Please play the video above when you see * below. :3

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| LANCE |

"Let's do our best, Holmes," I told my violin, and then hummed my chosen piece softly while wiping its strings with a clean cloth.

I was sitting in-between Alice, who was gazing at the airplane's right wing through the window, and Mr. Alex Hoffman, who was taking a nap. He was one of Weyral's violin teachers. Alice and I had chosen him to be our guardian for the Elgar Community's Violin Solo Competition.

Mr. Hoffman had said that the three of us should go together to the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall, where the competition would be held, two hours earlier so that Alice and I could have more time to prepare. When I'd informed my friends that I couldn't come with them to the venue, only Cindy had been the one who'd disagreed because I'd be with her rival, but she couldn't do a thing about it.

"You still won't tell me the piece you're gonna play, Lance?" asked Alice, now looking at me.

"I was humming it, actually," I answered.

She scowled. "I can't figure out what it is, unfortunately."

"Fine, but only if you also tell me the title of the piece you are going to play."

She nodded, grinning. "Deal."

"Bach's 'Andante 2nd Solo Sonata.'"

"Hey, mine's composed by Bach, too," Alice beamed.

"'Toccata and Fugue in D Minor'?" I joked.

She shook her head, smiling. "Nope. 'Air on the G String.'"

Raising an eyebrow in disbelief, I told her, "You are pulling my leg, right?"

"Nope again." She laughed lightly so that she wouldn't disturb Mr. Hoffman and the other passengers. We were flying in first class.

I frowned. "No offense to you and Johann Sebastian Bach, but that is a simple piece. You only have a ten-percent chance to win the competition if you use that."

Alice squeezed my hand to comfort me. "Don't worry, Lance. I promise you'll be shocked by my performance later."

"I'm assuming there is going to be a twist."

She grinned again. "Yep."

Smiling gently, I said, "Then I cannot wait to watch your performance later."

Her brown eyes lit up. "Really? Even after what we talked about before?"

"Of course." I squeezed her hand while thinking, Why would I worry if I'm going to win the contest?

Alice quickly kissed me on the cheek. I reminded myself to wipe the lipstick mark before entering the San Francisco International Airport.

🎻 🎻 🎻

The Elgar Community's Violin Solo Competition is one of the best classical music competitions in the world. They invite some of the famous teenage violinists in America to compete with each other and gain recognition from other countries.

The contestants are evaluated by a panel of three judges in ten criteria, each on a scale of one to five--with five being the highest, and one being the lowest score. Six of these criteria are designated as technical, and four are designated as artistic. Both of these major designations are totaled separately, and then the panel's scores are combined for the grand total score.

In short, this competition means serious business.

"Collins!" someone called as I entered the recreation room of the symphony hall (which was half full of the other contestants. I didn't know some of them, though), then saw Eldreez Point's Paganini, Gabriel Vole, getting a can of Coke from the soda machine. When our gazes locked, he beamed, and I grinned.

Vole was also a junior high school student. It'd been a long time since I last saw him; it'd been in a stringed competition last year.

"Vole," I greeted back as I went in his direction, then we did a fist bump. "How are you?"

"Formal as usual, eh?" he teased, his Irish accent ringing in the room.

I rolled my eyes mockingly. "Habits. Sorry." Then noticing someone wasn't with him, I asked, "By the way, where is Jennifer Arnatt?"

Vole frowned. "Dude, she got a fever last night because of practicing too much."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah."

"Just like someone I know, then," a voice behind us said.

Vole and I turned around and saw Alice standing there while laughing to her heart's content. I gave her a deadpan look, but she just ignored me.

"Yo, Alice," greeted Vole with a smile. "Still gorgeous, I see."

She smiled back at him. "And you still look handsome, Gabriel."

"Say, who were you talking about?"

She chin-pointed to me with a teasing look, making me groan.

"Whoa! Seriously, Collins?" asked Vole, trying hard not to laugh.

"Yes. Last week," I admitted with a defeated sigh. "You can't blame me for over practicing, though." I added quickly, "And Arnatt."

"You're right," he agreed, nodding. "I mean, this competition is important to all of us." He paused. "But to tell you guys the truth, I'm just here to have fun."

