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“I’m thrilled we’re going to have you here today, Brianne,” said Professor Barley. “Everyone loved Kaitlyn’s performance last month.”
I smiled at her. “Thanks for the opportunity, Professor Barley. It’s awesome to be able to play for a crowd.”
After she left to take care of other preparations, Kaitlyn and I took our instruments out and started tuning up. Some early birds started trickling in, and we started jamming and improvising, making sure the guests had something pleasant to listen to while they perused the incredible art. Kaitlyn and I had agreed that we’d take turns at some point so we could each have a chance to look around.
Once it hit 7:00, we took out our notes for the covers we’d prepared and started on them. More and more people starting coming, and the whole thing had the atmosphere of a fair. There were a couple of food trucks, lots of chattering children, and even a few well-behaved dogs.
One of the things I loved about street performance—after I’d actually started doing it—was getting to see how people reacted to my music. When I increased the tempo, they started getting more excited, and when I decreased the tempo, they became more relaxed. The same thing started happening as Kaitlyn and I moved on to the more energetic songs in our set. It was cool to be able to control the energy of the crowd from where I was.
And it was also fun to play the violin outdoors. Most of the time, I was in my room or in the orchestra room. I never got to play in the sunshine and breeze. There was something freeing about it, like the notes could float into the air like dandelion seeds, carried on the wind and heard from a distance. And my violin sang like a nightingale as I pulled a wide range of notes from it, adding vibrato and other effects to jazz it up.
I had so much more respect for Kaitlyn now than I had starting out. I used to think she was lesser than me because she didn’t have a formal music education and played on the street instead of concert halls. But what I didn’t realize until I actually got to know her was that we both loved music, and that was all that mattered. We loved playing our instruments and sharing music with audiences, wherever they were, and that was the most important thing. It didn’t matter that we came from completely different backgrounds. What was the point of enjoying music if you used it to separate yourself from other people?
Margie nodded at me, indicating that she and Emily were going to explore a bit more. There were some new exhibitions inside the building as well, where people were escaping to get some relief from the sun, though it was quickly becoming cooler.
After our first set finished, I told Kaitlyn I wanted to take a break and explore inside. After this break, I’d take over for her. I’d prepared some cool early 20th century jazzy pieces which I thought would be a perfect transition into the night.
I carefully packed my violin back up—I didn’t want to risk it getting damaged—and headed inside in search of Margie. I found her pretty easily because there weren’t as many people inside as outside. She and Emily were gawking at a large, humanoid sculpture, and I couldn’t tell if it was nude or not.
“Um,” I said, wrapping an arm around Margie, “what the hell is this?”
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” said Margie. “Is that his dick, or what? I have no idea.”
We dissolved into laughter and moved on to the artist’s other works, which were clearer. “I feel like this would look good in my house,” I said, gesturing to another humanoid shape.
“I’d probably get scared of it at night,” said Margie. “I’d get up to use the bathroom, see it in skulking in the corner, and flip a shit.”
We burst into laughter again. It felt good to be out and laughing with my friends. I felt like I’d been so anxious, so uptight, for so long, and now I could finally let loose. Every puzzle piece of my life was coming together. I knew how lucky I was, and I didn’t want to lose the feeling.
“You know, the art store is open, finally,” said Emily. “They’re having special hours for it tonight so people can see what it’s about.”
“Oh wow,” said Margie. “We definitely have to check it out, then.”
We followed Emily through the warehouse and into a corner studio that had been transformed into a store. Even though it was small and I wasn’t particularly knowledgeable about art supplies, I could tell it was pretty comprehensive and had good quality stuff.
“This is… awesome,” said Margie.
“Thanks,” said the store clerk, looking up. “We figured a lot of people would appreciate us adding an art supplies store. Helps us fund our programs, too.”
“I think I’m going to end up spending some money here,” said Margie.
“Me too,” I agreed. I’d been having an itch to get back into painting recently, and this felt like the right time to do it.
We walked through the aisles, looking at devices which were completely inexplicable and others that I was practically drooling over. Margie and I ended up picking out some paints and canvases and brushes, figuring we could start on our journey to take up painting again together.
“Good haul,” said Emily.
“Thanks,” I said. “I feel inspired, now.”
“Good,” said Margie. “I just have no idea what I actually want to paint.”
“Paint the animals,” I suggested, as we walked back outside—it was time to relieve Kaitlyn. “Maybe if you get good at it, people will pay you to paint their animals. One of my mom’s friends does that.”
“Not a bad idea,” said Margie.
I stowed the painting mater
ials with my violin case, took my violin out, and sat down, ready to go. I started off with a little improv, so it would be a jarring transition, but when I started playing the jazz pieces, the night started to become a deep shade of blue. It was perfect. String lights lit up the whole place magically, along with larger street lights. They had the effect of illuminating the sculptures interestingly, transforming their shapes with long shadows and bright spots.
