The Side Balcony

[Administrator]

Great view but no seating up here.

[grayhunter]

It was cold outside. Colder then usual. Gray could hear the soft sounds of instruments tuning inside Irving Hall as she approached. It was so familiar, and sent a chill up her spine unrelated to the cold air. It was a rare moment when she didn't long to be the one on the stage, prepping her instrument to perform. She sighed, and pushed through the back door, following the sign to the side balcony.

The door was never locked (she suspected it was broken, as it was the entrance most commonly used by the less respectable during showtimes), and Gray often found herself opening it and being drawn into the sounds of the performance hall. Though it was much smaller then she had been used to performing on, it still had all of the same smells, sounds, and feelings. She crept her way up the stairs to the balcony and moved into the shadowy area. She sat down on the floor, leaned her head against the railing, and closed her eyes.

Irving Hall was empty, as it was not a performance time, only a practice session. Medda Larkson wasn't the star tonight... But it looked as though a traveling orchestra was stopping in to play instead. No wonder she had been drawn in. She preferred to get her own private viewing now, on the dirty floor, and risk being caught, rather then with crowds of people around, muffling the music and watching her.

The orchestra suddenly stopped the tuning, and the entire hall was quiet. Then they started to play. It was a little rough...Not quite as perfect as she had been used to. With every minuscule mistake she heard, she would wince and shake her head. She knew the piece well - she had played in it many times herself. But then - she heard something that was not an instrument. It was...someone...humming? Her eyes shot open and she prepared to bolt if it was someone unagreeable.

[Peaches Carington]

Peaches wandered through the halls of Irving Hall with a feather duster in her hand. Today, was her turn to dust the building. Just as she was finished dusting outside of the side balcony, she heard the orchestra start up on stage. The familiar tune filled every crevice of the performance hall, drawing her in to listen.

Peaches leaned against the door frame of the entrance to the side balcony, closed her eyes, and hummed along to the orchestra's song. For a few minutes, the world faded away and nothing existed but the music and her and she began to sway slightly back and forth. The familiar tune reminded her of the family she abandoned back home and the parties they used to hold. She could remember her father holding her in his arms leading her around the dance floor when she was very small--the two of them laughing the whole time. Then memories came to her of being lead around the dance floor by her brothers--whom she worshiped--when she was a bit older.

A noise in front of her brought Peaches back to the present. She opened her eyes, shook her head pushing the memories away, and looked around. On the floor by the railing she saw a girl about her age sitting, looking in her direction startled. Realizing the girl must have been sitting there the whole time so the humming probably startled her, Peaches stepped closer and smiled. "Hey there, Darlin'. Beautiful sound, isn't it?"