4757/Rock the Julliard

Rock the Julliard
Date of Scene:	28 June 2018
Location:	NYC Julliard
Synopsis:	Andrea, Josh, and Tyler surprise Mason by showing up at his final recital for class, and then get a fancy dinner.
Cast of Characters:	Mason Steele, Rage, Elixir, Twitch

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Mason Steele has posed:
    The triangular Lincoln Center is lit up, and it's early evening. Many performances are crowded at Julliard, but this one is not. It's actually a final exam for one of the prep classes. Mason had only in passing mentioned it's existence, and chose against advertising it to the public. In result, there are a lot fewer people in this recital hall, while a full orchestra performs in one of the larger locations. It's a black tie affair in there, many people walking two and from, the well-to-do people of New York City coming to hear the visiting Boston Pops draws a lot more attention than Mason Steele's unadvertised class final.
    All the same, the three hundred person room has a few who are present, and mostly dressed for the part. A dozen students fill the first row, each placed in order for their turn in the dimly lit house which contrasts the brightly lit stage.

Rage has posed:
Having known about this particular final exam, Andrea got together the 'team', or at least those who weren't too cool to go hang out at a nice fancy affair. Having bought Josh and Tyler new clothes to fit the theme, they rose in style in the form of a stretch limo which was parked outside and they were led through the lobby to the apporpriate room. Dressed in a sleek black dress with silver sparkles woven through out, a pair of black heels and a thin see through dark kimono over her person along with an expensive handbag, she steps into the room and heads to an empty row of bleachers to take a seat. Already there is a few hushed murmurs as she is recognized, but she attempts to not draw any further attention to herself or entourage.

Elixir has posed:
"I don't know what makes me feel weirder, the outfit or looking like an Oscar statue," Josh says to Tyler with a wry grin, as they climb out of the limo. "But it's a hell of a nicer limo than I had for grad last year."

He follows Andrea and Tyler in, looking around curiously. He had heard of Julliard, who hadn't? But had never been, and certainly never thought he would be watching someone he met perform there. Josh takes a seat beside Tyler, putting Tyler between him and Andrea.

Twitch has posed:
"I think you'll used to being gold, but I don't know about the suits," Tyler chuckles to Josh. "We do look good as hell, though. We should definitely make sure we get seen at school all dressed up."

Having been decked out to the nines by Andrea, Tyler looks mildly uncomfortable in his new suit, but that doesn't stop him from putting on a smile when he gets a good look at the recital room they end up in. He walks alongside Andrea and Josh, checking things out carefully as they take their seats. He's on the verge of opening his mouth to say something else to his friends when he thinks better of it and shuts himself up before making any noise.

Mason Steele has posed:
    The seats are soft, a dark plush fabric for each person. The room is hardly filled to capacity, possibly only twenty people outside of the students. One at a time, they come up using various instruments. A violinist, a cellist, a flautist. A pianist.
    When Mason comes up, it's an instrument none of them have ever seen him play. He goes to the seat for the pipe organ, off to the edge of the stage. He's wearing a royal purple suit with a white shirt and matching tie. He's actually wearing dress shoes, a rarity in contrast to his usual flip flops.
    He turns to the professor, "Mason Steele: Rhapsody on a Theme of Ars Antiqua in Atonal." Drastically different from anything he would normally title his music. He turns to the seat, pulling out his coat tails as he sits and sets the appropriate knobs on the organ. The first chords are blastingly loud as he introduces the piece with a fanfare that is usually reserved for the climax of a piece. It's jarring, as if the listener started the music part way through, and slightly disorienting in its theme.

Rage has posed:
As she listens to the music, Andrea is all smiles, giving light applause after each student presents their piece. She is quiet for the most part, explaining in soft whispers to Josh and Tyler at times to explain a certain piece that may be confusing, or at least explain the importance of said piece in relation to musical strucutre. She is a student of the arts herself, even if she is more mainstream and pop than classical. At the sight of Mason, she slips her phone out to record him, tilting it sideways, leaning forward to make sure her zoom is on point. She is all dopey grins now, her eyes lit up like candles.

