Blessed Saturday.

Lydia sighed in utter contentment as she snuggled deeper into her warm pillows. As much as she loved her job, her first week of the semester had been undeniably stressful, filled with long lectures and obnoxious students and tricky assignments. But now it was finally the weekend, and Lydia could have a nice lie-in before having to get up for the day. She yawned and stretched before rolling over and cuddling back into her blankets, Leopold swishing his long tail as he napped at her feet.

Suddenly, the sound of a loud violin blared from the other room, causing Lydia to bolt upright. Leopold hissed loudly at the movement, leaping off the bed to find somewhere else to sleep, and Lydia groaned to herself before flopping back down onto her pillows.

The loud violin music continued, and Lydia knew she had to put a stop to it before one of the neighbors complained. Wishing she could go back to sleep in her lovely warm bed, she dragged herself out of her blankets and hurried into the other room.

"Steph!" Lydia called over her friend's loud violin playing. Stephanie, who had been focusing on her sheet music, quickly stopped as she looked up.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" she asked, looking apologetic. Lydia grimaced.

"It's fine," she said, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "But you can't practice in the flat. I already told you, the neighbors will complain to the property manager and we'll get kicked out."

"But I thought that was just during the weekdays," Stephanie said dejectedly, bringing her violin and bow down. "It's the weekend now, so I thought it would be okay to practice in the apartment."

"I'm sorry Steph," Lydia said sympathetically. "Just practice at the Academy. You're free to do that whenever you'd like, and you don't have to worry about anyone complaining about the noise."

Stephanie hesitated, looking down. "I don't know."

Lydia knew all about the incident on Monday that left her friend feeling reluctant to go back to the Academy, and she felt sorry for her. "It's a Saturday, Steph. There aren't going to be any classes for you to accidentally hijack this time around."

"I know that," Stephanie groaned, moving to put her violin back into its case which sat open at her feet. "I just don't want to run into that teacher again, that's all."

Lydia grimaced in sympathy. "I'm really sorry one of my colleagues was so rude to you. If I knew who it was, I wouldn't hesitate to give him a piece of my mind for making you feel so insecure."

"Thanks Lyds," Stephanie giggled before shaking her head. "But it doesn't matter. I was the one infringing on his class, and it wasn't like what he said about my violin playing wasn't true."

"Stop that," Lydia insisted firmly, putting her hands on her hips. "You are an excellent violinist Steph, and some arsehole teacher who doesn't even play the instrument will never change that. And he certainly shouldn't stop you from continuing to practice at the Academy whenever you want."

"I suppose you're right," Stephanie muttered, though she still looked a bit unconvinced.

"I know I am," Lydia said firmly with a smile, walking over to her friend and putting an arm around her. "C'mon - let's go get some breakfast and then head over to the Royal Academy. I have some papers to grade in my office, and you can find a practice room to play your violin in peace."

Stephanie smiled, looking slightly happier at that prospect. "Alright, that sounds good."

"Good," Lydia grinned, taking her arm off her friend before poking her in the shoulder. "And just so you're aware, if you ever decide to practice in the flat again when I'm trying to sleep, you're going to have to find yourself some new lodgings."

Stephanie giggled. "Fair enough," she conceded before giving a sly smile. "What about your office?"

Stephanie gave a shriek of laughter as she ran away from Lydia smacking her in the arm.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

About an hour later, Lydia and Stephanie arrived together at the Royal Academy. As expected, the front entrance hall was almost completely empty; however, they could hear faint music coming from the large auditorium down the corridor to their left. A small group of students passed by in front of them, heading toward the music down the hall while whispering excitedly to each other.

"Is there a performance today?" Lydia asked interestedly. "I hadn't heard about one."

"I'm not sure," Stephanie said, watching the students head down the corridor. "Want to check it out?"

"Okay, but let's not linger too long," Lydia said as the two of them headed toward the auditorium. "I have a lot of papers to grade."

They walked down the corridor, following the students as the violin music got louder and louder. They finally reached the doors of the auditorium, which were thrown wide open and a few dozen students and teachers had congregated to listen to the violinist playing onstage.

"Oh, look!" Lydia said, gazing toward the stage in awe. "It's Chloe Alistair."

A beautiful young woman in a short black dress and ankle boots stood on the stage, playing her violin to piano accompaniment. She had long dark hair pulled back in a high ponytail, and it appeared to swish around like a horse's tail as she played her violin. The piece's fast and upbeat melody clearly showcased her skill as a musician.

"She's gorgeous," Stephanie couldn't help but remark. "And she's really talented too. What's she playing?"

"I think that's Zapateado by Sarasate," Lydia said, tapping her chin in interest as she listened. "That piece is notoriously tricky, and violinists usually don't attempt it. It's pretty impressive she's able to play it at all."

Pablo Sarasate's Zapateado

Stephanie and Lydia walked toward the rest of the crowd, who were all congregated near the front listening to Chloe play. Stephanie couldn't help but admire the impressive arpeggios she pulled off with ease, and how her bow seemed to flow with the music, which was undeniably complicated with several multi-octave jumps played in the span of a few seconds. Stephanie doubted she would ever have the talent to play something that difficult in her life.

Chloe ended the piece with several impressive pizzicato notes before playing the final chord, and the crowd burst into applause.

