Gifts of the Peramangk by Dean Mayes

Author:Dean Mayes [Mayes, Dean]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: australia, aborigine, poverty, violin, prodigy, slave, peramangk, music
ISBN: 9781926760810
Publisher: Central Avenue Publishing
Published: 2012-10-02T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

Khalili and Ruby developed a partnership as teacher and student that was unlike anything either one had experienced before.

For Ruby, Khalili’s teaching method, though not too dissimilar to her grandmother’s, was far and away more intensive and focused. Where Virginia had begun to falter with her declining health and memory, Khalili was able to tap into the style of her teaching method through watching how Ruby performed and take it forward in such a way that, for Ruby, felt new and vibrant.

Khalili, who had lived and breathed the violin for over half a century, had never encountered a soloist with such raw talent as Ruby. It seemed there was nothing she could not do, no challenge she could not overcome. He believed without a doubt that Ruby was a prodigy, possessed of an incredible gift that deserved to be nurtured. But he had to be careful in doing so.

As their lessons continued, Ruby’s talent was attracting increasing numbers of people to the hall who had heard about this young Aboriginal prodigy and were keen to see her play.

Though it wasn’t uncommon for people to watch rehearsals and lessons in the hall—and he tolerated it in the beginning—Khalili became concerned by the growing interest and began taking steps to protect her from it. He was shrewd enough to realise that there was a certain novelty factor in Ruby that could be construed in an unfavourable light by the faculty who, to date, remained unaware of her.

Or so he thought.

In a quiet corner of the grounds just outside the hall, Russ—the security guard who had originally found Ruby in the garden by the window—was pacing back and forth impatiently, holding a cigarette down low beside him, stealing puffs from it as he waited. Frequently, he checked his watch and cast a scanning eye across the grounds toward the street, then cursed.

He didn’t see the person he was looking for.

As he turned and began pacing back in the other direction, Russ looked ahead of him to see a pretty young blonde hurrying toward him. She was accompanied by a young man carrying a compact digital video camera in one hand and balancing an equipment bag that hung off one shoulder.

The television reporter approached with an apologetic look on her face and Russ immediately shepherded them into an alcove flanking the hall.

“Christ, you took long enough, Dimity,” he complained.

“We got held up in traffic and Blake couldn’t find a park,” the reporter, Dimity explained in a harassed voice, glancing over Russ’ shoulder to the door behind him. “Is she in there?”

Russ nodded then gestured toward the rear of the hall.

“I’ll take you in the rear entrance and you can blend in up the back of the seats.”

Dimity nodded and looked to her cameraman, Blake.

“Good. Are you set?”

Blake nodded once and held up his camera, which was switched on and ready to go.

“Right. Let’s do this.”

Adjusting her tight fitting skirt, Dimity was about to walk in the direction Russ had indicated when he tapped her on the shoulder.

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