Rebekah Abbot is a sixteen-year old writer who participated and completed the summer 2025 Writer’s Palette Writing Challenge. Her short story, “A New Day,” tells of a musician named Kylan who heads to music camp and experiences both friendships and betrayals that test his confidence.
Read Rebekah’s story below:
Some things you only do to please the people you love. Something can be worth doing, even if you don’t enjoy doing it.
Kylan knelt in the dirt, planting flower bulbs with his sister and a few cousins. He wasn’t quite sure what type of flower they were, but that’s not what mattered to him. His cousin Louise had asked him to help plant her new garden bed, and he would do anything for his family. There was a sort of satisfaction in gardening. Shifting the dirt, making things new, just subduing the earth. It was hard work though. The sun glared at him, and the insects either found him quite entertaining or quite delicious. Maybe both. His sister, Marietta, was just digging a hole for the last bulb, when Aunt Moriah stuck her head out the window to shout:
“Louise! Marietta! Come help us with dinner!”
The girls sprung up, shook the dirt from their skirts, and started off towards the house.
“Thank you for helping!” Louise called back over her shoulder, grinning. “Even you, Jack!”
Jack was Kylan’s cousin, and Louise’s little brother. He hadn’t done anything to help. Right now, he was trying to feed a pill bug to a snail, but without success. Kylan reached for the flower bulb. ‘Geranium’ or ‘Daffodil’ or whatever it may be. Just then, a familiar head looked down at him over the fence.
“Hey, Kai!” she said. “Are you busy?”
It was their neighbor Lina. She had no brothers or sisters or cousins, so she came often to the Leeway’s house.
“I’m just finishing up in Louise’s new garden bed.” He answered. “You can come join us if you like.”
As Kylan patted down the earth, and set down his trowel, Lina climbed clumsily over the fence, barely landing on her feet.
“Don’t you need to water them now?” Lina asked.
“I don’t know. Do I?”
“that’s what I would do.” She said.
Kylan walked over to the hose and carried it to the garden. Lina was just going to turn the water on, but it started raining gently.
“Never mind, Kai.” Lina said cheerily. “The sky wants to do it for us.”
Kylan didn’t know if he should laugh or feel embarrassed for her. Lina was, well, strange sometimes. The rain came down stronger now. It pooled up on the ground and filled the creek just a little higher all the time. They ran for cover, Jack trying to keep up. Kai smiled as he handed Lina a pair of rainboots. They always had extras, you never know when you’ll need them.
“Jack, do you want to play in the rain with us?” Kylan asked his cousin.
Jack shook his head slightly, before heading to the back door.
“Would you bring us umbrellas then?” He suggested. “And see if anyone else wants to come.”
nodded and went inside. They stood there awkwardly a few minutes before Lina squinted through the window into the house and said, “Jack is taking his time. What’s he doing in there?”
Kai smirked. “Want to play a game while we wait?”
She raised an eyebrow. “That depends. Is it fun?”
Kai held up his hands, palms together. “Slap game.” He said. “You miss, you lose.”
Lina grinned, immediately raising her own hands to match his. “Oh, you’re going down.”
Kai barely had time to react before Lina smacked at his hands for all she was worth—he pulled his hands back just in time, laughing.
“Too slow!” he teased.
Lina narrowed her eyes in mock determination. “Next round.”
They kept going, rain trickling down between the boards overhead. Kylan beat her round after round. Laughter rang across the yard, as well as the occasional *shmeck* when they hit each other too violently.
Finally, as Kylan aimed for her wrist, Lina moved her hands out of the way just in time.
“I beat you!” she shouted triumphantly.
Kai shook his hands out, grinning. “Fine. But that was only one round out of, like ten.”
As Lina was getting ready for another round, Jack pulled open the back door just wide enough to set two umbrellas on the ground just outside.
“Marco and Milo say they’re busy,” Jack said, “and the girls are all making dinner.”
