Chapter 102: Standing Ovation Performance
After watching a series of piano performances from the other schools, the fifteen-minute intermission finally arrived. The judges down front could be seen relaxing and chatting with each other, evaluating the previous performances. Meanwhile, Eric, Chloe, Monica, Priya, Heidi, and Laura sat in the audience, completely dazed and looking a bit bored. Eric checked his brochure one more time.
"Hmm... looks like there are still several people before Emma after this," Eric muttered.
"That’s just how it goes. Be patient. Besides, the previous performances were actually pretty good—nice to listen to and gave me goosebumps," Chloe replied.
"Yeah, true, but Emma is definitely going to crush it, I’m sure of it," Monica added.
"Hey... Laura... wake up, why are you sleeping?" Heidi tried to shake Laura awake next to her.
"Mumble... mumble," Laura just muttered, completely dead to the world even as she was being shaken back and forth.
"Just leave her alone, her brain can’t process semi-classical music like this anyway," Priya said, stopping Heidi.
"Ding,"
A notification popped up on Eric’s smartphone inside Chloe’s purse. Chloe immediately unzipped her bag, but before she could even reach for his phone, "vwoooong," a holographic screen materialized right in front of Eric’s face. His trained reflexes kicked in, and he read it instantly.
[Side quest activated.]
[Objective : Accompany Emma in the doubles competition by playing the violin alongside her piano.]
[Reward : ???]
"Huh,"
Eric immediately checked his brochure one more time. Sure enough, Emma was scheduled to perform dead last out of all the contestants, and the winner of the preliminary round was required to deliver a closing performance alongside a violinist to wrap up the event after the winner was announced.
"Hold on... does this mean Emma is guaranteed to win? Wow... I guess I already know how this ends," Eric thought to himself.
He read the screen once more, and comparing what was written on the display with the schedule in the brochure, it was crystal clear that Emma was going to take the win. Eric felt a little disappointed that the results had been spoiled for him ahead of time. Then Chloe handed Eric his smartphone, noticing a message had come in from Emma. He opened it and read it immediately.
"Eric, just in case the violinist can’t make it, because she’s actually in the hospital right now with a stomach ache, could you step in and cover for her to accompany whoever wins? I already told the organizers that you’re amazing at the violin, haha," Emma wrote in her text.
"Slap,"
Eric slapped his forehead as he read Emma’s message. He leaned back in his seat to text her back. It turned out there really was some drama happening behind the scenes, and Emma had gone ahead and volunteered him for the job anyway. Finally, he typed out his question.
"Do they have a violin there?" Eric asked in response.
Three typing dots instantly popped up at the bottom of the screen, vanished for a brief second, then reappeared before the message came through.
"I already checked and they do. Even though the original violinist was supposed to bring her own instrument, the organizers kept a backup on hand," Emma replied.
"Alright then, that’s for later. Just focus on your performance for now," Eric texted back.
"Okay, thanks honey haha," Emma texted back.
Eric didn’t reply to that one. He suddenly felt breathing right next to him on both sides. When he looked around, he realized that Chloe and Priya on his left, and Monica and Heidi on his right, were all crowding in and blatantly reading his chat with Emma.
"Are you going to help Emma out by playing the violin?" Chloe asked, turning to look at Eric.
"You... can play the violin?" Monica asked, also turning to look at him.
"Hmm... performing with whoever wins at the end of the show?" Heidi asked, leaning in to look at Eric too.
"Are you sure you can pull this off?" Priya asked, turning to look at Eric as well.
"Just wait and see," Eric replied, handing his smartphone right back to Chloe, far too lazy to answer any more of the girls’ questions.
Then the intermission wrapped up, the judges sat back up straight, and the MC called for quiet in the auditorium. The next competitor walked out onto the stage, and applause echoed through the room.
Eric, Chloe, Monica, Priya, Heidi, and a half awakened Laura settled back in to watch quietly, sitting up straight. As he watched, Eric kept glancing at the holographic screen floating right next to his face, displaying the quest description.
