Opus OneChapter 11 Andante
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Richard was in the middle of practicing sight-singing for his midterm exam when someone knocked on the door.
"Come in!"
Sandra pushed the door open and came in smiling. "I got our recital slot!" she said excitedly. "Oh, sorry, are you studying?" she asked, noticing the open book.
Richard folded it closed. "I guess. I'm done though."
"Are you ready?"
Richard shrugged. "It's sight singing. Who the hell knows? It depends on what he picks."
Sandra nodded. "You usually do all right in class."
"Yeah. Hopefully Dobra chooses something comparable to the ones in the book."
"Let's go get Emily and eat."
"And tell her about the recital date."
Richard followed Sandra down to her room. Emily was on the bed, listening to music with her eyes closed.
"Hey, are you — " Sandra said, but Emily stopped her with a raised finger.
The music went through a climactic few minutes, and then Emily sat up. "Mm, I just love that part," she said dreamily. "What's up?"
"Recital is set for April ninth," Sandra said.
"Cool," Emily said. "Are we eating dinner, tonight, or what?"
"Let me change," Sandra said. "It's getting cold outside."
"Good idea," Emily agreed.
The girls rummaged through clothes and pulled on long sleeve shirts and jeans. Flesh disappeared under fabric.
"I'm going to miss summer," Richard said absently as he watched them straighten out their apparel and hair. He still thought it was warm enough for shorts.
"You're such a pervert," Emily said.
"Oh, hardly," Richard retorted. "But there's something nice about, um, lighter clothing."
Emily rolled her eyes. "You see us nude all the time."
"That's different."
"So you don't like my jeans?" Sandra said, wiggling her bottom at him.
"Nah, he said these warmer clothes don't excite him at all," Emily said.
"It's not that — " Richard started protesting.
"Not turned on by the long sleeves," Emily added.
"It's going to be a long, unexciting winter, then," Sandra said conspiratorially to Emily.
"For him," Emily corrected, and then gave Sandra a delicious kiss. "I like your jeans."
"Hey!" Richard exclaimed, moving nearer to them.
With their lips still touching, the girls broke into smiles, and then giggles.
"You do look nice," Richard said sincerely.
Emily swatted his chest with the back of his hand. "Nice try."
"It's true!" Richard cried, but they had already changed the subject.
Their grins and sidelong glances, though, reassured Richard that they were just teasing him.
"Who's going to come?" Richard suddenly said.
Sandra frowned at him. "Huh?"
"We have no friends ... except each other, and we'll all be on stage. It could be rather empty in that big hall."
Emily laughed, but then Richard's statement sunk in for a moment.
"Hmm. We do know some other people," Sandra said at last. "I know a couple of other singers. And there's Jer and Jenna."
"Okay, so we can fill the front row at least," Richard teased.
"Well, I'm sure other people will come," Sandra said. "People just ... go to recitals."
"Have you been to any?" Richard asked.
Sandra made a face. "No, I guess you're right. But, Emily knows a bunch of people."
"We'll be fine," Emily said. "Besides, we have some time."
"We can make posters, instead of just posting the sample program," Sandra said. "Something cool that people will be like, 'Hey, I want to go watch that concert.' Colorful, so it stands out from the regular programs that people always post."
"Like a rock show?" Richard said, laughing.
"Ooh, we can call the concert: Threesome!" Emily exclaimed. "That will get people to show up."
"A bunch of guys, at least," Sandra said.
"Why do you say that?" Richard asked.
"That seems to be such a thing for them."
"And yet two-thirds of this threesome are girls," he whispered.
The girls tittered.
"I don't think we'll be calling it Threesome," Richard said pointedly.
"How about Ména —"
"Don't even go there," Richard interrupted. "My parents might actually come out for this."
"Really?" Sandra asked.
"Yeah, I told them about it a few days ago. They were like, 'Is this something we can come to?' and I said sure."
"I haven't told my folks yet. I didn't want to get their hopes up, until the date was approved," Sandra said. "But I bet they'd come too."
"Well, don't expect my dad to come," Emily said, slightly acerbically.
"Have you asked him?"
"No. But he's always so busy. There's just no way. He was too busy to ever eat dinner with me, and he's going to come all the way out here?"
"You should at least ask him," Sandra offered.
Emily shrugged. "I'll tell him about it."
"What are you all doing for Thanksgiving, anyway?" Sandra suddenly asked.
"Staying here, I guess," Richard said.
"Same," Emily said, still glumly. "We can all go out somewhere nice, or just do something in the room."
"My parents wanted me to come home," Sandra said.
"Oh," Emily said. "That's cool."
"What if you both came with me?" Sandra asked.
"Are they picking you up?"
"Yeah, Wednesday. It's sort of a day-long drive, but it would be fun."
Richard and Emily looked at each other.