“Okay.” Kylan said. “Thank you.”
Then Jack disappeared back into the house. Lina picked up the umbrellas and handed one to Kai. He nearly took his eye out trying to open it. Then they raced off toward the back gate, and down to the creek. They jumped in puddles, played tag, and Lina tried to go spearfishing with the point of her umbrella. Kai stood with his own umbrella over them both, waiting for her to catch something somehow. She never did. Before long, the rain slowed down, then stopped altogether. They walked back up to the house slowly, as their boots were full of water, and their soggy socks quite uncomfortable. As they were taking their boots off, Kylan’s mom stuck her head out the door to say:
“There you are Kai! Come in for dinner.” And “Oh, Hello Lina dear. You’ve got so tall since last time I saw you.”
This left Lina a bit confused, as she had seen Mrs. Leeway not a week ago. Kylan quickly took off his heavily damp socks, and went inside, saying:
“Goodbye Lina! I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Then he hurried to get washed up before sitting down at the dinner table. He was always impressed by what Aunt Moriah, Mother, Louise, and Marietta could make in that small kitchen. And all at once too! Tonight, there was rice, pork, and asparagus. Really the spices are what makes it special though. The steam came up from the rice, flowing and twisting like a swarm of cicadas. There Kai realized that he had too many insect bites to think properly, so he finished his dinner quickly and went to bed. Outside his window the fireflies danced, and Kai went to sleep thinking about what tomorrow would bring.
The moment Kai realized he was awake; he jumped out of bed to get ready for the day. When he got downstairs, the clock seemed to look at him reproachfully, saying, “there’s no need to be up this early. It’s barely light out.”. But Louise was awake too. She had her viola out, and was quietly tuning it, trying not to wake anyone. Kylan got out his mountain dulcimer and joined his cousin on the couch. Then he turned on his tuner and set to work. He tightened the low D string a bit, and the A string even more. The high D strings only needed a bit of help. Then he could start practicing.
He had been looking forward to this day for a while now. Today at the craft fair, any middle schooler who played a musical instrument was invited to perform. The ten best performers would get the chance to go to this three day music camp. He had heard that one of the teachers would be an Irishman. It was Kai’s dream to play in an Irish band! When Louise had finished tuning, they decided to bring their music outside, so as not to wake the family. Kai practiced madly at the song he had chosen to compete with. It was a song he had written, which he called “Plotting Revenge”. He was quite proud of this one. It was a square tune, sixteen count A part, and sixteen count B part, but it was in the key of E minor, which is not as common in Irish tradition.
After a while, although somewhat buried under the sound of his and Louise’s playing, he heard the unmistakable sound of a lyre-harp. It was Lina. Kai and Louise both set down their instruments in their cases and went over to the fence to talk.
“Hi Lina!” Louise shouted. “how’s the song coming along?”
“I think I’ve got it pretty well now.”
“Great!” Kai said. “Good luck at the craft fair! I’m going to keep practicing, but I’ll see you in a bit.”
As Louise and Lina talked, Kai got his dulcimer back out and kept playing. He stretched his fingers and played scales, and of course he played Plotting Revenge, until he and Louise were called in. They ate breakfast in a hurry, before getting into the van to go to the craft fair. All the way there, Louise and Marietta were talking excitedly to each other about the various things they had made to sell, or about the music competition. Milo, Marco, and Jack were discussing books and video games. Kylan remained silent. There was just way too much to think about.
He went over the song in his head. B E A E G E F# E, moving his fingers along his imaginary fretboard. Had he remembered to bring everything? He had the capo, and of course his dulcimer, but, NO! The thought crashed into his head and sank dismally into his stomach. He couldn’t remember packing his pick! There would be many guitar players there, but he couldn’t borrow one of theirs. His pick was a mountain dulcimer pick, in had come all the way from Germany! A guitar style pick just wouldn’t work. It was the wrong shape, and way too thick. Maybe there would be another dulcimer player there who would let him borrow one of theirs. No, that was silly. Almost nobody under the age of sixty played that instrument. Kai was super nervous all the way there. The moment the car stopped, he sprang out and ran to the back to get out his case. He opened it to find, up in the top compartment, a small red triangular pick. Only a dedicated musician can imagine how relieved he was.
