CHAPTER 9.3

Reene relentlessly plucked the strings of the citole as he danced around the podium bruising people's eardrums with his torturous voice. Others booed him, others showed appreciation for his effort, while others just laughed out loud. He never cared none the less, and pushed on with his performance. Alicia stood by the podium, masking her laughter. She covered her face with her palms and tried hard to act as composed as she could hope to be in that situation.

With one last heavy Crescendo that drained out all his breath, he raised his arms and gave the crowd a bow before he choked himself out. They all clapped, others thankful for the end of the torture, others appreciative of the effort, while others just thanked him for giving them a good laugh. He walked over to Alicia.

"So. . . How was it? "

She couldn't hold it in any longer. She burst out laughing so hard she started snorting. She knew it was awkward but there was no way of stopping it. Although the laughter of the crowd masked h