A Musical Mayhem

1 - Bree

"Hey Arielle, are you auditioning for the Eiffel Tower Music Festival Summer Camp Program this year?" I asked, holding the flyer in my hands.

I was so excited; more excited than I'd been in weeks. The Eiffel Tower Music Festival Summer Camp in Paris was one of the biggest music festivals in the world, and the competition was really fierce just to get enrolled. And once you were in (if you made it that far), the competition would get even fiercer.

"Hey, Breanne! Oh, yeah, I'm gonna try. It's so nice that we've just crossed the age limit for the music festival," Arielle grinned.

The age limit for this program was 13 years old and up, so it was really great that we were old enough to participate this year.

"Yeah, that's so amazing. You're auditioning with the flute, right?" I asked, curious.

"Yeah, I guess so. Hope it's good enough to at least catch the judges' eye. You're going with piano, am I right?" Arielle said.

"Yeah. In my opinion, my skills are pretty rusty as of right now, but hopefully I get in. If I do, it's basically like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," I said.

Arielle nodded enthusiastically. Just then, the bell rang for lunch. "That's the bell! Talk to you about this later?" Arielle said, grabbing her lunch card from her open locker.

"Sure. See you!" I said as I walked back to my locker, my eyes glued on the music festival flyer.

My full name was Breanne Campbell, but people who knew me well called me Bree most of the time, which I preferred. I had blonde hair with a streak of pink and blue at the front in my loose bangs, and I always tied it back in a ponytail. I had cool brown eyes, a pretty tall and slender build, and a pale complexion. I always wore a purple beanie and bracelets by the dozen, and I always had an earbud in my ear whenever I could. I loved listening to pop music but enjoyed playing and performing classical music, which was why I was planning to audition for the Eiffel Tower Music Festival Summer Camp Program with the piano.

I had been playing piano since I was in Kindergarten, and I had really learned to live with it over the past eight years. Most of the time, I hated practicing, but I tried to put all my dedication into it at all times. I knew Arielle from my band class, and we played flute together (even though it wasn't my main instrument). She was auditioning for the summer camp with the flute, since that was her main instrument.

I never let anything or anyone affect me in any way, and I kept a straight, neutral face on at all times. People usually thought I was a "hard to impress" kind of person, which is more or less true, but I could be very nice to people who I thought were worthy of kindness.

I attended Seaside Heights High School, a prestigious private school located in Los Angeles, California. I didn't love wearing a uniform (with a pleated skirt) every single day, but I liked the whole "private school kid" vibe, I guess. And besides, there were a lot more programs and fun things to do here than there would be in any public school.

I had narrowly escaped being dress coded when I had first entered eighth grade in Seaside Heights for wearing my beanie every day, especially since it clashed horribly with my blue and gray uniform, but I had been calm and patient enough to explain to my teachers why I shouldn't be prohibited from wearing a hat to school. I actually wasn't allowed to wear this many bracelets to school either, but, oh well, who cared. I'd always been sort of a rebel anyway.

"Hey guys. Check this out!" I said to my friends as soon as I saw them sitting at our usual lunch table. "They're hosting the Eiffel Tower Music Festival Summer Camp Program this year in Paris, and I'm definitely auditioning!"

"Woah, cool!" Avery, one of my friends, exclaimed. "With the piano?"

"Yup," I answered. "Hopefully I'll be good enough, but it's almost impossible that I'll get in since the competition's so fierce."

"You'll definitely get in," Sophia said, nodding confidently. "I mean, come on, Bree. You're one of the best musicians in Seaside Heights!"

I snorted. "Yeah, right. There are tons of people who are better musicians than me! Besides, Seaside Heights isn't the only school that's participating in this program. People are coming from all over the world."

"You'll do great, Bree. So, are you supposed to send a video submission to them for the audition?" Bronwyn asked.

"Yeah, I think so. I'll have to practice a lot, though, which I'm not excited about," I groaned.

My friends and I talked through the whole lunch about the summer camp, and I couldn't help thinking how lucky I was to at least be given the opportunity to audition for this program.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Mom, I'm home!" I called as I stepped through the door of our large house after school. I had ridden the bus to and from school today, and I couldn't wait to tell my family about the Eiffel Tower Music Festival Summer Camp Program.

"Hey, honey, how was school today?" Mom asked, walking toward me from the kitchen.

"Good," I said absentmindedly. "Guess what? The school posted these colorful flyers on the walls today, and this is basically like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! There's a program held in Paris this year called the Eiffel Tower Music Festival Summer Camp Program, and people ages 13 and up can participate!"

"That's amazing, Bree! Are you planning on participating?" Mom asked eagerly.

"Yeah, of course, but I need to send a video submission to audition for the program first. And there's a pretty low chance of me getting accepted. But if you do get accepted, you get to participate in masterclasses, cooperative sessions, and get assigned your own chamber music group to play and perform with for the entire summer. And at the end of the camp, there's a whole music festival with different categories at the real Eiffel Tower, and they're picking a final champion for each category!" I said, my excitement rising as I talked about it.

"I've never heard of such a thing! It really does sound like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but how are we going to pay for it? It sounds unbelievably expensive," Mom said worriedly.

"Half of the money will be provided by Seaside Heights for the students who get accepted and decide to go," I said proudly. "So that means we'll have to pay $4300 in total, including the plane tickets and hotel fee."

"That's still a lot, but if you can really show me that this is something you really want, Breanne, I'm sure your dad and I can make it work," Mom said weakly, smiling.

"Thanks so much, Mom! Now all I need to do is get in!" I exclaimed, hugging her and prancing up the stairs to my room. I was absolutely ecstatic. I knew a lot of people at school whose parents would never let them participate even if they got into a program like this, so I was really thankful that my parents were at least giving me a chance.

Imagine spending a whole summer in Paris . . . and meeting new people . . . and making music, I thought, sighing dreamily. It was kind of a dream-come-true for me, even if it was a far-fetched wish.

And wasn't Paris the most romantic city in the world? Not that it mattered to me, but . . . it was still fun to think about. I was also so excited at the idea of staying in Paris for the entire summer, having meals at the hotel, and participating in other fun activities. My "people skills" had always been rusty, but I guessed it was time for me to become a better, more "social" person. It wasn't that I wanted to, really, but it was a good opportunity anyway.

I picked up my phone, went on Instagram, and found Arielle's name in my "Followers" list. I hesitated, then typed, "Hey, Arielle! It's Bree. Have you told your parents about the summer camp yet?"