Five Musicians Maddie Never Met
Title: Five Musicians Maddie Never Met
Universes: The Boolpropian Round Robin: Generation Eight (and Seven), A Villainous Apocalypse, The Bradford Legacy, The Pseudo Legacy, A Victorian Legacy, An Apocalypse of Ice
Word Count: 2864
Notes: So...I started this fic like...two or three years ago, no, seriously, I don't know, it's been a long time, I am not kidding. It was after I finished RR Generation 8, well before I started Generation 9, so, um, a while back. And it was sitting with three sections completed (the 1st, 3rd, and 4th) for, like, ever. And I never could quite get into the mood to finish it. And then tonight I looked at it again, and I suddenly realized what I would do with the 2nd and 5th sections, and I just sat down and wrote it. Sadly, it doesn't really fit any of my Myshuno! prompts, and I'm not really comfortable using something that was already partly completed for one of them, but, um, I guess you can count it as the free space if you want? Anyway, enjoy!
The town was a dive, the bar was tiny, and it was absolutely frigid outside.
And yet, there was absolutely nowhere that Maddie would rather be.
“Isn’t this awesome?” she yelled to Vee, who did not look nearly so happy about the bar - either the size of it, the dive-ness, or the fact that Maddie had quite happily pulled out a fake ID and ordered a Long Island Iced Tea.
“WHAT?” Vee yelled back.
“ISN’T THIS AWESOME?”
“NOT REALLY. CAN WE GO OUTSIDE?”
Maddie rolled her eyes, but she picked up her drink, downed the last drops of it, and followed Vee out of the bar.
Vee leaned against the building. “It is way too loud in there.”
Maddie shrugged. “I like it.” She shivered a bit from the cold, and started walking around the building, trying to keep warm. Vee followed her. “The music is awesome.”
Vee rubbed at her arms. “Aren’t you cold? This place is freezing.”
“Yeah, but still. Besides, it’s warmer inside. We could go back in if you want.”
“No thanks.”
As they reached the back of the building, they saw a small stage set up, with three musicians - a guitarist, a drummer, and a bassist - getting their instruments ready for a concert. A crowd was slowly gathering around them, as people filtered out of the bar and from the surrounding town.
“What’s going on?” Maddie asked one of the waiting people, a girl a bit older than them, with long brown pigtails.
“You haven’t heard? Lex is trying to lift the winter.”
“What?”
“Rumor is, an awesome concert will change the weather patterns, make it stop being winter. Lex is trying. I think he’ll make it tonight. Especially with Grandpa Spencer as backup.”
“When’s the concert start?”
The girl checked her watch. “Nine. Fifteen minutes or so.”
Maddie turned to Vee. “Let’s stay.”
“Must we?”
She put on her most devastating look, the one that she knew would get Vee to do almost anything. “Please?”
Vee sighed. “Alright. Just for half an hour or so. And I want your scarf.”
Maddie immediately handed it over and they settled down to wait.
Fifteen minutes later, the crowd had grown tenfold - clearly people were waiting until the last minute to show up in order to stay warm as long as possible.
The bassist stepped up to his mike. “Testing, testing…is this thing on?”
The crowd roared. Maddie grinned, though Vee covered her ears.
“Looks like it’s working!” The guitarist grinned down at the throng below and gave his guitar a quick strum for effect, which brought another cheer. “All right, then! We’ve got something very special planned for tonight, as you all know, so let’s get it started!” He nodded to the bassist and the drummer, and then began the opening chords.
The music was loud, and jarring, and completely beyond awesome. Maddie stared up at the stage, transfixed, grinning as wide as she possibly could.
When the song was done, the crowd roared, the air already starting to feel different. Vee glanced around, noticing all the people talking among themselves, the girl Maddie had spoken to heading up onstage to hug the bassist. She nudged Maddie. “Can we go home now?”
Maddie was still staring at the stage. “That,” she said, “is what I want to do when I grow up.”
“Right. Whatever. Home? Please? Or at least somewhere warm?” She nudged Maddie again.
Maddie shook herself. “Home. Sure.” But as they turned and left, her mind was still on the concert, and on the idea of being a Rock God just like that when she grew up.
