Lily skipped towards the bus stop, happy to be back at school. When she got to the bus stop, she hummed ‘On My Way’ by Alan Walker. After a few minutes of waiting, the yellow school bus came along. She climbed aboard and found a seat. The whole ride to school, Lily was humming different songs. When she got to school, she confidently strode up the steps to the doors. She walked inside, and went over to homeroom, for math. She walked into the room and handed Mrs. Slavens her homework. “Thank you, Lily.” Mrs. Slavens said. “You’re welcome,” Lily said. Lily sat down in her chair. “OK class.” Mrs. Slavens said, “Please take out your math notebooks and textbooks and flip to page 111.”
The class did as she said, and Lily saw that page 111 was about measurement. “OK, who didn’t do their homework?” Mrs. Slavens asked. A small boy sheepishly raised his hand. Mrs. Slavens sighed. “Steven, you have to do your homework, I’ve told you 50 times. Even Lily, our new student, did her homework.” Lily felt her face turn red, but at the same time, she felt bad for Steven. “Anyone else not do their homework?” Mrs. Slavens asked. The class shook their heads, except for poor Steven. He looked miserable.
After math class, Lily skipped down the hall to science. She could not wait for it to be noon. She walked into the science room. “Good morning, Mrs. Weddepohl,” Lily said. “Good morning, Lily.” Mrs. Weddepohl replied. Lily sat down in her seat and almost jumped out of it. Violet, Sundew, and Skye were all in the classroom! Violet turned in her seat and winked at Lily. Lily stared, gaping, back. “All right, class.” Mrs. Weddepohl’s voice rang out. Everyone quickly turned to Mrs. Weddepohl. “We are going to do a zoo project.” Everyone’s eyes went wide. “We will not be making a zoo from scratch, you will just make a drawing of a zoo.” Everyone relaxed. “I would like you to work in groups of four.” Those who knew with whom they wanted to be partners with started glancing at each other. “Choose your partners now, chop-chop.” The class jumped out of their seats and rushed around. Skye, Violet, Sundew, and Lily grouped together. When everyone was ready, Mrs. Weddepohl clasped her hands together. “OK, get planning.” Everyone bolted to a table, took out their science notebooks, and started planning.
When science was over, Lily felt like all of her energy has been drained away. She looked at the clock. When she saw the time, her eyes lit up. She broke into a huge smile and speed-walked down the hall to the practice room. She walked in, and Sundew, Skye, and Violet were waiting for her.
“Hi, Lily,” Violet said cheerfully, “hey, guys.” Lily replied. She looked around the room. “The fifth person still isn’t here yet?” Violet shook her head. “Nope.” Lily nodded, trying not to show her worry. Lily set her stuff down on a chair and joined the others on the floor. “Now what?” Sundew asked. The others shrugged. Sundew’s eyes narrowed, “well, we have to do something,” “Hmmmm.” Violet said thoughtfully. Sundew smacked her head against her forehead. Just then, a boy with chestnut brown hair came into the room. “Hi,” he panted. “I’m Bamboo Grove.” Sundew shot into standing position, and ran over to Bamboo, with Skye, Violet, and Lily behind her. “Hi, I’m Sundew “, Sundew said, “and this is -” “we can speak for ourselves you know. I’m Violet” Violet said, “I’m Skye” Skye said quietly, “and I’m Lily!” Lily piped up. “Are you here for Trip to your Heart?” Violet asked. Bamboo nodded. “Yes!!!” Violet pumped her fist into the air and everyone cheered. “You can put your stuff over there,” Skye said to Bamboo. Bamboo nodded and slunk away to the chairs. When Bamboo came back, he said “guys,” when the others didn’t hear him, he tried again, louder. “Guys!” They still didn’t hear him “GUYS!” Bamboo bellowed. Everyone jumped, and Sundew fell. “What is it?” Lily finally asked. “Um…” Bamboo said, “shouldn’t we be practicing?” Sundew, Lily, and Violet froze, then they bolted to the floor. Skye and Bamboo followed. “So,” Violet said, “what instruments can you play?” “I can play the oboe” Bamboo said. “Guitar.” Lily said. “I can play the piano.” Skye whispered, “I can play flute.” Sundew offered. “And I can play the drums” Violet said.
Then, a team of boys marched into the room. “Um… Hi?” Lily eyed the newcomers warily. “Who are you?” The boy in the front scoffed. “I’m Punko, and this is Team Thunder.” Punko said, gesturing to the other boys. “What do you want?” Violet growled. “We’re here to tell you that you’ll never beat us.” “Oh yeah?” Violet challenged, “says who? Your little band of gangsters?” Punko narrowed his eyes and ignored Violet’s question. He turned to Lily. “Your idea of playing the guitar is probably just plucking the strings randomly.” Lily’s mouth dropped open. Punko turned to Skye. “You probably just put your hands on the piano and say that it’s playing.” Tears started forming in Skye’s eyes. “Hey!” Violet yelped, “don’t talk to them like that!” But Punko ignored her, “you probably blow as hard as you can and say that it’s the best song ever.” He said to Sundew. She was about to shoot back a reply, but Punko turned to Bamboo “you fling your fingers across the oboe and say that it’s playing. “Bamboo balled his hands into fists. “And you,” he said, finally turning to Violet, “anyone can play the drums, even a baby.” And with that, he left the room. And then, Trip to your Heart unleashed their emotions.