It had been nearly a week now since Stephanie had tried out for the string quartet, and she had yet to hear back from Professor Lydnon. She supposed that hearing no news at this point wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but the suspense was getting to be almost unbearable.

But then, this morning while getting ready for the day, Stephanie got an email from Professor Lyndon, and she couldn't help but let out a scream.

"LYDIA!" Stephanie shrieked, busting into her friend's bedroom with her phone in hand. Lydia, who had been putting on her makeup at her vanity, jumped in surprise, causing her to smudge mascara along her eyelid.

"Oh. Sorry," Stephanie said apologetically, shrinking back slightly in embarrassment. Lydia glared at her friend before reaching for the makeup wipes.

"It's fine," she ground out, wiping away the black streak above her eye. "So what's gotten you so jumped up this morning?"

"I just got an email from Professor Lyndon," Stephanie explained eagerly, gesturing to her phone. "She wants me to come by the auditorium this morning for a callback!"

"What!?" Lydia screeched excitedly, hopping to her feet, the smudge of mascara on her eyelid forgotten. "Oh my God, Steph, that's fantastic!"

The two of them hugged joyfully before Lydia insisted on looking over the email herself. Stephanie pulled up her email and showed it to Lydia, who took the phone in her hand and began to read aloud:

"'...Dear Stephanie, I would like to thank you for auditioning last week for the Royal Academy String Quartet. We were delighted to have heard so many talented musicians play for us that day, and I am exceptionally pleased to inform you that you will be permitted to try out again amongst a smaller pool of contenders. Please meet us today at eleven o'clock in the Royal Academy auditorium, and bring sheet music to the classical piece of your choice. We look forward to seeing you there.'"

"Steph!" Lydia squealed after she finished reading, and she reached over to embrace her friend again. "You got a callback!"

"I know!" Stephanie said excitedly, squeezing her friend back. "I almost can't believe it, I've never gotten a callback before! I don't even know what I'm going to play!"

"Oh, that's right – we need to pick what piece you should play!" Lydia quickly pulled away from the hug, holding Stephanie's shoulders at arm's length. "Well, don't worry. I'll help you find the best piece to play so you'll nail the audition!"

"It needs to be a difficult piece, but not too difficult," Stephanie insisted as Lydia dragged her into the living room. "Something I can play well, but not trip me up in case I get too nervous."

"Precisely. And that's why I'm thinking Bach," Lydia said firmly, leading them over to one of her bookshelves teeming with sheet music. She pulled out a huge stack of papers the size of a dictionary and brought it over to the coffee table, plopping it down with a loud thunk. "Let's look through these."

Stephanie gazed down at the huge stack of music with amused trepidation. "Sounds good."

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

Stephanie and Lydia were able to get to the Royal Academy before eleven o'clock that day. Lydia had a class to teach, so she couldn't stick around to listen to Stephanie audition, so she just hugged her friend and wished her good luck before heading upstairs to her classroom. Stephanie made her way to the auditorium alone, clutching the handle of her violin case and feeling nervous yet excited for what could potentially be her future.

Professor Lyndon and about half a dozen violinists were hanging around the front stage when Stephanie walked in. Professor Lyndon looked up and smiled brightly upon seeing Stephanie, and she waved; Stephanie waved back, feeling slightly comforted by the older woman's friendliness.

"Stephanie! Excellent, we're all here," Professor Lyndon said brightly once Stephanie had joined them. Professor Lyndon turned to the rest of the group. "Congratulations all of you for making it this far. For this audition, I have asked each of you to bring the sheet music to a violin solo piece you would like to play. Just go up on stage when I announce your name, and tell me what it is you're playing before you begin. I'll stop you after three minutes if the piece goes on for longer than that. Any questions?"

There was a general murmur of "no" and people shaking their heads, and Professor Lyndon nodded. "Wonderful. Mr. McLaughlin, would you like to go first?"

A red-haired young man with freckles nodded, looking nervous as he made his way onto the stage. The others all moved to sit down with their instruments to wait for their turn, too nervous to chat with the others. Stephanie took a deep breath, trying to focus her mind.

Each person played their solo onstage, and Stephanie couldn't help but feel inferior when she heard how talented each of them were. How Stephanie was able to compete amongst some of the best violinists she'd ever heard in her life, she had no idea, but she couldn't deny how grateful she was to be here. Once each person was finished playing, Professor Lyndon dismissed them, and the auditorium slowly began to empty. Pretty soon, Stephanie was the only one who hadn't played yet, and it was just her and Professor Lyndon in the auditorium as she made her way onstage.

"I'll be performing Bach's Partita for Violin Solo in B Minor," Stephanie said clearly for Professor Lyndon to hear, and the older woman nodded as she scribbled on her notepad.

"Whenever you're ready," she said kindly, gesturing for Stephanie to begin. Stephanie took a deep breath before bringing her bow up to her violin strings. After making sure her fingers were in the correct position, she began to play.

Bach's Partita for Violin Solo in B Minor

The piece was very fast and sprightly, and Stephanie couldn't help but worry that she would slip up. However, she concentrated on the notes and her intonation, blocking out the rest of the world, and she played the piece as well as she had ever done.

"That's wonderful, Stephanie," Professor Lyndon interrupted her after three minutes, and Stephanie brought her bow down. Professor Lyndon was smiling brightly at her, and Stephanie couldn't help but smile back.

I did it!

"You did a marvelous job," she said sincerely, pressing a hand to her heart as she approached the stage. "Truly, I'm sorry the others couldn't stick around to listen to you play that fantastic rendition of Bach."

