The Girl With The Violin *On Hold*

Chapter 1 The note in the case

I walked down the street with my violin case in hand. I walk to my usual spot and get out the violin. As always, I'm nervous. I don't understand why I'm nervous, I've been playing since I was eight. I'm seventeen now and I'm still nervous to play in front of people. I guess stage fright is a thing that doesn't go away with time.

As I always do before playing, I close my eyes and take a deep breath, remembering that I'll need the money to feed my Aunt and my sister, Portia. I lost my mother when she was in the military when I was 7. She was the best violinist I ever knew. She's my inspiration for playing. I use her violin because it feels like it's a piece of her that I'll always have left. My dad took her death the hardest. He quit his job and took her place in the military. It's just Portia, my aunt Robin, and I, living in an old trailer.

The money I raise from playing on the street is almost all the money we have. We get the other money from Portia's school. They lend money to poor families. Not a lot, but enough to get by when it's added to the money I earn from playing. Our aunt Robin is an alcoholic so she spends most of her money on alcohol and she's drunk all the time.

I open my eyes, waking up from my thoughts and get into playing position. I close my eyes once more and take another breath. My fingers start to dance across the finger board and I notice some pedestrians have stopped to watch me. Some people have put money in my violin case but not much. Most other people in this town are poor as well. The person I know with the most money is my best friend Talia. She has a decent house and she can drive but her whole family shares one car. They also have a phone, unlike my family.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

After an hour or so, I remove the money from my case and stuff it into my pocket. I'll count it later. Right now I'm focusing on cleaning the excess rosin off the fingerboard. I pack up my music stand and sheet music and start to walk home. I stop at Talia's house and walk in the door without knocking, out of habit.

"Talia!" I shout as I walk in. "Where are you?" I hear footsteps from down the hallway and I turn and see her walking towards me.

"Hey Bekah. What's up? I see you were just out playing."

"Yeah, I have a feeling I made more money than I usually do."

"Oh that's great! Here, I'll help you count it."

I hand her the money and she walks into the dining room and I set my case on the floor. Then I hear a loud gasp coming from the dining room. Fear overcomes me but then I realize it's a gasp of happiness, not fright.

"Bekah! Oh my gosh! I can't believe it! Come here quick!"  I hear her shout from the dining room. I run over to her and she shows me what she's holding. I look down and as my eyes adjust I see that she's holding a fifty dollar bill with a note held onto it with a paper clip. I take the note off and read what it says;

Hello, my name is Joseph M. Slater. I work at a recording company, here in California. I think you are an amazing violinist and you could easily make it in the world of fame. If you are interested, I'll be willing to take you in as a client. I'll be expecting your call.
-Joseph M. Slater
3573 Leroy Lane
San Fransisco, CA, 94101
605-879-4915

"Woah! I can't believe this is happening!" I exclaim. "I knew I was good but I didn't think I was this good!"

"Seriously Bekah? You are the best violinist I know. You're amazing. Of course he thinks you could pass in the world of fame!"

"Really? Thanks Talia!"

"Anytime. I'm only saying the truth. Anyways, I finished counting the money while you were reading and you have sixty eight dollars and thirty four cents. Isn't that the most you've ever gotten?"

"Yeah I think so. But also I don't think there's ever been a person to give me a fifty dollar bill."

"Well there is a first time for everything. Do you think you'll want to call Joseph? You know with your stage fright and all."

"I'm not sure. I haven't decided yet. It sounds like an amazing opportunity and I could gain enough money to feed my aunt and Portia, but it would be so hard."

"Well it's all up to you. You can chose whatever you want and I'll support you all the way."

"Thanks Talia. You're the best friend ever."

"You're welcome," She says sincerely. "So do you want to stay for dinner? We can watch movies and do our usual stuff."

"As convincing as that sounds, I don't think I can. I told Portia I'd teach her how to make spaghetti tonight. It's her favorite and she's old enough now to learn how to cook. We've raised enough money to buy the stuff for it to so I sent her to buy it yesterday."

"Okay. Well it's been nice having you. Come over tomorrow? We can have our movie date then."

"Yeah definitely. See you tomorrow."

I grab the money I made, and the note off of her table and put it in my pocket. I wave goodbye and grab my violin and head out the door. By the time I get home, I can tell Portia has been waiting for me because she runs into the kitchen of our small trailer and gets out the stuff to make spaghetti.

"I'm ready!" She says excitedly and I get the recipe down from the cabinet and start to teach her to cook.

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Authors note: Hey! Thanks for reading my story! How did you like chapter one? I'll have an authors note explaining my inspiration for the story eventually in one of the chapters. Any questions or comments? I'll be happy to answer questions and take any comments you give me. Thanks!

~Molly

P.S.   I've noticed that people have kinda dropped off after reading this chapter. Is there something that made you not want to read anymore or was it just a coincidence? Any comments? Or possible criticism? You can comment on the chapter or you can message me. Thank you!