The craft fair took place at a local park. Since the Leeway family was going to set up a booth, they needed to be there early. The music competition didn’t start for a while, so Kai still had time to practice. He checked the tuning again. It was perfect. He tightened on the capo and played his song over and over again. Across from him, his mom, dad, aunt, and uncle, set up a canopy tent, and his sister and cousins put price tags on their amigurumi, paintings, and needle-felted creatures. Kai kept going until he had played the song flawlessly six times in a row. Then he took a break. The strings had left impressions in his fingertips, and his knuckles seemed to have turned against him. He walked over to help Marietta with her crochet display. Soon, the judges from the music camp arrived to set up. The performances would start any minute. Kai and Louise got out their instruments and practiced their songs once more. Then they rushed over to the rows of seats, already filled with middle-schoolers.
There was Lina. She waved at them and shouted:
“Come here! I saved you seats!”
They climbed between two rows of chairs, carefully avoiding musicians, instruments, and sheet music. They sat down next to Lina and waited for the performances to begin. A tall man with a microphone then took the stage. He introduced himself as ‘Mr. Gilt’, and then talked for a while about the camp. Then finally, he called up the first performer.
“Miss Lenore Tailor, please come play for us.”
She played admirably. It was a song called ‘Jazmine Flower’. She had obviously practiced for a long time. She took her place again in the crowd, and another girl was called up. There were about six more performances before
“Rozalynn Joyfield” was called, and Lina began her song.
Her hands were trembling like crazy, and she hit the wrong strings a few times. The rhythm was really unsteady. She sat down again, still shaking.
Next was “Lucy Mae” then “Jake Dorian” and “Judah Stephens”. Then,
“Kylan Leeway.” Was called, and Kai began.
He forgot to be nervous. He forgot that anyone was watching. He just played. Before he knew it, he had finished his song, and everyone was cheering for him. He was so excited, he could barely sit still through Louise’s song. There were more performances, but at last the judges announced the ten winners.
“Miss Tailor, Mr. Dorian, Mr. Stephens, Miss Andretti, Miss Smith, Mr. Leeway, Mr. Chant, Miss Summerset, Miss Maybury, and Mr. Valor.”
Kai had won! But Louise and Lina wouldn’t come with him. He had lived in a house with all his cousins his whole life! It felt wrong being separated from them. He would be all alone!
The next few days were a blur. Getting clothing, sheet music, and musical equipment packed was time-consuming and boring, but Kylan got it all done. Then he was off to music camp. His whole family accompanied him there. They helped to carry his stuff around and get him checked in, but then they had to go. They said their goodbyes with some regret, but it was only for three days, and besides, he wasn’t too far from home. If anything happened his family could be there in two and a half hours.
The camp took place in a big, old church building. There were plenty of little empty classrooms, now full of collapsible beds, for students to stay in. Kai was assigned to room number 12 with two other boys, and he was headed there now. He turned a corner, looking at the map on his handout. He looked up. Room number 26? He looked at his map again. That was nowhere near where he thought he was going. He turned around and headed off the other way. Just when he decided he was lost, he bumped into another boy. He seemed as bewildered as Kai was.
“So sorry.” Kai said. “I didn’t look where I was going.”
“No worries.” The other boy said. “I wasn’t either. In fact, I don’t know where I’m going at all.”
Upon inquiry, Kai found that the boy was headed to room 12 as well. They walked together, probably in the right direction, and talked. The boy’s name was Braden Valor, and he played the penny whistle. He told stories of giant wolves and ocelot-griffins, which Kai thought were crazy.
