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The Pen is Mightier than the Sword

Playing Second Fiddle

troubled sleep

By troubled sleep
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troubled sleep

troubled sleep

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This was, very recently, a project for English. The assignment? Write a short story including the literary techniques we'd been talking about. Yes...endless possiblilties for anyone who can write a serious sort of story, but for someone who generally writes humor which is completely devoid of symbolism, forshadowing, and other fun little literary things, a project like this can actually be a bit annoying...and I must haev gone through almost writing three million different stories before I finally realized that 5th period was in a little under 12 hours and this project was/is a huge grade. But anyway, this is to document a story taht while it isn't one of my best, may well be one of the only non humor stories I have written all the way through from start to finish.

 

 

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The chair...oh it was so close, and out of reach!! Cara was almost crying with the indignity of it all. It could have been her's! It should have been her's! But then why, why was this..this stranger seated next to her?! Why, then, was she sitting in second chair, with someone completely unknown sitting in the sacred first violinist's chair??

Her stand partner was a sweet looking girl who cradled a violin in her arm and smiled innocently at those around her. Her long blonde hair fell in soft tresses down her back, and her face was without flaw. But Cara knew, she knew, that this girl next to her was just putting on a show. Really she was demonic and overly ambitious...she had to be. Because if she wasn’t, where would that put Cara? "I'm being judgmental again...I'm sure she's perfectly nice" she whispered, trying to calm herself, but she didn't believe it.

"Hello, my name is Christina." the principle chair violinist said, turning and flashing that sweet smile at Cara. She did her best to remain unmoved. 'That smile of her's may fool everyone else, but she'll never get me.'

"I'm Cara..." she replied cooly, or at least as cooly as possible considering the anger and annoyance she felt.

"Really, nice to meet you, " Christina replied, still beaming, "What Suzuki book are you in? I'm only in Suzuki Violin book 6 myself" she said in mock humility, or at least it sounded that way to Cara.

"I'm in book 5," Cara replied tritely.

"Really," Christina replied, Cara was sure she saw the other's smile increase when she learned of the fact that Cara was a whole book behind. “You know, its my first time here, and I can hardly believe that we only get one day to prepare as a group! I know I’m prepared to give my all, but I am almost afraid that not everyone else will be ready.” Christina said, her eyes sweeping over the second violin section.

Cara was just about to come up with a sarcastic remark when suddenly the conductor, a short and stout man of perhaps his late fifties, tapped a pencil against his stand, signaling that they were about to start. The buzzing in the auditorium abruptly stopped, and participants who weren't already in their seats scrambled up onto the stage.

"Good luck." Christina said, flashing another bright smile and pulling her long, blonde hair up into a bun. Cara half smiled, half scowled back.

“Now,” the conductor began flipping through the music, “Our first selection looks deceivingly easy but if you’ll turn your attention to measure thirty two, first violins you’ll notice that the sixteenth notes ....” he said, droning on. Christina, of course, had immediately snapped to attention as soon as the conductor had begun to speak, and after a fashion Cara had also willed herself into paying attention to the lecture about quarter rests and sixteenth notes, if only because she didn’t wish to be outdone in any way by Christina.

 

By the time lunch rolled around, Cara was fuming. Christina had performed exceptionally well, while Cara felt her fingers slipping around and going in all the wrong places. As though that hadn’t been bad enough, Christina had actually had the audacity to talk the conductor into making what the music marked as a duet between the first and second chair violins into just a solo for her, claiming that it ‘sounded far better and followed more with the feel of the music’ to have just a single instrument playing. That alone would have ordinarily set Cara off the edge, and coupled with her own undesirable playing was enough to make her throw her violin savagely down onto the floor in a rage. But as upset as she was, she inwardly admitted that she would never have really thrown her violin down like that, as it would have almost certainly damaged it. The one unwritten rule that united orchestras of all size and statue was the fact that it was an unspeakably horrid act punishable by ostracism from your orchestra to willingly damage your or someone else’s instrument.

With this in mind, she hopped off the stage and onto the carpet below. Surveying the many groups that the orchestra had broken up into, she noticed with annoyance that Christina had quite a crowd around her. With one final sigh of exasperation she started off to the seat in the audience where she had left her case, vowing to push Christina from her mind, if only for this lunch period.

As she was putting her violin away, she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder and whirled. Standing behind her was a girl with short blonde hair and a strange look about her, smiling she moved to introduce herself.

“My name is Cass,” she said, “and this is Andrew,” she said, introducing a person in the aisle who Cara hadn’t noticed. “Both of us go to Carl Sandburg Middle School”

 

“That’s the same school as Ms.Popular over there.” Andrew said, indicating Christina.

 

“Yes..I’m Cara,” she replied.

 

“Yes, we know. The second chair first violinist. I’m a second violinist.” Cass replied, putting heavy weight on the last sentence, as though it explained all of her problems. “So is Andrew...but I see that you’ve been close to Christina, what do you think of her?”

 

“I..” she stopped for a moment, unsure of whether or not to be diplomatic. In the end, her rage from earlier got the better of her, “She stole a partial solo from me, and the right to be principle chair, what do you think I think of her??”she said sharply.

 

This caused Cass to smile and nod over Cara’s head at Andrew.“I thought so,” she said, “ and in that case you’ll be willing to help us and a few others who feel the same.”

 

“Help you what?” Cara asked, suddenly suspicious.

