This is a excerpt from the next Raven of Iskandar Book (Book 5). Tentatively, the title is just ‘The New Season’.
Raven returns to Central and we have the return of a character from Book 1. This scene seems to have come out pretty well for someone who never had a music instructor (me). No spoilers for the big event.
They both turned as they heard the doors to the lounge open. Chaoschick walked in.
“Hey, Rave,” she began, walking over to them. “Wow, another new person. Where do you get them all?”
They both laughed.
“Actually not that new,” said Raven. “This is Lily. She’s formerly of the Music Workshop. I guess you didn’t meet her when we were up there during the playoffs.”
“I’m one of you now,” added the Twitterall. “I am officially the music tutor for Iskandar. I’ve also heard that you are quite a virtuoso on the viola.”
Chaoschick looked uncertain and shrugged.
“Well, go get your viola and play something for me,” stated Lily. Raven cringed a bit. Chaoschick was not the type of person you’d order around. However, she was surprised. The brunette just walked over and took her viola out of the case. Sitting on the floor, she went through her routine of tuning.
Lily got up and walked over to her and pulled over a stool.
“Sit up here,” said the twitterall. “You have a great ear for music. Now you learned by someone playing the notes for you and then imitated them, right?”
“I don’t remember much about that time,” said Chaoschick. “When things come out, like this,” she said gesturing with the instrument. “I get scared. A bit.”
“Nothing to be scared about. It’s all in the past,” said Lily. “You are very blessed to have learned so young and to care so much about playing. I can tell by the way you were tuning. That’s more than an instrument to you.”
“Every time I hold it, it makes me feel strange.”
Raven was fascinated by the way Lily was relating to the brunette. It was amazing.
“Oh, the viola is just an old friend,” continued the twitterall. “You’ve had breakup and you just don’t know if you can trust it any more. Just forgive it. Then forgive yourself and play.”
Chaoschick laughed.
“Should I give it a name too,” she quipped.
“Go for it.”
Chaoschick looked serious for a moment, then broke out in a smile. “I’m calling my viola, Tracy,” she said. “That’s what they used to call me down at West Haven. When I learned to play.”
“Good. Now play something. Something upbeat. I don’t feel like crying,” quipped Lily.
The brunette grinned at the joke and then went serious. “I don’t know what I can play,” she said.
“No matter. That will come with time. For now, just play some random notes and see what they remind you of.”
Chaoschick put the instrument under her chin and just ran the bow over the strings. Suddenly, she began to play. It had an old classical feel and seemed to alternate passages between legato and staccato. Her movements were crisp and precise. It there were any bad notes in there, Raven couldn’t tell. Lily listened with a smile.
Chaoschick played steadily for almost ten minutes and then ended with a flourish. Suddenly there was applause. While she had been playing, Grabby, Skylla, Zinaida and Badger had come in, unnoticed. Chaoschick had a smirk on her face, got up and performed an elaborate bow.
“That was amazing,” said Grabby.
“Do you remember the name of that?” asked Lily.
Chaoschick shook her head and shrugged. “I don’t know if I ever knew,” she said. “Hmm. Did that make sense?”
Everybody laughed.
“Ok,” said the twitterall. “Whoever taught you must’ve loved Messenger, because that was the second movement of his first violin concerto.”
“Violin?” interjected Raven.
“Yes, she was playing it a fifth lower,” said Lily. “So I’d have to say that whoever taught her was a professional.”
Raven of Iskandar 