Fun, huh? I thought.

"That could not be more true," said Alice. "I hope Jennifer will get better soon, though. I miss her."

"I am also hoping for her to get well quickly," I said.

"I'll be sure to relay to her your messages," Vole assured the two of us.

"Thank you. Say, what is the title of the piece you are going to play, if I may ask?" I told him. "Luigi Boccherini's?"

He grinned widely. "You'll find out later. By the way, I'm now the first violinist of the Eldreez Point Philharmonia."

Alice's eyes widened, impressed. "Wow! That's great to hear, Gabriel. Congratulations!"

I also congratulated him. But this meant bad news to the other schools. With Vole being the first violinist, it'd be hard to defeat the E.P. Philharmonia in concerto competitions now. Fortunately, the Weyral Symphony Orchestra's first violinist was also a virtuoso, I had to admit.

But then Vole's grin instantly vanished. He ran his free hand through his brown hair. "Crap! I forgot my guardian's waiting for me in our room. Talk to you guys later, yeah?" Then he sprinted toward the door with his Coke, not giving us the chance to say something back.

"Speaking of rooms," Alice said, "Mr. Hoffman's waiting for us in our room."

I nodded. "We should go there now, then."

🎻 🎻 🎻

"You two look perfect!" Mr. Hoffman complimented after taking a picture of Alice and me together using her iPhone. "And I'm also sure you two will do your best performing on stage later."

Alice and I were now wearing our formal attires. Mine was the usual black suit, my hair gelled to the side. Alice's hair was styled in a glamorous way; she was wearing light makeup and a sexy, sparkling gray dress (I was surprised this kind of dress had been allowed for this contest).

Well, I'm a gentleman, so I won't go into details about her outfit.

The three of us were in our designated room; it was only small and consisted of a table, four chairs, a blue couch on the left side, and a speaker in the corner for announcements and such, I presumed.

"Thank you, Mr. Hoffman," I said, smiling gently. "And of course. Alice and I want to make Weyral proud of us and boost its popularity in the music field."

"And we also won't forget the pieces of advice you've given us," added Alice as he handed her back her phone.

"By the way, Mr. Hoffman," I said. "How many violinists are participating in this competition?"

"There are nineteen participants all in all, excluding Jennifer Arnatt of Eldreez Point, which I'm sure you already know the reason why," he answered. "Anyway, Alice, you're contestant number ten. You're contestant number seventeen, Lance."

"Oh, goodie," I mumbled sarcastically. "I should have been first."

"The president of the Elgar Community did drawing lots," Mr. Hoffman informed us. "But on the positive side, Lance, you'll have more time to prepare and observe the other violinists than Alice."

"Thank you for your encouraging words, Mr. Hoffman."

Alice waved a dismissing hand. "I'm confident in my techniques this time, Mr. Hoffman. I promise I'll win this competition," she stated with utmost assurance.

I almost gaped at her. This must be the effect of joining the cheerleading squad.

"That's the spirit, Alice." Mr. Hoffman put his hands on each of our shoulders. "No matter what the outcome will be, know that I'm already proud of you two. It's really a pleasure to be your guardian for this competition. Please don't forget to have fun while performing on stage, okay? That's the most important thing when you play music." He smiled warmly at us.

There it was again--the word "fun."

Alice and I couldn't help returning Mr. Hoffman's kind smile. What he'd told us boosted our confidence.

"Well, I must go to the seating area now for you guys to prepare," he continued. "Good luck, Lance, Alice."

We thanked him in unison with big grins on our faces.

When he'd left the room, Alice and I started preparing our things. I was tuning the strings of Holmes while standing in front of the table. Alice was applying rosin onto her bow while sitting on the couch, her legs crossed.

After I was done with the tuning, I got my phone from my bag, pressed the power button and saw I had a text from Cindy. I then unlocked it and tapped the mail icon to read her message.

We just arrived @ the symphony hall. Gud luck, Lance! We're rooting for u 🙌

Reading her text gave me another boost of confidence. Grinning, I replied, TYSM, friends! Please also root for Alice. I'll really appreciate it. 😊

LOL nope, was the reply I received seconds later.

Then there was another text, but this time it was from Spencer.

