Memoirs of a Failed Choir

Fourth Practice

A/N: Hey if any of you guys are reading this, do you want to comment? It sounds dumb, but comments help to inspire me to write more, which means more content for you guys. Same goes for any of my other stories and most writers tbh.

"So do you think that they will convince anyone to join?" I asked anxiously as I walked to the music room with Roderich.

"Hopefully. There will be at least one, I think."

I don't know if I was expecting a large group, but my heart raced as I slowly opened the door. I did a quick head count, only for my face to fall. Ten people. Not only were there no new people, but one person wasn't there.

"Natalya said that she didn't want to be part of the choir if there were so few people." Katyusha said quietly.

"B-but... but..." Natalya was my only alto... I had to sit down for a moment. I was too dazed to process this.

Somehow, Roderich stayed put together enough to figure out a solution.

"Alright. Ivan and Matthew, you're on alto. Tino, Toris and I are staying on the melody. Eduard, Francis and Gilbert are still on tenor. Because this piece is SATB, Berwald and Ludwig can sing the same part. That makes five people singing the melody, three tenors, two altos and two baritones. That's not terribly imbalanced."

The rest of the choir nodded. Roderich approached me and placed his hands on my shoulders.

"Do you need some water?"

"No... I'll be okay." I said quietly, "Sorry... it was just a bit of a shock." I sighed and glanced around the room. "Did anyone try to convince people to join?"

The room was suddenly filled with voices as everyone told their own story of failure. Roderich clapped his hands and the room went silent.

"Alright. Keep trying, but don't worry too much. We'll work with what we've got."

I handed out everyone's sheet music and sighed. "Let's see how much we remember from last time."

Fortunately, we did sound better than before. Ivan and Matthew's voices were strained from singing so high, but it wasn't terrible, and it would get better with practise.

"Alright, that was good. I want you to bring home your sheet music to practise tonight." Roderich said, "Just make sure to bring it back. I don't have any more copies."

Once the group had left, I allowed myself to react to Natalya leaving as I had initially wanted to. I slowly sat on the chair and buried my face in my hands, fighting back tears. "This isn't fair..."

"No. It isn't fair." Roderich sat next to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "But this is what it is. We have to make the best of it."

I bit my lip and started to cry. "I worked so hard on this... We worked so hard on this... How can you be so nonchalant about it?"

Roderich sighed and took my hands. "I'm not. But there's nothing we can do. It will be okay, Eduard. We sounded good today."

"I... I guess..."

Roderich smiled and pulled me into a tight hug. "Just trust me, okay? I'll take care of everything."

I nodded slowly. "I... I trust you, Roderich."