Dead!

Chapter 33

Chapter 33

The next day was fairly uneventful. I went to work yet again, and I was still busy taking pictures of the damage from the demon attack. In fact, that was practically all anyone was willing to talk about these days. All I could hear was whispers about "those creatures" and "Hell needs to leave us alone" and "what if this happens again?" Repairs had started on many of the buildings in town, and since there usually wasn't anything important to report on, the attacks had taken over the news, including the Cedar Creek Celestial Post.

There were only a few buildings that had been left untouched in Cedar Creek, one of which was my grandmother's house, but most of the surrounding area was okay. For example, the concert hall in Chesterfield was perfectly fine, meaning that Henri's concert was still scheduled for that night.

At first, I wasn't going to go. Henri and I weren't that close, and I wanted to meet up with Samantha. However, on my way home from work, I saw that Jack had messaged me on Angel Wings.

strange_quark: Hey, are you going to Henri's concert? It's at 7:00 tonight at Chesterfield Hall.

I replied back to him, and the rest of the conversation went something like this.

MochaKitty5: No. R u going?

strange_quark: Of course I am! I would be a horrible boyfriend if I didn't.

MochaKitty5: Then y do I hav 2 go?

strange_quark: This means a lot to Henri, and he's really worried about this concert. He's playing an extremely difficult oboe concerto.

MochaKitty5: What's a concerto??

strange_quark: It's a musical composition for a solo instrument accompanied by an orchestra. Henri's never played one before, and he's playing the Strauss oboe concerto. Did you know that Strauss' piece Also Sprach Zarathustra was used in 2001: A Space Odyssey? 

strange_quark: I'm trying to get as many people to come as possible, so Henri has lots of support.

MochaKitty5: I don't even like classical music tho...

strange_quark: That's okay. The concert is only an hour or so.

MochaKitty5: A whole hour? I dont hav time 4 this.

strange_quark: Ivy, you're being selfish. I'm asking you to do something for Henri. This isn't about you.

MochaKitty5: I'm sorry. I'll come.

strange_quark: Great! See you soon!

MochaKitty5: Bye Jack.

I talked to Maya and Grandma during dinner, and I found out that both of them were going as well. "Henri's my friend," Maya explained. "It would be way cooler if he played the guitar or something, but the oboe's cool too."

"I just adore classical music," Grandma said. "I played the cello when I was a girl. It's slightly disappointing that none of you children inherited my interest in music."

"I just don't like that sort of music," I said. "I tried playing the recorder in third grade, if that counts for anything."

"We were required to do that!" Maya argued.

We left at 6:30 and took the train to Chesterfield. I spotted Jack and Raj on the train. "Where's Henri?" I asked.

"He left early to rehearse before the concert," Jack explained. "I'm so glad that you decided to come, by the way."

"Yeah, I guess this won't be so bad," I said.

"You'll enjoy it, I promise," Jack said.

"Or not," I said. "Classical music is boring."

"You're lucky that Henri's not here," Jack said. "He would be so offended."

"Can you two stop arguing?" Raj said. "We're here to have fun."

We finally arrived in Chesterfield a few minutes later. All of us got off of the train, and Grandma found a map of the town. "The concert hall is actually not too far from here," she said. She started walking, and the rest of us followed her until we got to the concert hall.

Once we got there, we bought our tickets and found our seats, which ended up being pretty good. We had a nice view of the stage, and the seats themselves were very comfy. I leaned back into the seat and started looking through the program. Hopefully the concert would start soon.

Finally, the concert began. From looking at the program, I saw that they were beginning with Night On Bald Mountain by Modest Mussorgsky, who I apparently shared a birthday with, at least according to Jack. I looked up at the stage, and saw that most of the other performers were much older than Henri. In fact, it seemed that Henri was the only teenager in the orchestra.

The first piece was actually pretty cool. It was fast and scary-sounding, but that kept me awake long enough to hear the tranquil ending of the song. After that, it was time for Henri's concerto. The conductor turned to us and said, "Today, we have a very special treat. One of our newest orchestra members will be playing the Richard Strauss Oboe Concerto in D Major. He is extraordinarily talented - in fact, I could call him a child prodigy. Please welcome Henri Lavoy!"

"It's pronounced Lavoie," Jack mumbled as everyone applauded.

Henri walked onstage and smiled. Then, the strings began to play. Henri came in a few seconds later with clear, beautiful notes that just came tumbling out of his oboe. His playing was just gorgeous, and I could tell that the entire audience was spellbound.

It was a long concerto, but it sure didn't feel like it. The sounds of Henri's oboe soared over the orchestra, creating a lush sound that truly showed off Henri's virtuosic playing. I knew that Henri was a good oboe player, but I never knew just how good he was until that moment. 

The second movement was so lyrical and moving that I wanted to applaud, but Grandma had to remind me that I couldn't clap between movements. Classical fans were weird, but I was enjoying myself a lot more than I thought that I would.

When the orchestra finally got to the last chord of the piece, everyone did a standing ovation. Henri grinned and bowed before leaving the stage. The orchestra played one more piece to finish off the concert: The Sorcerer's Apprentice. I recognized it from Fantasia, but I hadn't really heard it outside of that context. As far as I could tell, the orchestra played it pretty well, but I didn't know much about music.

Finally, the concert was over. All of us went into the lobby, and Jack immediately rushed off to find his boyfriend. He came back a few minutes later with Henri.

"Nice job Henri," I said. "You played really well."

"Thank you so much," he said, smiling.

"Yeah, that was really cool," Maya said.

"The concerto was awesome," Raj said.

"I didn't do that well," Henri said. "I was a little flat on the A in the first movement."

"Nobody noticed," I said.

"Your performance tonight was extraordinary, Henri," Grandma said. "I'm very fortunate to have seen it."

"Thank you Mrs. Livingston," Henri said.

"See Henri?" Jack said. "I told you that you would be great, and I was right. Then again, I am a little bit biased."

I started wandering around the lobby, wondering if anyone else I knew would be here. It was unlikely, but possible. While I was walking around, I heard everyone talking about "that amazing oboe soloist," and I knew that I was lucky to be friends with Henri.

That was when I bumped into the last person that I thought that I would see in a place like this.

I ran into Adam.