Lily Miyazaki stared up at the door of the principal’s office. She took a deep breath and exhaled. It was Lily’s first day of school, and she was late. She had spent the morning in the principal’s office for orientation.
She squared her shoulders and walked out the door. When Lily entered the hallway, she almost ran into a poster. She took a few steps back and looked at the poster. It read: Cottonwood Music Talent Show, all students are required to enter.
She took another step back, confused. My parents didn’t mention anything about a talent show, she thought. She walked down the hall and saw a chart. Talent Show Registration, Lily read. She looked at the bottom and saw the song options. They were: Thunder, Rock a bye, Trip to your Heart, Secret, or Fight Song. Lily thought for a moment, then picked up the pencil that lay beside the chart and signed her name under Trip to Your Heart. As she was signing, she noticed two names above hers: Skye Reed and Violet Chen. Then she saw what day and time they practiced. It read: every day starting from Monday at noon Lily’s heart started to race, today was Monday! She looked at the clock. It was 11:55!
Lily had exactly 5 minutes to get to the practice room! She speed-walked as fast as she could down the hall. She passed the music room, the art room, and a few other rooms that she couldn’t identify. At last, she came to the practice room. She glanced at the clock: 11:58. Phew. Lily realized that she was holding her breath, and exhaled. She then walked into the practice room. Two heads turned to her. “Um… hi?” Lily asked. She almost smacked her forehead. That was the worst greeting ever, Lily thought. The girl blinked “Uh… h-hi, I’m Violet and this is Skye,” the girl stammered, gesturing to the boy. Lily’s gaze flicked over them. The girl had jet black hair, and the boy had blonde. “We were just talking about our hobbies and what our favorite colors are… and stuff,” Violet said. Skye merely nodded. Not much of a talker, is he? Lily thought. “Oh, come sit,” Violet said bluntly, stepping back. Lily set her stuff down on a brown chair and sat down on the floor. “So, what do you like to do?” Violet asked. “Well… I like to ice skate,” Lily started, “and I like baking. What about you?” “I like to read and play soccer,“ Violet replied. She nodded at Skye. “Um… I like doing puzzles, and playing board games” Skye said quietly, almost in a whisper.
“Speaking of board games,” Violet said, “can we play one?” When Lily looked at Violet like she was crazy, Violet added, “there are some in the back.“ Lily nodded “Skye and I will get one.” Skye and Lily stood up and walked over to the back of the room. “Violet!!!” Lily called, “Which game do you want to play: Candyland, Monopoly, Sorry, Clue, or LIFE?” “Monopoly! “Violet yelled back. Lily nodded to show that she understood. “Skye!” Lily said, “Violet wants to play Monopoly!“ Skye nodded and he and Lily picked up Monopoly and walked over to Violet. When they set it down Violet immediately took off the cover box, took out the game board, and started to set it up. “You play a lot of Monopoly, don’t you?” Lily observed. Violet grunted in response. Just then, a girl with golden hair tied in a ponytail came into the room, “sorry I’m late“, she said, “I’m Sundew Bonnington.“ ”Hi Sundew, I’m Skye Reed,“ Skye said, sticking out his hand. Lily and Violet exchanged surprised glances. Skye had acted so quietly before. Sundew took Skye’s hand and shook it firmly, and smiled. “I’m Lily,” Lily interrupted, “and this is Violet.” “Hi”, Violet said cheerfully, “We were just setting up Monopoly.” “I love that game!” Sundew said excitedly. “Great!” Violet smiled. “You can set your stuff down on one of the chairs over there.” Lily waved a hand to where she put her stuff down. “Thanks,” Sundew said. Violet sat down on the floor and went back to setting up the game board. “Lily, you can be Eevee, Skye can be Pikachu, I’ll be Squirtle, and Sundew can be Bulbasaur,” She said. Then they all sat down on the floor, and they each picked up the piece Violet had given them. They put their pieces on Go and collected their starting money. Violet rolled the die and got a two. Lily got a five, Skye got a seven, and Sundew got 12. “Looks like Sundew is going first,” Violet said. Sundew rolled the die and got a six. “Horsea!” she yelled.
Sundew paid her two dollars to get Horsea. When Skye went, Lily looked at the clock. She almost jumped when she saw the time. “Guys,” she blurted, “it’s one o’clock!” Everyone froze for a moment, then they all started to pack up the Monopoly game at the same time. When they were done, Sundew grabbed the box and brought it over to the back. Everyone else rushed over to the chairs to grab their stuff. They all said a quick goodbye and hustled out of the room. From there, they split into two directions, Sundew and Violet went up the hall to science, while Lily and Skye went upstairs for writing and library. When Lily and Skye got to the second level of the school, they had to split up. “Well… um, bye.” Lily said. “Bye,” Skye replied. Then the two went on their separate paths.