Guiding Light | Temperance

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[attr="class","cbody"]His work at the Ministry had left him with a desperate need for a break. When the weekend had begun, he had been relieved that there would be two days free of any obligations at the place. It was only a brief reprieve, of course, and he had known that Sunday would come along before he knew it. But he had still appreciated the break all the same. If he went into the weekend already dreading the start of the next workweek, then stress and anxiety would fill his weekend and he just couldn’t allow that. He had to take a pause from that place whenever he could and fill his time with things that had actually enjoyed.
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This weekend had been filled with his favorite creative outlets. Final projects were graded, and he’d stopped in for every Braithewaite performance that he’d been able to, and he’d even been able to convince Kali to come with him to one on Friday—and then Sierra had accompanied him to one Saturday. He liked being able to share the performances with his family, even if they were not ones that he had directly contributed to. He tended to favor the musical performances when he had the spare time. For obvious reasons, he already went to the performances that the drama department put on if he was involved in them. But if he just had free time during final performances, he gravitated toward music.
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Michael did not need the company at a performance. Music was something that could be experienced along or with others. In fact, sometimes he preferred to take it in alone. He found it spoke to him differently when he’d come on his own. Not any more or less than when he’d invited his family along. It was just different experiencing it with others as opposed to by himself. He had been glad to share that with Kali, and with Sierra. But today, he had decided to go to the performance alone. The weekend was very nearly at its end, and even though he would be surrounded by crowds of people also in attendance of today’s performance, a part of him wanted to be alone. In some sense of the word, anyway.
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The performances had not disappointed, though he had never thought they would. Every student at Braithewaite was there because they were gifted and they were talented. They all put everything that they had into every single performance. Yes, some moved him more than others. Some were unquestionably passionate and unforgettable, but there were still no bad performances. Not with how hard everybody worked every single day, and especially not with how much work and time everybody put during final performances.
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There had been an especially impressive sonata that had been performed today, courtesy of their resident princess. He could not pretend to be an expert in composition—during his own days at Braithewaite, he had chosen playwriting over a degree in composition. The choice to do that had been because he was confident enough in his skills in composing and his ability to teach himself. Michael was no fool and he was not exceptionally arrogant in any way, shape or form. He knew that he would be a far better composer if he had chosen composition over playwriting. As it was he was good. With the right guidance and teaching, he could have been great. But he did not regret the decision that he had made. Writing musicals and trying his hand at the composition was something that he enjoyed more than anything else.
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Even without being an expert, though, he could appreciate the sonata for the intricate and beautiful piece of work that it was. It was the type of skill that he would never possess himself, and it was one of the reasons why he loved coming to performances like these. Seeing other people’s talents showcased was a worthwhile way of spending his weekend. He felt more relaxed today than he had been forty-eight hours ago. Music and time away from the Ministry could do that for him.
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The weather had permitted for the performance to be outside today, which he did enjoy, though he did prefer the acoustics of a performance indoors. But for the final performances and for summer quickly approaching, he understood why Braithewaite took advantage of outdoor spaces as much as they could. The crowds had started to disperse, and there were mostly stragglers remaining. Those waiting for their loved ones that had performed, some with bouquets of flowers or other tokens—normal for final performances in both the spring and the winter. Though with graduation right around the corner, it was no wonder that the spring performances ended up far emotional than the counterpart in the winter.
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He had started to wander, not in any hurry to go home just yet. With the crowds nearly all gone now, they could use the help cleaning up and he figured he might as well see if anyone wanted him to lend a hand with that. Before the epidemic, it had been as easy as a few people waving their wands, but it wasn’t all that easy now. There might be enough staff around with magic to make clean up easy, but there was little harm in checking.
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It was as he was heading in that direction that the very same composer he’d been already thinking about came into sight, accompanied by an unfamiliar face. Michael couldn’t claim to know every student in the school though. In the drama department, maybe, enough to know that the man in question definitely wasn’t a student of that department. But he was likely just a music student that he hadn’t crossed paths with yet. Since they were about to cross paths anyway, he stopped in front of the witch and tilted his head the slightest bit in greeting. “Lady Mountbatten,” he said, with a smile. “You performed well today, not that that comes as a surprise.” She was a talented musician, there was no doubt about that. “And the sonata that was performed was… indescribably beautiful. I’m sure that you’re quite proud, as you should be.” Seeing something that she had composed being performed had to be something special. It was how he felt when his musicals were performed—and not just on opening night. Every single performance brought up that same feeling.
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