Elixir has posed:
Josh chuckles at Tyler's suggestion of making sure they get seen at school all decked out, though the idea of Samantha from his chemistry class seeing him like this has a certain appeal.

He takes his seat quietly and listens to each piece, with the context provided by Andrea. It is mainly lost on him, he had made fun of the band kids in school, so there was a certain irony in this situation. He asks a couple of questions in whispered tones between pieces but is mainly silent. When Mason comes up to perform he smiles to himself and rolls his eyes a bit at Andrea's sudden change in demeanour.

The opening chord of Mason's piece takes him aback, and he shoots Tyler a concerned look, as if wondering if Mason flubbed it off the start.

Twitch has posed:
Following Andrea's lead, Tyler claps politely after listening to each student play their song. He's definitely out of his element, but with Andrea quietly explaining things to him he seems able to at least somewhat appreciate what he hears.

As Mason takes the stage Tyler grins and leans forward slightly in his seat to pay closer attention. Out of the corner of his eye he spots Andrea whipping out her phone to record, notes the look on her face and sighs almost silently before returning his attention to the stage.

That sudden first chord causes Tyler's brow to furrow and when he catches Josh look at him the younger guy can only shrug his shoulders. He's got zero idea of what's supposed to be happening. Maybe some classical music is just like that.

Mason Steele has posed:
    The notes are precise, and there isn't a single missed chord, though at a few points during frequent timing and key changes, it might appear initially that the piece has no direction. As it continues, Mason's demeanor seems unconcerned, and he never behaves as if something happens that he doesn't intend. Key change, Key signature change, the shifts keep coming which to those who have a deep understanding of musical principals might find fascinating. For those who usually listen to more contemporary music, however, it may seem just strange. There is no syncopation, as music of old would lack. The mood of the music seems to be moving in reverse, a constant falling in action rather than a constant rising in action.
    It isn't until half way through the ten minute piece that the melody becomes clear, at which point the initially chaotic introduction starts to make a little more sense. The melody is true enough that most people could follow it, with several variations that fall off one element at a time, like scraping dross from gold. It's most certainly not a quick tune, but then again, most of them seemed to be a little longer than your average song.

Rage has posed:
"Ars antiqua is an old format, and atonal means there is no key or tonal center to the piece." Andrea explains softly to them as she holds the phone out as she records. "In general, you never combine these two as it would seem boring and unfocused, but that may be what this challenge is about, to do something unexpected and make it into a real piece. He's taking a huge risk." She gives a smile to the pair of them, nudging Tyler on the shoulder gently since she is sitting next to her. "It's really beautiful on a technical level. Very difficult. I love that he's using a pipe organ. It's a great twist."

Elixir has posed:
Josh makes an appreciative face, and nods. The truth is though he simply lacks the ear to appreciate what he hears. While he can tell it must be damn hard to play, the lack of simple sense to the piece until the melody starts to resolve leaves him feeling lost and a little agitated. He is relieved when the melody begins to emerge and there is something for him to hang on to.

Twitch has posed:
"Cool," Tyler says to Andrea, still not really having much of a clue as to what's going on. He leans back in his seat and watches the performance quietly, trying to get out of it what he can. While there's not much for him to pick up on he eventually starts nodding along when he finally gets that there's a tune to it he can try to grasp. His lips press tightly together as he tries to maintain his focus, but he's starting to struggle and his eyes begin to wander somewhat as he struggles to concentrate.

Mason Steele has posed:
    The last few minutes of the music becomes clear, the simple and unrestricted melody purified by the previous bars of music until the very end where it ends with something a child could play with one finger.
    He stands to his feet, and the applause from the few people there overall is weaker than for some of the others, though his most likely took the most work to compose. There is a certain sense on his face that he knows it wasn't popular, and then goes to bow. He walks back down to his seat, apparently unable to see his friends in the crowd in the dim light.
    The rest of the students go, and the professor stands, thanking those who chose to attend and giving a longer-than-anyone-wants-to-hear speech about Julliard's commitment to excellence and artistic integrity.
    The lights come up, and everyone, students included, stand to their feet and begin to mill about indistinctly.

