Lindsey was happy that her foster mother’s injuries weren’t as serious she had imaged. Barbara was back home taking it easy. She had spent three days in the hospital. The construction truck that had caused the accident. Barbara’s lawyer was suing them. The driver had been texting while he was driving and wasn’t paying attention to what was going on around him.

The lawyer Barbara had hired, was the same lawyer that handles all the legal matter for the real estate firm. He was handling the lawsuit against the construction company and the driver. Barbara was working from home, while Lindsey was at school.

The band practice on the weekend was going well. Each of them was blending beautifully with their sound and music. She wrote a few songs for the band that they liked. Terry had gotten them their first gig at a social event that was taking place in two weeks. So, they were putting in extra hours in to practice for it.

She and Ian were practicing together during the week when she didn’t have the vocal training or swimming lessons. She would record their jam session and give him a copy. She also gets his permissions before she does anything with the recordings.

Her guitar playing was getting better. Terry and Jamie had made a few suggestions when she brought her guitar to practice one day. They had her play and corrected a few things she was doing. They suggested that if she wants to play rhythm guitar, that they should get another player that could play her synthesizer or could play rhythm guitar as well.

Lindsey suggested that she would stay on the keyboard but having a person who could bounce between the two was a good idea. Because a few songs she wrote included her saxophone as well. Her singing was improving and when she added her voice to Terry, Jamie, and Ian. They sounded extremely good.

One day while Lindsey was at band practice “Lindsey, could you stay after practice for a few minutes, please? I won’t keep you long.”

“Yes, sir.” Lindsey was curious why Mr. Simmons wanted her to stay after class.

When class ends. She puts her saxophone away and walks over to Mr. Simmons desk.

“Lindsey, the drama club is going to be putting on a show for the school and the music they want us to play. It requires a piano. I know you play the synthesizer and you play it nicely. Would you mind playing the piano for the drama club during their practices and their performances?” Mr. Simmons knew a few other students he could ask, but they didn’t have Lindsey’s talent.

Lindsey wouldn’t mind doing it, but she already had things on her plate.

“What days do they practice Mr. Simmons?”

“They practice on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday Morning for four hours.”

Tuesdays, Lindsey had vocal lessons. She had her swimming lessons on Thursday after school and band practice on Saturday afternoon and sometimes Sunday as well. On top of that, she spends two to three hours a day practicing her instruments.

“I’ll have to get the okay from my mother, but I don’t see why I can’t Mr. Simmons.”

“That’s all I can ask, Lindsey. Now, you go and catch your bus.” Mr. Simmons watches as Lindsey head towards the front of the school.

He was still waiting to hear back from his friend who he had shared Lindsey’s music with. He had listened to her playing and was impressed with it. She had blended her saxophone and synthesizer together and produces a nice easy listening melody. His friend was the director of the Columbia orchestrate.

As Lindsey walks through the door at home. She spots her mother sitting on the sofa with the coffee table covered in forms and faxes. The fax machine had been set-up on the end table, so Barbara could get to it easily while she was on the cellphone.

“Hi, mom.” Lindsey walks in and gives her mother a hug.

Barbara returns the hug “how was school today?”

“It was alright. The bullies didn’t bother me today. Oh, Mr. Simmons asked me if I wouldn’t mind playing the piano for the drama club during their practices and when they perform.”

“Do you want to and how often would you need to stay after school to play for them?” Barbara was curious about how much Lindsey would be stretching herself.

“They meet three times during the week. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday Morning for four hours. Band practice isn’t till later in the
afternoon.”

Barbara looks at Lindsey and knew she loved playing music, plus she would be meeting other students her age in the drama club. She also knew it might cut into her school work and practice time.

“I have no problem if you want to do this. However, you can’t let your school work slip either. Also, remember you have your band practice and that function coming up. Have you guys talked about how you are going to be dress for that?”

“No, ma’am. I’ll bring it up this weekend with Terry and Jamie.” Lindsey didn’t know what the boys had in mind.

“Alright, you may join the drama club and play for them. However, if you feel you're overextending yourself, please let me know.” Barbara would allow Lindsey to play for the drama club.

“Thank you, mom.” Lindsey hugs Barbara.

“You’re a welcome, sweetheart. What would you like for dinner tonight?” Barbara was about to stand up and head into the kitchen to make dinner.

“I’ll cook tonight mom.” Lindsey takes her backpack and drops it off in her bedroom.

She heads into the kitchen and starts pulling items out to make tacos for dinner. She places the frozen hamburger in a plastic bag and submerges it in cold water. She chops the lettuce, some onions, and tomatoes up. She shreds some cheese for the tacos.

As she is working in the kitchen, she plays the recordings of the music her band had played. She notices there were a few places where they could change the notes to make it sound better. She makes a mental note to try it later. As she is dancing to one of their tunes, her cellphone stops playing music and rings instead.

She picks it up and notices it was Terry’s number “Hi Terry, what’s up?”

“Hey Lindsey, remember what we talked about having another person who can play the synthesizer, so you can play rhythm guitar or your saxophone or vice versa?”

“I remember. Did you find someone?” Lindsey didn’t think they were going to do it.

“Yes, he’s a guy that Jamie knows that drops into the store occasionally. The last band he was in broke up. He’s looking for another one to join.
I asked him to come to practice on Saturday. Do you think you can come over a little earlier and see how he sounds?” Terry trusted Lindsey’s judgment. She’s been a big help to their band.

“Sure, it’s my mom’s turn to bring me and Ian. I’ll let Ian know if that’s okay?”

“It’s fine. I’ll see you on Saturday.”

“Okay, bye.” Lindsey ends the call.

She goes back to listening to music while she continues to get dinner ready. She wonders what musical the drama club was putting on that they needed a piano player. She checks the hamburger to see if it was defrosted yet. It was partially defrosted. Since the meat was the last thing she needed to cook. She heads back into the living room to ask her mother to drop her off early on Saturday.