Don't worry, Lance. Dee's the only one who won't support Alice. 😂 Do ur best, you two! Weyralians FTW! 👊

I couldn't stop the smile growing wider on my face. I was blessed to have friends like them in my life. But for some reason there was something lacking right now, even though my parents and my little brother had given me their best wishes earlier. So what was missing?

Then I almost jumped in shock when I felt a pair of arms hugging me from behind, and I knew it was none other than Alice.

"Alice, is something wrong?" I asked her, alarmed. "Are you not feeling well?" She wouldn't let me turn around. "Good grief, please be all right."

"No, nothing's wrong, Lance. I'm feeling great, actually." I could feel her smiling. "It's just that...we haven't been alone together for a while, you know."

Because I didn't know what to reply to that, I just said, "Oh. Um, okay."

Alice giggled, hugging me tighter and sniffing me. "Such a cute response. And you smell so good."

Why did this kind of scenario feel familiar somehow?

"Y-you, too," I stuttered, feeling my ears go hot.

After a full minute of silence, she finally let me turn around.

"Er, are you done preparing, Alice?" I asked hesitantly. "Do you need help with anything?"

"Yeah..." She gazed at me tenderly, now caressing my jaw with her slightly-calloused fingers because of playing the violin for years. I gulped nervously. Why was she looking at me like that? Was it because of...oh, no. "Help me figure out why my heart beats faster whenever I see you; whenever I'm with you," she whispered softly. "Is this really love?"

Sorry, Alice, but I'm not Doctor Love, so I don't know, I wanted to reply. I could feel sweat forming on my forehead; it was getting hot in here. "I...erm..."

"Maybe if I..." Alice started to lean toward me, her eyes closing, and I definitely knew what she was about to do next. At the last second I turned my head a little to the side, then her lips collided with my cheek. I saw hurt flash in her eyes for a second when she was leaning away from me. "Gosh, I'm s-so sorry, Lance. I-I shouldn't have done that." She looked nervous and guilty. "W-what was I thinking, huh?"

"Hey, it's okay. No harm done," I assured her. Then wanting to lighten up the mood, I said, "That was my good-luck kiss, wasn't it?"

Alice laughed, but I could tell it was forced. "Yeah, it was. By the way, you look more dashing in a suit."

"And you look more splendid in a dress." Because I still felt bad with what I'd done, I kissed Alice's forehead and hugged her, causing her to gasp in surprise. "I'm sorry for what I did, Alice," I whispered in her ear. "It's not that I hate you, I swear. It's just that...I am still not ready for...that. I hope you understand."

She shook her head. "You don't have to say sorry. It was my fault, really."

"But--"

"No buts," Alice interrupted gently, smiling up at me. "That was also my good-luck kiss, right?"

I could feel the tension in the air had lessened. Chuckling, I told her, "Yes."

Then there was an announcement coming from the speaker.

"Attention, participants. Please proceed to the recreation room immediately for a brief meeting. Thank you."

"Seems like the competition is about to start." I faced Alice, grinning. "Shall we go, milady?" I offered her my arm.

She nodded, smiling widely and looping her arm with mine. "We shall, kind sir."

🎻 🎻 🎻

"'Wedding March' by Felix Mendelssohn?" Alice questioned in bewilderment after Vole had reached us. "Seriously, Gabriel?"

We were on the left wing of the stage. Some of the participants were staying at the backstage or at the opposite wing.

"The theme of the competition is love, right?" He grinned, spreading his arms wide proudly. "There you go. I don't need to elaborate."

"You played it magnificently," I complimented him.

"I agree with Lance," added Alice.

Vole bowed. "Thank you, thank you." He faced her, smirking. "You're next, Alice. Good luck!"

"Thanks." She smirked back at him. "By the way, Gabriel, did I mention I was gonna win this competition?"

Vole snorted. "I don't think so, Alice." He nodded slightly in the direction where a guy with curly blond hair was plucking his violin strings. "He owns a freaking Stradivarius. If we're pieces in a game of chess, he's the queen."

I frowned, still staring at the guy. "What's his name? I believe I have never seen him before."

Vole shrugged. "Same here. We'll find out his name later. But I heard he's British."