* * *
Everyone always said you had to start small, but Maddie had to admit that beginning her adult music career as a Piano Tuner was not exactly what she'd expected.
Still, it meant she got free admission to pretty much every club in the area, whether or not she was actually there to tune the piano, which was nice. She'd taken Stella a few times, and while Stella wasn't much for bars (to tell the truth, Maddie didn't always love them either), she did enjoy live music.
James Bradford's jazz club was a favorite of both of theirs, which was good, since Maddie felt like she was there every other week sometimes.
"Is it just me," she asked, standing up and stretching after she'd adjusted the piano once again, "or does this thing get out of tune at least twice a month?"
Mr. Bradford's wife, who was supervising the repairs, shook her head. "It's not just you. I've been trying to get James to buy a new one for ages, but...well, you know how men are."
Maddie laughed. "Yeah, I do. There's a reason I'm married to a woman."
Mrs. Bradford laughed as well. "Well, for all he can sometimes be an idiot, I do love James."
"Always a good thing." Maddie tested a few keys on the piano. "You want to test this?" This was a bit of a rhetorical question; Mrs. Bradford always liked to make sure the piano was up to her specifications before Maddie left.
"That's why I'm here. You'll handle the piano?"
"Is, um, what's his name, your usual pianist, not here?" She hadn't seen him, but he could be running late or in the back or something.
Mrs. Bradford shook her head. "George told me that his contract does not include showing up at ten am every other Sunday to make sure the piano is working when he's here late every Saturday, and he has done it more than enough times already this year. I can't say I blame him, and I will be mentioning this to James."
Maddie laughed. "Fair enough. I mean, I like getting paid, but I'm in here all the time. You could probably buy a new piano with how much you've paid me in the last year, let alone your and George's time."
"Exactly. So, you'll play?"
"I'll do my best."
Maddie sat down at the piano and adjusted the music in front of her. When she played something she knew, she didn't need sheet music, but she didn't know all the songs Mrs. Bradford sang. She could, however, sight read with the best of them.
They ran through a song. Maddie made a few errors, but nothing major, and she was good enough with pianos (even if this one wasn't Gertie) to know which sour notes were due to her hitting the wrong keys and which ones were due to the piano needing more tuning.
When they were done, she opened the top of the piano and tightened a few more strings. Then they ran through another song. This one went better; the piano only needed one adjustment after.
"There," Maddie said, patting the piano when she was finally done, "that should hold for at least another week. Hopefully two."
"Thank you again, Madeleine" Mrs. Bradford said. She seemed thoughtful as she stroked the top of the piano. "You know, you have a real talent there."
Maddie shrugged. "I like pianos."
"Not everyone who likes pianos can sight read like that."
"I practice a lot, Mrs. Bradford."
"We know each other well enough that I think you can call me Cindy by now."
"Of course, Cindy."
Cindy tilted her head. "Well. Keep practicing, and maybe by the time James gets around to finally replacing this old thing and you're not needed quite so much, you'll be able to find work playing pianos instead of fixing them."
Maddie smiled. "Thanks."
Three months later, when Cindy called to say that George had quit and she wanted to know if Maddie wanted a job as her accompanist, she didn't hesitate to say yes.
The new piano that Cindy had finally convinced her husband to buy? Well, it just made the job even better.
* * *
Working as a Battle of the Bands Judge was an interesting experience. Maddie had seen good bands, bad bands, and everything in between - but it also let her get a good idea of what was popular these days, and who the up-and-comers were.
Since she’d been promoted to Head Judge, she now also had the responsibility to make sure that the bands were good enough to participate in the battle in the first place.
She was stunned by just how bad some of these bands were - when she’d just been judging the competitions, she’d only seen the ones that at least knew what songs they were meant to be playing, even if they weren’t always good at playing them. Now, she saw everyone from the incredibly good, the ones who should be headlining in Sim City, all the way down to the groups that barely knew where to place their fingers.
This next group was one of the youngest she’d seen. There were two boys and two girls, one of whom had white hair - probably dyed, Maddie thought. Though it made the girl look ethereal rather than punk, oddly enough, even with the purple eyes.
“Hello,” Maddie said, “I’m Madeleine Doran, I’ll be judging whether you’re good enough to enter the Battle of the Bands. Tell me about your band.”
