Once she was on the pavement, Laura paused and took a deep breath of the spring air. The sky above the New England Conservatory Building was blue. It was proving to be a good day. Laura had known she had a good chance of being in “Tales of the Wind”, the orchestra’s premium performance. But with auditions being compulsory nothing was guaranteed. She touched the paper in her pocket lightly; it was the performance pass that gave her the guarantee she needed. The slot was hers.

Her red ...