"Cynthia Roseberry?", a woman calls out from the end of the hall, ardently looking for the next musician to play.

Finding no one to answer to that name, she barks, "Constance Martin? Is there a Constance..."

"Here," a polite curly-haired girl with caramel skin answers with visible nervousness in her voice. Taking a deep breath, she lets herself be escorted to the performance room door by the Madame in charge and takes a seat, placing the stringed instrument on her lap.

"Alright. We'll start with the first few measures of Ode to Joy. For as I like to say, if you cannot play the basics, then you cannot play at all," a white-haired man wearing a brown corduroy suit located at the judges' table states.

Letting the music flow through her, she weaves the bow back and forth effortlessly. Feeling the violin become an extension of her arm, she imagines the notes coalescing with triumph up until they cease to exist anymore.

Drawing herself back to her original position, she faces the judges once more and waits for further instructions.

"Hmm,"  a brunette female judge mutters as she marks her score sheet, leaving Constance with anticipation at what she has to say.

"Now play from the music sheet provided in front of you," says a balding man as he points toward the stand and bids her rise.

Gathering up her courage, she glances at the aforementioned sheet and notices it is an excerpt from Swan Lake.

So much for the 'basics' , she thinks, but having learned a few of Tchaikovsky's works before at the hands of her former high school orchestra teacher, Mr. Anthos, she familiarizes herself with the strings to be touched and sets up her tiny violin on her shoulder once more.

"Begin," the brunette female judge commands.

As her fingers begin to glide along the strings, her bow dips and leaps with the rhythm while the vibrato picks up in pace and her movement becomes less restricted than before. It is as if she were dancing along with the music in a forbidden magical lake, longing to be reunited with her lover and restless for his touch. She wonders how the sensation feels so familiar as she has never danced before with anyone, let alone at a magical lake.

Coming to a rest, she slows down, having the last few notes sing out their tune of loneliness.

"That will be all. Next!", the corduroy suited judge shouts at the woman in front of the door.

She quietly leaves with her instrument in hand, then rounds the corner and jumps in unbridled enthusiasm.

"Nailed it! All my hard work is finally paying off and now it's time to celebrate!" she cheers while she packs her violin back in its case and skips to the exit.

"So how'd it go?", her father asks, picking her up in his taxicab.

"I think it went well," she replies, dragging the case into the vehicle and placing it on the other seat before doing her seat-belt.

"I'm so proud of you, sweetie. Going and pursuing your dream-it's what I wished I'd done when I was your age. Hope you know that your mother would be proud of you too."

Constance hesitates before asking, "Do you really think so?"

"I know so. In fact, I bet she's beaming at us from her spot in heaven, wondering why you don't have more faith in yourself than we do in you."

"Thanks, dad. You always say the sweetest things to me. What have I ever done to deserve a dad like you?", she states as she attempts to air hug him though separated through a window.

"Oh please...don't make me cry. You going on and being all sappy and stuff makes me feel guilty for leaving you alone while I'm at work," he responds, grinning from ear to ear behind the driver's seat.

Traffic comes to a screeching halt and Constance takes the opportunity to change the subject. "Speaking of work, this is my stop, Dad. Thanks for dropping me off before going off to work, but your shift starts soon and consequently, my shift as well so..."

"Ugh...ugh...ugh. I ain't letting no girl of mine leave without giving old Papa a kiss on the cheeks."

"DAD! I'm 24!"

"What? You can't be caught showing affectionate to your friends, is that it?", he teases.

She mumbles, "You know I have no adult friends. Everyone here either thinks I'm crazy or that I'm wasting my life on music instead of doing something else." Mimicking a girl she knew, she squeaks, "Like what kind of mixed black Latina thinks she'll make it big in NY playing a violin? It's like preposterous!"

"Hey, don't let the haters..."

"Or what about this? A comment from the judge at my last audition said that, 'Your playing of the violin was absolutely horrendous and it made me reconsider the act of joining this industry. Pack your bags and go home immediately.' That really made my day, not."

She slumps back in her seat and her father replies, "But that was one critic, right? So..."

"And it's not just him or her! I've lived in Philadelphia my whole life, going to school and dreaming of going to NY and playing at an orchestra. Working my butt off to get the chance to have tutoring lessons once grandma bought me that violin and now I find out it's all for nothing because her granddaughter, apparently when compared to everyone else, has potential but obviously lacks pizzazz or something because no matter how hard I try, the answer is always no!"

With her rant over, her father proceeds to shut the engine off as traffic is not going anywhere for a while due to an accident and leans over, opening the window between them.

"Are you done?", he asks while maintaining eye contact.

"Yeah. I just had to..."

"Get it off your chest, I know. Don't be too hard on yourself and remember if you need anything, I will always be here, willing to lend an ear. I can't help ya with the violin, but I happen to know a thing or two about life..."

"So what you're saying is I just have to dig a little deeper?"

He responds with, "You're finding your way right now so it's a little rough at first, but once you got the hang of it, you'll know what to do and be able to chart your course to the stars."

"Thanks, dad.  Love ya. Bye!", she says as she opens the door and leaps out the cab onto the sidewalk.

Time to go to work.

Author's note: Now we've met the Beauty...let's see what the Beast is up to now in the next chapter.