the prestige | ON HIATUS

1 | an interesting audition

Luna Lim had her case strapped over her shoulder and was sprinting down the hallway. She wanted to be able to hear the rehearsal of the incredible Tanner Symphony Orchestra.

The Tanner-Wallace Conservatory for the arts was a wonderful conservatory for artists alike in the suburbs of Brisbane.

About one thousand students attended overall, most being in the music department.

Luna Lim was amongst the string instrumentalists.

She had been playing viola for eleven years. However, she had yet to be part of the elitist group that ran the school, the Tanner Symphony Orchestra.

The TSO.

They were easily set apart from the rest of the school with jackets that had a TS on the left side and the word PRACTICE on the back.

The conductor for the symphony consistently stressed that particular wording. Dr. Shard always wanted his musicians to be perfect.

And practice makes perfect.

However much Luna had managed to practice, she was still stuck as principal violist in the Tanner Full Orchestra.

The orchestra which was hidden in the shadows of the Tanner Symphony.

However, a wonderful opportunity presented itself for Luna. The previous principal violist for the Tanner Symphony had moved to The United States of America.

Any violist was allowed to audition for the principal spot. Even those in lower ensembles.

Luna found that this was her chance. She worked endlessly for this spot and was preparing every moment for the audition.

The audition was after the four o'clock rehearsal that day. While her chances were absolutely slim of jumping from the second orchestra's principal to the elite orchestra's principal.

But Luna believed heavily in the fact that she would never know unless she tried.

The rehearsal was to begin in a few minutes and as she made her way to the concert hall, she could hear the orchestra tuning and warm-up individually.

Luna's best friend, George, sat at his harp. He looked up at the back of the hall and saw Luna sitting in the back row.

She was amongst many other students of lower full orchestras, wind bands, chamber orchestras, and small ensembles. Those who didn't exactly have the same amount of prestige as those in the TS.

Luna listened to the group of flautists a few seats down from her. A young student which she assumed to be a first-year spoke a bit loud allowing Luna to hear.

"The concertmaster is a cutie!" the young girl said.

What Luna assumes was an older girl immediately shut the younger girl down.

"He hasn't dated anyone in a while. He wants to be a soloist and claims he hasn't got the time to focus on romance. Very smart."

She was correct. Many people didn't exactly focus on dating and relationships. A few people did find themselves in comfortable relationships, but it was never the talk of the school.

At least in the music department. Choir and theatre students were almost always caught in the drama.

Everyone else kind of focused on their soon to be careers.

"What's the concertmaster's name?" the younger girl asked.

"The concertmaster is Brett Yang. The associate concertmaster is Eddy Chen." replied the older girl.

Ah yes. The notorious Brett and Eddy pair. Luna knew a few things about both.

Luna knew that Brett was cheeky, relaxed, and dedicated. He didn't act as if he was on a pedestal all the time and wasn't arrogant.

He simply understood that he was talented, and was humble about it.

She knew that Eddy was a bit shyer, standoff-ish, and a bit less social. He really only participated in social things his friend group did.

The pair were always together and very well known for being best friends. They were the school's 'funny guys' and never failed to be excellent representatives of the elitists.

Elitist.

That's exactly what Luna wanted to be.

She wanted to play difficult, challenging, and more sophisticated music. Luna wanted to play amongst the elitists and be one herself.

Lina got up and left to practice. She had a jacket to earn.

Brett Yang and Eddy Chen sat in a practice room drinking bubble tea.

"Bro, what are we gonna do? Dina left and now we've got to get with a new violist." Eddy said.

Brett sighed and continued to down his bubble tea.

"If we just do three rehearsals a week and every other Saturday, we should be fine. The audition is today and we'll talk to the new violist tomorrow." Brett replied.

Brett and Eddy's friend Oliver walked into the room.

"Are we talking quartet? Are we talking new viola?" Oliver asked as he pulled out his lunch from his bag.

Eddy nodded and sighed.

"It'll probably be Jackson. He's the associate and is the most reliable option." Oliver said as he began to eat.

Brett and Eddy nodded and they all sat in the silence.

Luna walked out of her audition proud. She had done wonderfully and had a lot of confidence.

Yet she just had to hope that the current associate principal wasn't as wonderful as she was.

Luna had to wait thirty minutes before they announced the result. There were currently two others waiting. Jackson was having his audition last.

This was her chance to be elite, to have a jacket, to be in the TS.

The other people who had auditioned were both in Luna's current orchestra. They decided to also give the principal spot a go.

Luna knew their playing well enough to understand that they wouldn't be able to make it.

Jackson walked out in front of the conductor for the TS. The older man held a jacket in his hand and had a stern grin.

Luna watched as he slowly extended the seemingly sacred jacket to her.

"Congratulations. Your timetable will be changed for tomorrow and the rehearsal schedule will be emailed to you. Welcome to the Tanner Symphony Orchestra."

Luna grinned and nodded.

"Thank you, Dr. Shard." Luna said. She took the jacket and held it in her hands like a precious object.

Luna had just about done it. She had made her way into the principal violist's spot of the Tanner Symphony Orchestra.

The elitists of the Tanner-Wallace Conservatory.