“Then when we got back and told our parents,” Braden said, “they didn’t believe us, so they went to see. They never found anything but giant paw prints. They were freaked out though, so we moved away.”
“Do you miss your old home?” Kai asked.
“Not too badly. If you had seen that wolf you wouldn’t want to stay”
They then arrived at their room. There was a bit of paper stuck on the door which read:
“Kylan Leeway, Blade Sterling, Braden Valor”
They went in and set down their stuff. ‘Blade Sterling’ seemed to have already been there and left, as one of the beds was piled with bags and cases. Braden checked his watch. Orientation would be starting soon, so they left to find the main room. It took them a while, and they arrived to find that it had already started.
“Session times as well as room locations are clearly marked on your handout, but if anyone needs help finding anything, just ask someone with a red name tag.” The man was saying.
Braden and Kai quietly took seats at the back of the hall.
“Tonight,” the man went on, “there will be a contra dance held in room 3. I want all of you there. Dancing makes you a better musician. It helps most of all with rhythm. It is also a good way to meet new people.”
Braden looked excited. Kai felt kind of nervous though. He had never been to a contra dance before.
“At the dance there will be an opportunity for anyone to perform. Please write your name on the sign-up sheet on the table at the entrance if you wish to participate. Until then, you have two hours for dinner, and getting ready for the dance, or practicing. The first real session is tomorrow morning. Dismissed.”
“Are you going to play at the dance?” Braden asked as they got up to leave.
“I don’t know.” Kai answered. “I don’t play right with all those people listening.”
“Really? I thought you did great at the craft fair.”
Kai had forgotten that Braden had played at the craft fair too.
“You wrote that song you played, right?” Braden asked.
“Yeah.”
“It was really good! You should sign up to play that.”
After a bit, Kai agreed. He wrote down his name on the sheet. Then they got in line for dinner. They both ate quickly and went to their room to practice. Braden didn’t sign up, so he just sat there, or helped however he could. Then Blade came in. Kai set down his dulcimer on the bed, and stood to introduce himself.
“Hello!” he said. “I’m Kai, and this is Braden.”
Blade had a pathetically fish-like handshake.
“Is that so.” It was a statement, not a question. “I am Blade Sterling. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
Blade messed around in his bags, and Kai kept playing.
“That’s a nice song,” Blade said, “what’s it called?”
“It’s ‘Plotting Revenge’.” Braden answered. “Did you know he wrote it himself?”
Kai felt awkward, but Blade seemed uninterested. Braden wondered how snobbish this boy could act. Blade stuck around for a while, staring at his phone, doing things that didn’t seem to need doing, but then he left.
according to Braden’s watch, it was time to get ready for the dance. Kai changed into the nicest clothes he brought, and they went to find room 3.
The room was big, with a high ceiling. Light came pouring in through the colored glass at the top of the set. There were so many people! Folding chairs lined the room. Kai and Braden sat down, but Braden was soon up again when he saw his old friend across the room.
“I’ll be right back!” he said. Then he dashed away through the crowd.
Kai just saw a glimpse of Braden talking to a girl, but someone stepped in the way.
“Hands four from the top!” someone shouted.
The people magically formed sets, Braden and his friend among them. Kai got up and asked a girl to dance. She stood up shyly, and they walked to the end of the line. They talked as more couples lined up behind them. She introduced herself as ‘Marina Smith’. Kai enjoyed talking to her.
“Long lines forward and back!” the caller said.
The lines shuffled awkwardly.
“Now swing your partner!” —
There was much more walk-through, but then the music began.
The dance was easier than Kai expected. It fit the music perfectly. The beat kept getting faster, and the tension grew. He accidentally stepped on Marina’s shoe, but she only smiled. She wasn’t even hurt, but Kai apologized way too many times. With one final flourishing twirl, the dance ended. He thanked his partner and went to sit down. Then the caller announced:
“Blade Sterling will now perform for us! Mr. Sterling, if you would take the stage.”
