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Carnegie Hall was absolutely packed Jonah led the way as they fought through the thick crowd, towards Will Call It was not easy getting there It was a wealthy, de to make the concert She had never seen so many well-dressed people in one place Most of the owns Jewels glittered everywhere It was exciting

Jonah got the tickets and lead her up the stairs He handed them to the usher, who tore them and handed back the stubs

"Can I keep one?" Caitlin asked, as Jonah went to put the two ticket stubs in his pocket

"Of course," he said, handing one to her

She rubbed it with her thus like this," she added, blushing "Sentiuess"

Jonah smiled, as she stuck it in her front pocket

They were directed by an usher down a luxurious hallith thick, red carpeting Fraers lined the walls

"So, how did you score free tickets?" Caitlin asked

"My viola teacher," he answered "He has season tickets He couldn&039;t ave them to me I hope it doesn&039;t take away from it that I didn&039;t pay for them myself," he added

She looked at him, puzzled

"Our date," he answered

"Of course not," she said "You brought me here That&039;s all that matters This is awesome"

Caitlin and Jonah were directed by another usher into a sht into the concert hall They were up high, maybe 50 feet, and in their small box area there were only 10 or 15 seats Their seats were right on the edge of the balcony, flush against the railing

Jonah opened the thick, plush chair for her, and she looked down at the massive crowd and at all of the performers It was the classiest place she had ever been She looked out at the sea of gray hair, and she felt 50 years too young to be here But thrilled all the same

Jonah sat, and their elbows touched, and she felt a thrill at the warmth of his body beside her As they settled in and sat there, waiting, she wanted to reach over and take his hand, and hold it in hers But she didn&039;t want to risk being too bold So she sat there, hoping that he would reach over and take hers He didn&039;t make any move It was early Andover the railing

"The best violinists are seated closest to the lip of the stage," he said, pointing "That woman there is one of the best in the world"

"Have you ever played here?" She asked

Jonah laughed "I wish," he said "This hall is only 50 blocks away froht as well be a planet away in terms of talent Maybe one day," he added

She looked down at the stage, at the hundreds of perfor their instruments They were all dressed in black tie, and they all seeainst the back of the wall stood a huge choir

Suddenly, a youngblack hair, dressed in a tux, strutted proudly onto the stage He cut right through the aisle of perfor for the center As he did, the entire audience rose to its feet and applauded

"Who&039;s he?" Caitlin asked

He reached the center and bowed repeatedly, sly attractive

"Sergei Rakov," Jonah answered "He&039;s one of the best vocalists in the world"

"But he seee, but about talent," Jonah answered "There is talent, and then there is talent To get that kind of talent, you need to be born with it - and you really need to practice Not four hours a day, but eight hours a day Every day I&039;d do it if I could, but my dad won&039;t let me"

"Why not?"

"He doesn&039;t want the viola to be the only thing in my life"

She could hear the disappointan to die down

"They&039;re playing Beethoven&039;s Ninth Syht," Jonah said "It&039;s probably his most famous piece Have you heard it before?"