Hi everybody! Spoon Mike here. I've been one of the many silent readers of the Nifty archives since I stumbled onto it, while unbelievably sick, in March of 1999. Ever since then, I've been hooked. I never though of myself as a writer, but here I am, stuck with nothing to do on break from college, so I decided to give it a try. Please be nice and send comments, even if it's just a short "Nice job. Please Continue". Oh well. Oh, and to alleviate any confusion anything in between these (** *) are thoughts of characters other than the main character.
Now for the inevitable disclaimer: All of the following characters are pure, unadulterated fiction. I do not pretend to know N'Sync, Ben Affleck, or any of the other celebrities that appear in this story. I have no idea what their sexual or even food preferences are; so don't look to me for the truth. If you are a minor, scram! If this type of material offends you, why the hell are you here at this site in the first place?
Now, ON WITH THE SHOW!
Playing for My Heart - Chapter 1 By Spoon Mike
Canterbury Music Hall was full of sound, as the orchestra had already begun its regular ritual of warming up and practicing. This was also known as showing off, but I'll let that pass. As I entered the hall, breathless from running 10 blocks through the city during rush hour, I reflected on how lucky I was to have the opportunity to play with this fine group. I just love creating music!
Jeff Williams, my best friend in the world, came running up to me. "Whoa, Mike, thought you were going to be late for a second there! We got a new piece today!"
Jeff and I were born next door to one another, one day apart, and have been best friends ever since. We started music together, and, well, we basically do everything together! He's always been so bouncy and energetic, though. However, I just wanted to sit down!
"Give me a sec, Jeff, Let me take a breath first! I just ran here all the way from performance class," I said. How I hate performance classes! Playing for the rest of the clarinet majors, one after another, and then having them critique your playing? I could definitely pass on that!
"That's what you get for playing the clarinet and having your performance class right before this. You should've listened to me and learned a brass instrument like I did!" Jeff then proceeded to serenade me with his French horn. Cute.
"Oh, yeah, you're a riot. I'll talk to you after rehearsal, okay?" I picked up my music and went to sit in my section. Tim Feldman, the principal clarinetist, was already set to go. Just like always, perfect Tim.
"Hi Mike, how are you doing today?" Tim asked.
"I'm doing well, just a long day of classes," I said as I assembled my clarinet and set my music out.
"Ah, yes, college. How is that going?"
"I'm doing well. I'm trying to get some students so I can get some teaching experience."
Our conductor, Kenneth Fenton, took the podium at this moment. "Hello people! I hope that you all have had a relaxing week. We have a difficult concert approaching soon, so please continue to play at your very best. He turned to our principal oboist. "Gretchen, a lovely "A" from your oboe, please, so that we may tune." All conversation ceased, and Gretchen proceeded to play the tuning note.
I'll take this moment to introduce myself. My name is Michael Russell, and I go by Mike. I'm a 22-year-old Connecticut native attending New England Conservatory in Boston. I'm a senior clarinet performance major there; I'm a decent clarinet player if I do say so myself. When you watch professional orchestras on TV, have you ever noticed that virtually all of the musicians are over the age of 40? Well, it's the same here, with the exception of Jeff and I. We both successfully auditioned for empty seats here in the Canterbury Philharmonic Orchestra! It's a real thrill, being two 22-year-old college students in a room where the next youngest player is Tim, who is 42! I play second chair clarinet (there are four clarinet players, but the other two are extras, and don't play in everything like Tim and I do), and Tim is the principal French horn player. Also, I am gay.
I've had lots of trouble coming to terms with that, but Jeff has helped me. He's the only one who knows about me. Although he's straight, he took it very well. I was SO relieved! Other than that I am a total closet case. I would like to find a handsome, wonderful, smart, successful man who I happen to fall madly in love with and live happily ever after with, but I'm just too shy for that. Oh, well, back to rehearsal.
Everything went so well today. The new piece, Igor Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring" went extremely well. Our orchestra was so big for that piece. Both of the other clarinets were playing today, and I even go to double on a bit of bass clarinet. Normally there are only four French horns, but the Stravinsky needs 8! Jeff was so happy to have so many new people today. He gets happy about things like that. He played his solos exceptionally well, and I was so proud of him. Afterwards, I caught up with him.
"Bye Tim! Have a great weekend! Hey Jeff, you rocked on that solo!" I said, after running over from my seat.
"I did, didn't I?"
"Someday, Jeff, you're going to meet a girl with that attitude, and she'll slap it right out of you!"
"Ha, ha! Now YOU'RE the riot. So, are you ready to rehearse?
