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Caught on Camera

Photograph: Stage Fright

Shinichi's eyes zeroed in immediately on the violin. It was being cradled in the arms of his photographed self, the bow clutched in the other hand. He remembered that instrument well, though it looked so much smaller now. It hadn't been a particularly good violin, but neither had it been one of those awful machine-manufactured ones. Even so, the sight of it brought a faint smile to his face. It had suffered through his first clumsy attempts at playing with him and seen him improve. It definitely deserved some recognition for the fact that he could play well now.

"That one's from your first concert," his mother explained.

Ah, that would explain the little red things clinging to his clothes and hair in the picture…

. . . . . . . . .

"Shin-chan, what are you doing still standing out here? The concert's about to start! Aren't you supposed to play first?"

The seven-year-old boy ducked his head, avoiding his best friend's inquisitive gaze. "I, uh, forgot something on the car. Yeah, um, I'm just gonna go get it and…"

The young magician raised an eyebrow as the other continued to ramble out what sounded to him like a rather shoddy lie. Shinichi never had been good at coming up with cover stories on the fly, especially not when he was caught by surprise. Kaito also couldn't help but notice that the other boy was edging towards the concert hall doors.

"You're not trying to run away, are you?" he asked curiously. "I mean, this is your first concert. It would be a shame not to make good use of it."

"I am not running away!" Shinichi exclaimed in indignation before his shoulders slumped. "I'm just—I mean…"

"You're nervous."

A red flush began to creep across Shinichi's face. "I didn't say that…"

"You didn't have to. It's kind of hard to miss," the other boy replied lightly. Pre-performance jitters weren't something he'd ever experienced himself (he'd been performing magic tricks for just about anyone who'd stay still long enough to watch for about as far back as he could remember), but he'd heard from his father that it was fairly common, especially among people who had to step onto a stage for the first time. And this wasn't just Shinichi's first violin concert—it was his first time on a stage, period. Add that to the fact that Shinichi had actually only started his violin lessons about a month and a half ago, and it wasn't hard to figure out why Kaito had caught him loitering in the lobby with his eyes on the doors to the outside world.

Shinichi had told his parents he wanted to learn how to play the violin because his fictional idol did. He'd been rather excited when they had agreed and signed him up for classes. He hadn't, however, bargained on having to actually play in front of an audience. But his violin teacher—like most music teachers—held regular concerts for her students. This particular teacher organized three concerts a year and expected all her students to perform, barring extenuating circumstances. That included students who'd only barely started playing.

Shinichi had come to him in a panic about a week ago when he'd first found out that he would be expected to play in the conert.

"I only know one song!" he'd exclaimed, pacing around the aspiring magician's room.

"That's all you need," the other had reasoned. "She's not asking you to play more than one, is she?"

"Well, no," the smaller boy admitted. "But it's a really simple song. No one plays songs that easy in concerts! It'll sound stupid compared to everyone else…" The last part came out in a mumble that Kaito had to strain to make out. Understanding dawned. So that was the problem. Shinichi was embarrassed that the only song he knew—and therefore the one he would have to play—was so simple. Even the next newest student had been playing for two years.

"Everyone has to start at the beginning though, right?" he said finally. "I'm sure they've all been where you are before. It would be pretty stupid of them to judge someone on that. And you're going first, so they won't have anyone to compare you too."

Shinichi had taken a moment to really think this over before eventually agreeing that it was probably true. He hadn't said any more about it after that, and Kaito had thought the issue was over with. Then again, maybe stage fright wasn't quite the same thing.

"You know, Tou-san told me that one way some people get over their nerves is that they imagine that everyone in the audience is only wearing underwear."

Shinichi looked horrified and slightly green in the face. "How is that supposed to help?!"

"Actually, I'm not entirely sure. I guess it's funny?"

The look Shinichi gave him at that clearly said that he thought it sounded about as funny as a funeral.

"He also said some people pretend everyone in the audience is a watermelon," Kaito offered.

Shinichi's brows furrowed. "Why would watermelons be at a concert?"

"Don't they say plants grow better when you play classical music for them to listen to."

"But if they were in the audience, then that would mean they'd already been harvested, so they aren't going to be growing anymore anyway."

The magician hesitated then waved a hand in dismissal. "Who cares? It's not supposed to make sense, Shin-chan. It's just a mental exercise to help make the nervousness go away. I don't think it matters if they're watermelons or pumpkins or rocks or whatever. It's just those things aren't people and probably don't care what you sound like when you play your violin. That means you don't have to worry about what they'll think and just play the way you know you can."

"I suppose so. You could have just said so."

"I thought I already did. I'm sure I said it was a technique for getting rid of stage fright."

Shinichi scratched his cheek, blushing faintly. "Oh, right. Um, I guess I just wasn't thinking."

Kaito laughed. Noting that his friend didn't look nervous anymore, he grabbed his hand and started pulling him towards the concert hall's inner doors beyond which the plush seats and stage waited.

"H—hey!" Shinichi protested, but he didn't do anything to try and get away. He was led all the way to the front row where the rest of the students who would be performing were already seated. The two who were scheduled to play after him were engaged in the process of checking over their instruments, and it suddenly struck him that he might not be the only one who was a little anxious. That realization went a long way in dispelling the last remnants of his unease. By the time his violin teacher called his name, he felt almost calm.

And it really wasn't as bad as he'd feared. He was feeling a blessed mix of happy that he hadn't made any mistakes and relieved that it was over by the time he took his bow.

Of course, then it had to start raining rose petals.

Murmurs of surprise and wonder drifted through the hall and Shinichi all but ran back to his seat at the end of the first row.

. . . . . . . . .

…"I still don't understand why you did that with the petals," he complained, turning to give Kaito a chagrined look. Admittedly, he'd forgotten all about what other people might or might not have thought about his performance after that. He was too busy being embarrassed at the curious and amused looks he'd been getting as he spent the rest of the concert picking rose petals off of his clothes.

The magician chuckled. "It just seemed so normal to give the performer flowers. I mean, practically all the students' families did. I saw them. I wanted to do something different, so I rigged up the petals before I went to find out why you hadn't come in from the lobby yet. Dad helped," he added a bit reluctantly when Toichi cleared his throat. "But it was my idea."

TBC

A.N: Wow it's been a long time since I updated this! I just suddenly wanted to write something on when they were younger again. I hope you enjoyed and have a great week! ^_^