Rage has posed:
Standing to her feet, Andrea lets out a loud cheer once she stops recording, applauding heavily, followed by a loud whistle. She wants to make sure that he is given the love and that he knows he has his friends in the room. "That was awesome, Mason!" She calls out, giving a tug on Tyler's shirt to yank him up to his feet to rise up.

Elixir has posed:
Josh rises and claps as well, following Andrea's lead and gives Tyler a slight shrug. "Sounded really hard to play... But I seriously don't get it," he says quietly to Tyler. He finishes clapping and gives a slight nod in the direction of the flautist, a truly beautiful young woman with brown hair. "Don't you wish you played the flute?" he adds to Tyler, grinning.

Twitch has posed:
When Mason's song comes to it's conclusion Tyler claps more than he did for any of the previous works even before Andrea pulls him to his feet. He might not have been able to appreciate the music itself, but he can definitely see that Mason worked hard on whatever it was that he did. Josh's statement about not getting the music gets a deep nod, "I was lost from the beginning." As he glances at the indicated woman the young man smiles to Josh, "I do now."

When the room brightens he stands up and twists at his waist to loosen up. "Let's go say 'hi' and tell him he did a good job."

Mason Steele has posed:
    Mason, having heard the loud and out of place whistling from Andrea, quickly looks in their direction once everyone is released. It's hard to miss Josh. From the other side of the room, there was another person who was there to see him perform. His mother. She's wearing a blue dress, and has hair every bit as blond as Mason's. The resemblance is easy to see between them. Mason glances in her direction, and back to the Xavier crew. A certain level of discomfort is clear, and before going toward the group, he moves to talk to his mother first, trying to prevent some awkward conversations.

Rage has posed:
As her eyes cut in the direction that he is looking, Andrea spies his mother as well once the lights come on. A scowl erupts upon her face and a wolfish growl rumbles in her throat. She jerks herself forward, looking as if she may attack right there on the spot, but her intellect kicks in and she yields to her common sense over instinct. "Fucking bitch." She mutters to herself. "She's a telepath, screwed with my head once. I want to tear her throat out." Her fists clench up tightly, then release with a slow breath that spills past her lips.

Elixir has posed:
Josh eyes the woman and looks Concerned by Andrea reaction. He looks at her and says "you gonna be okay? we can go..."

Twitch has posed:
"Yeah, we can book if you want to," Tyler says to Andrea, a deep frown appearing on his lips. "Mason saw us, he knows we were here for him." Josh ain't the only one worried, it seems like. He does look over Mason's mom, though, seeming to study the woman for a few seconds and shaking his head slightly from side to side.

Mason Steele has posed:
    Mason spends just a handful of seconds, and there is a reluctant frown from his mother, it's followed by that smile Mason uses to get what he wants from people all the time, and a hug. She may be a telepath, but that doesn't mean he's helpless when dealing with her. She gives him a hug back, one of those motherly pats on the shoulders, and then shoos him off in their direction. He turns, and circles the seats to come up the side aisle in the direction of the team. He stuffs his hands in his pant pockets as he does. "Hey," he says with a slightly sheepish grin. "How did you guys even know this was happening?"

Rage has posed:
"Hell no, we're staying. This is our city, our territory, our packmate." Andrea says, though her voice comes out a bit more husky than normal, rumbling, dominant. She swipes at her nose with the back of her hand as she stares daggers into the blonde woman across the way, swaying back and forth like an anxious cobra. When Mason makes his way over, she steps in and gives him a firm hug, followed by a kiss along his cheek as her eyes skirt past his shoulder to smirk towards his mother. 'Mine', she mouths to her before leaning back and schooling her features with a happy smile. "Oh! I told them of course. We wanted to be here for you for your big day. I have a limo out front. We're going to dinner. I have reservations for us at Fifty-Three." An incredibly swanky place, hard to get into, expensive. "You know Josh, right? He's gold now. Also our curfew is lifted because the bad guys have been dealt with, so we're free."

