Unforgettable Melody - S01 E03

Story 1 week ago

Unforgettable Melody - S01 E03

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 3

Nothing. No sign of Selena anywhere. The table in front of him, once covered with beautiful handmade jewelry, was now bare, save for the small brown box. Glancing at the locket again, Mike wondered what kind of elaborate set up this was, and who needed to be congratulated for going to such great lengths to freak him completely out. Maybe he just imagined everything? No, that couldn't be. The locket in his hand was clearly real.

Be-be-beep! Be-be-beep!

Mike's phone suddenly went off, reminding him he'd better get on the road home to beat the Friday rush hour. He packed the locket and box in the outer pocket of his trumpet case and started for the parking garage across the courtyard, meeting up with Darcy along the way.

"Well, you look like you had fun," Mike said.

"Yep, my mom and aunt both love abstract art, so I'm all set for their birthdays!" Darcy was always giddy after artsy events like this. "Ready to head to the parking deck?" Mike and Darcy always made a point of walking to their cars together, even in the middle of the day. It was still downtown Atlanta, and always better to be on the safe side.

"Sure thing. Oh, I forgot to ask, did you happen to see a girl selling jewelry at the far end of the gallery today?"

Darcy thought for a second, before responding. "Nope, I definitely didn't see any jewelry for sale in there today. And if there was jewelry in there, I would definitely have found it!"

"Ok, wasn't sure if I missed one of the tables or not." Mike was definitely confused now. He couldn't have imagined the entire encounter, could he?

As they walked through the parking deck, Darcy turned to him with a smirk on her face. "Ok Braxton, million dollar question time. How many hot dates you got set for this weekend?"

Mike rolled his eyes. She did this every Friday, even while he and Amanda were still together. "You really love seeing just how nosey you can possibly be, don't you?"

"What can I say? It's a gift," Darcy responded with a giggle.

"Well there will definitely be no contact of the female variety this weekend," Mike responded. "I should know tonight or tomorrow if I made the cut for the final audition in a week. If I did make it, I plan to be a music hermit all week. Plenty of time for human contact after the final round."

"Fair enough, Lord knows I was a freakin' mess when auditioned for the principal spot."

Mike grinned. "if by 'freakin' mess' you mean so hyped up on coffee and Red Bull that the orchestra actually started a petition to the maestro to promote you just to level you out, I agree!"

Darcy hopped in her car, laughing and sticking her tongue out at Mike. "Good luck this weekend! Remember, practice hard, but don't hardly practice!" With that she exited the garage. Mike cranked up his car, set the radio to WSB traffic, and took off for home.

The rest of Mike's day was pretty mundane. Arriving home at his apartment, he decided to reward himself with an afternoon of Call of Duty. He never pretended to be very good at the game, but it was a hell of a lot of fun, and a great de-stressing tool. Few things felt as fulfilling as having random preteen kids yell and curse at you for destroying them online. With dinnertime approaching, Mike bought a couple of cheese pizzas from Papa John's with a coupon, settling in for a quiet evening with his favorite superhero. Just as he had finished watching The Dark Knight Rises, Mike's phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Mike, Robert Spano here." It was the maestro of the ASO.

"Yes sir, good to hear from you."

"You as well. Mike, I'll get right to the point. I wanted to be the first to let you know that we've narrowed down the applicants for the principal trumpet spot to five, and I'm pleased to tell you that you are in."

Silently but enthusiastically fist pumping and victory dancing, Mike did his best to respond professionally. "That's awesome news. This opportunity means the world to me. Thank you very much."

"Well, you earned it. Rest up, and practice hard this week. The audition this Friday will be in front of a live panel consisting of the concertmaster, one guest panelist, and myself. We will let you know who that guest panelist will be once we confirm their availability, as well as your specific audition time. Also, be prepared for a short interview with some personnel situations you might encounter in the principal job. Now, any questions I can answer for you?"

"No sir," Mike responded. "I'll be looking forward to it."

"Excellent. Take care, Mike. Bye-bye.

Click

Mike was so keyed up that he could hardly contain himself. However, he resisted the urge to text everyone he knew the news. He had to constantly remind himself of the Academy Awards. It's just a nomination.

Knowing she would murder him if he didn't at least keep her up to date, he texted Darcy the good news, who responded with her usual mash up of emojis. After promising to hang with her on Saturday, whether in victory or in mourning, Mike finally felt all of his emotions crash in a wave of exhaustion.

Mike stripped down to his boxer briefs and went to relax in bed. Coming out of his closet, he paused at his tall floor mirror. While he was not normally one to stare at his reflection, he strangely felt the urge to do so tonight.

Mike couldn't help but laugh at what he saw. Blonde haired, blue eyed, white, Christian male. How original. Hell, his first college roommate, an awesomely nerdy Jewish kid named Mitch, had affectionately dubbed him "Hitler's poster boy." Mike took it in stride, though. Mitch had always said that he was glad Hitler took over Germany. If he hadn't, his grandparents would never have fled the country, falling in love during the voyage to America. Mitch's motto was simple: perspective.

Though Mike was not tall, only 5'5", his strong, broad shoulders complimented his figure very nicely. His body, on the other hand, was... average. Not buff, nor overweight. Still, by far his best features were his eyes and hair. His eyes were a much brighter blue as a child, but even the lighter blue they settled on today was very noticeable. It was a near certainty that any girl he dated would eventually comment on how they loved his eyes. Couple that with his light blonde hair, neatly cut into a short Ivy League style and framed with a pair of wire rimmed glasses, and Mike felt pretty confident in how he could describe himself. Not bad... not bad at all.

As annoying as it was to admit she was right, Darcy definitely had a point about Mike's love life. He knew it was time to get back out there. Surely he could actually find a smart, sweet girl with no patience for drama or mind games. Shaking his head, he pushed those thoughts out of his mind. Focus Braxton, he thought. Audition of a lifetime in one week.