Ethan Wong, an ex-prodigy violinist, thinks it's not meant to be.
After his latest mental breakdown at his last violin competition, where he placed tenth out of ten contestants, he's not sure why his music professor appointed him the soloist for th...
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While most of the team had left early in the morning for souvenir shopping and sightseeing, Kenji stayed behind with the others in the lobby. Eric and Daniel were across from him on the couch, Daniel's legs propped on the table. Eric appeared to be on a video call with his girlfriend, Izzy, judging from the lovesick grin on his face as he chatted.
As Kenji shoved his legs off the table like the mother hen he was, Daniel asked, "What did you need to grab?"
"I was going to hit up the flower shop for a bouquet."
"A bouquet?"
I nodded. "Yeah, roommate's concert is today."
Kenji tilted his head. "Ah, Ethan, was it?"
"Yeah."
"But why a bouquet?" Daniel asked.
"I always used to get him one back in high school," I said. "It started as a fun little joke but became a ritual."
While true that it started as a joke when we first started dating, I thought it was only fair to give him a bouquet for his performances. It was the least I could do for dragging him to my games in high school.
"They've got flower shops around?"
"Yeah, a few blocks down." I held up my phone. "Maybe a ten, fifteen-minute walk."
"We've got nothing better to do," Daniel said. "Might as well join you for the day."
"We could stop by some shops if you want to buy something for Izzy," Kenji told Eric.
Eric nodded. "She did say she'd love a snow globe for her collection. Hopefully, some tourist stand has one. If not, I'll just buy one of those obnoxious NYC shirts."
Daniel scoffed, looking down at the shirt he bought when he first arrived that said, 'I heart NYC.' "Rude."
Eric punched his arm playfully. "Come on, can they make it any bigger?"
Daniel scoffed. "Don't judge me; it's my first time in New York, alright?"
Kenji rolled his eyes before turning to me. "What time's the concert? I think Marco was interested in going."
"Our Marco?" Daniel said. "First baseman—who exclusively listens to EDM—Marco?"
"No, Marco Polo, dumbass," Eric said. "Of course, our Marco. Just because he always goes to raves doesn't mean he can't listen to classical music. He has two classical music playlists when he needs to study."
"Marco was considering it when he saw a flyer down the street," Kenji said. "He said he'd go if someone else went with him, so I looked into it. The Berklee showcase, right?"
I nodded. "You coming to the concert too? I can spot your tickets."
Kenji considered it, glancing at Eric and then Daniel. "Actually, that's a solid idea. I'll text the team."