Elixir has posed:
Josh shakes his head slightly with the same expression that always comes to his face when he says 'high school' about some drama or another.

Josh nods to Mason. "Well played, man. That was crazy technical," he compliments. "When do you find how you did?"

Twitch has posed:
"Hey Mason. Good thing you did there," Tyler tells his friend encouragingly, putting on a big smile and reaching over to pat his shoulder. "We're mostly free. I have to stay after school every day and clean the school. And I've been leaving messages with my advisor whenever I go off the grounds, just in case. Considering I was worried I'd get kicked out it's not a big deal."

Mason Steele has posed:
    Mason looks a little self conscious, glancing back at his mother and not returning the hug, Andrea's aggression not failing to be noticed. For her part, she returns Andrea's lipped words with an eerie non-expression before turning to walk away.
    "Um, you guys liked it?" he asks, seeming surprised. "They'll probably tell me by the end of next week," he says, keeping his hands in his pockets. You got cleaning duty? What'd you do? Punch someone out or something?"

Rage has posed:
"I liked it. It was very interesting and I know that it was a challenging piece for you. I felt like you played it well." Andrea says to him with a smile as she tears her eyes away from his retreating mother. "Really cool you brought out the pipe organ. That is old school. I bet the professors really appreciate it." Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she continues to be all sunny smiles. "You guys ready to go and get dinner? I'm starved and I'm dying for a steak."

Elixir has posed:
Josh shifts a bit uncomfortably when Tyler mentions clean up duty. He had not gotten punished for their outing, and he still did not know why.

Yeah, let's go, unless you're going to introduce us to that Maria chick with the flute, Mason," Josh jokes.

Twitch has posed:
"I'm not sure that kind of music was really my thing, but I appreciate how hard it must have been to play it. You made it look easy, especially on the church piano thing," Tyler tells Mason with a nod.

"I didn't get in trouble for punching anybody." He looks around to make sure nobody's eavesdropping, "Got in trouble for breaking curfew, got out of some of the trouble for beating the stuffing out of one of those guys with the sword arms. Those guys's bones don't break right, by the way. If I fight them again I'm going to need a sword or something so I can lop their limbs off. It took way too long to take down the one guy with just my fists."

Tyler looks at Andrea and nods, "I'm ready to grab something to eat. I can't wait to try this place. It sounds all kinds of swanky."

Mason Steele has posed:
    "Pipe organ," Mason inserts shortly as Tyler errs on the name of his instrument. "Yeah I could eat. I never eat right before I perform, I'm always worried it'll make me have to pee in the middle. Wait, did you say sword arms? You and your superhero stuff, man. Craziness."

Rage has posed:
"They're called the Reavers. It's the people that tried to kill me at my concert and then again at the coffee shop that we fought." Andrea says with a shrug of her shoulders upwards. "Our teachers are kinda badasses. We can talk more about that later though, but I thought tonight could be about us, besties, getting dinner and celebrating." She texts James on her phone that they are heading down to meet him at the limo, then takes the lead as she heads down the bleachers. "We even got dressed up. We look pretty good, huh? We're going to own the city tonight."

Elixir has posed:
Josh falls in behind Mason and Tyler at the back of the group as they head down toward the limo.

Twitch has posed:
"Right. Pipe organ," Tyler says to Mason agreeably. "I'll try to remember that." With a glance over at Andrea he grins, "That's a good idea. No school or shop talk if we can avoid it." Looking down at himself, then over at Josh and Andrea he says, "We do look good." A lift of his chin at Mason, "I'm diggin' the purple, too."

