Chapter Six
Orchestra

Mom's getting her job interview today. It's only for Wal-Mart, but it's something. Wal-Mart takes everybody, right?
That's all that runs through my head as I play my violin. I'm at orchestra practice and I can't help but think about how mcuh longer we'll be able to afford this. I know Wal-Mart minimum wage won't pay for it. I fumble and the stick drops out of my hands.
"Goodness, Kira. Pick that up and we'll try again," Ms. Abbot says. She pushes her glasses up her hawk-like nose as I reach down to pick up my stick.
"Sorry, Ma-am," I say.
"What's wrong, Kira?" asks Aileen Mason from second chair.
"Nothing," I whisper. I put my violin back in the right position and Ms. Abbot starts directing.
Everything is on my mind now. Music notes, Mom's job, money. I don't know what to think or what to do. So I focus on the music.
The sweet sound of the orchestra making the beautiful music. It helps me take my mind off of everything.

After class, Aileen catches up with me on the way out.
"What's up?" she asks as we walk out of the building, pushing away blonde strands of hair that fell out of her pony tail.
"I told you, nothing," I snap. I sit down on the sidewalk while I wait for Mom to pick me up.
"Oookay, somebody's feeling moody," Aileen says, leaning away in mock fear.
"I have a right to be," I mumble.
Aileen's smile disappears from her freckled face as she sits down next to me. "Honestly, Kira. You were being really weird today. Tell me what's going on," she says seriously.
"I don't really want to talk about it," I say.
Aileen half-smiles and pulls some sticky-notes out of her pocket.
"Do you have a pen?" she asks.
I laugh for the first time in two days. "You keep sticky-notes but no pen?"
Aileen grins at me and I pull the pen out of my music-notebook.
"Thanks," she says. She scribbles on the note, tears it out and hands it to me. "That's my number. Call when you want to let it out," she tells me. She grabs her violin case, stands up, and before I can say thanks, she's gone.