Under the Stars and Stripes (Under Him)

Then again, Ashe had specified that they weren’t the usual Metal band. I vowed to myself I would give it a try, since I didn’t want a repeat of the ‘Zevon Incident.’

Despite having taken my final test - not only of the semester but of the course - there was still lots of work to do. I didn’t know when exactly but, assuming I passed, my graduation concert would be coming, and likely soon.

The graduation concerts I had to conduct were a showcase for new talents. It’s not like they could keep me from graduating if I did a bad job, but it was a big deal and I wanted to make sure to do a good job.

Some very important industry types were almost certain to be in the crowd. I’d never thought of conducting as a particularly secure job. I was far too in touch with reality for that.

But another part of reality held that it would be possible to get a job right out of college, were I able to impress the right people at the right time. A gamble to be sure, but one I was more than willing to take.

The main issue when putting together a classical concert was trying to keep it original. Just as one wasn’t going to be cast on Broadway with “Let It Go” as their audition song, I wasn’t going to be wowing any judges with the same old thing.

That could be a bit of an issue, considering that most of the repertoire was very old indeed. Still, there was enough of it from varying countries to find something great, as well as obscure.

At the same time, the trick was not to surprise them too much, either. The perfect unicorn of a piece was something obscure enough to get attention but not so much that it would be shocking.

There was no denying it. The more thought and consideration I put in, the more all roads led to going with something by Grieg.

“Hall of the Mountain King” spun in my head. It was the third time through, looking for any new angle to try and make it new. The notes were the same no matter how a song was played; it was all down to interpretation.

At the moment, I was contemplating a break-neck rollercoaster of a version, to make “Flight of the Bumblebee” look placid by comparison. Some monocles might well pop, but at least I’d have made an impression.

Low on tea and in need of a break, I ejected the disc and took my cup to the kitchen for a refill.

Upon return to my desk, I remembered the CD Ashe had given me that afternoon. Still a bit skeptical, I slid in the CD, just to see what might happen. I was more willing than I’d ever been to experiment.

As the disc spun and the first song played, I could feel a door open in my mind. It was one to a wondrous land I’d never even dreamed possible.

Coming to my senses long enough to check the back of the case, just to see who was responsible for releasing such beauty into the wider world, I opened a search window and looked up the Suspicious Activity Records.

Chapter Two - Theo

I never played much Tetris as a kid. Mostly because I was born years after it was first popular, even in Europe. But that was only a detriment when it came to packing for a long trip.

Fortunately for me, my little sister Petra was more of a retro kid.

“This is a disaster,” she said, surveying the chaos of my big suitcase.

“What did I ask you?” I asked in Dutch.

“To speak English so you can practice?”

“Exactly.”

“Fine,” she sighed in English, her Dutch accent so light as to be nearly undetectable.

I didn’t like to be stern with her. It wasn’t how we did things in our family— mom and dad were the tough ones. Strict enough for both of us.

I was always the cool big brother. Our folks didn’t want her to live alone while she went to college in the big, scary city and insisted she come and live with me, an arrangement neither of us minded much.

It was a lot like at home, really. The only reason I was being so strict about the English was because it was my first trip outside of Europe and I was nervous.

I’d been getting English in school since I was about seven, but I still wasn’t confident about being around native speakers.

My experience was limited to tourists visiting Amsterdam for legal cannabis, but I knew they couldn’t all be the same. A shame, considering the majority of my encounters had been generally positive.

Taking the suitcase at either side, Petra flipped it over, dumping the contents out onto the bed.

“This isn’t right,” she said, assessing the scattered mess in record time.