15

The shopkeeper pulled the French horn down off the hook and handed it to me. But when Dad saw the price tag, he put the brakes on the whole thing. Dad said we should RENT instead of buy, because that would be a whole lot cheaper. But all the rental instruments were USED. The kid who played the French horn in the school band last year was Joshua Ballard, and there was a chance the rental belonged to HIM.

Mom and Dad got into an argument in front of everyone, and it was kind of embarrassing. Dad said we were spending too much money on something I'd quit in two weeks, and Mom said he needed to show more FAITH in me. Eventually, Dad caved in. But before he swiped his credit card, he made me promise I'd practice every night. This thing better be as easy as it looks. Because it feels like a lot of trouble to go through just to get invited to a Halloween party. Tuesday When I was picking an instrument, I should've put more thought into it. I was mostly thinking about IMAGE, but there are OTHER considerations, too.

It was a pain in the neck bringing my French horn to school today, because the CASE weighs almost as much as the instrument. But when I saw what Grayden Bundy had to deal with, I felt OK about my choice. Everybody says Annabelle Grier is one of the smartest girls in our grade, and it's easy to see why. She plays the piccolo, so she's not wasting any energy lugging a heavy instrument around.

But George Deveney might be even smarter than HER. He plays the kettledrums, and those are too big to take home every night, so they stay in the band room full-time. Something I never really noticed before is that most of the kids in the band actually kind of LOOK like their instruments. I don't know if people do that on purpose or if it's just a coincidence.

The great thing about the band is that there are no tryouts or anything. Basically, if you buy an instrument and show up, you're in. But I wasn't thinking it all the way through when I picked my instrument. The French horn is in the brass section, and almost everyone in the brass section is a GUY. The woodwind section is the complete opposite. It's all GIRLS except for a handful of guys, including Rowley. I really wish he'd given me a heads-up about it, because that information would've been nice to know. Maybe Rowley didn't tell me on PURPOSE so I wouldn't give him any competition.

I noticed he sits right next to Mariana Mendoza, and believe me, that's no accident. When class started, Mrs. Graziano told us to start warming up. That's when I remembered that my least favorite sound in the world is kids practicing their instruments. But Mrs. Graziano didn't seem to mind. She's retiring this year, so I think she's already checked out.