Promises Are Made To Keep (On Hold)

Promise Not to Give Up On Music

I spent the rest of first period silent. I was afraid that if I opened my mouth to say something I would start crying. I'm not a big cry baby but if anyone lost their parents I'm sure they would cry a lot too.

I remember when I used to never cry. I thought that crying was a sign of weakness. My daddy always said, "Don't cry, Jamie, crying gets you nowhere in life. The only thing it's good at is giving you a headache." I could picture my dad up in Heaven watching down on me saying those exact word. And you know what? I'm going to listen to him. I'm not going to cry anymore, no matter how hard it is. No more tears are coming out of these eyes.

Second period went by fast. Anthony and I walked together to orchestra. He introduced me to Mrs.Stella, the orchestra teacher. She's in her mid-ages, probably around forty, and she seems like a nice person.

She asked me what instrument I played. "I played the violin since I was nine." I said.

"That's amazing," Mrs.Stella said pushing a loose lock of black hair out of her face. Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun. "That's younger than any of my other students in all grades. I suppose that you know how to sight read." She reached behind her onto her music stand and grabbed a sheet of music. "Could you play this for me?"

I grabbed the music and examined it. It looked easy enough, now all I needed was a violin. "I need a violin." I said.

"Oh, I'll go get it for you." Anthony said walking towards the back of the room. There were all kinds of string instruments hanging up on the wall. Anthony grabbed a violin and a bow off the hook and gave it to me.

I thanked him and took the violin and bow from him. I set up the music sheet on a music stand closest to me. I put the violin up to my chin preparing to begin. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths. It helps calm my nerves and it relaxes me, especially when there is a whole class watching you. Apparently everyone stopped what they were doing to see me play.

I took three deep breaths then opened my eyes. I looked at Anthony. He smiled and gave me a thumbs up. I looked at the music sheet then I put the bow up to the strings of the violin. I made sure my fingers were in the right position. Then I started playing.

It was beautiful. I felt the vibrations of the strings run through my fingers. The bow rubbing over the strings to make beautiful sounds. I knew this song. I had to play it at my school back in New York. This was my favorite piece, I knew it like it was the back of my foot (people are always saying "I knew it like it was the back of my hand", why not say foot).

I didn't even need to look at the music sheet. I closed my eyes so I could pay more attention to how the music sounded. I didn't have to worry about where my fingers were supposed to be or if I was running the bow against the right string. I played the violin since I was nine, if I didn't have that memorized then something was wrong.

The music from the violin floated up and was surrounding me. It was like the music and I was the only thing in the room. It was like I was back in New York playing to myself in my room. It was like nothing had changed. Then I realized, my music is the only thing that didn't change. My music was the only thing that wasn't effected by this whole incident, and it never will be. I promise to never give up on my music.

When I was finished playing I opened my eyes and the whole class was staring at me amazed. Then they started clapping. I didn't know what to say and my face started to heat up. I don't usually play in front of this many people by myself. If I'm with a couple other people then I'm fine but I get much more nervous when I'm by myself.

"Oh my gosh, that was beautiful." Mrs.Stella said clapping her hands so hard I'm sure they would start bleeding. "Only my seniors can play that piece, and only a few of them can play it as good as that. And you memorized it too. How long have you known how to play that?"