Da Capo

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Eleven o'clock soon rolled around, and Kyle could hear the bustle of students outside the performance hall as classes were dismissed. He checked his watch, realizing that his two-hour masterclass was officially over.

"Alright, I suppose now's as good a time as any to wrap this up," he said, looking back up at the hall full of students, who all started putting their things away. "Have a great day, everyone. I'll see you all this time next week, and I want at least three of you to have pieces prepared to play for me by then."

There was a massive shifting sound as everyone got to their feet, a great rustle of bags and murmuring of voices as all the students made their way toward the doorway. Several eager-looking students approached Kyle and told him how much they enjoyed his masterclass today – these were the same group of students every week, and were clearly hoping to wheadle some information from him about his relationship with Chloe before they departed. Kyle had grown used to this type of behavior, and so he lied and told them he had an important appointment soon, and that he couldn't stick around for too long. That thankfully got the students to leave, and Kyle enjoyed some blessed solitude as he gathered up his things.

About five minutes later, as Kyle was finishing up putting his sheet music away into his bag, he heard the doors of the performance hall open again.

"Kyle?"

He looked up to see Stephanie hesitantly walk in, clutching her violin case in her hand. Kyle felt his heart stutter in his chest as he stared at her: she looked very pretty today in a knee-length short-sleeve purple dress that had a flower pattern on the skirt. On her feet she wore simple brown flats and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and Kyle couldn't help but admire her effortless beauty as she made her way toward him.

"Stephanie," he finally found his voice, and he cleared his throat. "It's good to see you."

"You too," she smiled at him, but Kyle could sense a bit of hesitancy behind her expression. "How was your masterclass today?"

"Oh, you know... incredibly, mind-blowingly inspirational. As per usual," he grinned, and Stephanie giggled. "Have you been practicing this morning?"

She held up her violin case. "I actually auditioned for the quartet this morning."

Kyle blinked, remembering the quartet Professor Lyndon had told them about a few days ago. That must have been why Stephanie looked so nice today. "Oh yeah! I forgot about that – how did it go?"

"I think it went well," Stephanie nodded, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "I was pretty nervous, though. I haven't had to audition for anything since music school."

"Yeah, performances are definitely the most stressful part of the job," Kyle agreed. "They get easier over time, though. I think it's really cool that you decided to take the leap and audition, though."

Stephanie smiled gratefully at him, but her smile faded after a moment as she looked down at her feet, not saying anything. Kyle picked up on her mood, and he took a step closer to her, feeling concerned. "What is it?"

"Nothing, I just..." Stephanie shook her head before looking back up at him. "The audition just kind of made me start thinking about the future, that's all."

Kyle frowned at her. "The future?"

"My future. As a potential musician for the string quartet," Stephanie explained. "Don't get me wrong, I would love it if I did get the second violinist spot, but I've been wondering what would happen after that. Lydia was telling me that the Royal Academy's string quartet would travel all over Europe to perform, and I just don't know if I'd be willing to make that sort of commitment. Especially if it's going to make me miss my best friend's wedding."