The teacher, Mrs. Hitchcock, entered the room. She had graying hair, but didn't really look much older than maybe 40 years old. Chris watched as everyone around him brought their instruments up to their mouths.
"Chris, get your instrument out," Jennifer whispered, diverting his attention.
"Huh?" he said, then took out his french horn and lifted it up. He didn't think that he'd have to actually play it, although that seemed like a dumb assumption to have. Immediately, he had the image of an old Far Side comic in his mind: an elephant sitting at a piano thinking to himself What am I doing here? I can't play this thing! I'm a flutist, for crying-out-loud! Except in this case, Chris had no musical talent at all. The only thing he was really good at was football. But given his current physical condition, it seemed unlikely that he would be playing anytime soon.
Everyone in the room, except for Chris, began to play their instruments. Then shortly after, they all stopped.
"Is there a problem, Mr. Morgan?" the teacher asked, looking directly at him.
The other band students turned around and looked at him. Some looked curious, others looked worried. Was the teacher really that much of a witch?
"Uh, no. I ... uh ..." Chris wasn't sure what to say.
"Then I suggest that you keep up with the rest of the band. There are no slackers here." She raised her hands in the air, signaling the band to begin playing again. Everyone, including Chris this time, raised their instruments. He looked at the sheet of written music in front of him and began to play.
He was actually playing.
He didn't know how it was possible, but he could actually understand the sheet music. Or rather, his hands did. It was weird, but it almost seemed as though his hands were moving without his direction. (What Chris didn't know was that this same exact thing happened to Melissa Smith, only with hacking instead of playing an instrument.)
Chris was amazed at how well he played the instrument. It certainly wasn't his thing, football was definitely more fun, but he could understand the fascination of it. More so than he could before.
But he would still rather play football.
