The Music of Spring: Wilson’s Uncle
He shrugged off the vest and settled it on my shoulders. “Heavy, isn’t it?” he said.
The weight did surprise me, but I refused to let him see. “Pass the mallets, would you?”
He pulled four from behind his back, and twirled them in a blur. When he relinquished them, I smirked, and answered his showmanship by playing the toughest bars of his solo part flawlessly.
“There’s enough time to arrange music to suit us, I think. Chambers, do you want to join us? We’re forming a band.”
“No thanks,” he said as he took the instrument from my shoulders. “I’m working on a stand-up comedy routine for Talent Night.”
I recruited a flutist and trumpeters from my friends in marching band, and spent every spare minute on arrangements. The first day of spring brought Talent Night, and we waited backstage, while the audience roared in laughter at Chambers’ comedy routine.
“Take your marks, girls,” the assistant principle whispered as he prepared to open the curtain. “What’s the name of your band?”
“We’re ‘Spring’,” I answered, and the red velvet parted. The trumpeters blew a piercing note, and we launched into our first number, a wild jazz medley of variations on nursery songs, before the crowd had a chance to quiet.
Our string section improvised sweeping riffs, and my mallets were never still. In the third row, Daddy sat, wearing a huge grin. Mother fanned herself, and Aunt Cecilia’s eyebrows lifted so high, they vanished under her bangs. After our set, Chambers helped me push my marimba offstage.
“That was cool,” he said. “Did you know Wilson’s uncle is here?”
“Wilson really has an uncle? We’ve joked for months about that creep and his boasting.”
“He really does, and the guy is talking to your parents right now.”
The Music of Spring is a short story in nine parts. Stay tuned for the next installment: The Music of Spring: Spell That.
Read more of my published short stories here.
I’m grateful for everyone who reads this blog on social media. However, if you fear missing out, fill in the blanks on the Subscribe form in the upper right sidebar. Posts will automatically appear in your email. When I’m out of town, I don’t connect to social media to share them there.
