The bell rang, signaling the start of the period as Dylan sat down, his mind on the piano piece he would be playing. He hoped that his "practice" a few nights ago would help him play it again just as well. The music teacher walked up to the front of the classroom, ringing a bell to calm the hectic students. "Alright, class! I trust you've seen the announcement, so any volunteers?" Many hands went up, but Dylan waited, until the teacher called out for the last volunteer. The other performances had been decent, a few mistakes here and there, but Dylan applauded nonetheless.
The teacher quieted the class down and said, "I'm gonna pick the last one for today..." Dylan raised his hand with a smile. "Dylan Sage, is it? Come on up!" There was some light applause, almost drowned out by a sea of whispers. "Dylan Sage?" "Who's he?" Haven't seen him around here..." "He's a new kid, right?" Dylan walked up to the piano and rested his hand on it as the teacher smiled. "So, Mr. Sage, what will you be playing for us today?" "Chopin's Ballad in G Minor, Number 1, Opus 23," Dylan answered in a clear voice. The teacher inhaled sharply as the whispers increased in volume, all of the piano players in complete understanding of the difficulty of that piece. "Is that so? Well, I wish you the best of luck."
Dylan sat down on the bench and rested his hands on the keys, playing a powerful but controlled double octave pedal C. Continuing with the piece, he let the world die out around him, only focusing on the melody as he played. Once again, he melded his emotions with the piano and played his heart out, paying no heed to the widened eyes of the students, or the tears shed from the teacher's face. Dylan reached the ending and closed the piece with a crescendo, releasing the sound of the last chord into the air, resonating throughout the room. Once the sound faded away, all was silent. No one dared move a muscle or even breathe. Sweat dripped from Dylan's face as he got up and bowed stiffly, hands shaking from fatigue. One soft clap was heard, followed by another as others joined in, until soon, raucous applause filled the air with an occasional whoop or whistle. Dylan looked up, wiping the sweat from his face as he saw the class standing up from their seats in a standing ovation.