"It's either stay here and eat at Crapler, or go with Sandra and have home-cooked food," Richard said, one eyebrow raised.
"The cafeteria's probably going to be closed," Sandra said. "But I'll let you use my water steamer, and you can have rice and tea."
Emily laughed. "Well, if you put it that way..."
"If your parents are cool with intruders, I'll come along," Richard said.
"You'd hardly be intruding," Sandra said, excitement in her voice. "They're very welcoming. We have a big farmhouse, and a big table. We host the meal for our extended family, so a few more people will be no problem."
"Cool. I'm game," Richard said.
"Me too," Emily said, her spirits brightening.
"I'll call my parents tomorrow and tell them all the good news then!"
"Can we go eat there now?" Richard asked, slowing as they approached the cafeteria.
"Just one more month of cafeteria food," Sandra said, pulling on his arm.
Richard made a gagging sound, but went into the dining hall anyway.
Richard paced the hallway nervously outside of Dr. Dobra's classroom. At least I'm not late, he thought.
The door opened, and one of Richard's classmates emerged, clutching a sheet of paper. She didn't look too happy. Dr. Dobra held the door with a long arm, and nodded for Richard to enter.
"Have a seat," he said, gesturing to a desk chair situated so that the piano keyboard was out of sight. "We'll start with dictation, and then we'll do the sight singing."
Richard obliged, and pulled out some blank staff paper and his pencil.
Dr. Dobra sat at the piano. "Some intervals, then. I'll play each twice, as we've done in class."
Richard listened closely to each note pairing, and then notated the intervals. He could feel Dobra's eyes on him as he wrote, peering through the triangle of the open piano lid.
The intervals were not hard for Richard, and he was reasonably sure he had gotten them correct. He could usually visualize playing them on the keyboard in his mind, and then it was just a matter of counting the distance.
"Very well, let us proceed. Melodic dictation. Please be sure to use correct rhythmic notation. As always, I will play it three times. The first time I'll play it normal speed, the second time..."
As Dr. Dobra gave his standard spiel, Richard's mind drifted momentarily. He wondered how Sandra had done on her exam. She had an earlier time slot, but he hadn't caught her in time to see how it had gone for her. As Jenna had promised early in the semester, Dr. Dobra seemed to be friendliest to Sandra, of all the people in the class. Richard was not too worried about her, but he had hoped for a tip on what Dobra was going to do.
Suddenly, Dr. Dobra was playing the melody. Richard snapped out of his thoughts, his heart racing. He had completely missed Dr. Dobra telling him what the first note was, and the key that the melody was played in. And now the first phrase had completely gone by. Richard panicked as he realized he had no idea what to write down.
Dr. Dobra finished the melody, and paused. Richard grew frantic. The melody was in a major key, but that was not much help. Without a reference note, he was lost.
Should I ask him for the starting note again?
Richard glanced at Dobra's beady eyes watching him, and then turned back to his paper, writing a few random notes down.
"Second time," Dr. Dobra announced, and he started the melody over, slowly this time.
Richard decided he would guess the key. As long as the melody is right, even if the key is wrong, I'll get some credit. Richard glanced at Dobra again. Hopefully get some credit.
The third pass allowed Richard to get most of the melody written, but not all. He cursed silently at himself for having drifted off.
As Richard made some last guesses, he knew they were wrong. That last interval was not that big! But it ended on the tonic... ? Ah fuck...
"Okay, if you don't have it by now," Dr. Dobra said, "you probably don't have it. So, let's move on."
Richard shot him a glare, but Dobra was looking at his paper.
"Harmonic dictation. Please write down the chords, using proper rhythm..."
This time he didn't drift off. Dr. Dobra played his stupid chords, and Richard wrote them down. Despite his anger at having messed up the melodic dictation, he managed to concentrate enough to figure out the progression.
Finally it was time for the sight-singing portion of the exam. This was the part Richard was least looking forward to. He didn't have much of a singing voice, and even though Dr. Dobra said that it wasn't about one's voice quality, Richard thought it sure helped to have a voice like Sandra's.
Dr. Dobra had Richard stand, and then he played a note on the piano.
"Please sing an ascending major triad, with the given note as the root."
Richard hummed the note to himself quietly for a moment, and then sang the three notes. It was a little shaky, but not too bad. Dr. Dobra made some notation in his ledger.
After singing a few more chords and intervals, Dr. Dobra moved to the board and wrote out a melody.
Bastard! We haven't done almost anything with accidentals yet! Richard thought, noticing the one flatted note.
After he finished writing the melody out, Dr. Dobra played the first note for Richard.
The first interval was awkward. What key is this in, anyway? The first few notes indicated a G minor chord, but the rest seemed to be in F. But then what about that E-flat?
Panic began to return, as Richard tried to sing the melody inside his head. He had trouble getting the melody to make sense. He was just stabbing at intervals.