Rage has posed:
The limo drive over to the resturant took the four of them through the main strip of the city, where all the lights and billboards are at. The Fifty-Three is located near the broadway theaters, where the A-list goes to dine after catching a show, or after a night of acting or modeling. The interior of the Fifty-Three is styled beatifully with ivory pillars that connect from a mirrored tiled floor to a silver coated ceiling. The tables are the height of modern with sleek granite tables and large plush chairs for maximum comfort. There is a large fountain in the back with a waterfall coming out of the wall with lights that make the water turn different colors. The walls are covered in a beautifully styled wallpaper of painted designs in swirls and lashes of a brush. The greeter at the door gives a smile to the familiar sight of Andrea and Mason, though he pauses at the sight of the golden skinned Josh. He opens his mouth, then closes it with a glance to the popstars. "Right this way! I have your table prepared for you." They are led through the resturant to a table in the back for privacy, where the music is not obnoxiously loud and has a good line of sight of the fountain.

Taking a seat, Andrea gives a smile as a menu is passed to her, along with a glass of sparkling ice water. A basket of fresh bread and warm cinnamon butter is put in front of them as well.

Twitch has posed:
Tyler is captivated by the restaurant. He's very, very impressed by how nice it is and can't stop staring at it's various decorations. "This place is amazing," he says to the group as they walk back to their table. After taking his seat he takes his menu with a friendly, "Thanks." He doesn't look to see what's available right away as he's still got his eyes full of his surroundings. "I think this is the nicest place I've ever been."

Looking to Andrea Tyler smiles, "Thank you so much for taking us out. Everything you've done today has been really awesome. I just want you to know I appreciate you."

Rage has posed:
"No problem, Tyler. I'm just excited to spoil you guys and show you what a night out on the A list is like. Mason and I probably take this for granted because for us this is normal, but I wanted you guys to feel special because to me you are. You're my family and my best friends." Andrea says as she leans in to bump her shoulder against his since they're sitting next to each other. She opens up her menu and takes a look through the items. "Don't worry about prices, I got it. We're gonna easily blow past five hundred for the meal." After making a decision on the steak she was after, she settles on a couple of appetizers as well. "After this, we can get dessert at this amazing place that has iced hot chocolate and some delicous ice cream."

Mason Steele has posed:
    Mason gave a short thank you for the compliments on his suit, and decides against mentioning that his mom got it for his birthday. He likewise takes his seat, grabbing the menu. "You might pull your jaw off the floor," he comments to Tyler with a grin. "I wonder if they have that squid thing here, whatever they call it."

Twitch has posed:
"Aww. You're so sweet, Andrea," Tyler tells the young woman next to him, reaching over to give her a little pat on the hand. At Mason's crack Tyler smiles back at him and says, "But it looks so good down there." He does stop looking around at that point, though, to focus on the menu, "Oh man. Everything here looks good." There's a moment of peppiness to him, "The lamb sounds bangin'. I think I'm going to go for that."

"You mean calamari, right?" Tyler asks Mason. "That stuff is really good. I had an Italian friend whose grandmother used to make it in red sauce. It was amazing."

Mason Steele has posed:
    "Calamari?" Mason echoes. "No, I think that's the fish guys on Star Wars," he decides, rejecting the information as he continues to scan the menu. "I guess I'll have duck. I never get duck, it's supposed to be good."

Rage has posed:
"It's calamari, Mason." Andrea laughs softly as she props her chin up in her hand. "It's the breaded kind here. We can get an order of that for an appetizer."

Twitch has posed:
"'It's a trap!', right? That guy from the meme?" Tyler asks to make sure he's got the right Star Wars fellow as he grins at Mason's response. "I haven't seen those movies since I was a kid." As if he's not a kid now.

Mason Steele has posed:
    "Really?" Mason asks. "Huh, that's weird. How did you guys know I was even having my finals anyway?" he asks again.

Rage has posed:
"I told them when you told me during your nervous ramble about your performance coming up." Andrea giggles, then puts in the order for herself and the others once they tell her what they want. She is confident in her delivery, showing off some of her experience in these affairs.

