Da Capo

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

~5 days later~

Blessed Saturday.

Lydia sighed in utter contentment as she snuggled deeper into her warm pillows. As much as she loved her job, her first week of the semester had been undeniably stressful, filled with long lectures and obnoxious students and tricky assignments. But now it was finally the weekend, and Lydia could have a nice lie-in before having to get up for the day. She yawned and stretched before rolling over and cuddling back into her blankets, Leopold swishing his long tail as he napped at her feet.

Suddenly, the sound of a loud violin blared from the other room, causing Lydia to bolt upright. Leopold hissed loudly at the movement, leaping off the bed to find somewhere else to sleep, and Lydia groaned to herself before flopping back down onto her pillows.

The loud violin music continued, and Lydia knew she had to put a stop to it before one of the neighbors complained. Wishing she could go back to sleep in her lovely warm bed, she dragged herself out of her blankets and hurried into the other room.

"Steph!" Lydia called over her friend's loud violin playing. Stephanie, who had been focusing on her sheet music, quickly stopped as she looked up.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" she asked, looking apologetic. Lydia grimaced.

"It's fine," she said, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "But you can't practice in the flat. I already told you, the neighbors will complain to the property manager and we'll get kicked out."

"But I thought that was just during the weekdays," Stephanie said dejectedly, bringing her violin and bow down. "It's the weekend now, so I thought it would be okay to practice in the apartment."

"I'm sorry Steph," Lydia said sympathetically. "Just practice at the Academy. You're free to do that whenever you'd like, and you don't have to worry about anyone complaining about the noise."

Stephanie hesitated, looking down. "I don't know."

Lydia knew all about the incident on Monday that left her friend feeling reluctant to go back to the Academy, and she felt sorry for her. "It's a Saturday, Steph. There aren't going to be any classes for you to accidentally hijack this time around."

"I know that," Stephanie groaned, moving to put her violin back into its case which sat open at her feet. "I just don't want to run into that teacher again, that's all."

Lydia grimaced in sympathy. "I'm really sorry one of my colleagues was so rude to you. If I knew who it was, I wouldn't hesitate to give him a piece of my mind for making you feel so insecure."

"Thanks Lyds," Stephanie giggled before shaking her head. "But it doesn't matter. I was the one infringing on his class, and it wasn't like what he said about my violin playing wasn't true."

"Stop that," Lydia insisted firmly, putting her hands on her hips. "You are an excellent violinist Steph, and some arsehole teacher who doesn't even play the instrument will never change that. And he certainly shouldn't stop you from continuing to practice at the Academy whenever you want."

"I suppose you're right," Stephanie muttered, though she still looked a bit unconvinced.

"I know I am," Lydia said firmly with a smile, walking over to her friend and putting an arm around her. "C'mon - let's go get some breakfast and then head over to the Royal Academy. I have some papers to grade in my office, and you can find a practice room to play your violin in peace."

Stephanie smiled, looking slightly happier at that prospect. "Alright, that sounds good."

"Good," Lydia grinned, taking her arm off her friend before poking her in the shoulder. "And just so you're aware, if you ever decide to practice in the flat again when I'm trying to sleep, you're going to have to find yourself some new lodgings."