Mark Me by Shawn Bailey

talk about going to Paris and performing before royalty when they were kids.
    Randall gazed at him with sparkling eyes.
    Eli sighed. No doubt he could have taken Randall’s cherry last night. He didn’t know when Randall had fallen for him, but he could see the love written all over his face at this very moment.
    “Sounds heavenly,” Randall said with a sigh.
    “Hey, I have an idea. Why don’t we go to the Lakefront after this is over tonight and practice like we used to do before Hurricane Katrina? I’m sure some of the gazebos and shelters must have survived.”
    Randall smiled and nodded. “We’ll perform for the fish and the mosquitoes.”
    “My favorite audience,” Eli said.
    Mr. Dubisson appeared. “Are you guys ready?” Eli and Randall nodded. “Yes, sir.”
    “The place is packed to the rafters, and there’s a couple of talent scouts in the audience, so don’t be nervous.” Eli didn’t care. He planned to finish college first, so the talent scouts would have to wait.
    “Come on,” Mr. Dubisson said, walking off.
    “To Paris,” Randall exclaimed.
    “See you in four years,” Eli said. “We’ll meet in front of the music school no matter what.”
    They hurried to catch up with their teacher.

    * * * *

    So this is what I missed out on . Dimitri looked around the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts Building. The auditorium was packed wall to wall with music lovers and families who’d come to see Mr. Dubisson’s students perform.
    “I’m glad you changed your mind about coming,” Greer said as they walked to their seats. “I don’t think you’d forgive yourself if you’d missed his solo.”
    Dimitri had finally told Greer the whole story and Greer agreed that he had made the right decision.
    “I didn’t do it for him,” he said, sitting down next to Greer. “I couldn’t come up with a good enough excuse to give Mr. Dubisson.”
    “Eli probably won’t know you’re here anyway,” Jose said as he sat down on the other side of Dimitri. “Look at all these people.
    You’d think you’re at an actual performance for a world-class orchestra.” He adjusted his jacket to his hips and sat back in his seat.
    “These are some talented young people,” Dimitri said. “Wait until you hear them. Some of Mr. Dubisson’s students have gone on to play for those world-class orchestras.”“You think Eli has a chance of becoming a professional violinist?” Jose asked.
    “I think so. Wait until you hear him play.” Moments later the lights lowered and the performance began.
    After two hours of classical music, Eli and Randall were introduced and they performed a duet with the rest of the orchestra accompanying them. The song, “Violin Concerto Number 1 in B flat major” was one of his favorites and up until a couple of weeks ago, he envisioned himself playing it with Eli one day. The crowd applauded wildly for them.
    The band next played a Japanese song, “Shinjitsu no Uta.”
    “Strange selection,” Greer said to Dimitri. “Isn’t that one of the theme songs from InuYasha?”
    Dimitri nodded. “It’s called ‘Do As Infinity’.” He chuckled. “I think it’s cute.”
    “You would,” Greer said. “You’re like one of the biggest InuYasha fans in the world.”
    The curtains were drawn and Mr. Dubisson took the stage.
    “Ladies and Gentlemen. Thank you for coming out tonight and supporting these young people.”
    He received another round of applause.
    “It is my honor to introduce a young man who I’ve had the pleasure of instructing since his grandfather brought him to me at the age of five. At first I thought his grandfather was insane when he told me that this young man could actually play a difficult piece until I heard him perform. It shocked me, because I didn’t think a five-year-old could play a violin like a trained adult. So I jumped at the chance to be his teacher. Thirteen years later he’s still surprising me. Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like