"Whenever you're ready," Dr. Dobra said, watching him expectantly.
Richard sighed, and began the melody. "Re, Si, Sol, Si..."
He didn't need to see Dr. Dobra's slight frown to know he was a bit lost on the melody. Anger welled up within Richard as he finished with an unconvincing note. He usually did so much better in class...
"Okay," Dr. Dobra said, as he again notated in his grade book. "If you'll wait a moment, I'll grade this for you now." He took up the paper with the intervals and dictations, and went through it. After a minute, he handed it to Richard.
"Here you go. Would you send Ethan in? If he's waiting, that is..."
"Yeah, sure," Richard said absently. His heart sank as he saw his exam score circled at the top. As he headed for the door, he glanced down the page. His melodic dictation had gotten no credit.
"Dr. Dobra?" he said, turning back to the piano.
"Yes?"
"Um ... On the melodic dictation, there's no partial credit or anything?"
"Part credit would apply, if part of the melody was correct."
"Oh. I thought I had the first half right, at least" Richard said, pointing to the phrase on his paper as he approached the piano bench.
Dr. Dobra frowned, not even looking at the exam Richard held out for him. "You started on a completely different note than what I said."
"But relatively, wasn't it right?" Richard pressed.
"Relatively?"
"Yeah, I mean, in this other key."
"Other key? I told you the key and starting note. You wrote something completely different."
"But..."
"Richard, I'm sorry, but what you wrote has minimal relation to what I played on the piano. I recommend you work harder on your ear training. Perhaps you can have Sandra help you."
"I usually don't have any problem," Richard said defensively, and pointed to the sight-singing example on the board. "That wasn't typical for what we did in class."
"And that," Dobra said, gesturing dismissively to Richard's still outstretched paper, "is not the work of someone who usually doesn't have any problem. I think you need to take this class more seriously. You still have three and a half more semesters, and they will not get any easier."
Richard stood stone still for a moment. "Okay, thanks," he said tersely, and then turned to leave.
"Richard," Dr. Dobra called out.
"Yeah."
"You may not think the exam to be fair, but I assure you, it is in line with what we did the first half of the semester."
Richard had been ready to let it go, but Dr. Dobra had reopened the conversation. He strode back to the piano, shaking his head at him, and letting the anger seep into his voice a little. "The examples in class almost never had accidentals, and they were more ... tonal than this one."
"This is not tonal?" Dr. Dobra said, playing the melody on the piano. He added a sparse chordal accompaniment, and Richard winced as the melody suddenly made sense to him.
Richard shrugged. "I guess it just threw me off," he said, less belligerently now. "You have to admit it wasn't standard."
Dr. Dobra shrugged. "Practice more, and less will throw you off. I'm running late, so..."
"I wish I had the time to practice more," Richard said, brushing aside Dr. Dobra's dismissal, "but I already spend a number of hours a week doing all this sight singing, and chord analysis, and ear training. I don't even know why we have to learn some of this stuff. How exactly does the sight-singing help me, as a pianist? Theory is not my major, you know," Richard added.
Thank god it's not...
"Music theory is everyone's major," Dr. Dobra said simply. He went to the board and began to erase the melody written there.
"What?"
"Everyone who comes through this school takes at least two years of theory. If they are smart, they take three or four." Dr. Dobra rounded on Richard. "If it really is pointless, why would we make everyone take it?"
"Well, I didn't say pointless," Richard said.
Dr. Dobra chuckled almost good-naturedly, and that surprised Richard a little. He sat at the piano again.
"You're not the first to think that, Richard," he said. "I've heard it before. But I'll tell you, there will come a day when you see just how useful theory is. Depending on how seriously you take this class, and subsequent classes, when that time comes you will either be grateful that you learned 'this stuff, ' or you'll be kicking yourself for not having learned it."
Richard took a deep breath, and held out his paper once more. "Well, I guess I don't feel that this score is really where I'm at."
Dr. Dobra considered something for a moment, looking Richard in the eye. "Well, you have half a semester to prove that to me."
When Richard returned to his room, the phone was ringing. Jer was reading on his bed, making no movement towards the phone.
"You don't answer anymore?" Richard asked him as the machine engaged.
"Nah. It's probably your dad."
Jer pointed with arched brow as the Italian voice filled the room through the small speaker.
"Hello, Riccardo, it's your father. Listen, I just spoke to Aunt Maria, and she is going to come visit next month. Your mother and I were talking, and we thought you could come back for Thanksgiving, if you have the time. Maria really would love to see you and hear you play the piano, since she has never heard you play. I don't have any jobs set for that week, so I can come pick you up. Maybe the school is closed? I don't know. Call me, please! Ciao."
Richard sighed heavily.
"Did he say something about coming home for Thanksgiving?" Jer asked.
"Yeah," Richard replied.