The blond boy spoke up. “I’m Hugh Trottier. This is Chastity Thompson, Oz Legacina, and Moon Walton.” He gestured at each of the others as he said their names.
“What’s the name of your band?”
The four teens exchanged glances. “We haven’t figured that out yet,” Chastity said.
Maddie arched her eyebrows. “If you want to compete, we’re going to have to have something to call you.” They all nodded at her. She waved a hand at the instruments. “Go ahead, play something.”
They settled themselves, looking nervously at each other, until Moon arched an eyebrow at Oz, who nodded. “L-Let’s go.”
She listened as they played. It was a catchy song, and Hugh’s vocals were pretty good. She caught a few sour notes, but on the whole, these kids knew what they were doing. And they were young - they had time to grow. She remembered being that age, wanting desperately to be a Rock God. These kids had potential, and she was glad she didn’t have to be the one to crush that dream.
“Alright,” she said, when they were done. “You’re good enough to compete. However, I’m guessing none of you are 18 yet?” They exchanged guilty glances. “Then you’re going to need permission from your parents. I’ve got the forms here - all of you have to get at least one parent or guardian to sign it. Also, you need a band name. I can’t announce you as ‘The Unnamed Group’ unless that’s what you’re calling yourselves.”
“So we’re in?” Hugh asked.
“You’re in, provided you get the right forms filled out and a band name.”
“Yes!” he shouted. A shyer person might have blushed, having realized what they’d done, but Hugh just grinned irrepressibly at her. She smiled back.
“Here’s the forms, you can send the next group in when you’re gone.”
They left, jubilant, and Maddie smiled, glad she’d been able to encourage them.
* * *
As much as Maddie enjoyed her earlier jobs, working as a Concert Pianist was much more to her taste. She knew her piano incredibly well, and feeling the music was a piece of cake.
Of course, the conductor of the Simdon Symphony could be a bit odd at times, almost as though he were stuck in another time. While everyone noticed, they all behaved professionally and dressed appropriately, and there were never problems.
Today, though, he had a little girl with him. He cleared his throat and stepped to the front of the symphony. “I hope you do not mind, but my wife is ill, and Emina asked to come to work with me. She will be observing our rehearsal.”
There was a murmur of agreement. Then the musicians readied their instruments and began their practice.
The first part of practice went well. Maddie noticed that the girl - Emina, Mr. Legacy had called her - sat quietly and listened to the music, her fingers moving across a piano that didn’t exist.
Two hours in, they took a break to rest their hands and stretch their bodies (and use the bathroom). Maddie happily grabbed a bottle of water, then walked around the room.
She returned before their fifteen minutes were up and found Emina sitting at her piano, picking out the notes of the symphony they’d been practicing. Maddie looked at the music, still sitting on the front of the piano, and saw that it was turned to the last page, while Emina was working on the very beginning - and, in fact, was so deep into her practicing that she hadn’t even noticed Maddie’s approach.
Mr. Legacy came up to her. “I’m sorry my daughter has stolen your piano,” he said quietly.
She shook her head. “It’s not a problem. You do realize you have a prodigy on your hands, right?”
“I do.” He walked over to his daughter and put his hand on her shoulder. “Come, Emina. It is time to begin the rehearsal again, and Mrs. Doran needs her piano.”
“Will you practice with me later, Papa?”
“Certainly.”
Maddie smiled at Emina as she took her seat on the piano bench. “Any time you want to practice, feel free to borrow my piano. But not during our actual rehearsal time, okay?”
Emina smiled brightly. “Okay.”
Mr. Legacy cleared his throat, looking down at his daughter.
She looked back up at Maddie. “Thank you for letting me borrow your piano, Mrs. Doran.”
Maddie grinned. “No problem.”
As they went back to the rehearsal, Emina sat down to the side once more, clearly intending to sit and listen. Since she’d been quiet for the first half, none of the musicians had any problem with that.
While they rehearsed, Maddie couldn’t help but glance over at Emina every once in a while, watching as the girl moved her fingers in time with the music, clearly listening and learning. Maddie smiled, glad to see a child who loved music just as much as she did - and a parent just as encouraging as hers had been.
