<div class="floatleft">(http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/754/28323765.jpg)</div><div style="text-align: right;">(http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/664/35595671.jpg)</div><br/>Melissa yawned for the tenth time today. Staying focused and awake was proving to be quite a challenge for the redhead, having stayed up late with a new cookbook. While 1:00AM wasn't late by many people's standards, Melissa had adopted an early curfew ever since the disease hit. Not for any particular reason; rather, that was the problem nowadays. There just wasn't anything interesting in her life. Each day was becoming part of the same, tired old routine. No more late night escapades with Jake; no going on midnight dates just for the hell of it; certainly no more sex. Her german shepherd Ollie helped alleviate some of the loneliness, but it wasn't the same. Even<em>he</em>seemed to be getting tired of it all. It still felt strange how different everything had become. One moment Melissa was living the perfect life. The next, she had lost almost everything. The musician often caught herself thinking of old times, lost in daydreams...<br/><br/>"Ms. Hall?"<br/><br/>She snapped back to reality. The voice belonged to one of the new assistants, a young brunette that was still full of life and fire. Much like the Melissa of old; before everything had gone to shit. Catching herself before slipping back into thoughts, Melissa turned towards the stage.<br/><br/>"Right, is it time? Thanks." she managed to reply, hurriedly prancing her way over. It wasn't always easy to move around, especially in her flowing black dress and high heels. In fact, it was almost<em>impossible</em>to move around. Today was the last rehearsal before concert day. Not that it mattered much; the Monterey Symphony Orchestra was a shadow of its former glory. The hall used to be packed every time, overflowing with people. Now the audience consisted of only a handful of people, some of whom were so old Melissa had doubts they could even hear the music. Nevertheless, she settled in front of the piano. After a few bench adjustments, Melissa relaxed and began to lose herself in Rachmaninoff's 2nd.<br/><br/><div align="center">Rachmaninoff Concerto N. 2 - I. Moderato (1/2) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecRu6R3qwV4#)</div>