Jeff and I, along with Gretchen, Molly (our second flute player), and Bill (our principal bassoon player) have our own woodwind quintet. We play all around Boston and New York, but tonight, we're playing at a wedding. It's high security, and we don't even know who's getting married. Must be a celebrity.
"Yes, I'm ready. Come on guys; let's get to work. I want to get done soon so we can get there in time." I said, sitting down with clarinet in hand.
Playing for my Heart - Chapter 2
JC Chasez sat, smiling at his frazzled friend.
"I'm so nervous," Justin Timberlake said, adjusting his bowtie for the eighth time.
"Don't worry, Justin. Everything will go fine. Just think of it: in a few short hours, you and Britney will be man and wife," JC Chasez told him reassuringly.
"I know, and I can't wait. I'm just so nervous, that's all."
"You're going to make a perfect husband, I know it. If only I could fine the right man for me."
"JC, you know that you will. You a fine catch, and If I weren't straight and wasn't hopelessly in love with Britney, I'd be all over you. Now, my best man, go check on my family and see how they're doing. I'll see you soon enough."
JC went to the garden and spoke to Lynn Harliss, Justin's mother for a while. By the time he left her, the garden was already tuning into a circus. This would be a widely attended wedding, JC thought, *I should've seen this coming. Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick were acting as ushers, and JC went to help them out.
At this moment, Ben Affleck and his best buddy Matt Damon entered the spacious backyard/garden where the ceremony would take place. Ben marveled at the setting, and took in the amount of people in attendance. *Wow, I'm glad I came. To think that Matt had to drag me out here!
Matt turned to Ben. "This is a nice place, isn't it?"
"Yeah, buddy. I wonder how Justin is?"
"Probably nervous and twisting is bowtie somewhere"
"Probably.Hey Lance!"
"Hi guys! Great to see you!" Lance Bass came up to them, giving each a firm handshake. He seemed a little worried about something.
"Lance, my man! How are you?" Matt asked.
"I'm cool, but I wish the musicians were here. I'm getting worried," Lance replied.
"Musicians? I thought that you guys were the musicians!" Ben joked.
"Very funny. I hired a woodwind group to play music for the ceremony. They're musicians from the local symphony, and my friend Molly plays flute in it." Lance said. "Oh, there's Molly, they're here!" Lance ran off.
"He's energetic, isn't he?" Matt asked.
Ben replied, "He sure is!"
"I've got to run to the bathroom for a minute. Be right back," Matt said.
Ben was going to reply, but stopped in his tracks. He had glanced over to where Molly was standing, and saw the most beautiful guy he'd ever seen in his life. Ben knew that he had to meet this new guy. As luck would have it, Lance was bringing the group his way! Ben started to sweat a little.
"Hey Ben, I wanted to introduce you and Matt to Molly and her group. Where's Matt?" Lance asked.
"Oh, he went to the bathroom. Hi everyone, I'm Ben."
"I'm Molly, it's nice to meet you," Ben and Molly shook hands. "These are the other musicians, Gretchen, Bill, Jeff, and Mike."
Ben shook their hands in turn, but couldn't take his eyes of this beautiful guy. Mike, huh. I'll have to get to know him better.
I was in awe! BEN AFFLECK just shook my hand! I have such a crush on him. He seems to be staring at me. I wonder why? This is quite a wedding! It seems that Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears are getting married I'm going to get to see it, up close and in person! Also, This most likely means that N'Sync is all here, which means that I will probably meet JC Chasez! I have been practically in love with him ever since I saw that Disney special that they did a few years ago. He's the perfect guy, if only he liked me back. But why would he like me? I'm just a college student; he's a pop superstar. Oh well, time to set up!
On the other side of the garden, JC, having just seated his family, turned around to where the musicians were setting up. *Oh, this must be the group that Lance was talking about, JC thought. *Wow! Who's that? His eyes rested on the clarinet player, who was currently joking around with the French horn player. *I don't know what it is about him yet, but I've got to meet him! JC started planning how to catch Mike alone at the end of the ceremony, but Lance came up to him.
"JC, Justin needs you now!" Lance urged JC, pushing him along.
Ben's mind was going a mile a minute. *Wow, he plays the clarinet? What a break! The new script that I got, "The Benny Goodman Story" would be an awesome part to play, but I don't know anything about the clarinet. Maybe Mike can teach me! Ben started planning how to catch Mike alone at the end of the ceremony, but Matt came up to him.
"I'm back! C'mon Ben, we need to find seats!" Matt urged Ben, pushing him along.
END Chapters 1 and 2 To Be Continued...
So what'd y'all think? Please email me at col_dot@hotmail.com. Suggestions? Questions? Threats? All are welcome! Remember, if one person responds, I'll continue. I have the story mapped out, but you can influence changes. Hope to hear from you soon!
Spoon Mike