* * *
The tour was going well, though Maddie was ready for it to be over. Winterfell was frigid, and she had not been at all prepared for the weather. What? She lived in Viper Canyon, where a nice cool day was a balmy 70 degrees. She didn't own appropriate winter clothing anymore, and who could blame her?
At least the concert was inside, and with the press of people, she didn't need to bundle up. Just as well - a winter coat wouldn't exactly fit her image as Madeleine Doran, Rock Goddess.
Like most of the tour, the concert went well, with an avid audience of mostly teens. It was kind of strange that her target audience was now only a little older than her own kids. The quads weren't really interested in her music, which was good, because the slight hero worship from Starchild was weird enough. She really did not need that from her own freaking kids.
She watched the crowd as they watched her. Most of them didn't attract her attention, but there was a small group of three teens - two redheaded girls and a blond boy - standing near the front of the stage, completely absorbed in the concert. The younger girl seemed to know every word of all of her songs, the older girl had her head cocked, seeming to listen to the music behind the words, and the boy was paying avid attention to what she was doing with her guitar.
Having a good crowd always helped, and kids like that were the best crowd. By the end, she almost felt like she was playing directly to them, and it felt great.
Okay, so teens were still an awesome audience, even if her kids as her audience would have weirded her the hell out.
After the show was done, she and her band packed up their equipment and got ready to head out. They only had one more stop on this tour before they could return to Viper Canyon, and it was in Twikkii. Maddie had to admit she was looking forward to the heat.
The crowd slowly petered out of the room, heading for other entertainment (or maybe home, it was pretty late for the younger teens, even if it wasn't a school night), but some of them lingered, watching them pack up, clearly reluctant to leave.
Maddie looked at them, then at her guitar, which was the only thing she had left to pack - her band was busy taking care of the amps.
She grinned at the group and called the lingerers over.
She played one last song, just for them - a slower song than most of her music, but perhaps more heartfelt.
When she was done, they applauded again, and she stood up and put her guitar in its case.
"That," someone said - one of the teens she'd been watching earlier, she thought, "is what I want to do when I grow up."
And Maddie smiled.
Universes: The Boolpropian Round Robin: Generation Eight (and Seven), A Villainous Apocalypse, The Bradford Legacy, The Pseudo Legacy, A Victorian Legacy, An Apocalypse of Ice
Word Count: 2864
Notes: So...I started this fic like...two or three years ago, no, seriously, I don't know, it's been a long time, I am not kidding. It was after I finished RR Generation 8, well before I started Generation 9, so, um, a while back. And it was sitting with three sections completed (the 1st, 3rd, and 4th) for, like, ever. And I never could quite get into the mood to finish it. And then tonight I looked at it again, and I suddenly realized what I would do with the 2nd and 5th sections, and I just sat down and wrote it. Sadly, it doesn't really fit any of my Myshuno! prompts, and I'm not really comfortable using something that was already partly completed for one of them, but, um, I guess you can count it as the free space if you want? Anyway, enjoy!
The town was a dive, the bar was tiny, and it was absolutely frigid outside.
And yet, there was absolutely nowhere that Maddie would rather be.
“Isn’t this awesome?” she yelled to Vee, who did not look nearly so happy about the bar - either the size of it, the dive-ness, or the fact that Maddie had quite happily pulled out a fake ID and ordered a Long Island Iced Tea.
“WHAT?” Vee yelled back.
“ISN’T THIS AWESOME?”
“NOT REALLY. CAN WE GO OUTSIDE?”
Maddie rolled her eyes, but she picked up her drink, downed the last drops of it, and followed Vee out of the bar.
Vee leaned against the building. “It is way too loud in there.”
Maddie shrugged. “I like it.” She shivered a bit from the cold, and started walking around the building, trying to keep warm. Vee followed her. “The music is awesome.”
Vee rubbed at her arms. “Aren’t you cold? This place is freezing.”
“Yeah, but still. Besides, it’s warmer inside. We could go back in if you want.”
“No thanks.”
As they reached the back of the building, they saw a small stage set up, with three musicians - a guitarist, a drummer, and a bassist - getting their instruments ready for a concert. A crowd was slowly gathering around them, as people filtered out of the bar and from the surrounding town.
