Epilogue-2

"From our school, we have produced many talents," the dean said, bringing Everett to attention. His time to enter the stage approached, forcing him to swallow the nerves. "But few have come out with such talent as tonight's performer. A prodigy on the piano, a man who has shown time and again how his mind and imagination have absolutely no bounds, I welcome to the stage, Everett North." Taking a deep breath, Everett slowly made his way out on the stage the way he'd practiced. He found his with relative ease and situated himself on it. Fingers finding the keys, tension left Everett's body once the familiar weight rested underneath him. Inhaling a deep breath, Everett called to his mind and heart every emotion that initially stirred this song and began to play. The notes began slow and soulful, the chords harsh and cold. The beginning of it all, the initial feelings on the journey Everett was describing through the heavy keys in front of. A lilting melody came next, a hopeful harmony capturing the attention of all in the room. Soon, the music gave way to a warm and full ballad. Not a single sound could be heard in the room as Everett took an auditorium of strangers on a journey through his life. The pain, the bitterness, the friendship and finally, the love he found all laid bare for these people to hear. Everett gave it his all; his heart swelled, the corners of his mouth turned up in a smile. He felt at ease and he felt at home. The music flowed easily, his mind and heart focused solely on the task at hand. More so than ever, Everett felt absolutely alive. Before he had time to truly worry, Everett's performance came to a close. The roar of applause met his ears and it took him a few moments of heavy breathing to realize . . .it was for him. With a feeling of sheer exhilaration, Everett carefully stood and, as he practiced so many times, he turned just a little bit to his left and took a bow towards the audience before leaving the stage. Aaron met him just before the curtain, grabbing his arm and shouting a hearty, "You did it, man!"in his ear. Everett didn't even care. His heart was on fire, full of joy from performing. It happened every single time, but this time just felt different. The rest of the ceremony sped by in a blur; Everett could barely remember the rest of the deans speech. The source of his focus came from the feeling in his heart after playing. Breathing out a calm, smooth breath, Everett relaxed the rest of the ceremony. Once it came to an end, he stood with Aaron. "I think that may have been the longest ceremony in the history of ceremonies," Aaron grumbled, popping his back with a groan. "But, hey, now you get to move on to bigger and better fish, right?" With a light laugh, Everett nodded. "I really hope so." "Mr. North!" Both Aaron and Everett stopped in their track when the dean called his name. Breathing as though he half ran to catch up with the two, Dean Wallace came to a halt in front of the two men. "Mr. North, I have wonderful news for you," he said, clearly trying to hold back his excitement, but unable to do so. "You, son, have several offers on the table for your future." As Everett tried to keep his mouth from falling open, the dean proceeded to explain how curaters of classical music were in the audience and a record deal now had his name on it. He also explained how a representative from Julliard sat in the audience and a position as a professor at Julliard would be open should he choose to accept it. "Tomorrow morning, come to my office and all the details can be hashed out," Dean Wallace finished, the excitement clear in his voice. He picked Everett's hand up for a handshake and said, "Well done, Mr. North. You earned all of this. I'll see you tomorrow." As soon as he left, Aaron turned to him and slugged him in the arm, shouting, "Are you freaking serious?!" Once the shock wore off and the two could move again, Aaron led Everett to the rendezvous point where his family would meet up with him. With so many people and such a big place, Everett had contacted them with a very specific spot. The two talked for a little bit as they waited, discussing the different options they had. Aaron had plans to go back to his hometown and kick start a music program at his old high school. The program died years before and he wanted to breathe some life back into it. "And I think your entourage is here," Aaron teased, nudging Everett into a spot with less foot traffic so he could get the full force of his family. "I'll catch up with you later tonight, man. I've gotta go find my family, as well." "Sounds good. Hey, Aaron, thanks. You know, for everything," Everett gave him a smile, the two sharing a half hug. "Hey, you're like my brother, Everett. I would do it all over again. Talk to you later." After Aaron walked off, the first voice Everett heard was small, shrieky and distinctly Cole. With a grin, Everett squatted down with his arms open, feeling rather satisfied when ten seconds later, his younger brother slammed into his chest. "You play good, Everett," Cole told him excitedly and quickly, smacking his hands on both sides of Everett's face with affection. Everett could only grin and lightly pinched Cole's cheek in return. "Thank you, Cole. Coming from the coolest little brother ever, I'm honored." Cole only giggled in response and began to wiggle around, a dead giveaway to Everett that he wanted to run around a bit. While Cole bounced from his arms back to the arms of his parents, Everett stood back up, tugging the suit jacket back down as he did so. "I'm so glad you guys are here,"he told them honestly. He heard a scoff, soon being tugged to the side by said scoffer. "LIke we wouldn't make it. Oh, ye of so little faith," Jesse said in mock offense. There, of course, was no offense on the part of Jesse. To be honest, on the list of people he was excited to be with tonight, Jesse cracked top two. Though they spoke often, Jesse still had so much to tell Everett. Spending time on two different continents and seeing the sights the rest of the world had to offer made for great talking points. Jesse was really enjoying his world tour, from what Everett could gather from their long conversations over the phone.