A/N - This idea popped into my head as I was listening to music post Easter lunch, and thinking about childhood memories and this was one of them (though I don't play the cello, or any instrument to any acceptable level!) Enjoy :) I only own Isabel and Joey.
Penny spotted the three seats labeled 'Reserved: Hofstadter' in the front row of the auditorium and grinned. She sat down eagerly, shrugging her jacket off and putting her cell on silent before placing it in her bag, which she put underneath her seat. Seconds later, Leonard walked in, followed by a little boy with dark hair and glasses, holding a white plastic cup.
"Here you go mommy," the boy said, handing her the plastic cup. "Red grown up drink."
"Thank you sweetie," Penny smiled, taking the cup from him. "Did you get yourself a drink too?"
"Orange juice," He showed her his cup, grinning. "Daddy said no fizzy drinks!"
"Well, he's right, no fizzy drink apart from special occasions."
"Like birthday parties?"
"Yes, like birthday parties," Leonard smiled, handing Penny a paper program. "Where do you want to sit, Joey? In the middle, or next to me, or next to mom?"
He thought about this for a moment. "Umm... next to Mommy," he decided eventually, sitting down on Penny's left.
Leonard sat down on Penny's right, taking a sip from his own plastic cup. "Did you bring the camera?"
"Oh, yeah!" Penny gave Leonard her plastic cup to hold, before reaching for her bag and extracting a digital camera. She passed it to him in exchange for her cup. "You're better at taking photos. The ones I took at Joey's school play were awful."
"Oh, they weren't that bad," Leonard smiled.
The lights in the room were dimmed, and a woman whom Penny and Leonard recognized to be the principal, Mrs. Summers, stepped onto the stage, which had now been lit.
"Good evening, everyone! It's lovely to see so many of you here, filling up the auditorium. All the students are really excited, so I will get straight to it and save the talking until the end! Without further ado..."
For the next hour, Penny and Leonard watched the stage attentively, politely applauding at the appropriate times. Joey watched attentively too, whispering to Penny whenever he recognized somebody. There was a twenty-minute interval, in which Leonard took Joey to the bathroom and Penny fetched them snacks from the stall in the cafeteria being run by staff. There was adequate time to eat and settle back down before the second half began.
It was half an hour into the second act that Penny, Leonard and Joey sat up excitedly.
"Next up, is Isabel Hofstadter, who recently won two awards for Outstanding Achievement and Progression in Music." She paused, grinning, as the audience applauded. "Later, we will see her perform with the String Quartet, but now - Isabel Hofstadter, performing for us a cello concerto by Schumann. She will be accompanied by Mrs. Evans on the piano."
Penny and Leonard applauded loudly, beaming with pride, as their little girl walked on stage with her bow, her cello carried on by her music teacher. She took a small curtsey at the front of the stage before sitting down and picking up her cello. Her long blonde curls shimmered in the light. Penny felt tears come to her eyes as she thought about how elegant she looked in her black concert dress. Leonard squeezed her hand gently, using the other to take photos. Joey gave her a small wave, and Isabel grinned at him before turning her attention to the music on the stand.
Penny quickly took her phone from her bag, and switched it from photo mode to video mode, hitting 'record' just before Isabel started playing. Her parents couldn't contain the smiles on their faces. She played beautifully, in sync with the piano, moving graciously and with passion. When she finished, the room burst into applause. Joey, Penny and Leonard stood up, with Joey shouting "I love you, Izzie!" to which she waved at him enthusiastically before blowing her parents a kiss.
Ten minutes later, she was back with the String Quartet, playing another gorgeous piece of music. Her parents were always blown away by how talented she was, and how talented other kids her age were too - they had evidently put in a lot of time and effort to reach this standard, and to learn this piece as a group. It was the last piece of the evening, and it received a standing ovation from all the parents, the children beaming as they received applause and cheering from a full house.
Mrs. Summers came back on stage to congratulate the students and thank the parents for their continued support. The children then all came back on for a group bow. She gave a small speech, before wrapping up the evening.
Leonard and Penny waited with Joey in the auditorium for their daughter, who came out ten minutes later, carrying her cello case, her coat draped over her arm.
"Izzie! Oh, look at you, in your pretty dress," Penny pulled her into a hug, kissing her forehead. "That was absolutely amazing, well done!"
"Thanks, mom," She grinned.
"You are so talented, my little Isabel," Leonard pulled her in for a hug too. "I'm so proud of you!"
"Mom says I play better than you," Isabel grinned proudly.
"There's no doubting that," Leonard grinned. "You talented little girl, did you enjoy it?"
"Definitely," Isabel nodded eagerly. "It's so fun performing in front of all these people, all dressed up with a fancy music stand and everything! Did you enjoy it too, Joey?"
Joey nodded, a big smile on his face. "Yours was my favorite piece. I wasn't even bored this time."
"Well, as a treat, we're going to go out for dinner," Leonard smiled, taking the cello case from his daughter. "What do you think?"
"Can we go to the Cheesecake Factory?" Isabel asked, smiling cheekily at Penny.
Penny giggled. "Of course we can."