Phineas Zene’s landlady had given him the ultimatum that morning, and between being homeless and pawning his cello, he’d rather be dead.
Still dripping wet from the endless Seattle winter rain, he knocked on the door of Suite 322 in the C&M building.
The door opened, revealing a young man in a white tank top and jeans. He looked Zene up and down, and smiled. “I see you’re here about the ad for a cello player,” he said. “Sebastian Arcady. Come on in.”
Feeling old in his suit and coat, Zene entered the small front room, dragging his cello case with him. Arcady hung up Zene’s coat. The case continued to drip water, which Zene apologized for.
Arcady waved his hand and said, “Never mind, it’ll dry. The studio is this way.”
This was the part Zene worried about, because the advertisement on Craig’s List had been quite strange.
Unlike the front room, left in its original sterility, the studio’s walls and floors had been carefully overlaid with wood. The floor was polished, and in the center stood two wooden chairs, each behind a music stand. On one chair a violin rested in its open case, gleaming like a picture out of a glossy catalog.
Zene laid his cello case down and opened it. His cello looked nothing like gleaming.
As Zene began tightening the bow string, Arcady rummaged through piles of sheet music on the ornate roll-top desk. Sometimes Arcady would run his finger across a page, humming for a few moments, before tossing it aside and resuming his search. Zene wondered what Arcady had in mind, and he tuned and retuned his cello out of sheer nervousness.
Finally Arcady slipped the contents of a black folder onto the music stand. “Let’s see how your sight-reading is.”
Zene blinked. Usually auditions began with scales. He blinked again when he looked at the music. He tried not to say, “What the fuck is this bastardization of the Britten suites, which by themselves make cellists cross their eyes on the first read?”, and barely succeeded.
Arcady chuckled and said, “One of my own compositions. I don’t expect you to be perfect, but please do your best. And keep going, no matter what happens.”
Zene nodded; he expected this from the listing. Trembling only a little, he began playing, trying to lose himself in the music. The sound from his cello now was just a shadow of its richness a year ago. He was no longer as agile at looking ahead, and his pacing and accuracy suffered for it. Zene thought he might cry.
Arcady stood up and walked to the desk. “That’s good,” he said over Zene’s music, “But are you a man of strength? Of fortitude and will?”
Zene kept bowing and concentrating. If the music was difficult before, it was a mere pentatonic scale compared to now.
“Zene, look up.” In a quiet bar, a distinct mechanical clicking sounded.
Zene glanced up.
Arcady had a gun pointed at him.
I love the first line. Completely sets up the character.
As to the ending….so glad there’s more to read, otherwise I’d have to cry about a cliffhanger.
Comment by Stormy — January 4, 2008 @ 8:04 pm
Thanks, stormy!
I try to end on cliffhangers (small or large) every time. It would work better in my readers’ favor if I updated more often. :)
And I try to roll in from the start with a punch each episode.
Comment by Arachne Jericho — January 5, 2008 @ 11:18 am
The endings, no matter if there’s a new episode waiting or not, leave you immediately wanting more. It’s evil.
Well done.
Comment by Stormy — January 5, 2008 @ 5:32 pm
Fabulous first chapter! You definitely dove right into the action, it’s a great hook.
Comment by Jeri — January 8, 2008 @ 9:01 pm
Thanks, Jeri! I was always the impulsive type. :)
Comment by Arachne Jericho — January 8, 2008 @ 9:10 pm
Oh wow. I have to go read the next part now! That’s awesome. I love Zene, he’s got a attitude that’s fun to read.
Comment by NiennaC — January 24, 2008 @ 5:12 pm
Thanks, Nienna! I wanted someone who was fun to write, and Zene somehow just came up out of the blue.
Almost the easiest character I’ve ever had to come up with.
Comment by Arachne Jericho — January 24, 2008 @ 7:07 pm
“between being homeless and pawning his cello, he’d rather be dead.”
I love that line.
One of my favorite movies is Hillary and Jackie. The movie is also a book but I don’t know which one came first.
Anyway, Jackie Dupre was a famous cellist. The movie was about her life. I didn’t know I was a fan of the cello before that movie.
The title: Crime and Violins has an Edgar Allen Poe feel.
Comment by Auria Cortes — February 5, 2008 @ 6:25 pm
Thanks, Auria. :)
I shall definitely have to get that movie and give it a whirl. I’m probably going to… well… grab some good friends and go see The Eye. Violinist involved, ye ken.
Having a nice cello movie to return to will be soothing.
I think of Crime and Violins as being slightly punny. I didn’t think about Poe; hmmm. I like that.
Comment by Arachne Jericho — February 5, 2008 @ 6:56 pm
[...] and starting a serial with Phineas Zene’s landlady had given him the ultimatum that morning, and between being homeless and pawning his cello, he’d rather be dead. … [...]
Pingback by 6 Pieces of Fiction Writing Advice Often Ignored : Spontaneous Derivation — May 6, 2008 @ 6:15 am
[...] are times when I regret, really really regret, starting Crime and Violins. It’s a serial. In many ways a serial runs counter to the best interests of the writer: [...]
Pingback by Guest Blog: Arachne Jericho « Fumbling with Fiction — June 16, 2008 @ 6:08 am
This is a very short but powerful scene, what come’s next?
Comment by Jena Isle — June 27, 2008 @ 10:58 pm
At the top of the entry (hmm, should put one at the bottom to) you’ll see links to the previous and next parts of the story.
Currently there are 11. Soon to be 12. I believe you’ve read a couple. :)
Comment by Arachne Jericho — June 27, 2008 @ 11:01 pm
O_O Dude. I found this page through StubleUpon, somehow missed the large-print “Fictional Derivations” and thought I was reading a real story. I got to the last line and was like, “O.O!! WHAT?!” Awesome writing style and a very interesting idea. <3 I play viola, so I was instantly captivated by the orchestral theme. Def will read.
Comment by Ashiikun — July 13, 2008 @ 4:34 pm