My Ukulele

I knew I was going to win. My mom said I would, and I believed in her.

I sat there, waiting for my mom to arrive with her daughter, Finley. My older brother Gavin won’t be there, since he had to go somewhere. My dad can’t be there either, since he’s on a business trip, like he always was.

Even though I knew I was going to win, I felt frightened. There was a group of girls a grade above me that could sing really well. I heard them practice, since one of them lives on the other side of the street from me.

I was good at being patient. I held my ukulele tight, like it was something I did not want to lose. The ukulele used to belong to my aunt, who gave it to me when I was eight, on my birthday. That was almost four years ago, since I was turning twelve next Tuesday.

It was pretty worn out. You could see some dents at the bottom, and I’m pretty sure one or two of the strings are untuned. Again.

I tried to tune it back, but it was hard work. I didn’t know how to tune it back, so I just tried my best.

Even if my ukulele was terribly untuned, I knew I was going to win, and I was going to make my mother proud.

About half an hour later, a first-grader came up, holding a brown teddy bear. I used to have a brown teddy bear like that one until I gave it to Finley when I turned nine. I thought I was too old, but to be honest, I really miss having fluff beside me every time I slept. It gave me a sense of security. That bear was always protecting me from the monsters hiding under my bed.

The little girl started dancing and spinning, holding the teddy bear’s two arms with her hands as she spun. Her golden pigtails flew in the air as she spins around and around and around.

Surprisingly, this dance set the whole audience into shouting, cheering, and clapping. The girl bowed three times and threw the bear into the air. Before she skipped into the backstage, she caught the bear and made a final bow to the audience.

I knew I was going to be better than her.

For the billionth time that day, I tuned my ukulele. I tried playing my song, and it sounded perfect. The notes took me into my world, where it was calm, quiet, and peaceful. As I watched the sunset, someone pulled me right out.

“If you want to win, you better not disrupt us and our singing!”

It was Madelyn, one of the girls who sang.

“You and your piece of trash!” She said as she walked off.

This 80-dollar ukulele must not be a piece of trash. But it was. The wood on it was getting more stains.

But it would still make Mom proud, no matter what I’m using as a ukulele. It might be trash, it might be my worn-out ukulele.

It was around 6:00 now. Gavin would have been wherever he was for half an hour now. I hope he’s having fun. The group was about to finish singing.

When Madelyn finished, she saw me and came over with her friends tagging along.

“You and your cronies.”

“EXCUSE ME! What did you say?”

“I said, ‘You and your cronies.’”

Mrs. Yorkshire Terrier called me for the second time.

“Ahem… It’s your turn.”

I never thought those three words would haunt me someday. But it did, and it was pretty terrifying.

I brought my stool in one hand, and my ukulele in the other. I sat on it and looked at the audience.

The whole school was there, in front of me, looking at me.

I looked down at what I was holding.

I knew I was supposed to play C Major, but something won’t let me.

A thousand pair of eyes were on me. I knew I had to do something quick, or Mrs. Yorkshire Terrier would kick me out.

I put my finger between the bars and managed to make my first note. I smiled and kept playing.

After I was done, I got a lot of cheers and claps. But I knew there was something wrong.

“That garbage actually makes a sound!?”

All the girls giggled, and I forever hate that noise girls make.

I walked down the halls and was greeted by rain. I knew rain could ruin my ukulele, so I tried to cover it with my jacket.

I ran to the parking lot. Gavin and my dad should be here soon. They used a John Deere lawn mower since Grandpa was borrowing our car for the night.

Those lawn mowers are slow, so I could be standing in the rain for a long time.

I went inside and sat in the office. Ms. Beverley saw me.

“How can I help you, Hannah?” She put on her glasses and smiled at me.

“My brother isn’t here, and I’m not sure where my mom and my little sister went.”

“You can stay here and wait for them.”

I sat down and pulled out my ukulele.

“Would you mind me playing?”

“It’s no problem, Hannah. You can play as long as you want.”

This time, it actually felt like paradise. In the talent show, it didn’t feel like paradise at all. I felt nervous, and I had butterflies in my stomach.

“Oh, that reminded me of the time I played violin. I’m sad I gave up.”

”How come?”

“I felt horrible when I played it. I was constantly being yelled at.”

“I could learn how to play the violin. I could play it for you.”

“That’s so nice of you, but nowadays mobile phones exist and I could play a song whenever I like.”

“Oh,” I said.

A few minutes later, I could see Finley prancing around with my teddy bear. Then Mom holding an empty plastic bag. Then, my brother Gavin, feeling embarrassed about that lawn mower.

I said goodbye to Ms. Beverley and closed the door behind me.

“Oh, Hannah! My dear!”

“I’m here.”

“Finley and I are so sorry for not coming to your talent show, honey. We forgot we had some library books that were due today, and we practically had to turn the whole house upside down to look for them,” Mom said.

“I understand. But did I still make you proud, even though a five-year-old with a teddy bear won the talent show?”

“Of course I would be, Hannah. There’s never a moment where I’m not proud of you.”

It felt good to be with my family again.