Elixir has posed:
Josh looks around again, catching some furtive glances in their direction. He had been getting used to that, being around Andrea, but that was when he was normal looking.

He nods in agreement with Tyler's thanking Andrea but doesnt really say anything to her directly. "I've never been anywhere this nice, either" he says to Tyler.

"So are you finished at Julliard now or was that like a semester thing? What comes next for you, another album or...?" he asks Mason, still not sure if Mason knows who he is, and sort of happy to keep it that way.

Twitch has posed:
"It's nice that we got the chance to come here at all. I'm going to savor every bite," Tyler tells Josh with a nod. He goes for the bread on the table, picking up some and smearing it with the special butter before taking a bite and making an 'mmm' noise. "Even the bread is awesome."

Mason Steele has posed:
    "Finished?" Mason asks, "Oh, no I'm not even really started yet. It was a prep class they offer for a handful of students across the country. I'm really honored to get the chance. They don't take many high school students, since it's an undergrad program."

Rage has posed:
"So why did you go with that type of piece, I'm curious. Why not do something like your classical piano or a personal piece you wrote? The one that reminds me of a storm was beautiful." Andrea asks Mason curiously. I liked what you did down there due to the historical aspect of your piece, but maybe something current could have resonated with the faculty more?"

Elixir has posed:
"Just watch, you'll be in some tabloid shot tomorrow in some story about these two being seen together," Josh quips to Tyler. "Good thing you're dressed nice."

Theb he turns his attention to hear Mason's reply to Andrea. He glances at a table a little ways away though. There are two couples sitting there, looking to be in their 40's, and their looks back in his direction are pointed and disapproving.

Twitch has posed:
"I'm glad you got the opportunity to try out, man. Julliard is a big deal and you did really well up there," Tyler tells Mason after chewing and swallowing his latest bite of bread. Leaning towards Josh Tyler chuckles a little bit, "Good thing we're both dressed nice. If they get me in the shot they'll catch you, too."

When Josh looks away Tyler's gaze follows his. The younger mutant sees the looks that his friend is getting and frowns. "You doing okay, Josh?" Tyler asks softly. "I mean, we could really set them off if you want. Hold hands and cuddle up a little bit, see if we can trigger some homophobia, too." It's clear from his tone that he's joking, trying to do something to relieve any tension before it can build.

Mason Steele has posed:
    Mason hesitates, glancing at Josh after his comment about the tabloids. He follows his gaze toward the couple in their forties. "I just..." he says absently toward Andrea, "thought I'd do something different. I just wanted to write it because that is what I wanted. Not like usual music that I'm always writing for other people..." He doesn't look at Andrea while he says it, but bobs the straw in his water up and down, giving a disapproving stare back at the two couples in the same manner that they give Josh. Perhaps an exaggerated manner of what they are doing. Well, definitely an exaggerated mockery of their expression, and doesn't look away, waiting for the others to break away first.

Rage has posed:
"Don't give them any attention." Andrea says softly to them in regards to the people behind them. "Let then stare if they want. One day it won't be a big deal." She gives them an encouraging smile, then looks to Mason. "I'm glad you went with your gut and you did what felt right to you. It's the most important part of being an artist."

Elixir has posed:
"Yeah, I'm good, don't worry about me," he says to Tyler and snerks half-heartedly about them holding hands.

The couples look away when they notice Mason's very pointed look, and hunch together a little more closely, talking in hushed tones. Josh shakes his head and then breathes a sigh of relief when the server comes with their meals and breaks the moment. He smiles and thanks her and then raises his drink. "We should cheers Mason for kicking ass today."

Twitch has posed:
"It's awesome that you felt comfortable writing your own kind of music for today," Tyler says to Mason with a grin, trying to follow Andrea's advise about ignoring the people giving them dirty looks. He goes back for some more bread. Being hungry all the time is a thing thanks to a suped up metabolism.

"Yeah! Good idea!" Tyler says about the toast, lifting his own glass to clink with the others!