Hello lovely readers!
Hope you've all had a wonderful weekend!
This chapter felt quite tricky to write, so please let me know your thoughts!
☘ ☘ ☘
By the time that Dr. Drewitt arrived, Enid was sitting in the chair on the stage with her cello ready.
He wore a dark suit with a golden tie today, his blond curls windswept and in a charming disarray.
He smiled as he approached her, his fire eyes alight in the golden light.
Her breath hitched as she realized again how impossibly handsome this man was.
She blushed from her thoughts and the memory of his embrace the day before.
"Hello, Enid." He said as he climbed the last of the steps and stood before her.
"Good afternoon, sir." She responded with a sweet smile.
"I've thought some about how I'd like these classes to go. The dean has requested that you perform at the Winter Gala in December. That gives us around four months to prepare you for it, which is far more than we will need. Do you wish to perform?" He asked her, his tone warm.
She nodded hesitantly.
Performing in front of strangers was still a relatively new experience for Enid.
Long gone were the days in which her father was the only person she played for.
However, she endeavored to master the nerves she felt toward it.
And to make her professor proud, of course.
"Good." His smile grew. "Well, today I want to do a test of sorts. Find out your threshold. That way we can push it even further."
Enid's palms began to sweat.
"The song you played for me last week, did you write that?" He asked as he walked down the stairs to sit in his seat in the first row.
Her audience of one.
"Yes, I write most of the music I play." Roses bloomed on her cheeks.
Dr. Drewitt shook his head in amazement.
"It was the most beautiful piece I've ever heard." His voice and eyes showcased his honesty, otherwise Enid would've thought he was lying.
"I-I, thank you so much." She felt her eyes glisten as she held back tears.
Such praise from one of the most talented musicians in the world left her breathless.
"Will you play me another of your pieces?" His hopeful grin contrasting the command in his voice.
Although he seemed to be the kindest of the three men, he still had a dominating presence.
"Of course," she smiled nervously at him before steadying her grip on the cello.
She had been working on a new piece the past few days.
If she was honest with herself, it was inspired by the three men that had abruptly become a center focus of her thoughts.
Her eyes fluttered shut as they usually did when she played.
She raised the bow with grace and drew it nimbly along the strings.
From the moment she laid eyes on Dr. Easton, the notes had begun to swirl in her mind.
Blue eyes, strength, power, control.
He was pure intimidation.
Thus, the song began low and dark, the notes striking and falling.
Deep in her veins, music had hummed as though to commemorate something momentous.
When she met Dr. Romano, it only grew.
Louder and more complex, the notes wove their way along her fingertips.
Like another song altogether, she shifted in a faster pace.
Her bow danced across the strings as pitch shifted higher, yet still holding onto a darker edge.
Strong hands clutching a book.
The smell of coffee and cologne.
Mischievous, yet firm.
The song swirled as though it were dancing.
Sitting up straighter, she grew even quicker in her pace.
The tempo rising and falling like it was alive and breathing.
Finally, there was Dr. Drewitt.
Golden and bronzed, an angel walking the earth.
The notes rose higher, toward the heavens.
He was music embodied, confusing and commanding.
Warmth swelled within her as the last piece had fallen into place.
Clenching the bow tightly, she delved into the final portion.
The three sections intertwined and blended as they came together.
Quick, dark, slow, light.
She bounced from one end to the other with ease.
Three near immortal beings coming together.
All that divided them, all that connected them.
Her confusion.
Her wonder.
Power, enrapture, warmth.
She wondered if this was what religion felt like.
Her song gripping her heart, lacing through her rib cage and filling her lungs.
Enid was nothing in that moment, only music and music and music.
With trembling hands, she eased the song to a close.
It was the most emotional she had ever felt while playing.
When she opened her eyes, she found that her audience had grown.
Three men stood before her, each so different.
Yet each the same as they sent her heart racing.
The inspiration for her song.
They stood, completely enraptured by the small girl.
Like a siren, her song was like a spell cast over them.
She watched as they seemed to be trying to catch their breath and wondered when they had arrived.
They wondered how such a small girl held such power.
She was completely unaware of the effect she had on them.
Dr. Drewitt climbed the steps and took the cello from her.
His eyes regarded her with something artists had been trying and failing to paint for centuries.
Utter and complete devotion.
Enid blushed, believing it to simply be praise for his student.
"Magnificent." He whispered huskily, his eyes unfathomably dark.
"You are unbelievably talented, Miss McCarthy." Dr. Easton's low voice like melting silver.
He and Dr. Romano came to stand on each of her sides.
At some point she had stood up, but she couldn't quite remember when.
"Mi hai rubato il cuore, uccellino." His green eyes and accent sending fire racing through her veins.
Enid wondered what he had said.
His native tongue sending strange flutters through her stomach.
She made a note to touch up on the little Italian she knew.
Glancing around, she met three intense pairs of eyes trained on her smaller frame.
She struggled to breathe, surrounded by three god-like beings.
It was hypnotic. Their colognes all coming together was otherworldly, she tried not to sniff obviously.
"I'm sorry we crashed your lesson, little one." Enid was relieved that he returned to English. "We just have more to discuss with you about the assistant position."
"Oh gosh, I don't have my essay ready yet. I'm so sorry." Her eyes darting nervously to Dr. Easton.
The two other man turned quickly to look at him in confusion.
Dr. Easton met their gazes and seemed to communicate something to them nonverbally.
"Don't worry, Enid. You have plenty of time to work on that." His emotionless mask slipping for a moment as he gave her a small, reassuring smile.
Dr. Romano cleared his throat.
"Anyways, we felt like we didn't explain well enough what exactly you'd be doing. It will really be more like an internship. You'll spend time with each of us in our respective fields and gain valuable first-hand experience."
"That sounds wonderful." Enid smiled widely at the men, the freckled skin around her nose and eyes crinkling.
"We'd like you to officially start on Tuesday of next week. You'll be coming with me to a performance I'm doing for the Massachusetts Children's Cancer Fundraising Gala. We'll be going into Boston for the night." Dr. Drewitt said, his strong arms crossed in front of him.
"Okay, will I need to bring anything with me?" Enid enquired politely.
"You'll need to wear formal clothing, but I will supply you with a dress. So, bring some heels or flats, whatever you are more comfortable with. Other than that, just bring your lovely self." He smiled kindly at her.
Her rosy cheeks darkened further.
He had called her lovely.
"And then you'll be mine that Wednesday to help me with some research I'm conducting." Dr. Easton's blue eyes shined with hidden promises.
Enid nodded along innocently.
"Saving the best for last, on Friday you'll accompany me to a literature fair on campus. I'm a keynote speaker." Dr. Romano winked at her.
Enid turned slightly to grab her planner from her bag.
She neatly wrote down the plans, confirming the times and specifics.
Once she was done, she packed up her schoolbag and cello case before turning back to the men.
Each still stood watching her, their eyes dark and sharply watching as she tugged her satchel over her shoulder.
Her long, reddish hair was down today, and she used it to her advantage as she hid shyly behind it.
For a moment, they stood silently in the grand hall.
The angels and cherubs painted on the divine ceiling watching the quartet.
The historic music hall had seen thousands of students and instructors come and go over the years.
It had heard hundreds of performances.
It had seen unbelievable things.
Yet, the most remarkable of them all was the four silhouettes on stage.
There was something magnetic, other-worldly about the group.
Something that seemed to have been written in the stars since time had begun.
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For those of you wondering, Dr. Romano said: "You have stolen my heart, little bird."
I'm not positive that was correct Italian (I sought help from Google Translate), but I did my best!
Comments fill my heart with joy.
All my love, Sappho ☘