The Tour Guide (a fan fic)

Chapter 1. Concert night.

Concert blacks, tidied hair, and makeup. I was proud of the first classical music concert that I saved up for, so I dressed how I was supposed to when I was in college. I walked down to the orchestra section of the main hall in the Cultural Centre alone, searching for my assigned seat like a lost girl. I eventually found it and sat between a middle-aged woman and a guy who had a plus-one.

Reminders not to take pictures, put phones on silent, and remain in seats during the program were played in the voiceover for every five minutes. I started reading the program notes while commanding myself to sink into the fact that the name on the cover was just Edward Chen, violin. No Brett Yang near the line, no other associated act either.

An A from the oboist came out, and every musician tuned their instrument. I looked up once the house went dark as the orchestra stood up and looked like they were entering a game. Eddy, followed up by the conductor, entered the stage. He shook the concertmaster's and associate concertmaster's hands and nodded at the conductor. He was ready.

I fell for Eddy's music the moment I saw him on stage, performing Sibelius Violin Concerto. His short cadenza starting from the A minor chord sent me to a dream, which would mean the one that came true in the eyes of Eddy.

I tried to approach him after the concert, but a sea of journalists gathered around him. I just watched the chaos from afar until my feet got tired of standing on three-inch heels. I stayed in the cafe nearby to enjoy myself some coffee while texting my best friends about the concert I attended.

A cup of coffee and a sausage roll later, I finally thought about going home. I struggled on hailing a taxi for literally ten minutes, then I heard someone from a distance shout "Hey, miss!" Could that be me? I looked to my right and saw Eddy pointing to his Über while looking at me.

I shouted back, "I'm fine, sir, thanks."

He walked a bit towards me, "Miss, but it's hard to find a cab. I can drop you off to where you're going." It would be rude to reject someone's offer, especially when I needed it the most. "Okay." I got into the car, and he sat beside me in the backseat.

"I'm Eddy," he looked at me to shake my hand, to which I responded, "I'm Jewel."

I tried to pretend that I did not know him. "So, I guess you came from overseas?"

"Yeah, I just had a concert."

"That's nice. What instrument do you play?"

"The violin. I did a concerto tonight, Philippine debut."

"I'm sure it went well, huh?"

"I sure hope so. The audience seemed to have loved it."

The car was nearing its way to the city stadium. Okay, Jewel, time to break the awkward atmosphere you were in now.

"Oh, Eddy, you can just drop me off by that corner. It's near my apartment, I can just walk."

"You sure? We can drop you off right there."

"No, it's fine."

The car went to the rightmost lane and stopped, as Eddy made way for me to get off. Standing outside the car, Eddy asked me, "sure I'll see you again?"

"I don't know. Congrats on your concert, though! And thank you for the ride."

We hugged each other goodbye and Eddy got back in the car. I tried not to look back, and I did not know either if I wanted to tell my friends that Edward Chen offered to share a ride with me.