Alice raised her eyebrows. "His golden weapon, skills and good looks won't matter if the piece he'll play isn't appropriate for the competition's theme."

Before Vole could reply, the emcee said Alice's name, implying for her to go to the stage. I gave her a thumbs-up while nodding in encouragement when she gazed at me.

She nodded back with determination plastered on her face before walking toward the stage.

"Why do I get the feeling that Alice's really prepared for this competition?" Vole asked me. "Seems like there's an aura around her saying, 'You're all going down, minions!'"

I laughed awkwardly. "Blame cheerleading, I guess."

His eyes widened. "The heck? She joined Cyan Wings?"

"Yes. Said she wanted to try doing new things for this year." I shrugged. "YOLO, I believe."

We could hear the emcee's voice in the background, listing Alice's awards in various classical music competitions she'd joined as an introduction for her performance.

"Well, I think she wants to prove to someone that she can do other things successfully," he mused.

I furrowed my brows in confusion. "What do you mean, Vole?"

"Alice likes you, doesn't she?" Vole casually asked. "Are you really that dense, Collins? Heh, you're just like that person..." he faltered.

Before I could ask how he'd known about Alice's feelings toward me and who he was talking about, the emcee stopped talking. I saw Alice positioning her violin under her chin, then she briefly closed her eyes.

*

The heavenly melody of "Air on the G String" started playing in the symphony hall when Alice began stroking her bow on a string.

No. She was stroking her bow on two strings, I realized. But something sounded different, and I could hear someone was doing a pizzicato somewhere while she was playing. I stole a glance at Stradivarius Bloke, but he was just gazing at Alice, keenly observing her.

I was about to ask Vole where the pizzicato was coming from when he said in amazement, "Holy crap."

I noticed the other participants were gawking at Alice.

Then realization hit me with full force, like someone had just punched me in the face.

I sharply turned to her, seeing she was doing vibrato and pizzicato with her left hand while bowing on two strings with her right hand, which was extremely hard to do. The pizzicato accompaniment was so clean, and the melodic line stayed totally smooth.

"H-how...?" I was also beyond astounded. Not that I'm saying Alice didn't have the skills to do those, but what she was doing right now was insanely hard, even for a professional. Even I haven't tried doing that. Concentration, determination and startling accuracy to hit three notes at the same time on a violin were needed to do those techniques.

Multitasking at its best.

I also realized she was using another transcription of the piece and used scordatura tuning, in which you tune your instrument to sound different.

And what was more horrifying was that Alice looked so relaxed while playing on stage.

Then I remembered her words earlier, echoing in my head.

Don't worry, Lance. I promise you'll be shocked by my performance later.

I promise I'll win this competition.

No wonder she'd said those things--she was truly confident in her abilities.

While watching Alice's performance after a moment, I suddenly felt dizzy and sweaty, even though the air conditioning was strong. I tried to steady myself, placing my hand on the wall.

"Hey, Collins, you all right?" Vole asked all of a sudden, then I realized I was also panting.

"I am...all right," I assured him, giving him a thumbs-up. "I'll just get a cup of water at the...recreation room."

"Do you want me to come with you? Man, you look like you're about to fall any second now." He scowled in concern.

"No need. I can manage."

Vole had an uncertain look on his face, but he nodded anyway.

And then I was off.

🎻 🎻 🎻

The dizziness was still persisting when I reached our room. I'd decided I'd drink from my water bottle that I'd brought with me instead rather than from the water dispenser in the recreation room.

After drinking, I sighed in relief. Thank God I was feeling slightly fine now.

"You should win this competition, Lance," I encouraged myself. "For your family. For your friends." I gulped. "And for...Grandfather."

Do not fail me, Lancelot, his words rang in my head.

I took a deep breath to calm my mind and body, and then exhaled.

But my peaceful moment was immediately ruined when someone knocked on the door and called, "Lance?"

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Scordatura (literally Italian for "mistuning") is a tuning of a stringed instrument different from the normal, standard tuning. It typically attempts to allow special effects or unusual chords or timbre, or to make certain passages easier to play.

Pizzicato is a playing technique that involves of plucking the strings of a stringed instrument.

Vibrato is a musical effect consisting of a regular pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music.

(Wikipedia.org)

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[Chapter not edited]