Mirror, Mirror | ✓

•Day 48• Ava

November was just around the corner, and that meant I had to start filing in those applications right away. Holly kept bugging me to send in a recording to Julliard, which had been my dream school since the day I'd picked up a violin in the middle school music room all those many years ago. I still thought it was a long shot, considering the acceptance rate was a mere six percent, but it was worth a try. 

Pita Pan had decided to hand over the stage to me for five days in a week instead of just one, with an incredible raise in pay. My parents agreed to it without a second of hesitation because they knew how much my music meant to me, and were willing to do anything to see me grow as an artist.

Asian stereotypes? We bloody broke all of them.

My father played the violin when he was younger, but never got the chance to make it a profession because his parents were unsupportive and didn't believe that the arts were considered legitimate careers. He wanted me to carry on his passion. More than anything, he wanted me to carry on the passion that was now mine. 

"Mr. Mills," I greeted, smiling, when he opened the door for me. Caring for Holly meant caring for Mr. Mills and Mr. Kessler too. They were like a buy-one-get-two-free deal. Now that Mr. Kessler was gone, I had to devote even more time to Mr. Mills to make sure he was alright. He was a second father to me, that man, and I loved him just as much as I loved his daughter- so much that even Elody wouldn't be able to find the rights words to describe it.

"Ava!" He said warmly, giving me a tight hug. "How are you, kiddo?"

"I'm good, Mr. Mills," I lied. Really, I was internally combusting with nerves, just thinking about that recording I had to send in. I'd been working on Bach's Chaconne from Partita, said to be one of the hardest violin solo pieces of all time, and I shuddered at the prospect of not being able to perform it well enough.

The thing about choosing a challenging piece is that you won't get credit for it if you mess up. An easier piece in comparison would still be valued higher if performed with no mistakes. I'd opted for something harder, and if I messed up, there was no one to blame but myself for it. I'd chosen to challenge myself, and it was all on me, whatever happened.

"You look like you're in desperate need of one of my jokes," Mr. Mills smiled. I shrugged, grinning back.

"Did I tell you about the time I fell in love during a backflip? I was heels over head," he said, and I condensed into a heavy fit of laughter that I couldn't seem to break out of.

I just kept laughing and laughing and laughing, until- "Do you two know each other?" Elody asked acussingly, her arms crossed over her chest, her expression skeptical.

"No, we met around"- I looked down at my bare wrist comically-"Two minutes and fifty-six seconds ago," I lied smoothly.

Welcome to 'How to Lie to Your Best Friend's Alter' with Ava Wang! Here we will be teaching you how to deceive, cover up your tracks and still look trashy doing it! Subscribe for more videos on how to screw up your life, end all relationships and isolate yourself from everybody.

"And you already embarrassed me?" Elody turned to her father, the famous Elody-blush already making an appearance. "That's a new record!"

I started laughing again and this time- God, please have mercy on me- I really couldn't stop. All the pent up anger, sorrow and fears came pouring out of me through my laughter. The lid had  blown off of the bottle I'd kept my emotions trapped in.

"Way to go, Dad, you really did it this time," Elody said worriedly. "You've officially driven Ava insane."

"I'm sorry," I choked out, in between laughs. "I don't even know why I'm laughing anymore."