EL paper 1 section C, 23/9/13

EL paper 1 section C, 23/9/13

Score: 21/30

You always think about what it would be like to hear the worst possible news- how you would feel, react, What would be going through your mind when you heard, "I'm sorry Sarah, the test results came back and you tested positive for HIV", or "Matt we tried our best and I know he was special to you", cue obligatory hand-on-shoulder, "but he didn't make it" or even "Rachel you probably don't want to hear this right now but I need to tell you what I saw. Sean kissed another girl at the party. I'm so sorry". The way I got the news was not nearly as dramatic as any of the aforementioned hypothetical situations. perhaps that was because I got my News in the form of a letter.

I got up that morning same as always, with the sun on my face, a nest of hair on my head and a primal longing to go back to my bed and never get out of it. I hauled myself out of bed and made some cereal for breakfast. As I sat at the table alone, I tried to focus on something, and failed. I knew what day it was today and I was as excited as I was paralyzed with fear. I tried to put it out of my brain and think about something else, like what I was going to wear, but my mind just drew a blank. soon I heard the soft pad of my mother's furry pink bed slippers against the wooden floorboards as she made her way down the stairs, yawning before she stopped and stared at me wide-eyed. "What?" I asked quizzically. "You should be getting dressed what are you still doing here eating cereal? today is a really big day so it needs to be perfect." I looked at the clock, sighed ever so slightly and got up to get dressed. 

When I emerged from my room, my mother took one look at me and hurried me back into my room. "is that what you're wearing?" she asked I stared down at a dark red shirt and a tank top. I looked back at her and nodded she shook her head. before I knew it, I was trying to pull out the edge of a long black dress that been trapped in the car door. I groaned loudly for my mother to hear and looked at my reflection in the rearview mirror as she started the car. I looked like a child. my hair wasin 2 plaits and the while frills from the top of my dress (or rather my mother's dress) were unbelievably itchy. I clutched my scores and held them close to my chest. they were the only things keeping me sane right now, and somehow they were the cause of all this madness. 

For as long as I can remember, music has been the one thing that I've been good at; the one thing that I really really love. I started playing piano at the age of five and not long after that, I picked up the guitar, the ukulele, the flute and the clarinet (now I was working on the cello). When I was in primary school, I joined the choir in school and at church. Music was the center of my universe and my reason for living. If I was ever in a bad mood, A calming song would lift my spirits up instantly and when I was feeling stress from school, I would always escape to my music room for a few tea sessions with Beethoven and Debussy. That was what it was really, my escape from reality. 

I stepped out of the car and looked around I saw many other people like me except they all wore jeans and at the very most, ties. I felt this sinking feeling in the deepest pits of my soul as I saw some of them whispering to the parents and pointing at me. As I approached the counter, I mustered up the best smile I could manage and said "hi I'm here to audition for a place at SOTA". The receptionist gave me a name sticker and sent me to a group of teenagers wearing name tags too. SOTA stands for school of the arts and is the only school in Singapore that focuses primarily on education in the arts, meaning to say it was my one shot at happiness for the next four years.  after a series of hearing and music theory tests, I was called up for the audition. 

My heart was racing as I stepped into a room Brilliantly lit in white light.  I saw the shock on the judges faces as they looked at my attire. Nevertheless, I smiled and said "hello my name is Samantha Lynn and I will be singing Schuberts Ave Maria". one of the judges, a middle-age Caucasian woman, smiled back and said "please begin when you're ready". I felt my chest rise and fall as I readied myself, and then, I started singing. after I finished I searched the faces of the judges, but found nothing. Then, I left the room. The first step out the door was the easiest, but as I kept walking, I felt a lump rise in my throat.

A few weeks later, I got it. the letter. for about 45 minutes I sat there staring at it,and after that time I gave up on our little staring contest and opened the letter. "WE REGRET TO INFORM YOU THAT YOU HAVE NOT BEEN ACCEPTED INTO SOTA. WE HOPE-" was typed out in tiny black font at the top of the paper. I dropped the letter and sunk to the floor. at 8 PM my mother came home and found me crying on the floor. she said "it doesn't matter what they think because you have a gift and you should share it with the world". A few days later I got a call from an unknown number. The caller said "hello I am Melanie Aldrin. I heard you audition for SOTA and although you did not get accepted, I personally would like to offer you..."