“I wish I was at Jeremy’s house. It’s Saturday morning. I’m supposed to be out of school. This is my free time. Everybody else is out playing. But no, my mom makes me go to music lessons. And nothing cool, like guitar or drums. I have to learn violin.
“It’s been months, and I’ve been trying, but I can barely even rosin my bow correctly. My shoulder, neck, and hands hurt all the time, and Mr. Ames is always yelling at me about how I hold the violin wrong. I don’t know any songs. Every once in awhile, I get lucky and play something that almost sounds like music, but usually, all that comes out are squawks.
“The snow’s melting. I could be out playing catch with Dad. He knows I need to get ready for baseball. I thought he’d understand how much this sucks, but he just says I have to do this to make Mom happy. I’ll never make the team if I waste my time with violin. And I’ve never heard of any famous violin players.
“Here’s the bus. Maybe I can get my violin caught in the door?”
