Da Capo

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

~2 days later~

It had been nearly a week now since Stephanie had tried out for the string quartet, and she had yet to hear back from Professor Lydnon. She supposed that hearing no news at this point wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but the suspense was getting to be almost unbearable.

But then, this morning while getting ready for the day, Stephanie got an email from Professor Lyndon, and she couldn't help but let out a scream.

"LYDIA!" Stephanie shrieked, busting into her friend's bedroom with her phone in hand. Lydia, who had been putting on her makeup at her vanity, jumped in surprise, causing her to smudge mascara along her eyelid.

"Oh. Sorry," Stephanie said apologetically, shrinking back slightly in embarrassment. Lydia glared at her friend before reaching for the makeup wipes.

"It's fine," she ground out, wiping away the black streak above her eye. "So what's gotten you so jumped up this morning?"

"I just got an email from Professor Lyndon," Stephanie explained eagerly, gesturing to her phone. "She wants me to come by the auditorium this morning for a callback!"

"What!?" Lydia screeched excitedly, hopping to her feet, the smudge of mascara on her eyelid forgotten. "Oh my God, Steph, that's fantastic!"

The two of them hugged joyfully before Lydia insisted on looking over the email herself. Stephanie pulled up her email and showed it to Lydia, who took the phone in her hand and began to read aloud:

"'...Dear Stephanie, I would like to thank you for auditioning last week for the Royal Academy String Quartet. We were delighted to have heard so many talented musicians play for us that day, and I am exceptionally pleased to inform you that you will be permitted to try out again amongst a smaller pool of contenders. Please meet us today at eleven o'clock in the Royal Academy auditorium, and bring sheet music to the classical piece of your choice. We look forward to seeing you there.'"

"Steph!" Lydia squealed after she finished reading, and she reached over to embrace her friend again. "You got a callback!"

"I know!" Stephanie said excitedly, squeezing her friend back. "I almost can't believe it, I've never gotten a callback before! I don't even know what I'm going to play!"

"Oh, that's right – we need to pick what piece you should play!" Lydia quickly pulled away from the hug, holding Stephanie's shoulders at arm's length. "Well, don't worry. I'll help you find the best piece to play so you'll nail the audition!"

"It needs to be a difficult piece, but not too difficult," Stephanie insisted as Lydia dragged her into the living room. "Something I can play well, but not trip me up in case I get too nervous."

"Precisely. And that's why I'm thinking Bach," Lydia said firmly, leading them over to one of her bookshelves teeming with sheet music. She pulled out a huge stack of papers the size of a dictionary and brought it over to the coffee table, plopping it down with a loud thunk. "Let's look through these."

Stephanie gazed down at the huge stack of music with amused trepidation. "Sounds good."

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Stephanie and Lydia were able to get to the Royal Academy before eleven o'clock that day. Lydia had a class to teach, so she couldn't stick around to listen to Stephanie audition, so she just hugged her friend and wished her good luck before heading upstairs to her classroom. Stephanie made her way to the auditorium alone, clutching the handle of her violin case and feeling nervous yet excited for what could potentially be her future.