to you, 2000 days ago

14

Leaning over her vanity to examine her makeup in the mirror, Juliette popped her lips and fluffed up her perfectly curled hair, courtesy of her older sister's help.

Violette, her older sister, was reclined on Juliette's bed, clad in a white cashmere sweater and blue jeans, typing away on her phone. The sound of painted acrylics tapping on the screen, and the hum of Vivaldi's Winter from the Four Seasons, filled her bedroom. 

That piece was certainly one of Violette's favorites, having played it during her last year in Cortland's Youth Symphony. Unlike her sister, Violette had chosen to play the flute, and by extension, played in their school's band for several years, up until now.

"Why do you keep checking the mirror?" her sister asked, her dark eyes focused on her phone's screen.

"I don't know, there's just something about wearing all black and carrying an instrument as big as you that's so empowering," Juliette said, turning to her sister with her hands on her hips. As usual, her black flared trousers and blouse were meticulously ironed, paired with her favorite gold hoops and pendant.

"Empowering?" her sister asked, looking up from her phone with her eyebrows raised. "Aren't you like, 14?"

"Oh my god, let me live!" Juliette says exasperatingly, throwing her hands up in the air. She picked up her cello and sheet music before leaving her room and skipping down the stairs to retrieve her shoes.

Despite the past week's events, her heart leapt at the idea of performing in front of a crowd once again. She would perform at her school's concert hundreds of times, but the thrill of gathering together to put together a performance was renewed each time.

Nothing could wipe the grin off of her face as she sat inside her sister's car, ready to head to their school.

***

Just like every other day, Callum opened his cello case, gently taking out his instrument and bow, tuning it as per usual. His strings were always a hair off, but today, they were perfectly in tune, which seemed to send a good omen for tonight.

Rehan, their assistant section leader, did the same, laying his case on the floor and opening his cello. He let out a little gasp once he saw his A string, slackened and laying across the instrument's fingerboard.

Callum glanced inside the case, his eyes widening when he saw Rehan's instrument. "Well, that's unfortunate."

The worst was always inevitable right before a concert. No matter how many precautions Mrs. Moon took, something always went awry.

"At this point, I would rather break my hamstring than my A string," Rehan grumbled, taking out his instrument. "We're on stage in 20 minutes--I need to play," he said, waving over Josh from across the room, who was engrossed in a conversation with the lead second violinist, debating which of Beethoven's symphonies had the most emotional impact.

Since Mrs. Moon was currently conducting the intermediate orchestra, who was performing right before them, the only one qualified for replacing a cello string was Josh.

It was a good thing they always had extra strings on hand.

Setting his cello down, Callum stood up, surveying the classroom to see who else had arrived and began preparing for the concert. His friend, Bryce, began talking about their recent physics midterm, while warming up on scales and exercises to get his fingers moving fluently.

"Honestly, I might have used my protractor wrong. I don't think it's possible to throw a ball at 467 degrees..."

Callum had tuned out when his eyes spotted his stand partner across the classroom.