“What’s going on?” Maddie asked one of the waiting people, a girl a bit older than them, with long brown pigtails.
“You haven’t heard? Lex is trying to lift the winter.”
“What?”
“Rumor is, an awesome concert will change the weather patterns, make it stop being winter. Lex is trying. I think he’ll make it tonight. Especially with Grandpa Spencer as backup.”
“When’s the concert start?”
The girl checked her watch. “Nine. Fifteen minutes or so.”
Maddie turned to Vee. “Let’s stay.”
“Must we?”
She put on her most devastating look, the one that she knew would get Vee to do almost anything. “Please?”
Vee sighed. “Alright. Just for half an hour or so. And I want your scarf.”
Maddie immediately handed it over and they settled down to wait.
Fifteen minutes later, the crowd had grown tenfold - clearly people were waiting until the last minute to show up in order to stay warm as long as possible.
The bassist stepped up to his mike. “Testing, testing…is this thing on?”
The crowd roared. Maddie grinned, though Vee covered her ears.
“Looks like it’s working!” The guitarist grinned down at the throng below and gave his guitar a quick strum for effect, which brought another cheer. “All right, then! We’ve got something very special planned for tonight, as you all know, so let’s get it started!” He nodded to the bassist and the drummer, and then began the opening chords.
The music was loud, and jarring, and completely beyond awesome. Maddie stared up at the stage, transfixed, grinning as wide as she possibly could.
When the song was done, the crowd roared, the air already starting to feel different. Vee glanced around, noticing all the people talking among themselves, the girl Maddie had spoken to heading up onstage to hug the bassist. She nudged Maddie. “Can we go home now?”
Maddie was still staring at the stage. “That,” she said, “is what I want to do when I grow up.”
“Right. Whatever. Home? Please? Or at least somewhere warm?” She nudged Maddie again.
Maddie shook herself. “Home. Sure.” But as they turned and left, her mind was still on the concert, and on the idea of being a Rock God just like that when she grew up.
* * *
Everyone always said you had to start small, but Maddie had to admit that beginning her adult music career as a Piano Tuner was not exactly what she'd expected.
Still, it meant she got free admission to pretty much every club in the area, whether or not she was actually there to tune the piano, which was nice. She'd taken Stella a few times, and while Stella wasn't much for bars (to tell the truth, Maddie didn't always love them either), she did enjoy live music.
James Bradford's jazz club was a favorite of both of theirs, which was good, since Maddie felt like she was there every other week sometimes.
"Is it just me," she asked, standing up and stretching after she'd adjusted the piano once again, "or does this thing get out of tune at least twice a month?"
Mr. Bradford's wife, who was supervising the repairs, shook her head. "It's not just you. I've been trying to get James to buy a new one for ages, but...well, you know how men are."
Maddie laughed. "Yeah, I do. There's a reason I'm married to a woman."
Mrs. Bradford laughed as well. "Well, for all he can sometimes be an idiot, I do love James."
"Always a good thing." Maddie tested a few keys on the piano. "You want to test this?" This was a bit of a rhetorical question; Mrs. Bradford always liked to make sure the piano was up to her specifications before Maddie left.
"That's why I'm here. You'll handle the piano?"
"Is, um, what's his name, your usual pianist, not here?" She hadn't seen him, but he could be running late or in the back or something.
Mrs. Bradford shook her head. "George told me that his contract does not include showing up at ten am every other Sunday to make sure the piano is working when he's here late every Saturday, and he has done it more than enough times already this year. I can't say I blame him, and I will be mentioning this to James."
Maddie laughed. "Fair enough. I mean, I like getting paid, but I'm in here all the time. You could probably buy a new piano with how much you've paid me in the last year, let alone your and George's time."
"Exactly. So, you'll play?"
"I'll do my best."
Maddie sat down at the piano and adjusted the music in front of her. When she played something she knew, she didn't need sheet music, but she didn't know all the songs Mrs. Bradford sang. She could, however, sight read with the best of them.
They ran through a song. Maddie made a few errors, but nothing major, and she was good enough with pianos (even if this one wasn't Gertie) to know which sour notes were due to her hitting the wrong keys and which ones were due to the piano needing more tuning.
