Chapter 1 PITCH PERFECT Hey look out I said Too late Morgan Bryant's humongo clipboard which she always carried around accidentally bumped into my music stand That's all it took to send pages of sheet music fluttering to the floor in room 217 the Benton Bluff Junior High band room Oops sorry Morgan said It's okay I said shielding my saxophone from her clipboard That thing was clearly an unlicensed weapon I was afraid my instrument could be its next victim Both of us bent down at the same time to pick up my sheet music and Morgan nearly gave me a concussion when the bell of her clarinet bonked me on the top of my head
Ouch I said Are you okay Morgan asked I probably will be I said If I haven't lost too much blood I rubbed my head and inspected my fingers pretending to check for bleeding Morgan really looked worried then so I quickly added That was a joke Oh right She looked relieved Morgan wasn't used to my jokes yet That's because it was a new school year Besides learning how to play music together we were also sort of figuring out who clicked with whom So far I wasn't sure if Morgan and I did Or didn't But I was about to find out See today's class began with some basics like reviewing breathing exercises good posture and correct embouchure You know the usual stuff Then Mr Byrd our band director threw in something new He paired us up with other students to practice adjusting our pitch to match
that of different instruments And Morgan was my partner I think this belongs to you Morgan said holding up a piece of paper that had been sandwiched between my pages of sheet music Of course it was mine Colby Ellis was written on it in my very own handwriting Right below Top Secret Thanks I reached for it before Morgan got a good look at everything else written on the page She must be one of those super speed-reading kids who can read like 1,000 words in one minute Because before I could snatch it away Morgan said Worn Tread Tirez Static Brakez Right Turn Signalz What are you a mechanic or something she asked No I said sounding a little more defensive than I meant to Morgan didn't seem to notice though I got it she went on You're a race car driver Right
Then she made these kind of annoying racetrack sounds Wrong again I said It's nothing Seriously I grabbed for the paper a second time But Morgan pulled it away I felt like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football only Morgan was my Lucy She kept pulling it out from under me It must be something important Morgan said since you don't want me to read it Really it isn't I held out my hand Can I please just have my paper back
