Neighbour

7.

"Chen! Thank you so much for being able to come on such short notice," the concertmaster said upon meeting him by the door of the rehearsal hall. She reached her hand out and shook his before leading him through the large entrance area. "You're really saving us today. Three of our second violins called out today with sick kids in addition to Max, who you're replacing, so we really needed all the people we could get today." 

"It was no trouble at all," Eddy said with a polite smile, keeping the amount of work to move the lessons he was supposed to have this week to himself. "It sounded like Max was rather poorly when we talked on the phone?" 

The concertmaster turned to him with a sad look just as she opened a large metal door for the both of them, leading them into a corridor. 

"Yeah, he's… I suppose it would be useful for you to know. He's had a pretty bad heart attack, and then just this morning we learned he's had a stroke as well while in hospital," she explained with a sigh. "The guy's only fifty five, too. Way too young."

"Let's hope he'll be alright," Eddy said, not really sure what else to say. What do you say when you learn you're replacing a dear colleague who's in hospital after having been on the brink of death? "I'm sorry I'm here under such circumstances."

"Oh, no, don't worry about that at all! We're happy you're here," the concertmaster said, opening a door at the end of the hallway, which brought them out to the stage of a concert hall. "Let me show you your desk." 

They moved through a group of people who smiled politely at him and gave a small nod as they passed, and he tried to do the same back to everyone. He realized that making friends would be a good idea, as the orchestra members definitely had some say about who got a job there or not, even if they weren't supposed to formally. 

"Here we are," the concertmaster smiled as he led him to an empty desk, showing him the left chair. "Your desk partner will be here today, so I expect he's just around the corner."

"Thank you. I'm looking forward to this," Eddy smiled at her, sitting down on the chair he was shown as she left him to prepare for today's rehearsal. 

Eddy couldn't help the excitement building in him. His first proper substitute job in an orchestra, his first taste of professional life. The competition for the orchestra jobs and for the substitute jobs were tough, and most of his study mates were still doing auditions.

"So you're my new des…" a voice behind him began before trailing off, snapping him out of his thoughts. He turned to see who it was, and his heart skipped a beat when he recognized the man. "So they ended up picking you, huh?" 

"Hi uh, yes, it's… It seems like it," Eddy stuttered, taken with surprise. He extended his hand as an invitation to shake his. "Eddy Chen." 

"Brett Yang," his neighbour said, taking his hand and shaking it. Eddy couldn't help but notice how small and delicate the hand was compared to his. "Nice to… I guess get introduced to each other."