When they were done, she opened the top of the piano and tightened a few more strings. Then they ran through another song. This one went better; the piano only needed one adjustment after.
"There," Maddie said, patting the piano when she was finally done, "that should hold for at least another week. Hopefully two."
"Thank you again, Madeleine" Mrs. Bradford said. She seemed thoughtful as she stroked the top of the piano. "You know, you have a real talent there."
Maddie shrugged. "I like pianos."
"Not everyone who likes pianos can sight read like that."
"I practice a lot, Mrs. Bradford."
"We know each other well enough that I think you can call me Cindy by now."
"Of course, Cindy."
Cindy tilted her head. "Well. Keep practicing, and maybe by the time James gets around to finally replacing this old thing and you're not needed quite so much, you'll be able to find work playing pianos instead of fixing them."
Maddie smiled. "Thanks."
Three months later, when Cindy called to say that George had quit and she wanted to know if Maddie wanted a job as her accompanist, she didn't hesitate to say yes.
The new piano that Cindy had finally convinced her husband to buy? Well, it just made the job even better.
* * *
Working as a Battle of the Bands Judge was an interesting experience. Maddie had seen good bands, bad bands, and everything in between - but it also let her get a good idea of what was popular these days, and who the up-and-comers were.
Since she’d been promoted to Head Judge, she now also had the responsibility to make sure that the bands were good enough to participate in the battle in the first place.
She was stunned by just how bad some of these bands were - when she’d just been judging the competitions, she’d only seen the ones that at least knew what songs they were meant to be playing, even if they weren’t always good at playing them. Now, she saw everyone from the incredibly good, the ones who should be headlining in Sim City, all the way down to the groups that barely knew where to place their fingers.
This next group was one of the youngest she’d seen. There were two boys and two girls, one of whom had white hair - probably dyed, Maddie thought. Though it made the girl look ethereal rather than punk, oddly enough, even with the purple eyes.
“Hello,” Maddie said, “I’m Madeleine Doran, I’ll be judging whether you’re good enough to enter the Battle of the Bands. Tell me about your band.”
The blond boy spoke up. “I’m Hugh Trottier. This is Chastity Thompson, Oz Legacina, and Moon Walton.” He gestured at each of the others as he said their names.
“What’s the name of your band?”
The four teens exchanged glances. “We haven’t figured that out yet,” Chastity said.
Maddie arched her eyebrows. “If you want to compete, we’re going to have to have something to call you.” They all nodded at her. She waved a hand at the instruments. “Go ahead, play something.”
They settled themselves, looking nervously at each other, until Moon arched an eyebrow at Oz, who nodded. “L-Let’s go.”
She listened as they played. It was a catchy song, and Hugh’s vocals were pretty good. She caught a few sour notes, but on the whole, these kids knew what they were doing. And they were young - they had time to grow. She remembered being that age, wanting desperately to be a Rock God. These kids had potential, and she was glad she didn’t have to be the one to crush that dream.
“Alright,” she said, when they were done. “You’re good enough to compete. However, I’m guessing none of you are 18 yet?” They exchanged guilty glances. “Then you’re going to need permission from your parents. I’ve got the forms here - all of you have to get at least one parent or guardian to sign it. Also, you need a band name. I can’t announce you as ‘The Unnamed Group’ unless that’s what you’re calling yourselves.”
“So we’re in?” Hugh asked.
“You’re in, provided you get the right forms filled out and a band name.”
“Yes!” he shouted. A shyer person might have blushed, having realized what they’d done, but Hugh just grinned irrepressibly at her. She smiled back.
“Here’s the forms, you can send the next group in when you’re gone.”
They left, jubilant, and Maddie smiled, glad she’d been able to encourage them.
* * *
As much as Maddie enjoyed her earlier jobs, working as a Concert Pianist was much more to her taste. She knew her piano incredibly well, and feeling the music was a piece of cake.
Of course, the conductor of the Simdon Symphony could be a bit odd at times, almost as though he were stuck in another time. While everyone noticed, they all behaved professionally and dressed appropriately, and there were never problems.
