brought out multiple colours of his strands. Sometimes, he laid his head down more, brought his ear closer to the violin. Was it so he could detect his intonation?
Brett had to forcefully tear himself back into his own playing and shook his head a bit to get his shit together. No being distracted! He did need the warm-up.

The thirty minutes went by in a blink of an eye and soon, they found themselves standing in the concert hall, waiting for Mr. Thames and Mr. Jones to arrive, both too nervous slash excited to utter a word.
Luckily, they didn’t have to step from one foot to another for too long. 
“Eddy, Brett!”, Mr. Jones echoed through the hall. Brett and Eddy turned around and saw Mr. Thames and Mr. Jones walking down the walkway in-between the rows of seats, the latter’s white hair fluttering behind him with every step he took. 
“Is it okay if I call you Brett? Eddy and I are on a first name basis anyway.”
Of course they were. Brett raised an eyebrow at Eddy to which he reacted with a small shrug. 
“Sure. Whatever’s fine for you, Sir.”
“Oh, cut that Sir. Call me Robert.”
“So”, Mr. Thames smiled kindly, “How are you guys doing? You’re fine?”
They exchanged a look before nodding hesitantly. “Fine”, Brett threw in for the sake of politeness. It wasn’t like they had been dying to know who was going to teach them during the afternoon to come since before that camp had even started. 
But Mr. Thames wasn’t going to let them off the hook just yet. “It may sound weird, but we want to make sure you guys are okay. It can be a lot, going for the soloist spot under these circumstances while you both have to sit first desk next to each other in orchestra. Are you able to relax a bit from time to time? How are you two getting along with each other?”
Yeah, duh! It was a very weird thing to have two contestants play so close next to each other for a whole week before it was even decided who’d get chosen. However, Brett wasn’t going to express his doubts on the camp’s founder’s sanity right then and there. 
“We get along fine”, he stated, deliberately neutral to hide how much this new found friendship actually meant to him. Probably even more than he was aware at the moment.
Eddy nodded. “We really do.”
It was only three words. Yet, the tone in which they were spoken made Brett eye his deskie a bit longer than what one would deem casual. 
“Good, good”, Mr. Jones clapped his hands once, looking like Santa ready to pop out presents, “Now, you must be wondering who’s going to be your teachers?”
“Yes!”, Eddy and Brett exclaimed in unison.
The glint in his eye got brighter when Mr. Jones said, “Have you ever heard of Rebecca Li?”
Eddy’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open. “The one who won second place in a Menuhin competition years back?”
“Exactly! Eddy”, Mr. Thames turned to him, “She’s going to work with you this afternoon.”
“That’s awesome! Thank you so much!”
Despite him never having heard of her, Brett was sure this person was someone capable judging by Eddy’s enthusiasm. 
“As for you, Brett” 
And this was the first time Mr. Thames had called him by his first name. 
“You’ll be having lessons with Benjamin Goulding.”
Oh, this name Brett recognized alright. Benjamin Goulding, Australian violinist in his twenties and already concertmaster of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. He was also the winner of the International Tchaikovsky Competition two years back. An excellent violinist. 
Eddy beamed at him. “Benjamin Goulding? You go mate! That’s such an opportunity.”
“Thank you”, Brett breathed. 
“You’re welcome. Now, your teachers are waiting for you in rooms 104 and 109. You’ll have time the whole afternoon with them. Unfortunately, they're only here for today. Make good use of the time and their expertise.”
“We will!”