A/N: A Language arts project I decided to upload. It was only supposed to be a thousand words... 1826. Guilty as charged.
I am aware the character development isn't worth crap, and it gets cheesy at the end. But with five characters, and limited time to finish it (I even had to turn it in late, Odyssey of the Mind world finals were deemed more important in my book. Plus I didn't have a computer. So there.)
Well, enough excuses, I hope you enjoy!
Quintet
Aislynn
Stupid trills. Why trills, Mozart? I'm not a flute, Aislynn thought in complaint, staring exasperatedly at the sheet of music in front of her. Mozart's Concerto No. 2, the paper read. The music would have looked daunting to an amateur, but Aislynn had been playing her instrument, the French horn, for years now. She had practiced the piece for hours, and was near perfection. The only thing bothering her was the long trills in the first movement. She practiced the parts in question obsessively.
"You sound fine, you know," a voice reassured the hornist. She balanced her horn on her leg, studying the music.
"Nuh-uh, the trills aren't coming out clearly," Aislynn sighed, never removing her eyes from the music. "Julliard isn't interested in sloppy trills."
"Even Julliard isn't that picky," said the voice. Aislynn turned her head to face the voice. It was Victor, the tuba player in their brass quintet. Their rehearsal was about to start, and Aislynn and Victor, along with the other three members of the quintet, were present in the small stage area of Victor's parent's music store.
"And how might you know, mister big-shot basketball player?" Aislynn retorted lightheartedly. Victor rolled his eyes. Aislynn chuckled, and returned to her music. Victor went back to his own warm ups.
Withing a few minutes, the entirety of the five-person ensemble had taken their seats, creating a u-shape. On the far left, if one was looking from an audience, sat Josh, trumpet gleaming effortlessly, even in the harsh lighting. Next to him sat Aislynn, the French horn player, and 'a darned good one at that', as she had been told. Of course, Aislynn didn't allow herself to become bigheaded over such things.
In the middle sat Victor, the tuba player. He was chatting with the trombone player, Aaron, who sat directly across from the French horn. He was grinning his usual goofy, lopsided smile. Finishing the U was Sophia, the second trumpet player, who was avidly studying her music, playing a tricky passage every few moments.
"Okay," Victor caught the attention of the group, who all turned to give their full attention. "We might as well get started. Why don't we start with -"
"Say, Victor, do you mind if we start with the sonata today? I worked quite hard on it, and I'd like the opportunity to play it with the group," said Josh, smile wide, already knowing the answer.
"Well, sure," Victor said, tolerating Josh's request.
Josh grinned superiorly. Aislynn and Sophia quietly pulled out their music. Aaron followed in suit, bet not without an obvious look of disappointment.
"Ready?" Josh asked. The rest of the group nodded halfheartedly. Josh raised his gleaming horn, and they began playing.
Sophia/Aislynn
A few days after the rehearsal, Sophia and Aislynn were sitting in trigonometry class. Sophia glanced compulsively at the clock, silently begging for the bell to ring. After an exhausting class period, it finally does. Aislynn looked to her friend, who seemed obviously troubled by the new concepts.
"You okay?"
Sophia looked up. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, I totally get it." But her face showed she most definitely did not.
"I'll help you at rehearsal," Aislynn said, seeing through her friend instantaneously.
Sophia sighed. "How am I supposed to get through college if I can't eve understand trig?"
Aislynn paused, unsure of how to answer. "Hey, at least you're not me. I have to live through music school, if I even get in, and then there is the gigantic chance that I probably won't even get a job."
"Oh, come on. You're amazing. You have an audition to get into Julliard tomorrow," Sophia reassured. "You're going places, whereas I'm stuck here because I suck at math."
"You don't suck at math, you have dyscalculia. People understand that," Aislynn pointed out.
"I guess," Sophia replied, shrugging. "See you later." She grabbed her books, and exited the classroom.
"Later," Aislynn mumbled. She paused for a moment, thinking hard. She soon realized she had to get to her next class, and promptly left the room.
Josh
"C'mon Celia," Josh begged into the phone. "I'm sorry, okay?
A voice yelled on the other end of the phone, one would safely assume that it was Celia.
Crazy chick, Josh thought, removing the phone from his ear as it screamed at him.
Josh pleaded halfheartedly with the device for a second more, the Celia, deciding she had had enough, hung up.
"Fine, I didn't like you that much either! I'm glad we're over!" Josh yelled at the phone, even though he knew it was hopeless, that she couldn't hear him. He sighed. Was it something he had said? Well, if his memory served him right, he was just talking about her, and how she could be so bossy sometimes.
