Performance night
Crowd in,
Expectation a plenty
Children rehearsed,
Everyone ready.
A chord is struck,
Voices ignite in chorus
What is that?
Somebody bring in the cat?
A child crying?
No. It can’t be.
First violin is out
Violinist looks mortified
Twenty minutes still to play.
The cat screams louder
Audience squirm
Ears assaulted
Conductor ploughs on
That high note is now a screech
Painful,
Chorus look distressed
We carry on
Everyone pretends all is well.
Final note
Relief
Heads bowed,
First violinist in tears
Bows
Embarrassment personified
She thinks worse than public speaking.
Prays for the curtain
To swallow her up.
Written for: http://mindlovemisery.wordpress.com/2014/03/21/prompt-48-escalating-humiliation/
Morpethroad 
Oh how terrible for her, you portrayed her embarrassment well, was this a true story?
Not quite like that. But something similar names and places were changed to protect the innocent. Thanks Jenny.
but of course, smiles. Poor poppet though.
This would be so devastating expertly told
Thank you so much Yves. It does happen.
Just a bad night or how did she get to be First Violinist?
She was probably very good but some nights are bad ones. Thanks for reading.
Even Pavarotti had his bad moments…
Well that’s a comfort, I think we all have, I know I have.
Oh my. So sorry for her, whoever she was. Terrible thing to go through. You told it well Michael, I could feel the embarrassment. Poor thing.
Thank you Jackie, one hopes it doesn’t happen too often.
Ouch!! very vivid portrait you have painted here with your words!! 🙂
Thank you Helen a degree of reality within this.
I feel like I was there… I feel like I am her… where’s that damn curtain!
When this happens Pooky you can’t get off fast enough and you hope everyone there has an issue with long term memory. A bit like your first year in a new job, you hope people forget the stuff ups you committed. Thanks for your funny comment made me remember what it was actually like.
I used to play in a jazz band and I had a really difficult (for me) solo in ‘In the mood’. I could never perfect it in practices then we were somehow in a position of playing the piece live to an audience and local radio. I was assured ‘it will be alright on the night’ needless to say it wasn’t and I wanted the ground to eat me! (that said, I think it was probably not that awful at all, it just felt it. I think it was just one very top note I didn’t play but you know how those things are overplayed in your mind?..)
Oh – poor kid.
It always seems magnified to the presenter than it does to the audience though.
Good comment, as a performer it’s always worse thru your eyes. Audiences are not always attuned as you are. Thanks RoSy astute comment.
How embarassing! Beautifully written, Michael. I just saw this prompt just now…
Thanks so much Oliana, that’s a lovely comment.
Have to choose which humiliating experience that can be shared…oh dear
Do what I did, make it sound like someone else….lol
I shall but now I have choose something that is not x rated…:D
Put a disclaimer on it, an adult rating? Really you have some R rated embarrassment….wow…..what a life you’ve had.
Oh I was going to use a teaching one but reading your disclaimer thing my muse nudged me and dared me to a better one. I’ve lived a boring life actually, with the same person for 28 yrs…but divorce did spice it up for a few years. I was telling a colleague at work who is a sex therapist and she was embarassed..ahaha
Ah good for you….when you can make a sex therapist blush you’ve done well.
I think my age embarassed her. I don’t care if they are sex therapist.When they are in their 20’s, they still think it’s gross for anyone over 40 to have sex…:D
Yes I found that too. For some reason they think we stop after 30?
But women peak at 35ish!! I used to go dancing at a bar for the live rock music and later discovered it was a cougar bar. i wondered why such young men asked me to dance but I would giggle and say no thank you , you look younger than my son…but would go every week with my boyfriend and my friend who is now back in Australia…what a blast we had there.
That’s right nothing stops because we get older, it maybe starts a little slower that’s all.
it is not R rated by the way…just funny.
What a relief, thought I might have to shut my eyes.
How awful. Creative write for the prompt.
Thanks so much Kim, lovely to see your comment.