"Oh, calls it!" Jer exclaimed, stretching a fist to the air. "I think I'm starting to learn Italian!"
The moon was overhead when the first hint of eastern glow touched the horizon. Jupiter was close by, accompanying the hemicycle as it fled from the coming sun. Closer to the earth, strains of music tentatively began to sound; quiet hours were coming to an end. All around, the Wexford dormitory was stirring. The banal sounds of students trudging to the restroom to bathe were merged with the footfalls of early risers, who were already headed to the conservatory to find a better practice...
I stand on the edge of the horizon and I recognize her- the woman in the mask. She does not cry or mourn and she pretended not to notice me. It started a month ago and I just can’t seem to get it out of my mind. It was an echo of a rat-a-tat sound of falling rain on a tin roof, a cycle that seemed to repeat itself over and over again. I had been here before but I had a feeling that once I left- I would never, ever, return. The phone rang and I answered it- even then I could tell she was...
Irina Tertychnaya mostly thought in English now. She wasn't sure when the change had happened. She found it amusing that in the twenty years or so that she had been at the Wexford Conservatory, she had changed her internal language, and yet her accent was as thick as the day she first stepped foot through the glass doors of the school. Marrying an American artist probably helped the change; she no longer spoke Russian other than the occasional chat with Yuri, the principle bassoonist of the...
Seven-thirty came too soon. Richard fumbled for his alarm, at last silencing the wretched noise. He was about to doze off when he remembered the morning plans, so he sat up quickly before he lost the battle with the snooze button. Jer wasn't in his bed. Weird. He doesn't seem like the early rising type, Richard thought. Bathroom? After Richard showered and put on some clothes, Jer hadn't returned, so Richard just left a note saying that he had to take off. Richard hurried down the...
When Richard got back to his room that evening, Jer was lying on his bed staring at the ceiling. "Where have you been, man?" Richard asked. "Huh?" "I thought you were coming into the city with us this morning." "Oh, yeah, I forgot I had a lesson," he said. He sat up and rubbed his face. "At six I woke up to take a piss and remembered. So I went to practice." "Close one." "Yeah, I guess," Jer said dismissively. "Would've sucked if you missed your first lesson." "Nah....
Movement I. Practice was difficult for Richard the next morning. Besides having somewhat of a headache, he had trouble finding a practice room. The piano in the one he finally secured was mediocre. It sounded somewhat muffled no matter how he tried to coax any tone out of it. Usually he could have dealt with the limitations of the instrument, and made progress on some technical passages or finger work. But unfortunately his mind was continuously drifting off. The events of the previous...
Richard thought his heart had stopped. To his right, Emily was watching him with a slight grin, and in front of him Sandra was looking at him like she was about to collapse on the bed. It was hot in the dorm, but that hot? Suddenly Emily pushed Richard into the room. Richard turned to her and watched as she reached to close the door. Is she leaving me alone with Sandra? he thought, as Emily stepped back out into the hallway, pulling the door shut. "Emily, wait," Sandra called out as the...
Sandra poured the last of the second wine bottle into Emily's glass. She thought it would help slow Emily down, but she seemed to get better at playing games the more she drank. The game of choice for the evening was admittedly puerile. Emily had voted for Trivial Pursuit. Sandra had voted for Spit. She was in the mood for something less cerebral, and mention of it the night before had stuck with her. Richard broken the tie in Sandra's favor. After the vote, Emily rolled her...
Richard woke up quite late, and he was the first to stir. For a moment, he was startled by his location. He figured he would have gone back to his room last night after a brief snooze. Instead, it was late morning. Emily was still beside him, but Sandra had moved to Emily's bed and was sleeping soundly. Richard grinned as he saw the remains of the evening strewn about the room. Playing cards were scattered on the floor, clothes sat in little piles, and two empty wine bottles stood on the...
Dr. Eugene Dobra was everything rumor made him out to be. He walked in at exactly one o'clock. Richard and Sandra had just found two seats in the back corner together, hardly having greeted each other when he asked for silence. "Take out some staff paper," he said. He sat at the piano in the front of the room as people shuffled through their bags for the paper. Richard borrowed a sheet from Sandra. When the rustling and whispering had settled down, Dr. Dobra nodded. "Please write...
Only one hour, forty-three minutes and thirteen seconds to go. This job sucks! Richard took his watch off and flipped it face down onto the desk. Otherwise I'll just be staring at the fucking thing all night. Strains of music drifted into the lobby from the practice rooms on the lower floor. Trumpet lines, repeating endlessly, were punctuated by bursts of percussion. The bright fluorescent lights overhead hummed slightly. He wished he could dim them; they were making his eyes...
