The Concert Part 1: Stage Fright

Posted on Mon Apr 1st, 2019 @ 8:18pm by Cadet Freshman Grade Gwen Morgan
Edited on on Mon Apr 1st, 2019 @ 8:19pm

Mission: Ready For The Weekend!
Location: The Subspace Cafe
Timeline: 2388/08/30 2000 (Sat. Aug. 30 2388 8:00pm)

Kelly finished putting on her red and black Victorian outfit in her room before she looked in a mirror. "Perfect," she said. "I hope." She checked her hair and wished it had a bit more curls or waves in it, but there was no time to get it done.

"Gwen! Are you almost ready?" She asked as she went to the dresser where her violin and PADD waited for her. It had been tuned and retuned several times since she had gotten back from The White Lotus and the musical beats on the PADD had been pre-loaded and double checked, but she didn't want a single thing to go wrong.

"I don't want to go, can't I just hide in the bathroom?" She said starting to panic a little. It was one thing to plan it, she was good at plans but now faced with the very real possibility of a large audience and it was all she could do not to hyperventilate. Her deep brown hair the color of rich earth was free down her back. Resting on the white frilled shirt she wore over a beautifully designed light brown vest, she sat in a chair in the bathroom as she rested her hands on her dark brown twill pants. Her blue eyes staring at knee high bootsin a different shade of brown. Her hat, an old style pith helmet with goggles lay on a nearby table.

The outfit looked very elegant even if its owner felt anything but. She'd been dragging her feet getting ready but time was running out.

"No, Gwen," Kelly said. "You're my singer. I can't keep everyone entertained with just solos. Besides, we're a duet, not a solo. Come on, please!"

Gwen heard the begging, pleading tone and was torn in two. She really just wanted to hide in the bathroom. What was she that she thought people would want to hear her sing in public? She just never thought it would snow ball into this. Still left to herself she would just stay here but she couldn't ignore the tone in Kelly's voice. It had always been Gwen's way to being willing to step forward more for others than herself.

"Just give me a minute!" She called back trying to control the panic. She looked up into the mirror, her pale features looking worried. Out of the corner of her eye she caught one of her cadet uniforms hanging on the handle of the bathroom closet door. She looked at it for a long time and what it meant. "Starfleet Cadets Do Not Hide In Their Bathrooms" She said with a sudden determination and before she could change her mind she grabbed her hat and threw open the door.

"We should go before I think about this..."

Kelly smiled from ear to ear. "I knew you could do it!" she said excitedly as she picked up her bow case and PADD. "We're going to blow their socks off tonight and they'll be begging us for repeat performances." She headed for the door and opened it. "Don't forget your hat!"

Gwen, still in 'determined mode', slammed it on her head and muttered an "OW!" as she followed Kelly out of the dorm room.

"Careful," Kelly said. "You're not supposed to smash your own brains out." She lead her downstairs and out the door as she headed for the tube service on campus. "What should we open up with?" she asked.

Head still tingling "I..what?..." She said still trying not to look too closely at the elephant in the room of the performing in front of an audience. She tried to change gears but it was hard, "Not the 'Shatter Me' one that's more of something to work up to I guess..." She said trying to participate in the conversation and not suddenly develop asthma.

"Maybe something speedy like Elements to get their attention?" Kelly suggested as they got on the transport tube.

Gwen was still trying to take deep breaths as she climbed on the tube. It took her a moment to process what Kelly was saying, then she brightened as a thought occurred. "That's great, you can dance about and I'll just be off to the side. Everyone will be watching you." That song had taken hours and hours. Gwen was never happy with the lyrics and was always tweaking with Kelly working the music trying to get them to meld properly. It was a very upbeat, fast song and so had been hard to find the right words. Like sculptors who 'saw' what a piece of marble was going to be Gwen held the same focus. It either 'felt' right or it didn't.

"Gwen!" Kelly said in protest. "We're a duet. Not a solo act where you hide. You'll have to get used to the stage sooner or later."

"I'll be on stage..." She protested hopefully that would work.

"With me on stage and in the spotlight," Kelly corrected.

"Trying not to think about that last part..." She muttered but taking a comfort in that fact she wouldn't be alone. And she didn't care what Kelly said, her roommate was very outgoing and easily dominated any spotlight. That thought, the thought no one would be watching her once Kelly got going, was comforting as well. She also took comfort in her clothes. They looked odd but damned if they weren't elegantly stylish and being so always made her feel a bit better about things in general.

"You'll be fine," Kelly assured her. "You've survived me being your roommate, right? You got this!"

Gwen smiled amused by Kelly's reply, even as she felt the absolute confidence coming off of Kelly in waves. "Are you never not confident? Never mind I know that one...So about the song list...." She said trying to focus.

Kelly smiled. "I'll start off with Elements as a solo, then we can go to Stars Align, Shadows, Transcendance, Night Vision and finish with Shatter me," she said. "And you know the answer to your question."

Gwen, pulled out of her worries over being on stage shook her head. "Glad we decided on Elements as solo for you, I'm not happy with the lyrics but we should move Transcendence after Night Vision since that's a solo as well." She was relieved, she liked the music of Elements but couldn't find the right words to fit before the concert.

"Okay," Kelly said after a moment. "Then that's settled?"

Gwen nodded, trying not to wring her hands.

"Look, if it helps, just keep your eyes on me the whole time," Kelly suggested. "I'll go a bit forward and play so it looks like you're singing to the audience and have them put a soft light on you. Sound like a plan?"

"I can do this. I can do this." She said with focus on 'can' and more to herself than Kelly but she smiled, somewhat relieved, "Thanks. It'll be great." Trying not to let her worries bring her friends mood down. She could only trust in Kelly's boundless confidence and keep her mental fingers crossed.

"That's right, you can," Kelly agreed emphatically. "You'll knock 'em dead and bring 'em back to life again just so they can hear more."

"Zombie Audience?" She asked amused.

"Why not?" Kelly asked. "You can be the pied piper of zombies."

Gwen laughed for the first her mind off of the up coming concert. "You're are so odd..." She said not like that was a bad thing.

"Gwen," Kelly said with a mischievous gleam in her eye. "You haven't seen anything yet."

Soon enough the transit came to a stop and the two young women got off and The Subspace Cafe could be seen less than fifty feet away.

"Let's do this!"



♫ Cadet Kelly Khan ♪
Flight
Magellan Campus

Cadet Gwen Morgan
Intel
Magellan Campus