A Musical Mayhem

6 - Claude

I was backstage unpacking my cello with Wyatt and Archer (violist and 2nd violinist) when I heard Mr. Parker asking where the other members of the Blackthorn String Quartet were. Flynn was the only guy onstage, and he was setting up the chairs and music stands. I heard Flynn's sly voice replying, "They're backstage unpacking their instruments. I arrived early."

"I see. Everyone hurry up!" Mr. Parker called, loud enough for us backstage to hear.

I was almost done unpacking my cello when I heard Flynn's muffled voice saying, "Hey."

Huh? Who was he talking to?

"Hey, Flynn. Nice to see you again. How are you doing?" a girl's smooth voice said. Oh, maybe it was the pianist who had helped us organize a fundraising event back in October. Mr. Parker had mentioned that she was helping again for our performance that was happening in a few weeks.

"Excited about the auditions?" Flynn said. "I haven't been this excited in weeks."

"Same," the girl said. "Are you joining the meeting today at lunch?"

"Yup," Flynn said. "You're gonna be there, right?"

"Definitely," the girl said."Well, see you there. I'm looking forward to performing with your quartet."

I could hear Flynn's voice saying, "Me, too. Hey, thanks for helping out."

"Of course," the girl said just as I opened the backstage door and walked onstage, carrying my cello.

The girl turned toward me, her expression full of curiosity. She looked like she was thinking about something.

"Hey, Claude," Flynn said, turning. "I think we're starting with the Schubert first today."

"Hi, Flynn. Sure, except I haven't practiced a lot this week," I said, chuckling and nearly walking straight into a music stand. Gosh, I was so clumsy. As usual.

"It's fine, me neither," Flynn said absentmindedly. I was pretty sure that he was now used to my clumsiness.

"Hi! Um, aren't you the pianist who helped us last October?" I stammered, looking in the girl's direction. She was wearing a purple beanie and had blonde hair with a streak of pink and blue. I couldn't exactly remember her name - was it Brianna? Or Brielle?

"Yup," she confirmed. "Cellist, right?"

I blushed and said, "Yeah, I'm the cellist. Nice to, um . . . see you again."

She smiled, but I noticed that an expression fleeted across Flynn's face at that very moment - envy? Contempt? Had Flynn always been like this, or did he secretly hate me for some reason?

Flynn quickly recovered and turned to the girl, smiling wryly. I didn't know what was so funny, but the two seemed like they had known each other for a long time. I didn't know if that was true, though.

The girl smiled back, but she seemed to be holding something back - something that I couldn't quite put my finger on.

After a run-through of Schubert, the girl (her name actually turned out to be Bree) applauded us along with Mr. Parker. When they started clapping, I smiled bashfully - I didn't really think I deserved this much praise, even though it definitely wasn't aimed only at me. Flynn was undoubtedly a legend, and Wyatt and Archer were such good team players. Then, Bree stepped onto the stage (Mr. Parker had instructed her to do so) and walked up to Flynn to borrow his sheet music of the Schubert piece. While she was leafing through the music, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Wyatt and Archer exchanging glances. Were they getting suspicious of something? Of . . . Flynn and Bree?

When we rehearsed the most difficult parts of the piece, Bree gave us some feedback, and after we played a section again, Mr. Parker told us that it already sounded a lot better. We did this a couple of times, and I thought we really improved in just one rehearsal.

The bell rang not long after, signaling the end of first block. We all went backstage to pack up our instruments, but Flynn was the fastest - why was he rushing so much to leave?

 After he was done packing up his violin, Flynn shouldered his case and quickly walked out the backstage door. A little time passed, and when I finally walked out the door, I saw Flynn and Bree outside in the hallway. Bree said something to him, and they both walked away, probably to leave for their next classes.

I was pretty confused. Both of their behavior toward each other, I had to say, was surely suspicious enough to make Wyatt and Archer look at each other with weird expressions on their faces in the middle of rehearsal. There was definitely something going on between them - there was no denying it.

In fact, they made me wonder exactly how long they had known each other for.