(A few days later... ) Fuck! Not only had Jer been obliviously loud when he woke up to go wherever the hell he went, but now Jer's alarm was going off. And he was long gone. Rock music was trying to squeeze out through the small speakers of his clock-radio. Did he not see me sleeping in my bed? Fucking idiot. Richard felt around on his desk, found a hefty book, and lofted it across the room. It hit the radio with a clunk, and for a moment the thing spat a curse of static at him....
Allison was falling in love. Over the last few hours of being with Emily, Sandra and Richard, she had started feeling something she hadn't felt for many years. It had always been there, but now it was thrust into the forefront of her thoughts. As she drove her rental car back towards the city, she took a glance at Richard. He looked tired as he stared out of the passenger side window at the dusky fields. Allison cast her mind back to a warm summer day eight years ago. "Allison, look,...
"I'm going to do some theory homework down in the lobby," Emily said to Sandra. The two of them had just returned to their room after seeing Allison to her car. Richard was stopping at his room for a moment before coming up. There was talk of getting together again with Allison, but she was flying back to Melbourne in a few days. In case it didn't work out, they had said their goodbyes. Allison had seemed sad to leave them, but she had to get up early to start some...
Irina took a deep breath, wondering where to begin. It wasn't that he was doing something wrong, but rather that he wasn't progressing like he should. This was his fourth — no, fifth lesson now, and over the last few weeks he seemed to be less ... prepared. He had gained some expression in certain aspects of his playing, but technically he seemed underpracticed and a little sloppy. She had checked with Eric in financial aid to see that Richard was not somehow being asked to work too much...
Richard had a dull headache. It was the last thing he needed today. He was late to his meeting with Dave, having fallen asleep after turning off his alarm. Five minutes ago, he was supposed to take his last training test. If he passed, he would be ready to record student recitals on his own. As he ran down the stairs, buttoning his shirt, he paused on the second floor landing. I did say I'd come find them for breakfast, he thought. He really didn't have time, though, so he continued down...
"Those are some big speakers!" Sandra exclaimed, as they entered the recording control room. Richard grinned. "So size does matter then?" he asked suggestively. Emily and Sandra just gave him a look before peering through the window to the concert hall. A cellist was practicing with a pianist. "Wow, the view is really good from up here!" Emily said. "Yeah. It sounds good, too," Richard said. He flipped on the power amplifiers and then brought up the faders for the hall...
"Valery, get the door, will you?" Boris bellowed from his office upon hearing the bell ring. Valery took his time as he wound his way through the stacks of furniture and frames. Reaching the front entry of the shop, he pulled open the heavy door and then spoke across the bars of the security gate. "Can I help you?" Valery said. The man smiled slightly. "I don't speak Russian." "No English," Valery replied. "Eh ... name?" "Harvey Mitchell." Valery held up his index finger to...
"So what do you think of the piano sound?" Dave asked Richard. Richard stood up from Jarrett's chair in front of the speakers. "It's really rich. I'm used to hearing this piano from the piano bench, so it sounds a little different. But still nice. Really nice." "Good. I'm happy with it too. Man, I just love this concert hall. Jarrett, what do you think?" "Smooth work, Dave. Let's record some so Irina can hear it," Jarrett replied. Richard sat in his chair, to Jarrett's left,...
Richard was painfully nervous when he knocked on Sandra and Emily's door. He heard talking as he leaned close to the door, but there was no answer after he knocked. Only silence. "Sandra, Emily. Open up, please. I need to talk to you," Richard called through the door. There was another silent moment, and then Richard heard the door unlatch. Emily pulled it open, and slipped out into the hallway. "She's pretty upset right now," Emily said quietly. "I know. I feel really bad. I...
Emily woke up suddenly out of a miserable dream. The quiet of the darkness was loud in her ears. Where am I? She tried to flex some of the tension out of her crooked-feeling body. Stiff muscles complained at being asked to relax. For a few moments, she was still in her dream. The horn studio had been filled with people practicing right next to each other, each playing louder and louder to hear themselves. She was looking for someone. She couldn't remember who that was, after a while, and...
"He's actually going to come," Emily said distantly, as she replaced the receiver. "Oh, that's great!" Sandra chirped, giving her a little hug. Richard just smiled through a mix of emotions. Every positive thing would help Emily. It was easier to smile than he thought. Last night, when he had reached the point where he had to decide what he would do about Emily's confession, he was distraught. It would have been so easy to give in to the feelings of disappointment and betrayal that...
"I can't believe finals are just a week away," Richard said, as he walked to the conservatory building alongside Sandra and Emily. "I know. This semester just flew," Sandra agreed. "That also means we're just a couple of weeks away from break," she added, pouting. "I know. Too bad we can't find an excuse to all stay here," Emily said. "We thought a few days at Thanksgiving was tough..." "I'll probably be coming back a week before classes start," Richard said. "Really?"...