 

“To get Chris-“ Andrew began

 

 

”We’re just going to kind of get Christina back for some of the things she’s done, like steal your shot at that solo.”Cass said glaring at Andrew.

 

“And every time she’s ever said anything against our sections.”

 

“It won’t be anything serious.”Cass said in a soothing tone

 

“Just a little practical joke or something.”

 

“And all we need is for you to distract her during the last break before the concert.”

 

Cass and Andrew seemed to have surrounded her, if that is possible for two people to do, and between their urges and Cara’s memories of Christina’s injustices from earlier, it didn’t take her long to reply.

 

“Sure, I’ll help.”

 

The other two were instantly grateful, showering her with compliments and praises before allowing Cara to go off and eat her lunch. As soon as she was out of earshot, Andrew turned to Lisa.

 

“Do you really think she’s in?” he asked.

 

“Undoubtedly. Come on, we’ve got planning to do, there’s only a half an hour left before we have to play again.”

 

Five hours later, it was nearly time for the concert, and everyone in the orchestra had changed into the formal black dress which made them look so much alike. But despite this, it was still easy for Cara to pick out the figure of Christina. Unlike everyone else who looked dull and weighted down by their black clothing, she appeared to be floating, and the black did nothing to dampen the color of her long blonde hair. They still had a good twenty minutes before people would even start to arrive, and so like so many others, Christina included, Cara had left her violin in her chair on stage. She looked back and nodded one last time at Cass and Andrew, before speaking to Christina.

 

“Hello,” she said, forcing her demeanor to be cheerful.

 

“Oh, hi.” Christina said, smiling that million dollar smile of hers.

 

“Yes, I just wanted to tell you good luck with your solo and everything.” Cara replied. It really, really hurt her to say these kind things, but she did her best not to show it.

 

“Yea...about that. Are you sure you’re not mad?”

 

“What?” Cara replied, her surprise genuine.

 

“My solo. I know it was supposed to be a duet between us. It was just a crazy idea, and I didn’t really think that the conductor would agree. But he did, and you never said anything so I guess that you either didn’t care, or you were incredibly angry with me. So I just wanted to say that I’m sorry if you are upset.”

 

Cara stood there with her mouth agape. “Did she really just apologize??” she thought, barely believing it..

 

“So no hard feelings?”.

 

“No...none at all.” Cara said in a very, very small voice.

 

“Great!” Christina said, regaining her bright smile. “And you know you really were right, when we were playing just a few minutes ago it really sounded very nice, everyone did seem to throw themselves into it just like you said-“

 

Suddenly there was a loud crack followed by the fluttering of sheet and the crash of a music stand on the stage. Before she had a chance to turn and look, she was nearly knocked over by Christina who quickly darted towards the stage, followed by a crowd of bored orchestra members.

 

“What is it?” she asked someone further up in the crowd.

 

“First chair stand fell or something.” someone replied absent mindedly

 

“Which section?!?!”

 

“First violins, I think.”

 

“Let me through!!” Cara said, quickly pushing her way up onto the stage.

 

A few moments later Cara was close enough to see what was going on. Instinctively she moved towards her own violin first, concerned to see it lying on the floor. She picked it up and was relieved to see that it was all in one piece, but her relief didn’t last long, for her happy thoughts were soon interrupted by a loud sob from the floor below her. Surprised by the sudden emotion, Cara switched her gaze to Christina who was sitting on the floor amid fallen music and a turned over chair. Her perfect complexion had turned blotchy and red from crying, and the occasional sob wracked her thin body. Lying in her lap was her violin, a large crack in the varnished body of the instrument revealing the rough interior.

“Does anyone have an extra violin?!” Cara yelled to the orchestra members assembled around her. Shrugs were the only answer she got. With a sigh, it registered with her what she had to do. After all, she was fairly certain that Andrew and Cass had been evolved in this, and so she too was connected with this unspeakable act. With a sigh, she plucked each string of her violin, wincing at the out of tune pitches, but grateful that none were broken. Then, with a sigh she squatted down next to Christina.

“Don’t worry about you’re violin. You can use mine tonight.” Cara said, pressing her own violin into the surprised hands of the other.

 

“But....no...I couldn’t. Then you wouldn’t be able to play.” Christina said, trying to give it back.

 

“No, I don’t know the solo, remember? And their about to open the doors.”

 

“I couldn’t it would be fair-“

 

”Just take it.” Cara said, her temper showing through.

 

“Thank you...”Christina said, standing up, throwing her arms around a rather surprised Cara.. “Thank you so very much.”

 

Pulling away Cara picked up Christina’s damaged violin and laid it on her own chair before walking silently off the stage. Christina smiled after her, then wiped away her tears with a tissue offered by one of her fellow orchestra members and took her seat just as a loving tide of parents and orchestra teachers began to enter the auditorium. As for Cara, she walked slowly into the dark of the theater, found a seat, and began to cry.

 

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hmmm, maybe I *should* have gone with my first idea and written about crazed Southerners who've had a twinge too much sweet tea breaking up people's weddings because they suspected the groom to be a human teapot...or maybe not...=shrugs and hopes for the best=

Edited by troubled sleep
dragonqueen

dragonqueen

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Very well-written. Nice how you made it clear Cara's view of Christina was colored by her own anger. You obviously know a lot about the orchestra. Do you play violin yourself?

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