A Guitarist's Tale

Chapter 1

                "Alexis, sweetheart, time  to get up!" Alexis groaned, rolling off the bed and landing with a thud. "Oof." She stood up, stumbling over and pulling a neon yellow shirt out of her wardrobe. She grabbed some jeans and set the clothes on her bed, waiting a moment to fully wake up. Mondays, she thought to herself.

Alexis removed her pajamas and pulled her shirt over her head. She struggled with it for a moment, trying to catch some air once she successfully put it on. Sighing, she yanked her deep blue jeans on. She trudged down the steps that led to the kitchen. "Mornin' Mom, Dad." Her father looked up from his morning newspaper with a smile. "Good morning, Lexi." Elizabeth, her mother, glanced up from the pancakes she was cooking. "Hey, honey. Pancakes?" 

"Yes please!" Alexis grinned and reached for the maple syrup across the table, pouring some of the sticky sweetness on the pancakes set in front of her. She wolfed the food down and washed her face. Racing to the living room, she picked up her bright blue backpack and threw it over her shoulder. "BYE! I LOVE YOU," she yelled over her shoulder. Before she knew it, she was standing at the corner of the sidewalk, waiting for her bus to arrive.

When it did, she carefully walked up the steps, saying good morning to her driver, Mr. Walker. Walking down the aisle, she realized most of the seats in the back were taken up. She stepped back, sliding into a seat in the middle. The vehicle came to a halt once again, picking up a raven-haired student about Alexis's height. She walked down the aisle, stopping at her seat. "Can I sit here?" She nodded, scooting over to make room for her.

 "You must be new! I'm Alexis. I go by Lexi, sometimes." 

"Charlotte. Charlotte Hamilton. But you can call me Charlie!" 

"Cool. Who's your teacher? I have Mrs. Harley!" Charlie smiled. "Me too! So, what's your favorite thing to do?" Alexis thought for a moment. "I like to sing and dance! What about you?" Charlie said she liked to read. Alexis nodded. "Cool!"

They sat and chatted like old friends and before they knew it, people were lining up to get off the bus. "C'mon, don't wanna be late!" Charlie grabbed Alexis's hand, pulling her towards their shared classroom. She chose a table with two seats in the furthest corner from the teacher's desk. They sat down and whispered to one another until Mrs. Harley came in. "Alright, class. Settle down!" When the rowdy students stopped talking, she continued. "Today we have a new student! Charlotte, come introduce yourself." Charlie ran up to the front of the class and stared at the other kids. "My name is Charlotte, but call me Charlie. I'm ten years old and I like to read." She came back to her seat. "Thank you, Charlie. Now, class, where did we leave off yesterday? Oh yes. Photosynthesis is a process in which-" 

Alexis leaned over to Charlie and whispered, "You were so brave! I wish I could be like that." She simply smiled and resumed taking notes. Alexis focused back on the teacher, taking down notes as told. "Write this down: Glucose and oxygen are made from carbon dioxide." 

They moved on to history. "I want you to work on a project! You have to pick a partner and create a poster about Paul Revere. You have four days." The friends at the back table gave each other 'the look.' Eventually things went on to language arts and math. When they got to math, Charlie sighed, frustrated. "I suck at this," she said. 

Alexis glanced at her worksheet. "Do you want help?" Charlie brightened. "Yes, please!" She moved her paper to where they both could see it. Alexis went over the steps with her. "Then you divide, like this. And add the two answers." She set her pencil down, satisfied with her work. Charlie studied the first problem. "Thanks!" She picked up her own pencil and started solving it. Alexis put her paper in the work basket. She turned around and skipped happily back to her table. Laying her head down on her desk, she waited silently for her favorite subject to be gone over. Music class! She didn't know how to play an instrument yet, but her dad played the same song every night on his guitar. Music was only once a week, on Wednesdays. 

Finally, the last student turned their worksheet in. Mrs. Harley lined up the students alphabetically and they marched down to the music room. The music teacher, Mr. Smith, let us in and welcomed us one at a time. When he got to Charlie, he smiled. "Ah, you must be new! Do you play anything?" She nodded. "Piano and electric keyboard! I could probably learn something new, though." Mr. Smith nodded. "Take a seat!" She immediately sat by Alexis. She smiled at her, poking her leg roughly. Alexis shook her head.

"Quiet, now, let's work on our dynamics, hm?" They all pulled out an instrument, and softly began to play a gentle tune.

Some hours later, Alexis returned home to her mother and father. "Mom, dad, I'm home, and I have so much to tell you!" But she didn't get the chance to say anything, because Elizabeth walked towards her with puffy eyes, like she'd been crying. "Daddy has something to tell you, sweetie." She led the way to the living room room, where Michael sat on the couch, hands clasped together and head down. Alexis sat down and waited for him to say something. She fiddled with her fingers. At long last, he spoke a sentence that horrified her.

"I lost my job, and I have cancer."