Then she had screamed at him, called him non-repeatable words, and then broke up with him. Fine, he didn't need her. He'd had his eye on another girl for a while, anyways… What was her name? He remembered that she was blonde…
Oh well, he thought, her name doesn't really matter, she was hot.
Aaron
Aaron sat in his room, bored, looking for something to do.
Practice trombone? Please, it's Friday night. Clean? Don't make me laugh, Aaron thought, running through his options.
Homework? Aaron hadn't done it yet. But, then again, who really cares about poetry and countries halfway around the world?
As he contemplated, his phone buzzed on the desk nearby. It was his friend, asking him to come to a basketball game. Homework forgotten, Aaron responded eagerly, grabbed his car keys, and headed out the door.
Sophia
What? Sophia stared blankly at the page in front of her. She sighed; flipping though the book to find the page that explained how to do the problem.
A few frustrated moments later, Sophia heard the faint rumbling of her mother's car pulling up the driveway.
"Hey," her mother said, dropping a pile of letters on the table. Sophia looked up from her homework for a moment, examining the stack placed a few mere inches from her. She picked carefully though the pile until she found the letter she was looking for.
There it was, the letter from the University of Maryland, Sophia's top college pick. She stared at it for a minute, her fingers lingering on the crisp, white envelope.
Sophia felt like the world was closing in on her, gazing at the letter that held her fate. She picked open the seal slowly, carefully, as if any damage would disrupt the results. Her hands quivered as she pulled the paper from the envelope.
Sophia scanned the paper, her eyes finally resting on the one word she was looking for. She let out a yelp of excitement. She had been accepted.
Smiling, she turned back to her homework, tackling the problems with new confidence.
Victor
Victor sat at his kitchen table, studying two letters placed in front of him. One was from Boston University, the other from New England Conservatory of Music. Both congratulated him for earning a scholarship, both urged him to accept. Boston University wanted him to play basketball, NECM wanted him to play tuba.
He sighed, running his hands though his hair, a habit he couldn't avoid when faced with a stressful situation.
He studied both letters, assessing his options again and again. He sighed, knowing he would eventually have to make a decision. Either way, he hoped he wouldn't regret his eventual choice.
Aislynn
Stop, Aislynn thought, realizing she was subconsciously cracking her knuckles, a nervous habit she had acquired from years of stressful auditions. Today was no exception, and perhaps one of the most important auditions she had ever played. Aislynn was in New York City, a few moments from her audition for Julliard.
After a few minutes that seemed to stretch to forever, a girl stepped out of the room, careful not to make much noise. She had in her hands various sheets of music and a clarinet that must have cost at least two thousand dollars.
"Good luck," she said distractedly, not waiting for a response as she started toward the warm up room.
"Thanks," Aislynn muttered. She picked up her horn and music. She stopped in front of the door, taking a few deep breaths before opening the door, as she knew the next ten minutes were the ultimate factor in her fate as a musician.
Aaron
Aaron stared in disbelief at the letters, all rejections from colleges across the country.
Nobody wanted me, he though. Nobody wants a slacker, said a small voice in his head.
Concert
The Performing Arts Center was brand new. The wooden stage was unmarred, the lights shown brightly, the seats hadn't yet acquired years of rips, tears, and gum. It was easy to lose yourself in thought on this stage, no cracks to watch for, no tattered curtains lying around. The quintet members were taking advantage of it, each consumed by their thoughts.
Josh was contemplating his now former relationship. He was beginning to come to terms with it, and the reasons it ended, why it always ended. Josh started to see that maybe, just maybe, he could see other's faults much better than he could see his own. Then and there, stage lights and all, he wordlessly vowed to bring his ego down, or at least to try.
Aislynn had more confidence than she had ever had before. She had an amazing Julliard audition, all her hours of practice paid off. She was a good horn player, and it was time to show it.
Victor realized something walking on stage. It dawned on him that he loved music, and performing, more than anything in the world. Basketball was great, but music was life. He decided to take the NECM scholarship.
Aaron decided, after much thought, to go to community college to raise his grades before going to a bigger university. He resolved that he would at least try to stop slacking off, and attempt to be a better student. After all, the future matters.
Sophia finally understood that, dyscalculia or not, she could make it through college. She had made it into the University of Maryland, and she was determined to live up to the honor. She could make it through college, and through life, no matter how hard it was.
After each reached their own resolution, they looked around at each other, waiting for a signal to start. Suddenly, they all had one single thought, music. Josh lifted his horn, and they began to play. It may have been they're last concert together, but, in a sense, it was only the beginning.
Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music ~ Ronald Reagan
So, how was it? Good, bad, as epic as Red Vines, or made you kick wiener dogs? (I apologize for the Starkid references...)
Well, review and tell me! I like these characters, I may write some little stories about them sometime, so stay tuned.