Blade picked up his fiddle, checked that it was in tune, and stepped onto the stage. He set down his phone on the music stand.
“This is a song I wrote,” he said, “I call it ‘The Iron Mine’.”
Then he began. Kai was confused at first. Blade hadn’t written that tune. He was playing Plotting Revenge! Then he remembered how he had sat there on his phone, supposedly doing nothing while Kai had practiced. He must have been writing it down! You can’t just give a tune a new title and call it your own. Kai got up to find one of the staff members, but the song ended, and the caller said:
“Our next performer is Kylan Leeway!”
No! Blade had just played the song he had planned to perform. He couldn’t play it again. He trembled like a dying calf as he walked up there. Braden and his friend looked scared, but that girl Marina was cheering him on. He set the dulcimer on his lap but left the pick. It was time to try something new. He took a deep breath and started playing. He didn’t know what, just whatever notes sounded nice. He realized he was playing in ¾ timing and tried to keep it that way. Braden was waltzing with his friend now. A few more joined them. F chord, C chord, Dm chord, A chord, whatever he was playing sounded pretty well. He ended the song on a D minor chord, and stood up.
“This was a song I just wrote, and I call it… um… ‘The Traveler’s Woe’.” He announced.
Then he shot off to find a staff member. He had to get this mess sorted out. Red name tag? There!
“Excuse me sir!” Kai panted. “I need your help!”
The man turned to look at Kai.
“What do you mean? Right now?” He asked
“Yes sir.” Kai said. “You see, that boy Blade—”
“But the next dance is about to start. Do you have a partner yet?”
“No, sir, but—”
“Hey, you!” the man shouted at a girl seated a few yards away. “Come here!”
She came, not sure if she was in trouble or not.
“This boy needs a partner.” He said. “Introduce yourselves please.”
They shook hands awkwardly. This guy could be a bit humiliating.
“I’m Kylan.” Kai said.
“It’s nice to meet you Kylan. My name is Lucy.”
Kai forced a smile and led her to the end of the set. He tried to act like nothing was wrong, but now he had to wait until the end of the dance to speak to the authorities. What was up with that guy? He was extraordinarily skilled at cutting you off mid-sentence. Was he oblivious, trying to hide something, or just rude? Dancing was harder with your mind elsewhere. It was easier once the music started, but Lucy kept having to remind him what to do next. After a bit, he decided to deal with Blade’s theft later, and pushed it from his mind. Kai lost his balance, falling into the girl behind him. Lucy helped him up, gently pushing him to where he needed to be.
“California twirl.” She whispered.
Kai took her hand, spinning her around to face the other way.
“New neighbors, circle left!” the caller shouted.
They joined hands in a circle. It was Braden and his friend!
“Kai!” Braden said. “This is my friend Misty.”
Kai had heard much about Misty from Braden’s story. He should have guessed that this was her. They talked a little while they were dancing, but they were soon moving on to new neighbors.
When they were out at the top of the set, Kai told Lucy about Blade’s song, and the man who wouldn’t listen to him.
“You should find someone else to report to next time.” She replied. “That guy doesn’t sound very helpful.”
Then they were dragged back into the dance. It ended, however, just after they began again. Kai thanked Lucy for dancing. She grinned, and curtsied, saying
“I’ll help you find someone if you like.”
As the next performer started playing, Kai and Lucy looked around for a red name tag. Braden and Misty spotted them and came to talk. After a brief introduction and explanation, they decided to help too. The four spread out, collected again, and searched everywhere, but with no luck. Then Misty found it! A man with a red name tag! Kai turned to see where she was pointing, but no! it was that same man from earlier. He appeared to be the only staff member here, so they went to talk to him.
“Excuse me sir,” Kai started, but was cut off.
“Oh, hello there! It’s you again!” he said. “What a lovely young musician that girl is.” He gestured toward the stage.
