#ukulele

Her voice sounded like an angel. Her flowy yellow dress made her stand out. If you are passing by, you would see her on a vast platform dancing, every move memorized. You would have seen her singing with such zeal. I stood on the sidewalk below with a slowly forming crowd.

“Go, Sophie!” I called out. A few eyes shifted toward me. Sophie smiled as I tried to slink away to the nearby palmetto. I watched her from the shadows.

I had only met her a month before, but it felt like I had known her much longer. We met on the first day of school – the third day of August. The sun was shining, as I climbed onto the bus. I walked down the aisle, looking for a seat when I saw her. She was wearing ripped jeans and a black graphic T-shirt. With her long blond hair lying straight down her back, she stared outside the window while listening to music through her white earbuds. I didn’t get a clear look at her face, but I knew I had never seen her before. Without thinking, I took a seat next to her. Initially, she did not notice me, but as I took my phone from my pocket, her attention shifted to me. She examined me, from my worn-out sneakers to my brand-new haircut. Looking into my eyes, she gave the slightest hint of a smile. Finally, I got a clear look at her. Her eyes were pretty unusual. One eye was a soft brown, while the other was a shade of blue. Her face appeared almost emotionless.

“Are you new here?” I asked as she was about to turn her head to face the window again. She looked at me confused as if I had just spoken in a foreign language. Then she yanked off one of her earbuds.

“What?” she questioned, her voice soft and gentle.

 I repeated my question.

“Yes, my name is Sophie,” she smiled.

“Leo,” I replied, getting ready to exit the bus as it parked in front of the school.

 I ran to the music room when I stepped onto the school grounds. The music room had instruments from all over the world. It is my favorite room in the whole school. I would sit on the chair in front of the piano and compose songs until the bell rang. However, when I stepped into the room, I saw someone else sitting in the chair.

“Sophie?” I whispered. She did not notice me. Her eyes were closed, lost in her playing. I watched her for a few minutes before she started to sing. Her voice was mellifluous, and it filled the room with a feeling of peace. I stared at her for a bit more, about to leave when suddenly, the melodious music from the piano stopped. Sophie paused, opened her eyes, and looked at me in surprise. She had her right hand over her heart like she was about to have a heart attack.

“Hey, sorry I scared you, but you’re really talented.” I smiled as she started to relax.

“Thank you…., but please don’t tell anyone what you saw!” she replied quickly and began getting her things.

“I will promise you if you tell me how you got here so fast,” I smirked.

 “I used that door” She pointed to a backdoor I had never noticed before, then she ran away to her first period.

Music was the bond between us. Every morning we both would sing and play the instruments in the music room. One day, I was invited over to her house after school. Her house looked like anyone’s home, but when I stepped into her room, it looked a bit less girly than I thought it would be. It had dark blue painted walls and posters of famous singers everywhere. She had a microphone and a karaoke machine in her room. On the opposite side of where I was standing, next to her bed, was a keyboard.

I ran to the keyboard and asked, “Are you interested in becoming a singer?”

 She looked at me, and she started nodding and blushing.

 “What about you?” she asked.

My fingers lightly touched the keyboard keys as I opened my mouth to speak.

“Me… I want to be a musician, play in front of a huge audience… maybe even sing a few times… I just want to perform.” I replied, turning the keyboard on.

“You are gifted on the ukulele,” she commented as I played a few notes.

“Yeah well I am too shy to perform in front of an audience even though it is my dream, it’s kinda silly I know…” I mumbled.

“Not to me, remember how spooked I was when you first heard me sing? I ran away from the music room the first chance I got.” she chuckled.

 I smiled, turning to face her.

“One day we will perform together and get rid of our stage fright!” I promised.

 “Deal!” she exclaimed as we ran downstairs.

After that day, every day, I would go to her house. We both would play music and sing in her room until it was time for me to leave. I slowly got to know Sophie’s background. Her mother died when she was 4, so her dad remarried. Her stepmom, unlike Cinderella’s stepmom, is kind and sweet. Sophie had a pet dog named Lola, who died last year of old age. I also learned that she lived in Paris for 14 years before moving here. I had fun playing my ukulele or her keyboard, while she sang into her microphone.

Then one day she decided that she was ready. We had been in her garage when she told me that she was planning to do a serenade downtown. That day, she practiced singing her favorite song while I strummed on my ukulele. Every day after that, our kinship for music grew.

Now, she was standing on a stage singing the song I had heard a million times before, but every lyric seemed brand-new. When the song ended, the huge crowd that gathered cheered.

“Encore!” a man in a white Hawaiian shirt called out.

Sophie smiled, her eyes glittered under the shining sun. I slipped out of the shadows and pushed my way to the front of the crowd.

“Encore!” I yelled with them.

Sophie looked at me and held out her hand. The crowd froze, waiting, watching as she pulled me onto the stage. In the corner was a ukulele. She handed it to me. Together we faced the quiet audience. She started singing as I strummed along. Just as we had practiced. I grinned ear to ear as the others sang along too. This was like a dream come true!