The morning was bright and quiet when Richard woke up. The muted sound of a car passing made him wonder if it had snowed over night. From the kitchen, he heard his dad answer the phone. He couldn't figure out who it was at first. When he heard him talking about music, he realized it was Sandra. He considered getting up, but decided to wait for the phone to come to him. He checked his watch, surprised at the lateness of the hour. I guess I have to get up, he realized. He made his way out...
"Surprise!" Richard stood in the doorway, dumbfounded. His mouth moved, but he made no sound. Then he ran out and hugged her, lifting her off the ground and swinging her around on the patio. When he started feeling dizzy, he let her down gently and kissed her long and hard. She giggled when he finally let her breathe. "Happy to see me?" "Am I ever!" "Told you I was sending you something." "But ... How did you get here?" "My dad had some business at Lincoln Center. He chose...
"Bob, come away from that goddamn thing!" Betty called out from the back door. "Just another minute," he said. "The light is on again." Bob grinned as he heard Betty's footsteps tapping across the patio stones. "What's happening?" she asked. "Nothing yet." "Let me see," she urged. Bob moved aside. "Lights out," she said, straightening up. Bob crouched down, confirming her observation. "Oh well," he said, and started putting things away. He turned to find Betty...
"So what's the plan for this weekend?" Emily asked, startling Richard. She had been napping. Richard looked up from Emily's desk. Sandra was also stirring. He had imposed a mandatory nap the last few days, since sleep had been minimal. It was appearing to work, since moods were shifting towards the positive over the past few days. "Well ... Arlene gets here tomorrow..." Richard said vaguely. "We know that!" "Sorry. My head is still in this chord analysis." Richard closed the...
Sandra took another drink of water as Mr. Menlos reprimanded another hapless student for not cueing her in during the aria. After forgetting Mr. Menlos's instructions about being strict to the conductor's indications, Sandra had finally started being particular about following all cues. She would enter incorrectly when given the wrong beat, and not enter at all when the cue was missed. Between that, and the thrill of singing with an orchestra for the first time, she was enjoying herself...
Richard shook himself out of his stupor as he saw Emily taking Sandra into her arms on the floor. "What happened?" Emily asked repeatedly, but Sandra just stared off wildly in shock, breathing in ragged spurts. She was barely able to breathe, let alone talk. Richard picked up the phone from the floor. "Cosa sta succedendo?" his father asked, coming closer to Sandra. Richard ignored him. "Hello?" "Hello? Who is this?" the voice asked urgently. "This is Richard." "Oh, Richard...
Gary Menlos scanned the rehearsal room from his usual back corner spot. "Mark," he said, nodding his head at the principal cello player. "Go ahead. Take it from the beginning." Mark set his cello aside and walked up to the podium with his baton. Gary waited as Mark flipped the score back to the first page. He looked around again, surprised at the turnout. A number of string players had shown up for the practice orchestra. He had hinted yet again, at the last full orchestra rehearsal,...
Richard was grinning ear to ear as he stood next to Sandra and Emily in the green room. The audience had been larger than any of them had expected, and so was the crowd that lined up to greet them. Many Wexford students had come, including the violinist Jeff, for whom Sandra would be conducting in the fall. As promised, beside him was a mischievous looking friend who asked her to conduct for his recital as well. Sandra politely declined, eliciting a victorious fist from Jeff. Richard grinned...
Octopus man was a freak or nature. A very strange freak of nature. When he was born he was normal. Two arms, legs and a normal body. As he became older he discovered a strange and scary power he possessed. When he became aroused he turned into a horny eight tentacle octopus monster. The mere thought of fucking a girl could cause him to grow eight tentacle arms. The arms could grow to whatever length he wanted. They were strong. Each one capable of lifting a woman by her leg or arm...
Introduction: He looked around for new prey….. What girl would you want to be ladies? I like the jogger…..hehehe–(guys what girl would you do?) Octopus man was a freak or nature. A very strange freak of nature. When he was born he was normal. Two arms, legs and a normal body. As he became older he discovered a strange and scary power he possessed. When he became aroused he turned into a horny eight tentacle octopus monster. The mere thought of fucking a girl could cause him to grow eight...
“I saw what you were doing.” The words came from behind me as I walked out of my last class of the day. I turned and said, “excuse me?” He said, “I saw you…just now, in class. Your hand down the front of your sweats. It feel good?” So first—a little background. My name is Jesse and I’m a sophomore at UGA in a little town called Athens, Ga. During school, I work as a personal trainer at a local gym and during summers, I work as a lifeguard. I’m 5’6, 105, athletic and lean. I had actually been...
Oral SexLife settled down again at the Commune, the volleyball court and pool were completed and many a great grill outs were had that summer. I sort of started a precedent that seemed a bit much but nothing that the Commune couldn't afford. Jenny, under the sway of the Ocean Breeze Lip Balm had really turned her young life around. The exercise led by her mother's cousin shed all of her baby fat and Ashley and others showed her how to dress elegantly without having to look like a slut as so many...