“Yes, fine.” Kai said. “We wanted to report—”
His train of thought slowed and was lost when he saw the man’s name. Mr. Sterling. No wonder he wouldn’t listen! The music thief was his son!
“It’s just,” Kai went on, “that boy Blade, he stole my composition.”
“What?” Mr. Sterling replied. “Blade Sterling? My son? No. you must be mistaken.”
“No, sir. It’s a tune I wrote last summer, only I call it ‘Plotting Revenge’.”
“Well. I must confess I begin to doubt your veracity. I will speak with those in charge, however, and you can expect to hear from us soon. Meanwhile, go dance. Enjoy yourself.”
With that, he walked off into the crowd. Kai wondered if they would sort this all out tonight. He supposed he would take Mr. Sterling’s advice though, so he sought a new partner.
Braden had probably decided it would be considered “Flirtastic” to dance with Misty again. Kai saw him toward the bottom of the set with a girl he hadn’t met yet. Misty stood by herself, not far off, so Kai asked her to dance.
Kai’s shoes squeaked across the floor, more from stress than rhythm. The contra dance buzzed around him—fiddles bright, feet tapping in unison—but his head was still somewhere else.
Across from him, Misty smiled, one eyebrow raised playfully. “Don’t think so hard,” she teased. “It’s not quantum physics.”
But it felt like it. His hands were clumsy, his timing weak. It wasn’t just that he was new to contra—it was Blade.
‘Every note. My notes.’ He thought. Then his second thoughts said: ‘wait a minute, am I jealous?’ His first thoughts assured him that was not the case. The second thoughts were not so easily subdued. A fight ensued. Why did he need this cleared up? Pride? Honor? Disdain for Blade? None of those seemed like good reasons.
“Partner swing!” the caller shouted.
Kai spun Misty, nearly tripping. She steadied him with a laugh and a firm grip. “Okay, now it’s quantum physics,” she joked. There was a pause, but then she added: “Something’s bothering you. Want to talk about it?”
“It’s stupid,” Kai muttered. “This guy, Blade—he stole my song. I never wrote it down, but he heard me. He… replicated it. Performed it like it was his.”
Misty’s expression shifted—still kind, but serious. “That’s not stupid. That’s brutal.”
They danced through the next sequence in near-silence, Kai’s thoughts louder than the fiddle. He watched Blade across the room, laughing with others, utterly confident.
“You’re still the composer,” Misty said softly, breaking the quiet. “That melody lived in you first. You didn’t lose it.”
Kai nodded slowly. “I’ll play it again. Not just yet though. Different next time. Better.”
“Good,” Misty said. “Make him the echo.”
They turned, stepped, and fell back into the rhythm.
The tune ended. There was much, much more dancing that night. Kai made friends, had fun, and went to bed exhausted.
The next morning, Kai and Blade were called to a meeting with the staff. Kai rubbed his eyes sleepily, but when he remembered why they called, he came wide awake. Today is a day to make things right.
The meeting didn’t go very well. He was told that there wasn’t enough evidence, so they had to believe Blade. The staff were polite, but firm. Like death. Kai was dejected. This was not how he imagined the meeting would go.
He met his friends in line for breakfast. Misty, with her bright smile and kind remarks, and Braden, with his many questions.
“What did they say?” Braden wanted to know. “Did they send him home?”
“No.” Kai answered. “They think Blade wrote the tune. I suppose it doesn’t matter. Not really.”
“Why do you play music?” Misty asked.
“Well,” Kai started, “I guess it’s, … well it’s like… I’ve been given a gift, a talent. Playing music is how I can give something back.”
“So, you don’t play for attention or fame. Good. You’re right then. It doesn’t matter.” Misty said.
Next, after breakfast, there were classes. Kai took lessons on chord progression, songwriting, the best modes of practice, and there was a jam session at the end of the day.
Kai was quite tired at dinner. He was barely awake enough to listen to Lucy’s chattering. She reminded him of Lina in a way. He missed Lina and his family even more now. Kai set down his fork and stood up.
