Andante con Brio

XLIV

He had been to Sydney before, obviously, but it felt different today. It felt different driving into the centre and finding a multi storey to park in, it felt different to walk out of it again as a group and stand on the pavement, waiting for Todd to finally tell them where they were headed. Yeah, it was actually very different when there were no adults, when it was completely his own responsability whether he was okay. 
It was nice, in fact. Real, real nice. 
"So, are you finally going to tell us, Todd?" Ian asked, the expression on his lean pale face just ever so slightly exasperated. 
Todd shook his head triumphantly. 
"Nah, but I will tell you we're going in that direction."
Eddy looked at the street where Todd was pointing. Lily and Matt had veered off earlier to wherever her aunt lived, so it was just the four of them now. Was that by design, maybe? The street Todd had pointed at looked like any other Sydney street. He had no idea. He shrugged and started walking, but it was only about a minute before he recognised where he actually was and he instantly realised where they must be heading. Brett did too, clearly, because he suddenly tensed up beside him.
Oh. Wait. What?
"Opera house?" he said quietly, and Todd's face instantly broke open in a wide grin. 
"Maybe." he smirked. "Or maybe we're just visiting the bay? Or the bridge?"
"Yeah, of course, Todd." Ian drawled. "Because you would take us to visit the bay. Or the bridge. Just tell us, mate. Are we going in?"
Todd stopped very suddenly and they all turned round to look at him. His face was lit up like bonfire night.
"Okay. Fine. Yeah, we're going in. We're seeing Mahler five. S.S.O. matinee. Starts in an hour, so we can actually see the bay, too."

It took at least ten seconds of staring before everyone started shouting at once. Eddy was so excited he could barely breathe. They were going to see Mahler five? By the S.S.O.? He loved that orchestra! He loved that symphony! And yet... Todd was looking satisfied, but still a little smug. 
What was he not telling them? And how the fuck had he even arranged this?
"I got student tickets. They're not very expensive." Todd answered at least one of his unspoken questions for him. "But I will accept payment in beer, later." 
Brett clapped their friend on the back, hard. 
"This is awesome, Todd. Thanks."
"Yeah, mate. Fantastic."

They walked another couple of streets until they came to a sort of park. Eddy knew it, of course, from pictures, although he had never been here. He knew very well what would be behind those trees and he found that he was holding his breath as they walked the path and turned the corner. 
Oh. 
There it was. White arches above huge concrete stairs, potruding vividly against the stark blue sky, so much bigger than he would have imagined from the pictures he had seen. 
"Wow." he whispered as he felt Brett's hand touch the back of his own. He tried very hard not to respond by taking it and intertwining their fingers. 
"I know, right?" Brett whispered back. His fingers twitched, and Eddy knew he wanted just the same. 
"Have you been here before?" he asked Todd. 
He nodded. "Yeah, a couple times with my dad. You'll love it inside as well, it's really... opulent."
"Opulent, hey?" Ian said, his voice real soft. "Can't wait."
"Well, let's go sit by the water and eat our sandwiches." Todd said decisively. It was easy to follow Todd, their travel operator extraordinaire. Eddy ran up the concrete stairs almost giddily and stared out past the arches to the water of the bay. There were boats of all kinds crossing the bay, white sails flapping in the breeze. It looked nice. 
He ran back down and they walked around the opera house, sitting down on the concrete, dangling their legs over the edge so their feet could almost touch the watter lapping underneath. 
Had he ever had a better time than this in his life?