Blood, Sweat, and Hanon - A Ranger's Apprentice fanfiction

Chapter Ten - Alyss

Alyss opens the Sibelius violin concerto and sets it on her stand. She feels a familiar thrill run through her as she glances through the brand new music. She loves learning new pieces, exploring their uncharted territory and making meaning and color out of the black-and-white notes on the page.

She lifts her violin and begins to read through the piece. The first half-page isn't too bad - it's a beautiful singing melody voice for the violin, and at least the fingering's already written in so she doesn't have to figure out shifting. This is the most famous part of the concerto, and the familiar melody rings easily from her instrument. She knows she'll have to focus on the phrasing later, as well as the singing tone, but right now, she just wants to hit all the notes. Next come some challenging arpeggios, which Alyss has to go over a few times to get all the notes. Then her gaze moves down a line. She knows she's not going to like what's coming next.

The next few lines are black with notes. Alyss refuses to give up this early into the first read-through. She pushes through the next few lines stubbornly, filling the small practice room with the sound of missed and thwarted notes. Alyss tries again, with no better results.

She's suddenly furious. She glares at the page. Her hands begin to shake, and she sets her instrument down so she doesn't drop it. 

Alyss puts her head in her hands, trying to hold back tears. This assignment is impossible, she thinks. She's only on the first page, and she's supposed to be able to read through the entire movement before her lesson in two days. 

Violin has always come easily and naturally to Alyss, and she's unused to having to struggle like this. She's never had to work overly hard to succeed before. She wonders what's wrong with her this time. It's usually relatively easy for her to learn a new piece. 

Alyss glares at the music. She refuses to let it get the best of her. She picks up her violin again.

An hour and a half later, her alarm goes off, alerting her to the fact that her practice time is over. Orchestra starts in a few minutes. Alyss is sitting on the ground, her shoulders slumped. She's made no progress whatsoever. Every attempt she's made has failed. She can't get past the last half of the first page. It's like running into a brick wall over and over again.

Alyss scowls at her phone and touches the screen, turning the alarm off. Now, not only is she a complete failure, she's behind schedule. She was planning to finish the readthrough today and work on the Paganini tomorrow. She resolves to come back and find a practice room after dinner.

She puts her music away and closes her case, keeping her violin out. She exits the practice room, shutting off the light, and heads down the hall toward the orchestra room. Her shoulders are aching from playing for such a long time; she hadn't noticed how tense she'd gotten from frustration. She shrugs and rolls her shoulders and her neck a few times, dispelling the tightness and the pain.

Most of the orchestra members are already in place when Alyss arrives in the orchestra room. The chairs and stands are set up, and the majority of the chairs are full. Some of the students are still unpacking along the wall, and Alyss finds an empty space and puts her case and bag down. She fishes a pencil out of her bag, and walks over to the first violin section.

Cassandra's sitting in the concertmaster's seat, warming up busily. She smiles and lowers her violin down when she sees Alyss.

"Alyss!" she squeals. "How are you? How's your first day?" She sets her violin down carefully and hops up, giving Alyss an enthusiastic hug. She doesn't give Alyss any chance to answer before she keeps talking. "Whose studio did you end up in? I had my first lesson with Ms. DuLacy this morning. She's very pleased with the work I did over the summer. I worked really hard, so I didn't expect any less, but it's still nice to hear her say it."