“I’m going to go on a walk around the building before bed. Anyone want to join me?”
Braden, Misty, and Lucy wanted to come too. They threw away their paper plates, and headed toward the main doors. Braden held the door open for the ladies, but jokingly released it when Kai came close. Kai pushed it open again. Outside it was sunny. Oppressively sunny. And a bit moist. They set off along the paths.
“I wish Louise and Lina could have come.” Kai said. “It feels so strange not having them with me.”
“Kai,” Lucy said, “you don’t seem like… well, like you’re okay.”
“don’t I?”
“What’s the matter Kai?” she persisted. “You don’t seem like you care about music as much anymore.”
“It seems unfair that I could come, and they couldn’t.” He said.
“You worked hard for this!” Misty said. “At least try to enjoy it.”
“well, yeah, but—”
“Kai. I’m going to tell you something important. You can trust in yourself, follow your heart and so forth. You can. But if you do, you will be beaten by those who worked hard and weren’t so lazy.”
Kai smiled. “You’re right.” He said. “I will work hard. I will keep practicing, playing, writing music. Blade and I play the same tunes all the time. The only difference with my song is that I put in more work. I will beat him. The world will be undeceived someday.”
“Well said!” Braden cheered. “But we should get to bed now. We have two classes in the morning, then we leave for home!”
Yes. Tomorrow he would go home to his parents, sister, cousins, aunt, and uncle. And Lina.
Kai got ready slowly, crawled into his little bed for the last time, and went to sleep.
He awoke the next morning when Blade slammed his big blue suitcase down on Kai’s bed. And all his toes.
“Oh, sorry.” Blade said in an ‘I don’t really care’ tone of voice.
“It’s fine.” Kai said. “Probably.”
He checked to see if any of his toes were broken. They weren’t. He got up and stretched his back. A new day. A day full of music, driving, packing, and unpacking. Oh, and breakfast. Definitely breakfast. After getting dressed, Kai packed all of his belongings (except musical equipment) into his bag. Then he brushed his teeth and went to breakfast.
The line was long, but the food looked good. Waffles. Kai went to find somewhere to sit but was overtaken by Marina.
“you’re welcome to sit with us.” She said. “Braden and Misty are there.”
Kai followed her to a table in a corner of the room, where he was greeted by his friends. They chatted as they ate, and altogether Kai was more joyful than he had been for the past few days. They ate their waffles at the pace of conversation. Then they went to class.
They walked in and took seats at the back of the room. Kai adjusted the strap of his dulcimer and eyed the classroom warily. The assignment was simple: get into groups of five and compose a tune. The class was a jumble of kids with different musical ideas. Kai hated picking teams.
Braden, already with his whistle out, waved him over. “Misty’s grabbing percussion,” he said. “We’ve got two other kids joining us—some guitar kid named Brace, and that synth girl, Triss.”
Misty slid into place beside them, a tambourine in one hand and a snare stick in the other. “Apparently Triss is into glitchcore,” she whispered. “This could get weird.”
Kai didn’t mind weird. What he did mind was how Brace immediately whipped out his phone and started scrolling through presets. “I’ve got some loops saved,” Brace said without looking up. “We could base the whole thing around this one.”
Braden made a face. “Shouldn’t we, you know… write something together?”
Triss grinned. “Loop-boy can chill. I want fresh material. What’s Kai got?”
Kai blinked. “Um. Dulcimer,” he said, suddenly self-conscious.
Her grin widened. “Sweet. Lay down something moody. I’ll sample it.”
Kai set up, striking a gentle drone. Misty added crisp taps with her snare. Brace layered mellow chords underneath. Slowly, the group started finding its voice—a strange fusion of folk and synth, grounded by Kai’s melody and lit up by Triss’s ethereal edits.
Braden joined in, adding a harmony that mirrored Kai’s lines like a shadow.