"Sigh," he breathed a soft sigh, leaning back in his seat to watch the performance comfortably while the classical melody resonated through the hall. After a few more competitors, it was finally Emma’s turn, and the moment she stepped out, her appearance was absolutely stunning.
She wore a long, shimmering green gown that perfectly matched her eyes, her hair was elegantly styled in an updo, and she wore high heels. Emma faced the audience and the judges, then bowed gracefully right in front of her piano.
The crowd erupted into enthusiastic applause. Naturally, Eric, Chloe, Monica, Priya, and Heidi clapped along, while Heidi nudged Laura to wake her up. Laura finally snapped awake, instantly alert the moment she spotted their friend down on the stage.
After bowing, Emma turned around and sat down gracefully on the piano bench. She turned the page of her sheet music and paused for a brief moment. The entire auditorium fell completely silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Emma raised both hands, and the second they came down, she launched into her performance.
The entire room was instantly captivated. The melody Emma played was incredibly soft and smooth, yet perfectly rhythmic and powerful enough to give everyone listening goosebumps.
Hearing her play, Eric was completely blown away. It was his first time seeing Emma perform in public, and she had everyone in the room utterly transfixed, unable to look away.
Eric glanced to his left and right, and sure enough, Chloe, Monica, Priya, Heidi, and Laura were sitting frozen, their eyes locked on Emma. Then he looked behind him at Hana and Jessica from the other school. They were completely spellbound, their jaws dropped and their eyes wide with awe.
Eric turned his attention back to Emma, who now had her eyes closed, swaying her body as her hands moved at lightning speed across the keys. Finally, after nearly six minutes, Emma brought both hands down on the piano keys to signal the end of the melody. She sat still for a brief second, then stood up, stepped out from behind the bench, and faced the judges and the audience once more.
Emma bowed again, but the room remained dead silent. Nobody clapped because the entire audience was completely frozen in awe, and the judges were too. Finally,
"Clap... clap... clap."
Emma lifted her head, and her face instantly lit up as she saw Eric standing up and applauding. Right after him, Chloe, Monica, Priya, Heidi, and Laura stood up to cheer as well.
Instantly, the entire auditorium erupted into absolute chaos as every single person in the crowd followed suit, jumping to their feet. The five judges stood up too, clapping enthusiastically.
Emma straightened back up, taking it all in, before she turned around and walked offstage. Right after, the MC announced that the judges would take a ten-minute break backstage to deliberate before announcing the winner.
After that, Eric, Chloe, Monica, Priya, Heidi, and Laura sat back down. Their faces were full of satisfaction, completely confident that their friend was going to win—except for Eric, who remained perfectly calm and unbothered since he already knew the outcome.
"Insane... Emma is on a whole different level. When we perform at festivals, the crowd is brutal, but here it’s dead silent and serious, which makes it so tense... yet Emma just breezed right through it," Monica said, looking thoroughly impressed.
"Come on, Emma’s been performing in public like this since she was a kid," Chloe shot back.
"Yeah, true, she’s totally desensitized," Priya remarked.
"It’s not just her poker face, it’s her mindset, plus her skills," Heidi added.
"Do you guys think she’ll win?" Laura asked.
Instantly, everyone snapped their heads around to look at Laura, who immediately felt awkward for even asking.
"Yes," Chloe, Monica, Priya, and Heidi answered in unison, staring her down.
"Uh... I was just asking," Laura muttered, feeling completely intimidated.
"Ding,"
A notification popped up on Eric’s smartphone. Chloe immediately unzipped her purse, handed him his phone, and Eric looked down to read it. The text was from Emma.
"Can you come backstage? The violinist definitely can’t make it. Please help me out."
Eric smiled, then stood up, leaving the five girls completely confused. He turned back to look at them.
"It’s showtime for me," Eric said, giving them a quick wink.
The five girls understood instantly. They all smiled and gave him a thumbs-up as Eric started walking down the center aisle, heading toward the backstage area to get ready and meet up with Emma.
