Red Symphony

Brett's Family

Knock knock!

"Brett! Dinner's ready."  A middle-aged man's voice came from outside his room.

Brett stared at the door to his room with a sigh.  He took out his phone and typed a message before he went out to dinner.

Hey, Alice.  I'm on dinner now.  Thanks for today.

-Brett

He smiles for a moment, then left his phone there.  He immediately go to the dining room, meeting the middle-aged man who called him.

The atmosphere at his dinner time is always tense.  Not because they are arguing, but the figure who always brought joy to his house was already gone.  His mother.

"So, how is your practice, son?"  asked his father while chewing the food.

"Just the ordinary," said Brett dryly.  "We'll have a concert next week, Dad. Can you come?"

"Well, I'll check my schedule later. I should have free time."

Brett smiles a little.  His mouth busy shredding some dumplings.  He likes Dad's cooking. Well, kind of.

"You always come home late these days," Dad said.  "Extra practice?"

Brett silents for a moment, then decided to nod.

"How about tomorrow?"

Brett frowned.  It's unusual for Dad to ask him that deep.  "What's up?"

"Ellie and her family are taking us out to dinner," Dad said.  "So you better be home before 3 pm."

Brett fell silent.  Not her again.

"You didn't forget your last promise to your mother, did you?"  asked the father, seeing his son frozen in place.

Brett shake his head, suddenly feeling tired.  "I've said that to you I can keep that promise, right? But not with Ellie."

"You agree to this, Brett," said his dad.  "I hope you can grow up and not disappoint your mother."

Brett nodded heavily, then swallow his last bite.  "I'll go up to my room first, Dad."

The glasses man immediately take his dirty dishes to the kitchen and return to his room.

He sits on the bed, sighing.

It's been like this since her mother left.  But Brett couldn't do anything to fix it.  His head is always hurts when he starts thinking about his family and the orchestra at the same time.

He glance down when his hand landed on his phone.  He immediately check his mailbox again and smile a little.

I'll treasure today, Brett.  I'm going to accompany Allen to rest.  Thank you.

-Alice

--

The next day...
Alice had been tired in bed since this morning.  Her head was spinning, it felt difficult to just standing. Seems like she have to leave rehearsal today.

She has taken medicine and now she can only lean her head to a pillow.  Allen had gone to tutor with their mother, so she's alone at home.

If only today she could go to practice, she would have seen Brett again.  However, all she could do was close her eyes and rest.

Ahhhhh, what a great timing, being sick when the concert's coming.

To be continued :)