It wasn’t perfect. They clashed over tempo. Braden muttered about tonal consistency. But when it clicked—it clicked. The melody felt like rain hitting glass, soft and rhythmic, with bursts of brightness like sunlight slipping through cracks.
At the end of class, the instructor clapped. “Well, team five,” she said, “I wasn’t expecting that. Who knew dulcimer and glitchcore could fall in love?”
Kai glanced at his band mates. Braden and Misty beamed.
The next class was a lyricist challenge.
Kai walked into the sunlit classroom, where whiteboards were covered in snippets like “rhymes with grief?” and “metaphor check: too dramatic?”. Today’s challenge: write original lyrics with two new collaborators. The instructor clapped her hands. “Three to a group. Surprise pairings. Choose a prompt from the bowl.”
Kai ended up with Owen, a quiet guitarist with sharp eyes and a notebook full of crossed-out lines, and Jael, who spoke in rhythm even when she wasn’t trying. She grinned as they sat down. “Let’s make something weird.”
Owen pulled their prompt: “A moment that changed you.”
Kai tapped his pencil nervously. He’d never written lyrics before. But Jael dove in. “We need an anchor image. Like—what did it feel like?”
“Like… I was drowning,” Kai said before thinking. “But in sound. The good kind.”
Jael’s eyes lit up. “Okay. I can work with that.”
Owen added softly, “Maybe the tune’s what pulled you up?”
The three began to sketch out verses—Kai’s moment at the dance, raw and unsteady, where his music became a voice he didn’t know he had. Jael threw in a line about “notes like lifelines,” and Owen strummed a simple minor progression underneath the words.
By the end of class, they had a rough chorus. It was flawed. A little dramatic. But it felt honest.
As the bell rang, Jael snapped a photo of the lyrics on the board. “We should finish this. Record it or something.”
Kai nodded, surprised by how much he wanted to. Working with strangers hadn’t diluted his voice—it sharpened it.
He went to grab his luggage from the room. He realized he would miss the friends he made here when he left. He headed out to the main entrance. Misty and Braden were there.
“Promise you’ll write?” Braden asked, handing Kai a paper with both their addresses on it.
“Of course!” Kai said.
“Mr. Valor is here to pick us both up,” Misty said, “because we’re going straight to our siblings’ engagement party. We’ll see you later!”
“Goodbye.” Kai said. “I’ll see you both later.”
Braden smiled. Misty Beamed. They waved and said their goodbyes many times before getting into Mr. Valor’s car and driving away.
Mr. Leeway wasn’t here yet, so Kai took time to find his friends and add their addresses to the list. Lucy, Marina, Brace, Owen, Triss, Jael, basically everyone he had talked to. Except Blade. That kid was trouble.
Kai stood by the door waiting. Mrs. Leeway came in.
“Kai! I’ve missed you so much! How are you? Did you get enough to eat? Did you sleep well? I hope you made friends. Kai, did you make any friends? Come on out to the car. Everyone’s waiting. You can tell us all about it on the way home.”
Kai smiled. He told her about all his new friends, his new music, everything she asked about as they walked to the car. The van door flew open, and his family flooded out to greet him. Everyone had come! Mom, Dad, Aunt, Uncle, Cousins, and Marietta. And Lina.
“Hi Kai!” and “Kai! We missed you!” came from everywhere at once. His cousins Marco and Milo were telling him about their board game they just got. Kai could barely hear them though, because Louise and Marietta were talking excitedly to him too. Jack just clung to his leg.
“Kai. You’ve got to see what Louise and I have been working on in the creek! You’re going to love it!”
“Hey, I helped too.” Milo said.
Kai grinned. “I can’t wait to see it.”
Lina pushed him into the van, everyone else not far behind, and they drove off. It was time to go home.
We go away so we can come back again. We see the place we came from in a new way. The people there see us differently too. When today is gone, what have you gained? Will you know new things, have more friends, or simply have more good memories to look over?
The End