Chrissie had not slept well, her rest disturbed by her thoughts whilst awake and her dreams whilst asleep; dreams revisiting her life between the death of her parents and her adoption by the Yeomans. Not the positive parts, not Tom, or Jessica, Dave and Alison; not Amy or John ... but the rapes, the humiliation, being treated as an object, not a person. Once more, she woke with the first light and made her way downstairs to make coffee and toast. Not that she really felt hungry, rather that...
I foolishly thought everything was okay, but when I arrived at school Alex was not happy. "What was going on?" she angrily said. "The police acted like I was a criminal! As if I was the one holding the girl hostage! They kept asking me questions about you but all I could say was I knew you did something but I don't know how or what." "Everything is okay," I tried to soothe. "The police are okay now. We're not in trouble." "So what did you say?" I didn't answer. "You told...
Note: Thanks to wrc264 for beta reading this! Dr. Bernice Wilson “I need to talk to you,” I said to my fifteen-year-old son, and lover. My heart thudded beneath my breasts. The last three weeks had been so intense, even with all the drama of my youngest daughter lying about her affair with a married teacher at her high school. A married teacher who knocked the little homewrecker up! “Sure, Mom,” James grinned. He was such a handsome, young man. Strong and fit, his hair dark, chin...
Anthony opened his eyes. There was light. Light ... light could come from two sources. There was the artificial kind, all of which were off when he drifted to sleep, and there was... Daylight. He sat up, shivering. His coat, which had been covering his nude form at some point, was wrapped around Hannah. Her coat covered her legs. They were very nice legs, he now knew. They felt good, at least. Like the rest of her, his experience with them last night had been mostly one of touch, and...
Diana Richards was barely listening to Ed Hood's voice drone on about how they could save each other if only she'd walk away from her husband and come to him. She was fighting the waves of nausea that kept washing over her every time the bastard would intimate that he knew they'd be good together if only she'd give him a chance. Suddenly, a feeling of calm settled in the pit of her stomach and there was a prickling sensation on the back of her head. She almost gasped aloud when she heard...
The group moved to a more comfortable sitting room. While they were there the Emperor questioned Milo about where he came from. A mapmaker was summoned and charts were made up of the area of the island world where Milo was from. The meeting went late into the night. At the end it was decided that Milo would guide Tamarilla and her friends on a journey to the Island World. The Emperor supplied a sailing ship for the journey. It had the usual shallow hull of the ships plying the inland sea,...
Magically the screen lit up and Darren's message appeared: What are you wearing? Chloe sat cross-legged on her bed, her IPhone clutched between her fingertips. She starred out of her window dreamily for a moment before expertly keying in her response: Lol - nothing very exciting. Pink t-shirt. Denim shorts. x Send. She chewed her bottom lip furiously, wiping her long straight blonde hair behind her ears before tying it back into a loose pony tail. Her phone sat on her knee; she watched it...
MasturbationAnother week had passed from my lunchtime jack-off session with John. John was Karen’s big, muscular boyfriend, and the roommate of my girlfriend, Mary. After that day, I was turned off from seeing John, as I wrestled with what I did. Obviously John had ‘done it’ before, as he was comfortable getting naked with another guy. I was nervous and scared until my cock was hard. Then I was a willing participant. As soon as I shot my load, I wanted out of there, felt dirty and shamed. Now, many days...
But to explain that, I have to go back to the beginning. Back to the painful memories of when this pandemic first hit. What's most important is that you understand that before this whole sorted affair started, we were a perfectly normal family. Jason was a normal high schooler, with decent grades and good friends. My wife was a regular Mom, with a good job and a great social life. I was a regular Dad, with plenty of hobbies and a nice, safe future. But that all changed when this stupid virus...
Brian is fond of saying, “Nothing is as easy as it is.” Things that looked simple on the surface were complicated. We were in love. We wanted to be together. We were adults with free will. And we had children in high school. I had one getting married. We lived a hundred miles apart. We had communities and friends and complications and insecurities. We almost let them get the best of us until Bill and Crystal stepped in. “You aren’t a secret from us,” Crystal said bluntly. “It’s almost...
I thought I was sick. I thought I was a horrible person forthe thoughts that I was having…but not just about anyone, my sister. This all started about a year ago, I was sixteen and I was on holiday in Turkey with my family. The hotel room me and my sister were in had the bathroom right next to the bedroom, with the wardrobe around the corner. Amber, my sister, had just gotten in the shower because we were going out for the night. She must have thought that I was not in the room or something...
Incestas i mentioned befor i was puzzled were could they havewent? i thought to myself as i continued on with the day one of my coworkersasked meif every thing was o kay i replied yes,i just had a wildnight she smerkedand said i hope it was 1 to remeber i replied it sure was one i wont forget it for a while and smiled back soas the day progressed it was time to go home and basically follow same routine but the night had come and gone i didnt think i would ever have that encounter again when suddenly...
