Neighbour

3.

Eddy was nervous. So very nervous. He had practiced the excerpts to as close to perfection as he could, he had the solo Bach they required ready, and he had looked over last years' sight reading pieces. His scales were in tune, his vibrato even, and he probably hadn't been this ready for an audition ever in his life. 

He realized that this was his chance, his shot at getting closer to his dream. The push he needed to get in the direction he wanted. This chance to be on the substitute list for a professional orchestra wasn't something he could pass up, and he was making the most of it. 

"Eddy Chen?" the lady who had been getting people for their turn asked the room of nervous violinists, most a few years younger than Eddy. 

"Yeah," Eddy replied, gathering his sheet music and his violin quickly. A few of the others gave him looks that said 'good luck' as he stood up. "That's me."

The walk down the empty hallway to the concert hall entrance backstage felt like it took forever, and it made his already fast heart rate speed up more. His hands felt clammy. He knew the concert master, the second violin section leader and the conductor in residence would judge his performance, and all of those people were amazing musicians he looked up to.

"Good luck," the lady told him as she opened the stage door for him. He froze for a moment, feeling like his feet were glued to the floor and like his heart was going to jump out of his chest. It took a second before he snapped out of it, but when he did he put on his brave smile and walked on with confident strides. 

"Mr Chen, correct?" a female voice, likely the voice of the concert master, asked from somewhere up in the seats. He couldn't really see them due to the lighting, only the shapes of them. It looked like a tall man, a larger woman and a shorter man. He figured the tall man was the conductor in residence, and the woman had to be the concert master. He didn't recognize the short man, though, as the second violin section leader was a middle aged woman. 

"That's me, yes," Eddy nodded as he put the orchestra excerpts on the music stand provided, next to the sight reading piece. It looked simple enough. 

"Welcome. Make yourself comfortable and then maybe we can start with the Shostakovich excerpt?" 

The Shostakovich. That was the one he was the least sure of. The one he had practically broken his fingers for. Of course they chose that one. 

The excerpt went pretty bad. Sure, he hit all the notes mostly in tune and mostly in time, but he had no extra capacity to make music with it. It was correct but it wasn't good. 

When Eddy walked off stage after being stopped halfway through his solo Bach, he was certain he wasn't anywhere near the skill level required for the job. 

"How'd it go?" the lady who had brought him there asked as she walked with him back through the corridor after sending the next nervous soul off to play for the jury. 

"Pretty bad," he admitted with a sigh, shaking his head. "I didn't manage to show what I can do at all. I know the second violin section leader is looking for musicality, because she said so last year, and…" 

"Oh, but she isn't here today. She's home with her sick kid. It's just some guy from her section who happened to be available today who's in the jury on her behalf," the lady interrupted him quickly. "So who knows, maybe you'll get lucky this time."

Eddy blinked a few times. That explained the short guy he saw the silhouette of in the jury.
"Oh, I see. I still don't think so, though," he shrugged as they got back to where his case was, and where everyone else was waiting as well. "Thanks for the encouragement anyway, though."