Andante

XCV

Eddy approached the conductor ever so cautiously. He knew he was being ridiculous; the conductor clearly liked the four of them and had in fact gone out of his way to give them so much more than they had thought they would ever get. But it had been drilled in him with too much force that he always had to be respectful, that he should never lead with someone who had authority, that he should wait for them to come to him. 
Still, though, he had to approach him, because he felt that he had to tell him something. He had waited for a good moment, and that moment was clearly now. The conductor wasn't busy, the youth orchestra was just packing up to go to lunch, he was free for him to approach. 

"Hi, Mr. Davids?" he said at the foot of the pulpit, his voice almost breathy. 
Mr. Davids turned around and instantly smiled widely at him. 
"Hey, Eddy! Howsit?"
He smiled back. "Very good, Mr. Davids. I... I just wanted to say... thank you. From all of us." 
Mr. Davids cocked his head slightly, and it was just as if he realised that it wasn't an easy thing for Eddy to come and talk to him.
"Of course, it was my pleasure, Eddy. I'm glad it's gone so well. I'll tell all four of you a bit about what they had to say, in a minute." 
He seemed to think for a second, to deliberate, and then he went on very purposely. 
"You've done very well this week, Eddy." He put his hand on Eddy's shoulder. "You'll be just fine, you know." 

You'll be just fine? Eddy was taken aback at the words, because suddenly he felt like Mr. Davids had seen a lot more than he'd ever meant him to. 
What did Mr. Davids understand? And was he right?
He really, really hoped so. 
He'd cast his eyes down, but he looked up at Mr. Davids again now.
"Thank you again. For everything."  
He wanted to turn around and walk to the edge of the stage to get his violin out, but the conductor spoke again, slowly, as if he weighed every word. 
"Are you going to study violin performance, Eddy?" 
Instantly Eddy felt like he couldn't breathe. Shit! What was he going to say? Was he going to tell him the truth?
And just as the thought came he knew in his heart that Mr. Davids deserved the truth. So he told the truth. 
"Yes, Mr. Davids, I am. But... but don't... please don't tell my mother this." 
The conductors eyes were concerned, but his smile was kind, and understanding. 
Very understanding, actually. 
"I'm glad, Eddy, and of course I won't tell anyone. And... if you ever need any help, contact me, okay?"

People said things like that all the time, Eddy knew that. But he also knew, he knew because he saw Mr. Davids' eyes, he knew because of what he'd done for them so far, that he meant it. 
Wow. 
"That means a lot, Mr. Davids." he said softly. 
Mr. Davids nodded. 
"Don't forget it, Eddy. Now, let's rehearse!"
"I will not forget it." he said gratefully, and he smiled at him as he turned around to fetch his violin. 

"You okay?" Brett asked when he approached the side of the stage, a concerned look in his eyes. "What did Mr. Davids want?" 
"I am." he smiled. "Very okay. I'll tell you all about it in the break, okay?" 
Brett touched his shoulder ever so slightly, ever so softly. No one would have noticed a thing about the little touch, but Eddy did, and he knew what it meant. Brett smiled his soft, sweet smile. 
"Okay."

They took their violins to the four seats that one of the orchestra members - dubbed the 'chair guy' - had put in a semicircle, and sat down to tune. 
"Alright, gang!" Mr. Davids enthused from his rostrum. "Let's rehearse!".
"Ah, no! Mate! You can't leave us hanging like that!" Todd - who clearly had not had the same upbringing around authority - called out. Everyone grinned, including Mr. Davids. 
"Okay then, fine. I'll tell you what they said first."