Prelude
The sound of an oboe drifted through the air as Natsu strolled down the hall towards the percussion practice room. He smiled slightly, as this was the first oboe he'd heard in years. From the farthest practice room of the main hallway, the oboe sounded warm and full of emotion. The brief turn at the beginning of the piece floated directly towards him, causing him to stop outside. He hadn't heard that particular piece of music* in quite some time, since the Magnolia Orchestra performed with a world renowned Oboist when he was a child. He could not remember the name for the life of him.
The rich tone reached with ease from D to B. As the piece drew to a close, Natsu moved towards the door to the percussion practice room. He found himself holding his breath as the oboe gradually grew softer and slowed down, the final octave jump moments away. With the final octave hit delicately, he let out his breath and continued on towards his practice.
Only the sound of his footsteps broke the silence in the hall for a few moments before a piano could be heard as the door shut behind him. Nothing more than warm ups, scales, arpeggios, and such. He needed to warm up himself. First on the snare, working on basic rhythms. Then he moved over to the marima. He worked on scales, following by Etude in C Major by C.O. Musser, his audition piece for the following semester. His professor wanted him to attempt something different than what he normally played: snare, bass, any kind of drum really. He wanted to be versatile also, considering he wanted to best his brother who attended the prestigious Alvarez University of Fine Arts while he attended the local university.
After about an hour, he opened the door to the practice room. Etude in A Minor Op. 25 No. 11 by Chopin sounded from the practice room where the oboist had practiced. He walked towards the door and glanced in. An oboe stood on a stand. As this room didn't have a mirror, he couldn't tell who was playing the piece, except whoever it was had long blonde hair. She played with a passion he hadn't heard since Mavis' senior recital.
The pauses in the piece added a dramatic effect that caught him off guard, a moment of silence filled the air with sense of importance. He couldn't help but catch his breath at every one. Even Mavis couldn't play this well. This musician must be a professional. He could see her fingers on the upper register float over the keys as if she barely touched them. Every part of her body moved deliberately.
He constantly watched her until he felt his phone vibrate. He reached into his pocket to grab it and walked away as she stopped then restarted, practicing the piece, adding just a bit more volume in some places and less in others. When he would come back from grabbing a snack and meeting up with a friend, no one would be in the practice room. The musician with the long blonde hair who played piano and oboe whom he really wanted to meet would be gone, on her way home for the rest of winter break.
*Gabriel's Oboe Ennio Morricone
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this little Prelude. I plan on posting a chapter a month to get myself on a set schedule so you can expect the next chapter the day before Valentine's Day: February 13th! If you ever have any pieces of music that you would like the band to play, feel free to shoot me a message or post in the comments and I can try to find a way to work it in. :) Have a wonderful day! 3