#bergen_county

She goes quiet as the music starts, first out of respectfulness and to listen for mistakes, and then out of impressed awe. She is clapping at the end of the song. "Lorelei, that was... incredible. It's certainly not traditional, but it's amazing."

"Thanks.. I uhm saw a guy online do it with a violin and... well, you should see him"

She's blushing furiously

"Tell me, what does music mean to you? What do you want from your playing? Is it a hobby, or something you'd like to see as a life style, or even a career?"

"I would love to study it, to play it, to listen.. I want to know all I can about it I want to know the history, and all the types, even the ones I don't like, and I want to play and learn and express.. I guess if I could pick a major it would be music and musical history? I.. sound like a geek huh? Not much money in that"

"Realistically, do you need to make a lot of money? I don't mean in a philosophical way, but to be blunt, I'd guess you have family money - at least based on Trust-Fund Tommy and his like at the club."

"Unless my parents cut me off" She admits "But they might if I don't take a major they approve in college"

"Have they actually heard you play electric, or is it more of the concept of perverting from the classics that bug them?"

"Ah, no they've never heard but they've heard others and boy did they get their noses up"

A sigh. "That's tough. Do you like the classical stuff too, or is it just blah to you?"

"Well yeah, I like it" She nods and plays a little Telemann Viola Concerto in G major a sample "It's pretty" A look around "Especially in this room. But I don't want to GROW to hate it"

"Do you think you'd be okay with a happy medium, where you learn both, and show your 'rents that you CAN play electric without classical suffering?"

"you're telling me I need to suck it up a bit but also try not to burn a bridge?" Lori grins

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmaaaaybe. But I DO think that there's merit to it, learning to play more things in electric WILL increase your skill at ALL viola, not just the new stuff. It's a motivator if nothing else!"

"you're probably right. Thanks, PIper, I 'll try"

"This place is amazing though. I'd love to spend time practicing here.. but it seems a waste to keep it just to ourselves."

"Well, my parents will sell it soon enough and then it will probably become a fast food place or ..something" She admits

Piper bites her lip. "Maybe we could convince them not to?"

"Even if I used my trustfund for college I couldn't afford it"

"I wonder if there is a way. Maybe... property prices are going up so it's better to wait? No... I wonder if it might make more as a recording studio than a one-time sale. If they sell this, it would be sold as land, I bet - they can't really repurpose most of the building for any other industry. The cost to tear down and rebuild would reduce the value. But if you had people who wanted to rent out recording space? Maybe.... I wonder if there's a current market."

"But.. the equipment is decades out of date. Some parts have been vandalized... it's actually working yet to record."

She does look about wistful but disssapointment

"Out of date maybe, but some might call it retro. I could do some research. Maybe it could be valuable to collectors - at least the intact pieces. The sounds you can make here are amazing..."

"If you say so but..." She does not produce glamour now "I don't have hope for it"

She turns and slowly walks through the room. A breath, and Piper starts singing, softly.

"It's been a long dark night
And I've been a waitin' for the morning
It's been a long hard fight
But I see a brand new day a dawning
I've been looking for the sunshine
You know I ain't seen it in so long
But everything's gonna work out just fine
And everything's gonna be all right
That's been all wrong..."

She reaches up on her tip-toes and swipes at a dust covered window, cleaning a swath with her sleeve to let the sun shine through. "Do you know this one?"

'Cause I can see the light of a clear blue morning
I can see the light of a brand new day
I can see the light of a clear blue morning
Oh, and everything's gonna be all right
It's gonna be okay..."

Putting as much as she can into the song, hope - hope for the future, hope and belief. Maybe it's a false hope, Piper falters a bit as she wonders if she can actually make any sort of promise here, but she has to try,

She takes up her viola, and plays along... and a smile slowly slips on Lori's features

And when the beat drops, Piper snaps her fingers and taps a foot to make up for the percussion, and grins as she speeds the tune to see if Lori can keep up!

Lori sees what Piper is doing, and starts to match.. also she sticks her tongue out

the jam session builds and escalates and...yeah, the dreamer's restored hope might be making some glamour

She finishes the last notes, and grins over to Lori. "Maybe there's nothing we can do, but that doesn't mean we should do nothing. There might be a way,"

"You know what? you're right. You find a buyer, ANY buyer,, and I'll nag my parents until they sell. I'll tell them I want to see how it's done and learn finances"

She swallows. "What do you think it would go for on a good day?"

"Well, you're probably right... they'd be selling it for land.. but.." She names the price

Whatever the amount it, it's gotta be more than Piper has ever even thought of in terms of a purchase she would ever make. She shakes her head a bit just to clear it. "Let's take another look around. Maybe there are rooms or areas that could be purposed to other use as well. Like, if there's a good setup for podcasting or video recording for streamers? Most of them have home setups, but not everyone, and a lot of home folks could upgrade for better resources... or practice space for bands, maybe even a space for music tutoring if folk don't want to do it in house...." Looking at as many threads as she can think of.

"Maybe, but I think we're going to need help, Piper" Lori tells her "Know anyone good at finances?

"Actually, I do. Her name is Sallie Mae, she's a friend of a friend. She has a lot of experience running budgeting and the like - I'd trust her with my personal finances if I had any worth speaking of." A bit of a grin.

"And I have friends who are musicians, connections with renovators, I even know a cool chick who is a growing YouTube celebrity - if she had more time on her hands." A small frown for a moment, but then she returns to focus. "If we can get down to the bottom line on what it would take to get this place operational, and had an idea of how it could be monetized moving forward, then we'd be at a place to negotiate with potential buyers."

Then her eyes LIGHT UP. "I actually DO maybe know of someone who would invest in a place like this.... but lets start with the details so I know what it would take before I make any proposals."

"Holy shit, Piper, you know everyone.. hold on.." She digs through her phone "here.. let me access some facts about the place"

"Any chance it's old enough to be on some sort of historical registry?" She wonders hopefully. "Or if anyone famous worked or played here, that might be a hit to prevent it from being allowed to be shut down..."

"It might but if it is, I don't have the information. Look, you go talkk to this Sally Mae, I'll go see if I can get into my parents files at home?"

“Will do… but first, let’s spend a little time on your cello. I want to look closer at how you're holding the bow on your high notes.” Legitimizing the meeting, before heading to the lodge!

A smile and they practice happily

(End Scene)