First Chair

First Chair — page 7 — One hundred and twenty minutes each day Hope You know that’s how much time your sister practiced her flute to keep first chair I know Mom How could I ever forget Mom is constantly reminding me that Miss Perfect Mara practiced perfectly and played perfectly Earning a college scholarship requires a lot of practice Mom said I’m only in seventh grade I don’t think about college much yet But no way would I tell Mom that Besides she thinks about it enough for both of us So instead I promised to practice as soon as we finished our game That satisfied her For now Where were we I asked Baylor Oh yeah I was just about to score another point for the win wasn’t I I smiled Ha ha Baylor served Not this time We batted the puck back and forth Baylor might be right The more we played the harder it was to score on her She was getting better 8

First Chair — page 8 — Sherman Baylor said sending the puck to my side Huh I asked Baylor moved to one side and made an awesome block His name is Sherman Whose name I asked The new boy My neighbor she said And his last name’s Frye Sherman Frye I froze Yep Baylor hit the puck hard It slid right into my goal My point Baylor laughed and kissed her mallet When I didn’t say anything Baylor asked Hey you didn’t let me score did you I don’t like it when somebody just gives me points I still didn’t say anything Hello Baylor waved her hand in my face Hope Are you there Hope The Sherman Frye I asked I guess so So what Baylor said 9

First Chair — page 9 — Game over I unplugged the air hockey table That’s what Hey Baylor said still holding her mallet I was making a comeback you know Sorry I said But Mom’s right I really do need to practice my flute Hang on What’s the big deal about Sherman Frye Remember the band workshop where kids from a bunch of different schools shadowed college musicians I asked Baylor nodded Sherman was there And he was paired with the best flutist at the college Baylor wouldn’t know because she plays clarinet But Sherman plays flute same as me Some of the other kids said that probably meant Sherman was super good So why is that a big deal Baylor said It’s a big deal because he’s moving next door to you Which means he’ll switch schools Which 10

First Chair — page 10 — means he’ll join our band Which means he’s coming after my chair And if I don’t get first chair then I closed my eyes fell onto my bed flopped my head over and lolled my tongue out You’re dead meat Baylor said I opened one eye Exactly

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