An Interschool Competition would be held in a few days. So Koushik, Bikram and Rishi were all busy practising in the Music Room. They were participating in the classical and folk music category along with several others. The competition was based on traditional songs and musical instruments of different states. The practice started from the very first period till the last.
Bikram was the first to arrive among the three. After coming to school he headed straight towards the music room. He stepped inside the room and was greeted by the most melodious violin he has ever heard. He stood there and looked around for its source. He saw a girl sitting on a chair in a corner with the violin. Her skin was as pale as snow and her downcast eyelashes were white as well. She had taken off her coat and her full sleeve black high-neck shirt contrasted with her white hair that looked like the mane of a white lion. Although her hair was braided neatly small stands of hair hung on her forehead.
Bikram quietly sat on a nearby chair. He watched as the girl's fingers plated with the strings with profuse mastery. He was so engrossed in the music that he did not notice when the other participants also arrived and were standing behind him equally mesmerized like him. No one made a sound. The slow yet strong and captivating tune seemed to draw them like a magnet attracting iron. They even tried to breathe as lightly as possible. A few minutes later the tune slowed down and finally stopped. There was pin-drop silence. Everyone started clapping.
Ritutandra placed the violin aside and said "Sit down all of you." They greeted her with a "Good morning Vice Captain." and took their seats. "So, let me give you a recap of what's going to happen in the competition. There will be one group performance and one solo from each school. The total number of participants mustn't exceed twelve. The song for our group performance will be a fusion of Marathi and Telugu folk songs and for the solo performance, we will be combining Rajasthani and Bengali classical music. Five instruments will be played for the folk song and three for the classical one. Now, we have to decide on the final singers and instrumentalists. I've received the audition recordings and have shortlisted some of you. The names I read out will have to present a vocal or a music piece. Am I clear?" She said. "Yes, VC. Everyone's voice echoed.
Bikram stared at Ritutandra's face nervously as she read out the names from the holographic screen above her watch. He had auditioned for instruments. Only twenty were shortlisted out of about a hundred. Ritutandra had already read out the names of eighteen people. Only two were left. Bikram knitted his eyebrows and gulped. His hand tightened around the guitar he held. "The next is..." Ritutandra called out another girl's name. Bikram could hear his heartbeat. Even he was unknown as to why he wanted to get into the group so badly. Something inside him just wanted to be in the same music band as Ritutandra. Maybe it was because of her prowess in such a large and diverse variety of instruments. Time seemed to have slowed down and the name of the last person was yet to be called out.
"The next is Bikram Sen." Bikram jumped up. Realising how awkward it was he cleared his throat and said "Thank you for choosing me." Ritutandra wiggled her hand motioning him to sit. "You aren't finalized yet. Wait for everyone to vote," she said. He sat down with his back straight and looked ahead at the shortlisted students who came up to play one by with a serious look. He had to give his best, he thought. Those who were not selected, when saw Bikram's serious face felt speechless. "Are you kidding me? You're one of the members of India's famous boy band! But looking at your expression it seems like you're hoping to get lady luck's favour and just pass the test! Bro, you can be considered one of the best instrumentalists present in this room if we don't count the VC, okay?" was what they all thought.
When it was his turn to perform Bikram stiffly went to the centre. He held the guitar and closed his eyes for a moment. As soon as he started playing the room was filled with "wow"s and "woah"s. As the sound gradually subsided clapping sounds thundered in the room. The loudest ones were obviously his fans. Bikram thanked his audience with a polite nod and turned to Ritutandra. Staring at her intently he held the guitar tightly.
Ritutandra said without lifting her head "The piece you played, who composed it?" She kept the violin on her lap and began tuning it. "Original composition was by me.." Gasps and praises were heard from the others. "But it was modified into the final piece that I just played by the head music composer of our company," Bikram answered. "Play an original composition," Ritutandra said. Bikram nodded. He gulped, a little nervousness enveloped him. Breathing out a deep sigh he started playing. After it was over everyone nervously waited for Ritutandra's verdict. Just like before if she said the performer was eligible to pass, the audience voted whether to keep her or not. In all earlier cases, she either dismissed the performer or gave a pass. This was the only exception. Everyone anxiously looked at Ritutandra who was now busy inspecting her flute's health conditions.
"I'll give you a piece and you'll have to play it in ten minutes. You can modify it but the original should remain the base or you can just play the original piece directly." Saying that Ritutandra motioned towards a little room at the end of the music room. It was not much spacious since it was only meant for individual practice. If someone needed to brush their skills he or she went to that room so as to practice without disturbing the others.