The steady tone of the metronome against the silent backdrop of the music room captured Lily’s focus as she raised her arms to play. She languidly relaxed her shoulders while at the same time lengthening her back. The erhu still felt a little uncomfortable in her grasp, but none the less, she placed her fingers delicately on the bow. She tried not to be aware of the multitude of her classmate’s eyes watching her in her little chair on the small conductor’s platform.  Her arms quivered the tiniest bit holding the stringed instrument but she quelled her nervousness as she began to count out the beats with minute toe movements.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t play the erhu; she was actually quite good, since her mother had enrolled her in the Soo Man Musical Academy during the summer of her 7^th birthday.  That was 5 years ago and she still continued to attend lessons, as one of the older students in the advanced level class. It was just the whole idea of performing in front of her peers. The very thought made her nauseated.

“Anytime you’re ready, Ms. Xiong,” Her music teacher, Mr. Park spoke dully, interrupting her brief internal struggle. She felt her face burn with embarrassment. When she found a comfortable internal rhythm in-sync with the soft clicking of the metronome, she released her held breath and began to play.

 Her hands found the notes with some ease and she found herself relaxing into the emotional trills of the piece.  She had a bad habit of rushing once she got started but she willed herself to be patient, holding out the notes for their full value.

Lily chanced a look away from her sheet music, to the sea of eyes in front of her. Her friend subtly shot her thumbs up from her seat on the side of the classroom and Lily felt confidence begin to slowly creep into her playing.

As she started to look away, a pair of inky black eyes beneath thick eyebrows caught her gaze and held it challengingly. Yi Fan.  It unnerved her so greatly her fingers faltered on the repeat. It was the barest of slips, but the wrong notes stung the air. Her erroneous note stuck out like a sore thumb in the middle of the piece. At once, she saw a smirk come onto Yi Fan’s lips as he leaned back in his chair, looking satisfied. She caught her teacher wince out of the corner of her eye and shame immediately overtook her.  She tried to finish up as best she could but her fingers became clumsy. The end of the song descended into shaking chaos.

Scattered applause came from her classmates and awkwardly, she stood and bowed quickly, almost like a hiccup. At this point, she wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole, her erhu the only thing left of her in this world.

“Not too bad, Ms. Xiong,” Mr. Park deadpanned, trying for what could be considered optimism. She knew he was just being nice; the mistake was painfully evident.  “Are you still practicing at home?”

“Yes, Mr. Park,” Lily replied dutifully and for once, she wasn’t lying. She had practiced every day, all day leading up to the mock recital.

“Hmm,” was his reply and Lily took that as a dismissal. She quickly returned to her seat near the back of the classroom, beside her friend.

“You were very good,” Luhan whispered in praise, grinning his signature smile at her. She could always count on him to be optimistic, even after her train wreck of a performance.

“No I wasn’t,” Lily said, sighing. “I messed up.”

“That’s okay.  Jinki can barely even play his scales without dropping his clarinet.”

Lily had to hold back her snicker because there was an undeniable fact that, no matter how bad her performance was, Jinki Lee was always worse. He was older than most of the other kids in the advanced level music program and everyone had to admit he was a fiasco waiting to happen.  During last year’s Winter Recital, he slipped and tossed his clarinet off-stage hitting a girl in the audience. She had to go to the hospital for a concussion.

“Alright class,” Mr. Park said, reigning in the controlled chaos their class had descended in, “Our last performance of the day will be by Mr. Yi Fan Wu.”

 A more than a few ‘oohs’ and ‘awws’ erupted from the class as the aforementioned student stood up and walked silently to the front of the class, where the piano was. A few of the girls whispered loudly and giggled about his looks and his talent. Lily couldn’t help but roll her eyes. She couldn’t understand why everyone practically worshiped the ground he walked on. He was an impressive pianist, even she had to admit that, but his personality really .  He was always trying to pretend he was mysterious and cool, when in all actuality, he was a huge jerk.

Yi Fan was still quiet as he pulled the bench out from the hulking black baby grand piano and sat, his thin features looking even more so delicate. It was surprising that someone who looked so pure and angelic could be the son of Satan.

 “I hope the piano falls on him,” she whispered under her breath and Luhan frowned at his friend.

“I really don’t understand why you hate Yi Fan. He’s really not that bad—“

Lily glared pointedly at the other boy and he quickly changed his tone.

“—I mean, he is so awful. Like, I’m sure he like kicks babies or something terrible like that.”

The class fell into hushed silence as his fingers found the keys. His piece was a languid sonata by Franz Shubert, an intermediate piece but a beautiful one none the less. Lily leaned on the edge of her seat, hoping for his thumb to slip or his toe to miss the pedal, anything that would result in him messing up. That was one of the things that bothered her about Yi Fan. He never messed up. He was perfect. God how he made her want to retch.

Unfortunately for her, today was like every other day. He finished his piece without as much as a extended breath or faulty arpeggio. The self-sure look on his face was enough to make Lily want to punch him. He sat back down in his chair, without so much as a word and Lily felt her anger rise.

“That was excellent, Mr. Wu.” Mr. Park said, as he got to his feet. “Very well done. On that note, the Spring Recital date is quickly approaching. This year, we are doing a slightly different program.”

Lily perked up at this.

“This year,” Mr. Park continued, “we will be doing duets. I will be posting the partnering on the door after class today and you will receive your assigned music pieces next week.”

“Anyone but Jinki,” Luhan whispered to her, crossing his fingers. Lily giggled quietly. Knowing her luck, or the lack thereof, she’d be paired up with the clumsiest guy in class.

“You are dismissed. See you next week.”

The class became noisy once again with chatter. Lily gathered her things, packing her sheet music away in her folder and moving over to her erhu case along the side of the room. A pair of black and white converse appeared beside her.

“Can I help you?” Lily said, turning to look up at the person who had approached her. She scowled when she realized who it was. Yi Fan. “What do you want?”

“I just wanted to congratulate you on your performance.” Yi Fan said rather sincerely, his hands in the pockets of his jeans. Lily studied him for a long moment. Her suspicion got the better of her.

“Oh really?”

“Yes, you must be really proud. I’ve never heard something quite like your piece. I think it can only be improved if you let a monkey play your erhu instead. No one would be able to tell the difference anyway.”

With a sneer, he shut her erhu case and walked off, laughing to himself. Lily growled, fists clenched at her sides. Yi Fan Wu was the most annoying person on the face of the planet. If she never had to talk to him again, it’d be too soon.