Today, though, he had a little girl with him. He cleared his throat and stepped to the front of the symphony. “I hope you do not mind, but my wife is ill, and Emina asked to come to work with me. She will be observing our rehearsal.”
There was a murmur of agreement. Then the musicians readied their instruments and began their practice.
The first part of practice went well. Maddie noticed that the girl - Emina, Mr. Legacy had called her - sat quietly and listened to the music, her fingers moving across a piano that didn’t exist.
Two hours in, they took a break to rest their hands and stretch their bodies (and use the bathroom). Maddie happily grabbed a bottle of water, then walked around the room.
She returned before their fifteen minutes were up and found Emina sitting at her piano, picking out the notes of the symphony they’d been practicing. Maddie looked at the music, still sitting on the front of the piano, and saw that it was turned to the last page, while Emina was working on the very beginning - and, in fact, was so deep into her practicing that she hadn’t even noticed Maddie’s approach.
Mr. Legacy came up to her. “I’m sorry my daughter has stolen your piano,” he said quietly.
She shook her head. “It’s not a problem. You do realize you have a prodigy on your hands, right?”
“I do.” He walked over to his daughter and put his hand on her shoulder. “Come, Emina. It is time to begin the rehearsal again, and Mrs. Doran needs her piano.”
“Will you practice with me later, Papa?”
“Certainly.”
Maddie smiled at Emina as she took her seat on the piano bench. “Any time you want to practice, feel free to borrow my piano. But not during our actual rehearsal time, okay?”
Emina smiled brightly. “Okay.”
Mr. Legacy cleared his throat, looking down at his daughter.
She looked back up at Maddie. “Thank you for letting me borrow your piano, Mrs. Doran.”
Maddie grinned. “No problem.”
As they went back to the rehearsal, Emina sat down to the side once more, clearly intending to sit and listen. Since she’d been quiet for the first half, none of the musicians had any problem with that.
While they rehearsed, Maddie couldn’t help but glance over at Emina every once in a while, watching as the girl moved her fingers in time with the music, clearly listening and learning. Maddie smiled, glad to see a child who loved music just as much as she did - and a parent just as encouraging as hers had been.
* * *
The tour was going well, though Maddie was ready for it to be over. Winterfell was frigid, and she had not been at all prepared for the weather. What? She lived in Viper Canyon, where a nice cool day was a balmy 70 degrees. She didn't own appropriate winter clothing anymore, and who could blame her?
At least the concert was inside, and with the press of people, she didn't need to bundle up. Just as well - a winter coat wouldn't exactly fit her image as Madeleine Doran, Rock Goddess.
Like most of the tour, the concert went well, with an avid audience of mostly teens. It was kind of strange that her target audience was now only a little older than her own kids. The quads weren't really interested in her music, which was good, because the slight hero worship from Starchild was weird enough. She really did not need that from her own freaking kids.
She watched the crowd as they watched her. Most of them didn't attract her attention, but there was a small group of three teens - two redheaded girls and a blond boy - standing near the front of the stage, completely absorbed in the concert. The younger girl seemed to know every word of all of her songs, the older girl had her head cocked, seeming to listen to the music behind the words, and the boy was paying avid attention to what she was doing with her guitar.
Having a good crowd always helped, and kids like that were the best crowd. By the end, she almost felt like she was playing directly to them, and it felt great.
Okay, so teens were still an awesome audience, even if her kids as her audience would have weirded her the hell out.
After the show was done, she and her band packed up their equipment and got ready to head out. They only had one more stop on this tour before they could return to Viper Canyon, and it was in Twikkii. Maddie had to admit she was looking forward to the heat.
The crowd slowly petered out of the room, heading for other entertainment (or maybe home, it was pretty late for the younger teens, even if it wasn't a school night), but some of them lingered, watching them pack up, clearly reluctant to leave.
Maddie looked at them, then at her guitar, which was the only thing she had left to pack - her band was busy taking care of the amps.
She grinned at the group and called the lingerers over.
She played one last song, just for them - a slower song than most of her music, but perhaps more heartfelt.
When she was done, they applauded again, and she stood up and put her guitar in its case.
"That," someone said - one of the teens she'd been watching earlier, she thought, "is what I want to do when I grow up."
And Maddie smiled.