Stephanie smiled modestly, moving to put her violin back in its case. "Thank you. I was really nervous, but I'm afraid having more people in here would have made me more so."

"Well, as a violinist for the Royal Academy String Quartet, you'd have to perform in front of hundreds of people most nights," Professor Lyndon said seriously. "Are you sure you'd be able to handle it?"

"Of course I will," Stephanie said immediately, picking up her violin case. "Once I get more accustomed to playing on a regular basis, I know that my performance anxiety will ease up."

Professor Lyndon nodded at her answer. "I find that's true with most students, and I do think that will be the case with you, Stephanie. You are far more talented than I think you realize, and I want to be able to help you unlock your potential."

Stephanie felt her heart drumming in her chest, and her breath hitched in her throat as she stared at Professor Lyndon, a smile blooming on her face. "Wait, so, are you saying...?

Professor Lyndon smiled, looking pleased at Stephanie's restrained joy. "Yes, I am, actually. Welcome to the Royal Academy String Quartet, Miss Ryan."

Stephanie couldn't help but let out a gasp, clasping a hand to her mouth as she tried not to scream and jump up and down excitedly. She couldn't believe it – she had actually gotten a spot in the string quartet! She desperately wished Lydia was here so the two of them could celebrate right now.

She didn't know what this meant for Morgan's wedding, or her undefined relationship with Kyle, but she couldn't think about that right now. There were still a lot of questions about the future, and Stephanie knew she would have to tackle them one at a time. This opportunity was too good to pass up.

"...And this comes at the perfect time, too," Professor Lyndon went on. "With the summer semester only halfway done, our group has several months to practice together before we start touring in September. You'll have time to get to know the others and better learn how to play alongside them."

"Of course," Stephanie nodded, smiling eagerly. "I'm really looking forward to playing with everyone."

"And they're looking forward to it too," Professor Lyndon agreed, smiling back. "I know that there were several violinists that they all enjoyed playing with in addition to you, but I think the four of you will get along splendidly."

Stephanie nodded, knowing it wasn't really her place to comment on their consideration of other violinists for the spot. "So what's the next step?"

"Well, first I would like to figure out our touring schedule for the next few months," Professor Lyndon gestured for Stephanie to step off the stage and move beside her, which she did. "It's going to take a lot of logistics, as well as marketing if we want to get more people to come to our performances. I feel we have the potential to make the Royal Academy String Quartet the best it's ever been, and if you have any suggestions on how we might achieve that, Stephanie, feel free to speak up."

"I'm happy to help any way that I could, but I'm afraid I don't have a lot of marketing experience," Stephanie confessed. "My best friend Morgan is an excellent marketing executive back in Boston, though. She might be willing to help us out."

Professor Lyndon nodded, though she clearly didn't look sold on the idea. "That's nice, though I was thinking we could get help from someone who had more experience in classical music, someone who may be more familiar with going on tour..."

Stephanie raised her eyebrows. "You mean Kyle Lancaster?"

"Yes, exactly," Professor Lyndon's eyes lit up. "I think Kyle and his team would be the ideal solution to helping market our string quartet to the general population. He has an excellent marketing team behind him, as I'm sure you know."

Stephanie didn't say anything for a moment, though an odd feeling settled at the pit of her stomach. "I'm sure if you asked Kyle for his help, he'd be more than happy to accommodate. He's been teaching all summer here at the Royal Academy, so I'm sure he'd be willing to help out students here wanting to fulfill their musical dreams."

"Well, yes. I suppose," Professor Lyndon said, a tad hesitantly. "But it's not always that simple. There's money involved, and music and the arts rarely gets funded. Having a beneficiary, especially someone like Kyle Lancaster, could go a long way in helping our string quartet, but it often has to take a bit of convincing."

Stephanie felt her heart sink. "And you think I'm the one who can convince him?"

"Well, I don't mean to pry, but it's clear to me and a lot of us here that the two of you have been spending quite a bit of time together lately," Professor Lyndon smiled, and Stephanie blushed. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about, dear. And while I know it's none of my business, I sincerely hope the two of you are very happy together. It's always gratifying seeing two musicians passionate about their craft coming together in such a way."

The compliment was lost on Stephanie as the cold, bitter realization washed over her: Professor Lyndon only wanted her on the string quartet because of her connection with Kyle. Hurt, anger, and embarrassment swirled around her mind as she couldn't help but blurt out: "Is my relationship with Kyle the only reason you asked me to be on the string quartet?"

Professor Lyndon blinked, looking taken aback by her blunt question. "What? Of course not, Stephanie – how could you ask such a thing? You're a very talented violinist!"

"But I wasn't the most talented," Stephanie stated, narrowing her eyes at the older woman. "There were plenty of other students who could have made the cut before me. You said it yourself, there were violinists the other members of the quartet were considering apart from me."

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Stephanie," Professor Lyndon insisted, gazing at her sternly. "It wouldn't do for you to snub your nose at it. You'll have the opportunity to play in a world-renowned string quartet, and our music programs will get more funding as a result of the additional marketing. It's a win for all of us!"

But Stephanie felt sick to her stomach. The very idea that she only got on such a prestigious string quartet because of money was absolutely abhorrent to her. It was her dream to play on this string quartet, but she wanted to do so on her own merits, not because of her connections. The thought pissed her off, and she straightened herself up before glaring directly at Professor Lyndon.

"While I appreciate your offer of becoming a member of your string quartet, I'm afraid I'll have to decline," Stephanie said with cold politeness, clutching the handle of her violin case in a vice grip. "I apologize for the inconvenience."

Without waiting for a response, Stephanie marched past her toward the doors of the auditorium, her heart pounding in her ribcage.