This is the last part of a short story I’ve written as a college assignment. I had a pretty good score so I thought you guys might enjoy it.

Start from part 1

The smirking Bradley leaned by set, listening as a brunette philosophy student played her second song. It seemed like nothing in the world could worry him. He noticed downcast Dominic coming by to pick up his guitar.
“Hey, you alright?”
“Yeah, I just have to practice.”
“Dude, don’t worry about it. It’ll be fine.”
“Well, thing is I don’t even know how I got this far in the first place. I can’t keep up with you guys.”
“Look, no matter how bad you think you are, some one out there is bound to like your music. That’s what I always tell myself.”

Dominic paused, and started to breathe slower. Nodding at Bradley, he went off looking for a quiet place to practice one last time. Among the songs that he had written, he picked three: one about a perfect family, one about the hardships of a fisherman, and one inspired from the love for Elaine. His songs were more on the soft side, gentle compared to the others that he had heard.

As much as he wanted to, he did not properly listen to the other contestants’ music. He would rather focus on his polishing own performance first. Before he knew it, he was called to the stage, followed by a cheer of support from the youthful audience. The host beckoned him to avail himself; the world started to slow down.

There on the platform he stood, alone with guitar in hand. The center spotlight glared at him in the darkness, all he could see was the flashing cameras and the video camera. He placed his left hand at the one place he was always sure of, and his right where his hopes and dreams had flowed. To help reduce his nervousness, he immersed himself into the music by shutting his eyes, as usual. There was no turning back.

The bus ride home was rather silent, considering the amount of noise made when the ten finalists were announced the night before. His thoughts during the journey were of nothing else but reenacting those moments. How he heard his own name in his mind but not through his ears, how the crowd cheered but not for him, and how the spotlight had left him, he reinforced in his memory.

Des Glaines extended its warm welcome to him, regardless of whatever that happened. Upon return, Dominic would do nothing but to catch up on missed college work; no time for sighs and no time for regrets. His family was proud enough of the giant leap he took, and his lecturers treated him no differently.

His gazebo friends could only offer unnecessary consoling, they were not there to fathom the extent of Dominic’s step forward. Within two days, everything was back to normal, despite the fact that he was this close to becoming one of the state’s most talked about brand new celebrities. Passers-by had not the slightest idea.

After all he had been through, nothing made him more content than to just sit under the gazebo talking about things. It did not matter to them what could have been for Dominic, they accepted him just the way he was. He realized that it was these people that he should treasure of their friendship. Looking back to that fateful night, Bradley was too busy being full of himself to even hear the words of congratulations from him.

One day, Elaine was feeding the swans at the golden lake. Dominic, who cycled by, stopped to greet her.

“Hey,” he said.
“Hi. she replied. Dominic dismounted and sat next to her on a wooden bench. Aren’t they magnificent creatures?
“Yeah, they are.”
“You know, whenever I’m stressed out, I’d come here to see them swim.”

How could he not know? He had been observing her for some time now.

“Hmm, so I’ve heard that the tickets for the couples-only prom night have been sold out?” she asked.
“That’s right.”
“Oh, so it’s true then.” she sighed as she peeled the bread for the swans, her eyes ever so lovely. She looked as though the swans were whispering words of comfort to her. Leaning back, Dominic watched her closely while pulling out two tickets from his pocket. He took a deep breath.