NaNoWriMo Chapter Six Excerpt

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This was the sixth excerpt posted from my novel, Found in Time.

Ella stood at the back entrance of the gazebo with the other musicians. They were all adults, so even though they were nice, it was impossible for Ella to talk comfortably to them. They stood in their own little circle having a conversation. Ella didn’t mind that she was by herself. She could barely keep herself from shaking as she clutched onto her violin.

Their performance was to start any minute, and they stood at the back entrance to keep away from the gathering crowd. It really didn’t do much to keep them separate. The noise coming from the crowd, which consisted of a good couple hundred people, was overwhelming. Ella had peeked around, and couldn’t even see an end to the sea of people. To make matters worse, she overheard the other musicians saying this was the largest crowd to ever gather for this annual performance.

Mr. Cunningham had joked all those weeks ago that she better not get stage fright and refused to play. Ella assumed up till this point that she would be nervous but fine overall. Now Ella was starting to wonder if the worst might really come to pass. What if she performed horribly in front of all these people, not to mention Mr. Cunningham’s colleagues? Would she even be able to will herself onto the gazebo? The only comfort she had was Jimmy in her pocket. He had been sending telepathic words of encouragement to her, which was the only reason she hadn’t bolted yet.

Unfortunately, the ones he sent now never registered in her mind as Mr. Cunningham motioned for her and the others to come onto the gazebo. Ella did, however, reach her hand inside her pocket to touch him quickly for support. She let the others go on first before moving to the front of the gazebo where she would be playing. The crowd was clapping for them, but all their faces swarmed before her. Ella was trying to appear as confident as possible, but she was sure her terror had to be showing. Ella desperately sought out her family.

Luckily, it wasn’t hard to find them. They were standing at the very front. Just seeing them gave Ella enough of a boost to smile. Mr. Cunningham stood in front of Ella and the others and began making an introduction to the crowd. After he introduced her, Ella stopped paying attention. She had scanned down the line of her family, and noticed that Peter and Brooke were missing.

She searched the next couple rows back thinking the two were simple separated from the others. She couldn’t find them. Ella made eye contact with her parents and mouthed Peter’s name. Edwin and Clara looked at their group, and now that they were short two as well. Ella guessed her parents asked the rest of them if they knew where they were because everyone shook their head. Still hoping Peter and Brooke were only in a farther away row, Ella kept searching.

Large waving caught her attention. It wasn’t the two she was looking for, but Dorothy, Caroline, Eliza, and Josie sitting on one of the boulders contained in the park. She smiled at them, but then kept looking. Her eyes were drawn farther and farther back until the faces became completely unrecognizable. Ella moved her gaze back to her family. Edwin was stepping forward to go and look for the missing two. However, Mr. Cunningham finished the welcoming remarks and stood off to the side of the gazebo. The clapping form the audience signaled the start of the performance, and Edwin moved back to his spot with no other choice.

Ella sighed inwardly as the count was given and the music started. Peter had said he wouldn’t miss this performance for the world. Just because she couldn’t see him didn’t mean he wasn’t there. Maybe he and Brooke had gotten stalled by the crowd and had no choice but to listen from all the way in the back. Maybe she accidentally skipped over them. Maybe they were actually close by and were simply being blocked by another. Whatever the case was, Ella took the chance and believed that Peter was indeed somewhere listening.

But listening to what? Ella suddenly realized she hadn’t been paying the music any attention. Her thoughts had processed slowly, so the first song was already halfway through. How come no one was looking at her strangely for not playing? Then an even more surprising realization came. Ella was playing. It wasn’t that she was just playing though, but her notes were right on with the other musicians. She was performing perfectly. Even with her distracted mind, her body remembered the music so well it could play by itself needing no direction from her.

The best thing was that Ella was no longer nervous. The faces in the crowd didn’t scare her, and the fear of messing up was no longer in her mind. Somehow, her curiosity about where Peter was turned the performance into something that was enjoyable. Now having the confidence that she could actually do this, Ella played more passionately. The first song ended gracefully without a problem.

Ella breathed a sigh of relief. Mr. Cunningham gave her a look of encouragement. Ella soaked in the applause from the audience. She couldn’t believe how exhilarating it was to be the center of attention in front of so many people. Ella wished she had had an opportunity like this earlier. Forgetting about Peter and Brooke, Ella raised her violin as her first solo was about to start.

She glanced at her family and Brooke’s parents every so often throughout the song. Ella was glad to see they were enjoying themselves. She had to stop herself from laughing when she spotted Sadie kicking her legs along to the music. As the music went on, the more Ella played with passion. Even when the song ended, she picked that passion right where she left off and kept building upon it. The applause from the audience spurred her on. The performance was quickly becoming addicting. Ella wished it would never end.