By LUELLA DOW
Contributor 

Everybody cares when there's music playing

Of Cabbages and Kings

 

Last updated 2/5/2015 at 2:11pm



Nobody cares when Joey drops the bat and the ball rolls across his toes onto third base. Nobody cares when half the kids are sharing sandwiches and not one of them ever says, “C’mon Joey, come eat with us.” Nobody cares when the popular kids make all the decisions for next week.

Why do they stand in front of me so I can’t see what they’re doing, Joey thinks to himself? Why do they never talk to me? I know. I have always known.

It’s because I can’t hit a baseball, can’t throw a softball, can’t even land a snowball on the intended victim. That’s for today.

How about tomorrow? The teachers are visiting among themselves while the kids mock his name and mimic the bumbling way he tries to pitch the ball over the fence. Okay, he’s gone through that. Next? Joey has designed a surprise.

Near the last door, where everyone walks out of the school building, there is a piano. It’s been sitting in the corner for hours, waiting.

Beside the piano is a clarinet. Beside the clarinet is a trumpet. Beside the trumpet is a violin.

The pianist gives the cue. All the musicians follow his lead. The atmosphere is suddenly full of exciting music. People are clapping their hands. Children, running in circles, begin to sing.

The popular students pretend they are the conductors. Who is the pianist? Don’t you know? It’s Joey. You know, the kid nobody cared about; the one everybody ignored.

“Listen, you there,” called out one of the teachers to Joey. He’s talking to you, Joey thought.

“I like this,” the teacher said with a smile. “Everybody’s having fun. Can you get your orchestra together next week?”

“Why—I—uh—yes, sure,” Joey stammered in response. “Glad to.”

He gave the teacher a big smile, straight from the heart. A new song springs to mind. “This is going to be fun!”

Luella Dow is a Cheney-area author. She can be reached at lotsaplots1@aol.com.

 

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