I sat down on the firm, leather bench that previously awaited my arrival. My palms were sweaty, which made my fingers sticky. No, no, no, this will not do. Keeping my gaze on the dampers and strings behind the stand, I wiped them on my navy blue gown. I could feel the audience staring up at me, the spotlights blinding me. Keep calm, I thought. I ever so gently lifted my hands and placed them on the keys.
"This opening chord will make the room shake."
Aaand...
Strong! I remembered my piano teacher's words as I played through the beginning of my piece. Dynamics must have a noticeable difference. Don't just play the music, play a story. Clean, quick, crisp. That's all I need to do.
Finally feeling the music, I transitioned into the next section. Slow and melodic, yet somehow this was the part I usually screwed up. Just remember, E flats, E flats, E flats.
Almost... yes! Smooth sailing from there. After breezing through the rest of the piece, I stood, a large smile on my face, and bowed. The audience didn't necessarily roar, mostly because it was a formal concert situation, but instead they delivered a generous amount of clapping. Wow. It felt great.
I lifted my skirt slightly so I wouldn't trip on it, and "gracefully" stepped off of the stage. Note the quotation marks, because as soon as I got off stage, I ran face first into the next performer.
"Ahh!" I felt my knees hit the rough plywood of the stage, my arms out in front to catch me. Oh God, was that close. I turned to see the boy to my right, and he too had multiple limbs smashed to the ground. What a couple of klutzes, I thought. But the harder I looked at the boy, the sooner I realized who it was.
"Chosen Jacobs?" I exclaimed. The boy perked up at the sound of his name, but once he saw my face, he gave me a smile of gold. Scrambling to my feet, I extended my arm to help him up. He took it and we both stood.
"Thanks," he said quickly, and hurried onto stage. I stood on the leg of the stage and watched as he adjusted the seat, preparing to play. Then, after sneaking a glance at me, he set his hands on the keys and played.
It was beautiful and emotional, as if he were legitimately singing. Was it... Chopin, maybe? Yeah, Chopin. Chosen played with such pain and feeling, gliding gracefully across the ebony and ivory keys. The Beethoven piece I played, while still one of the greats, was quite mediocre compared to Chosen's piece. Only one word came to my mind: incredible.
After he finished playing, he bowed, earning a great, towering wave of applause from the audience. Tons more graceful than me, he walked off the stage effortlessly, succeeding in remaining on both feet. After he stepped behind the curtain, I approached him cautiously.
"Heeeyyy, sorry for running into you earlier. I was kinda in the moment, you know?" I chuckled nervously. Chosen just laughed along with me.
"Eh, no harm done. We've both still got all ten fingers, right?" I listened intently to his laugh, which rung through my ears perfectly. After our chuckles softened, I spoke again, remembering when I had last seen Chosen.
"Hey, didn't you go to the same middle school as me? I think we were in the same science class." I watched as he nodded, recalling seventh grade year just as I did moments before.
"Yeah, I think so. It's been a while since then, though," he said. I remembered when Chosen suddenly disappeared before high school started, off to who knows where. I'd heard he been casted for some movie, but those were just rumors.
"Where'd you go off to in eighth? You just kinda disappeared on us," I hinted. Not knowing was the worst possible feeling. When Chosen just suddenly disappeared, I'd felt confused and hurt, even though we weren't the closest friends. I wasn't sure if people were bullying him, or if he just had to move due to personal reasons. What was it, though? Chosen scratched his head and laughed.
"I, uh, had to film a movie." There it is. It hit me right in the forehead. Standing in front of me was not just my ex-classmate Chosen Jacobs, but now movie star Chosen Jacobs. Who even is this kid? My eyes widened, but I kept my calm.
"Really? What movie?" I asked. I genuinely wanted to know, since any film with Chosen would immediately be my favorite film.
"It's a new version of Stephen King's IT, with the clown, and the red balloons, and stuff. Have you heard of it?"
Have I heard of it. HAVE I HEARD OF IT. Oh GOSH, have I heard of it. I immediately lost my mind and threw my hands in the air.
"Have I heard of it? Oh, it's only my favorite book ever," I said, trying to keep my cool. Chosen laughed and clasped his hands together.
"You're in for quite a treat, then." I suddenly felt awkward in the presence of this kid, who's already achieved so much. Before I could dwell on the thought, however, Chosen spoke up again. "You're really good, by the way," he said, motioning to the grand piano behind the curtain.
"Oh, thanks," I smiled, blushing. "You're way better, though." Then, Chosen laughed a real, purely genuine laugh, almost too loud for the concert. I threw my hand over my mouth to keep him quiet, since others were still performing. His eyes widened and his own palm met his lips before he spoke.
"Sorry, I just think that's funny. You're amazing, especially compared to me," he said in awe.
I rolled my eyes and mouthed the words, "not true." Chosen reached over and whacked my arm, trying to make me feel better. It reminded me of our middle school days. Man, he's missed a lot.
Before our conversation could continue, Chosen beckoned me from backstage to the green room, so we could talk without interrupting a performance, and we immediately felt more comfortable with each other. After stuffing myself with endless amounts of cheese sticks, he took the remaining packets of cheese and cradled them in his arms.
"They're my cheese babies," he cried jokingly. "Stop eating them!"
"They're so beautiful. How many months?" Chosen examined one of the cheese sticks before smiling up at me.
"They've been expired for about two months now," he chuckled. I sat up, eyes wide, and stole a cheese stick from him to find the expiration date. My heart finally calmed down when I saw that they actually were to expire in a month, and that I would not give in to the sweet release of death any time soon. Groaning, I pelted multiple cheese sticks at Chosen. Just like the middle school days.
"Chosen, I'm glad you're back," I confessed. He glanced up at me with a slightly confused look, so I continued on. "Without you, I wouldn't get to pelt cheese sticks at anyone." Chosen's face fell and he began throwing the sticks of cheese at me.
It certainly wasn't the most glamorous piano recital, but it was no doubt one of the most interesting.
