THE HORRIFYING RECITAL (a)

THE HORRIFYING RECITAL

A recital was the last thing we wanted.One day, my piano teacher announced that we would be performing in my music school recital. We groaned as we flipped through our piano books. I chose Fantasia by Georg Friedrich Händel. To my dismay the piece I chose was very fast, long and loud. My hands were not skilled enough to play the song but it was too late to change.

At home, I practiced my piece every day until I got the piece perfect. One night, I had a terrible dream. The announcer called me onto the stage to perform my piece. I walked up the stage unsure and I sat down on the piano seat. I started playing but the piano was tuned wrong and everyone thought I made a mistake! I tried to explain to the announcer that the piano was tuned wrong but he started yelling at me for making a mistake and the entire audience started laughing at me. I woke up screaming until I found out it was a dream. However, I didn’t get a lot of sleep after that.

The day of the recital finally came. I suddenly had a feeling that I was going to make a mistake when I play so I grabbed my books and dashed out to my family's van. The car ride was long so I began to “practice” in my head. It shocked me that there were parts that I did not remember for everyone in the recital should memorize their piece. I was relieved that I brought my books and I frantically searched for the right page. I spent the next twenty minutes humming the song and flexing my fingers.

I was startled when my father stopped the car and everyone went out. I looked around and found that we were at the church. I put my books back with shaking hands and walked towards the church that we would be performing in. Sweat beads began forming on my forehead and I started to get butterflies.

While we were walking down the path to the church, we passed a girl about my age. She was wearing a short black dress with fake diamonds and jewels sewed on. She was wearing flats with a lot of straps. They were also black to match her dress. Her hair was done up and she had lip gloss and rouge on. There were many adults around her patting her and saying nice things to her. Her eyes were red and swollen somehow as if she was crying. I suddenly realized that she was crying and her parents and other relatives were comforting her. Even my teacher was there!

My sister whispered, "That girl looks so nervous!" I realizes that she was right when we entered the church. 

The church where we would be performing in was very familiar because that was the church that we performed in for our last three performances. I began to practice again until our music school principal told us to get in the order that we would be performing.

The announcer began to call up the performers. The performers were all shaking from head to toe and they shook even more when it was their turn. I watched as the line became shorter and shorter. However, I noticed that all the other performers did not make one mistake. I was sure that I would make a mistake. It was my sister’s turn and she played her piece flawlessly. I began to panic and started to practice again while recalling the advice and tips my teacher gave to me. I heard my name and I jumped.

“…And our final performer of the day will be performing Fantasia by Georg Friedrich Händel!” the announcer announced.

My hands became clammy as I tried to ease the butterflies that were frantically flying around. My heart got caught in my throat and I climbed up the wooden stairs to the piano.

To Be Continued...

THE HORRIFYING RECITAL (b)