Andante con Brio

CLXII

The eye of the storm came and went, and by the time it was show time for the second round, this time with an audience, Eddy was so nervous he thought his stomach might explode. And the others were no better, he could see clearly as they came out of their practice rooms and made their way over. Their faces were pale, taut. 
"Fucking hell, I'll be glad when this is over." Todd said harshly. "Who ever came up with these fucking events? I'll take a normal concert with an appreciative audience any day."
"I know, right?" Ian said. "I hate committees, full stop. They're just there to judge you, to find fault with what you're doing."
Eddy took a breath, but Brett beat him to it, in his calm, sonorous voice. 
"I don't know about that though, Ian. I think they acutally want you to do well, I really do. I know John does, whatever else."
Ian shrugged. 
"Yeah, maybe. Still."
"It still sucks." Brett aquiesced. 
"Are we allowed in the auditorium?" Eddy asked, as much because he wanted to know as he wanted to change the subject. 
"Nah, you just wait outside."

That had been an easy thing to say, but a much harder thing to do. I mean, it wasn't so bad as long as you were still in the cafeteria with your mates, chatting, bantering happily. It got a lot harder once it was you, up next, and you were in a concrete hallway waiting, once again. Eddy shivered quietly and held his violin tight. Checked his tuning, even though he knew that was stupid. He would tune on stage anyway. He took a deep breath and leaned his forehead against the cold concrete for a moment. Imagined the doors in front of him opening, the girl walking out who was up now. Then it would be him, walking on a stage he had never seen, in front of a committee. He could see himself now, standing there shaking, his knees setting his bow off, his legato becoming richochet and the audience starting to laugh quietly... 
He opened his eyes quickly and stared at the doors, willing them to open just as much as he willed them to stay shut. 

He had been staring so hard that once again he managed to startle a little when the doors burst open and the girl who was up before him walked through. He didn't know her at all, she wasn't at their con. She had a wild look in her eyes, and she shook her head vociferously now, like she was trying to get rid of what had just happened. He tried to give her a sympathetic smile as he walked past her and onto the stage. 

Bright lights, so bright here that he could barely see the audience. They were just a sea of shadows, with the outline of a shadowy table in front, just below the stage, that he guessed was the committee. He swallowed convulsively and forced his legs forward, towards the piano. Managed another smile, at the pianist. Turned around and tuned with shaking fingers. Was his D string completely in tune? He wasn't quite sure, but there wasn't much he could do now, because tuning longer would make him look like a right idiot. It would have to do. He took another deep breath and turned towards the shadows behind the light.  
This was it, this was the moment, the thing that he had been practising non-stop for for weeks now. He shot another glance at the pianist, just to check. Yeah, she was ready.
A nod, a deep breath, and he played the opening chord. 

A/N. Hi guys! Gosh, I can finally post, I think. Internet's been out all morning. So anyway, I hope you all have a great weekend, and thank you so much for the concerned messages I just found <3<3<3