Pieces of Love

Chapter 4

For the next few weeks, I attended classes at Clifford as usual, went for my weekly sessions with Jacob and also for the Music elective classes. Jacob and I became best friends and Lily, Sophie and I also hung out very often. Without them, I wouldn't know how to confide my female secrets to. It would be absolutely weird if I told Jacob out of the blue that I had a red stain on my pants and wanted help. My classes were manageable and I was proud to always be in the top five for every subject. Yes, I'm a total geek, but who said you can't be proud of it? I mean, why would people not want to get good grades? And no, not all blondes are dumb. Seriously, these stereotypes will be the death of me one day.

As the weeks flew by into October, the homework load greatly intensified. Projects were thrown at us, one after the other, and I often went home late in the evening, after a long day of studying. Competition season was coming up, and students were offered the chance of representing Clifford. The Music elective was no different.

"Class, the annual Sans Francisco Inter High School Competition has finally arrived. The top twenty biggest high schools in Sans Francisco, including Clifford, will be competing in a serious of competitions in different categories. In the Music category, I am allowed to choose a solo or group act from this class to participate in this competition. It is your choice to choose whether you want to participate or not. Your seniors are also offered this chance, but unfortunately all of them either wasn't interested or could not make it. Actually, this is the first year that a freshmen class was invited to this competition. It is usually only the juniors or seniors who participate. If you do, you would have to join me for some sessions for rehearsal." Mrs Schmidt announced during one of my Music elective classes.

"The winning act gets to perform in a concert hall in London, viewed by members of the public and the English schools that we have partnered with in the past," she added, a sly smile on her face. I was hesitant at first, for it required a lot of commitment. However, Jacob had a different mind-set.

"Let's do it Emma! We can form a duo! It's not every day in which you can perform in London," he exclaimed, his eyes twinkling with excitement. How could I let my friend down? Anyways, it has always been my childhood dream to visit London, forget about performing there!

"Oh alright," I gave in, slightly amused at how excited Jacob was. He reminded me of a kid begging for ice-cream. "But you will have to pay me back in some way," I teased, but Jacob took it more seriously than I expected. "Sure," he shrugged his shoulders in reply. Lily, Isaac and Xavier were shaking their heads to the offer.

"As much as we love to, we don't want this to be in the way of our studies," Xavier explained. "But we would definitely be there to cheer you guys on!" Lily added, smiling.

"Great! Lynch and White, please see me after class for more information," Mrs Schmidt beamed at the two of us. The rest of the lesson was a blur as thoughts on the competition buzzed around in my mind. This was not an easy competition to win, with so many gifted students in the city. Before I knew it, the bell rang, signalling Lily, Isaac and Xavier to pack their bags. "Good luck guys!" Lily exclaimed and winked as she followed Xavier and Isaac out of the room.

Mrs Schmidt was leaning on a table when I turned my body around to face her. For the next fifteen minutes, she briefed us on the competition details and we arranged a few sessions for her to listen and comment on our performances. Once all of that was over, Mrs Schmidt allowed us to go.

"So..." Jacob began as we walked out of the room. "What pieces do you want to play?"

***

We had to play two contrasting pieces for this competition. Selecting the first piece was easy. Jacob and I decided to reuse one of the pieces I had played before: Vocalise, Op 34:14 by Sergei Rachmaninoff. It would save me the trouble of having to learn an additional new piece.

It took a few days for us to find the second piece for us to play. During the course of these few days, my eyes almost bled from looking at music scores, whether they were on the internet or on old and dusty music books. It was a rainy Saturday afternoon when Jacob found the piece for us. I was having lunch at his house during one of my weekly tutoring sessions, enjoying the delicious food that his mother had cooked for us. Jacob was more engrossed in the music sheet before him than the plate of spaghetti on the table. I was texting Sophie, giving myself a break from the endless hours of searching.

"You know, I took a lot of effort cooking these for you two," Mrs Lynch said, emerging from the kitchen and shaking her head at the two of us. Ever since I started tutoring Jacob, she had been treating me like one of her own children. I really appreciated it, but I should really remember to call her Alice. She had already reminded me enough times. "Sorry Alice," I muttered and blushed. She chuckled and left the dining room, leaving me and Jacob alone again.

I went back to texting Sophie when I heard a sudden yelp of excitement from Jacob. "Check this out Em!" he said, and thrusted the book over to me. "Chill Jake!" I replied and looked the score over. When we got closer as friends, we started calling each other by our nicknames, his being Jake and mine being Em.

My eyes widened in surprise after a minute of staring at the score and humming the melody, titled Introduction et Rondo Capriccioso, Op.28 by Camille Saint-Saens. "This is perfect!" I exclaimed. I glanced back up at Jacob who was running a hand through his hair. He shrugged. "It's pretty hard to play. Are you sure you can do it?" he asked me.

"Hey, what's a competition without a challenge?" I smiled but deep inside I was worried. The worst thing that could happen to me is that I was unable to play this piece. However, I really liked it and I wanted to try. I nodded my head and stretched my arms over my head. Better start practising while we have the time to.

After we were done with our lunch, we bounded up the steps like crazy and locked Jacob's door. For the rest of the afternoon, we started practising. Luckily, Jacob had a keyboard in his room and I had brought my violin so we could both practise. Slowly, I started to play the piece, very shakily may I add, my eyes squinting at the score with Jacob breathing right over my shoulder. After my first try, I turned expectantly to Jacob whose eyes were bulging out of their sockets. "I know I sound terrible. It's my first try," I sighed and my statement hit the nail on the head as Jacob stuttered and claimed otherwise but I knew better.

It was only a few hours later when I realised how late it was. I cursed silently and immediately packed my things, getting ready to leave. I was able to play the notes by now, but only just, so I knew that if I didn't practise, Jacob would strangle me, metaphorically of course.

For the next few weeks, Jacob and I rehearsed like mad. We had been to each other's houses so often; it was like a home away from home. We even practised in school, under the permission of Mrs Schmidt. Our rehearsal sessions were going well so far and Mrs Schmidt had nothing but positive comments for our playing. Nowadays, I hardly left home without my violin case in my hand and it was slowly becoming an accessory of mine.

The weeks flowed into November, and the date of the competition crept closer and closer, like a tiger stalking its prey. Our playing improved steadily ever since our first rehearsal but that didn't stop me from being nervous. Countless people have come up to me and Jacob, claiming that they would be there at the competition to cheer us on. Lily, Sophie, Xavier, Isaac, my parents, Jacob's parents, even Mrs Schmidt, was some of them. Just the thought of them watching me perform is enough to feed fuel to the flame.