Note: For this chapter, folks, I strongly suggest you to go onto YouTube and search Mozart's Sonata for Two Piano's in D Major and listen to it while reading the part where Shaggy and Daphne plays the piece together.
Chapter 6: A rather interesting performance of a sonata for two pianos
Soon, the three families were seated at the dinner table while the butlers served their dinner.
The scene was accompanied by the gramophone player playing several Viennese waltzes, mostly the music composed by the Waltz King Johann Strauss Jr.
(Note: The music of Johann Strauss Jr. is featured in two Tom and Jerry shorts, first in Tom and Jerry in Hollywood Bowl with the Die Fledermaus overture, then in Johann Mouse, where various compositions by the composer was featured in the short, such as The Blue Danube, Kaiser-Walzer (The Emperor Waltz) and the Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka)
The Blakes and their guests ate their dinner silently as they listened to the music, and it wasn't long before dessert time came.
After dessert, the kids and Scooby were excused from the dinner table and they decided to hang around together in the back yard.
"Boy, like, am I full." Shaggy commented as they took a stroll down the path.
"Did you enjoy the dinner, Shag?" Daphne asked.
"I sure did, Daph." Shaggy nodded. "Your family cook sure makes good food!"
"Reah, reah, reah!" Scooby barked in agreement.
Turning to Fred, Shaggy continued, "Like, Fred, are you enjoying the party so far?"
"I sure am, Shag." Fred smiled. "The food is really good, and it is nice to meet Sugie. She's really a cute girl, you know."
"I agree." Daphne nodded. "Sugie really has a great sense of fashion and is really good in reading emotions."
Sugie simply smiled as her brother patted her head gently.
There was some silence before Fred asked, "So what kind of hobbies do you guys enjoy doing?"
"For me, I always like reading newspapers, including the school newspaper." Daphne replied. "In fact, Shag and Scooby helped getting me on board as an editor for the paper yesterday during lunch period. Also, I liked playing the piano, and I also enjoy drawing and reading mystery stories."
"Same here." Fred smiled. "I always enjoy reading mystery novels and I actually hope to become both a mystery writer and a lawyer some day."
"Like, a mystery writer and a lawyer, eh?" Shaggy asked. "That sounds fitting for you, Fred. In fact, I've read a few of your mystery short stories on the school's newspaper and they're quite interesting."
"I'm glad you enjoyed them, Shag." Fred replied proudly as he turned to his school rival. "In the meantime, what're your hobbies?"
"Like, for me, I actually collect belts." Shaggy replied. "Many of the belts I've collected have interesting, groovy designs, and if you take a closer look at me during the day, you may notice that I'm wearing one of the belts I've collected."
He then gestured at the belt he is wearing as Daphne and Fred took closer looks of it and nodded.
(The idea of Shaggy collecting belts is taken by and inspired by a series of the old 1990s Cartoon Network Scooby Doo promotion bumpers, titled Those Meddling Kids, where Shaggy mentioned that he collects belts)
"Wow, that sounds really interesting, Shaggy." Daphne replied. "Any other hobbies you've got?"
"Like, and then, there's piano-playing, guitar-playing, listening to music, particularly the Meedles and classical music, drawing, reading comics and mystery short stories, doing some exercise, reading a few medical journals and cooking." Shaggy continued.
"Wow, that's a lot of hobbies, Shag." Fred commented. "And you mentioned medical journals. What makes you enjoy reading them?"
"Norville's got a huge interest in the medical field." Sugie explained.
"Yeah, like, I'm hoping to become a doctor someday." Shaggy added as he nodded.
"Holy moly!" Fred remarked. "Good luck with that, Shag. I heard you need to study hard to get into medical school."
"Don't worry, Shag's got the talent in treating people." Daphne turned to him. "He is qualified in first aid and has helped out at the nurse's office plenty of times."
"That's good." Fred nodded. "At least that's a good start for someone who wants to become a medical doctor."
"Right." Scooby nodded in agreement as the friends continued to chat about other topics, and as the evening went by, Fred, Shaggy, Scooby and Daphne have become good friends, especially after they started chatting about the various mystery stories they've read before.
After returning from their walk, the kids returned to the living room and gathered around the piano as Fred said, "Well, Shag, Daph, since you guys have shown yourselves as being good at the piano, why don't you play a piece for two pianos?"
Shaggy and Daphne turned to look at each other for a moment before the former nodded. "Like, sure."
After that, the duo went to the pianos and took a seat. They then made some eye contact before placing their fingers on the keys.
After taking a breath, the duo's fingers both struck down on the keys in the same time as they started playing Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major.
Fred, Geoff, Sugie and Scooby listened silently as the duo played the sonata together. Neither of them had practiced playing the piece, nor did they have the music score in front of them, but the way they performed the sonata was as if they had rehearsed it countless times before.
Sugie looked at Scooby with a surprised look on her face. When was the last time her brother had practiced playing that sonata?
Fred and Geoff also had surprised looks on their faces, especially Fred. Daphne only begin to befriend Shaggy just the day before, and they never had any interaction prior to that, and yet they performed the double piano sonata as if they had rehearsed it together for the past week.
What also amazed them was the fact that Shaggy had switched to play the second piano part of the sonata sometime during the playing of the first movement while Daphne did the same in terms for switching to play the first piano part, a trend that continued throughout the rest of the performance.
Eventually, the duo finished playing the final four notes of the sonata and lifted their hands in a ceremonial fashion together.
"Holy cow, that was brilliant!" Geoff remarked as the four clapped their hands.
"Yeah, how did you guys did it?" Fred asked.
Shaggy shared a glance with Daphne before the former asked, "Like, how did we do it, Daph?"
Daphne shrugged. "Beats me, Shag. It just came to me during the piano-playing."
"Like, that's odd. Same here." Shaggy remarked. "In fact, I can't remember when was the last time I practiced playing the sonata."
Daphne nodded. "But nevertheless, that was a lot of fun, Shag."
"Yeah, it was." Shaggy smiled.
"You know, Norville, Daphne, you guys should partner up in playing music together sometime." Sugie suggested.
"Yeah. In fact, I can imagine you guys helping the school win more awards in music." Fred nodded.
Shaggy and Daphne both smiled at the remark as the latter subconsciously placed her hand on Shaggy's back.
Eventually, the guests took their leaves later that evening after thanking the Blakes for the dinner party.
Outside, District Attorney Jones went to shake Chief Rogers' hand before the two families returned to their respective homes.
"I see that Frederick had a great time at the party, Mr. Jones." Sam remarked during the handshake.
"Yeah, he did, and I can say the same for Norville and Maggie." Skip replied with a smile.
After the farewells, the Rogers arrived at their house located across the street.
That night, as Shaggy laid on his bed, he couldn't stop thinking about his piano performance with Daphne.
How did she know what he was thinking about when it comes to deciding to play Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos? All they did was sharing eye contact prior to performing the piece, and they did it flawlessly, even switching to play each other parts, in spite of the fact that neither him nor her have practiced the piano piece for a while.
Maybe his sister was right on her observation that there's something special about Daphne.
Those thoughts continued to linger in his mind as he drifted off to sleep.
In her bedroom, Daphne was also thinking about her piano performance with Shaggy.
How did he figure out that she intended to play Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos? All they did was sharing eye contact prior to performing the piece, and they did it flawlessly, even switching to play each other parts, in spite of the fact that neither him nor her have practiced the piano piece for a while.
Maybe his sister was right on her observation that she's more than just a friend to Shaggy.
Those thoughts continued to linger in her mind as she drifted off to sleep.
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