Chloe smiled graciously, giving a bow before gesturing to her accompanist, who stood up to take a bow as well. Stephanie and Lydia clapped along with everyone else, and Stephanie couldn't help but feel genuinely impressed by this Chloe Alistair woman. A large part of her felt undeniably jealous at her musical prowess, but Stephanie had never deluded herself into thinking she could ever be a virtuoso too.

"You know, I've always wanted to meet Chloe Alistair," Lydia said, watching as the crowds of people moved toward the stage to talk to her. "She's been working here for a week already, and I haven't had the chance to say hello."

"It doesn't look like you'll get the chance today," Stephanie said amusedly, watching the hordes of students crowd around Chloe for a chance to speak to her. "Maybe another time, when she's not surrounded by her adoring fans."

Lydia chuckled sadly. "I suppose you're right."

Stephanie, remembering why she came by the Academy in the first place, asked Lydia how she could get to the practice rooms from here. Lydia told her, and just as Stephanie was about to head out of the auditorium to find them, she noticed someone walk in through the doors. Her stomach immediately dropped.

Crap.

"Oh God, he's here," Stephanie groaned, turning back to Lydia with a frown.

"Who?" Lydia asked interestedly.

"That teacher," Stephanie scowled. "The one who insulted my violin playing before kicking me out of the performance hall. He just walked through the doors."

"Really? Which one is he?" Lydia demanded, scanning the crowd near the door for the guy in question. "I can give him a piece of my mind."

"He's in the white button-down," Stephanie said, glancing over her shoulder and watching him get approached by a few students. "But I don't need you to exact revenge against him for me, Lydia. I can fight my own battles."

Lydia, however, didn't seem to be listening as her eyes landed on the man in question. She frowned. "You said he's in the white shirt?"

"Yeah," Stephanie said. "He's got brown hair and a five o'clock shadow too... and a smug expression on his stupid face."

Lydia continued to stare at the guy with wide eyes before turning her gaze back to her friend. "Him?"

Stephanie glanced back over at the guy, and dread filled her body when she saw him catch her eye. He said something to the students before walking toward her. "Oh God, he's coming over."

Lydia seemed unable to form a sentence as she stammered something incomprehensible, and Stephanie shushed her just as he approached them.

"Hello there," he said to Stephanie, giving her a smile that was apparently supposed to be charming. Stephanie thought he looked condescending. "Didn't think you'd show your face around here again. You planning on hijacking this auditorium for your practice room this time around?"

He nodded toward the violin case in Stephanie's hand, and she smiled sarcastically back at him. "Why would I do that when I can just plan my practice sessions around your teaching schedule?"

Lydia made an odd choking noise in the back of her throat, and Stephanie glanced over at her. The guy simply laughed. "I don't know why you'd bother. Perhaps you'd like to sit in on one of my classes at some point instead? You might actually learn something."

"Somehow I doubt it," Stephanie snarked back.

"Yeah, maybe you're right," the guy said smoothly. "Piano is a bit more complex than the violin, in my experience."

Stephanie's mouth popped open in affront to the statement, but before she could defend how difficult playing the violin actually was, a small group of female students approached them, grinning at the guy eagerly.

"Oh my God, I'm such a big fan!" one of the girls squealed excitedly, holding up her smartphone. "Can I please get a picture with you?"

"Of course," he agreed with a polite smile, and he moved away several yards with the giggling girls so they could take a few selfies.

Stephanie blinked in confusion. "Am I missing something?" she asked Lydia. "Who is that guy?"

"Steph, that's Kyle Lancaster!" Lydia insisted, her eyes wide as she stared at her. "I can't believe you didn't know that! I had no idea he was the guy who was rude to you on Monday."

"I had no idea either," Stephanie said, raising her eyebrows in surprise. "I thought he was just some teacher."

"Clearly," Lydia still sounded dumbfounded. "If you knew how famous he actually was, you'd never speak to him in the way you did just now."

"But he was being rude," Stephanie said, feeling defensive. "He was criticizing my playing when he's never even played violin before."

"Dating a violin virtuoso for a year has taught me a thing or two about the instrument." Kyle had finished with the students and walked back over to Stephanie and Lydia. He shoved his hands in his pockets. "I thought you'd appreciate the insight."

Stephanie and Lydia both instinctively glanced over at Chloe standing on the stage. She was currently taking pictures with some of the other students.

"Well, then, if I want violin advice, why don't I just go to Chloe Alistair?" Stephanie said, raising her eyebrows at Kyle. He simply chuckled.

"I'm sure she'd be delighted to help you," he said, sounding skeptical, and he turned to leave. "I should really get going. It was good seeing you again."

He walked away before Stephanie or Lydia could respond, and the two simply watched him.

"Well," Lydia said after a moment, sounding dazed. "It certainly appears as if you've made an impression on him."

Stephanie couldn't help but let out a snort. "I guess you could call it that," she said, looking back over at her friend. "He obviously doesn't like me."

Lydia frowned. "He doesn't? I thought he seemed rather intrigued by you, actually."

Stephanie laughed. "Intrigued? I highly doubt that. But it doesn't matter anyway... I came here to find a room to practice in, and you have papers to grade in your office. We should go and do that now."

"Fine," Lydia conceded, and with that she followed her friend out of the auditorium.