Piano Concert and Earthquake

Guess what, guys? I had an earthquake! Or a tush-massage, I’m not quite sure which.

Here’s the story: A boy in my Japanese class announced one day that he and his friend would be giving a free piano concert in the cafeteria the next night. Being a fellow performer and wishing to support the arts (especially when the event is free), I made a memo in my planner and told myself that the recital would be a good break from essay writing. The concert itself was very nice: simple, respectful, and surprisingly high quality. The boy whom I had come to see played many, many Final Fantasy pieces from memory (and, while kind of shaky on some parts, did very well overall), and his friend ( a Japanese student, I’m guessing a junior?) played a piece by Shubert and 2 songs by List. The Japanese boy was fantastic! So expressive and his playing was just so….clean and….clear and…unnaturally accurate, but still very sincere. I don’t know how he did it! We were all mesmerized by this kid’s playing when, during a nocturne, I felt my chair start to vibrate. Was my phone ringing? No, it was on the table. Was my leg bouncing from me sitting too long? No, that wasn’t it. But I swear my bottom was swaying underneath me. I was puzzled and confused, but at least I wasn’t the only one; the other students at my table had the exact same expressions as me. But it was only the foreign students that seemed to be feeling this. All the Japanese kids were sitting as cool as stones. This shaking had gone on for some time when one of the second years guessed, “Is this an earthquake?’ Yes, that had to be it! How else were we all feeling this exact same sensation? That also made sense because the Japanese kids would have been all but numb to this regular sensation. Even the pianist continued to play as if nothing were happening. Another 5 minutes more and everything was still again. Super weird…

The next day some of us were talking and the news confirmed what we had felt. There had been an earthquake in our area during the time of the recital. It was too small for most people to notice, but we knew what it was. It was rather pleasant, nothing broke, and everyone was safe; it is a pity not all earthquakes are like that. For a girl who has lived on a stable tectonic plate all her life, it was quite a sensation. Probably boring for you all to read about, but it sure shook up my night!