Appreciation training It was a typical Monday night. I was watching the news before heading to bed, my wife Jan was reading in the chair aside mine. The news ended and I turned off the TV and Jan put down her book and we headed for the bedroom. Once there, we tossed off our cloths and turned to each other, embracing and kissing. I sensed that my wife was in a playful mood by the passion of her kissing. "Ya know," she began in a low, sultry voice, nuzzling his neck and ear with her lips,...
He knew as soon as he pulled into the driveway that he was in trouble. He had promised he would be home on time tonight, home in time to help with the planning. But the paperwork had pilled up, the boss needed it done yesterday, and the traffic was a bitch. There were always a million excuses she would say, but never any good reasons. The house was dark and cold when he entered, no sounds and definitely no welcoming committee. He sighed as he hung his coat on the hook. Might as well just go to...
A poem by another of Fen’s and my favourite French poets begins with a couple of lines about languorous ecstasy and amorous fatigue (the whole poem, C’est l’extase langoureuse, has been beautifully set by Gabriel Fauré). “Amorous fatigue” – yes, that was Gemma and me in spades by the time we had got back to her place and showered and changed. Neither of us felt like cooking, so Gemma phoned out for pizzas, and we sat at her kitchen table eating them with our fingers and drinking beer straight...
Taboo"Fucking Dickhead!" I mutter to myself over my shot of Jack Daniels. My boyfriend had just broken up with me... via text message! He hadn't even had the balls to do it to my face. I toss back the shot as I tap the bar, signaling to the bartender that another was needed. 'Desperately!' I thought. I toss back the fifth shot of the evening, then swing around on the bar stool, almost falling on my face in the process. Two strong, masculine arms reach out to steady me.I look up to see the most...
IncestNote: This episode of Christina's life follows the editing of "Chris - The Wild Years" and my sending it back to Chris for review. Friday, April 8 Here it is sweetie. It still needs to be proof read, spell checked and I want your comments before I put the final polish on it. Saturday, April 9 Hello Dear, I wouldn't change a thing! I loved it! And, again, for me, I still get off remembering the post-prom train I pulled! Damn, I'm a slut! Of course, after reading it, I had to wonder...
Danny, My Forever by alexcarr I must be honest and admit it has come to the point when I absolutely crave for Dan, my Danny. Being a month without him – he having a short overseas contract – I miss him to the core and what we do over the mobile phone or even on the web-cam bears no real significance to the real thing, in fact yesterday we both agreed to refrain because it did not seem personal or [private doing that over the net like someone was watching. Maybe that’s okay if you are a bit...
Hi friends, this is arihant from raipur again with his new story aftre a long tym n thanks to readers givng me a good response on my first story…..chalea mai ab aapko apni story pe lejata hu ye story ek ladki jiska naam pooja hai uske aur mere hue sambhog ki kahani h…main aapko pooja ke baare mai batata hu wo 20 years ki hai n lambi h uska rang gora hai n uske doodh ka size 34 hai dosto dikhne mai ekdum kamsin hai aur gulab ki kali hai jisme kut-kut ke ras bhara hai……pooja ko maine sirf dekha...
Put Your Muffin Where Your Mouth is, MandyWritten by irish4skinStarringMandy Muffin as herself Josephine James as herself T-Girl Candy Surprise as herself MILF Delilah as Linda Herrin T-Girl Carla Novaes as herself Corina Curves as Dr. Carolyn Dick T-Girl Elisangel as herself Donita Dunes as herself Sasha Grey as herself ...
I am lying back on the bed, sweaty, a bit out of breath and my thoughts all over the place. Wow is the usual expression I think for these things. My wife is cuddling up to me. “How is my boy?” She asks with a naughty look in her eyes. “I’m very good thank you”. Laura grabs a towel and places it between her legs. Getting up off the bed with a small giggle she declares that she needs to clean up a bit and that she will be right back. I turn to look at my wife. So, she says, are you ready for...
I have always been a voyeur, from the age of 12 when my older cousin moved in with us. and i discovered there was a crack in the bathroom door that afforded me a perfect view if the bathtub as she bathed. As the years went by, my forms of viewing naked females evolved from adjusting shades in neighbors baths and bedrooms to placing smal view hole in walls. As technology evolved and my means became greater, i graduated to two way mirrors and remote cameras. The goal was always just the...
The party was at the most luxurious hotel in the city and no expense was spared. I wore a silver, tight fitting dress with an open back that gave me great cleavage. Amber was dressed in the shortest black minidress and looked beautiful. We were having fun badmouthing the other wives there, they were so plain and boring. A large contingent of the Japanese company was there and Gary and hubby were especially concerned about making sure everything went well. My husband had gained power and so...