Hannah glanced around the room. Kevin was peering over Mo's desk and they were excitedly muttering about something.
She had never minded having her best friends be boys. They would be there if everyone else scorned her, and that was what she really wanted.
Nobody was even looking at the screen, where WorldSnap was interviewing an Inuit boy from Canada. The only one facing it was Eric, and he was arguing with Simon and Dana over something.
The supervisor, Mr. Wales, made no move to get the kids' attention. Hannah tapped Mo on the shoulder. "I'm going to go."
"Where?" Kevin asked, wide-eyed.
"Down to the band room. To practice that stupid piece."
"I'll come with you. I'm writing my own piece and I need to test it out," Mo excitedly said.
Kevin was still dubious. "You guys, you're going to get caught."
"By who?" Mo teased. "Our ex-best friend who squealed? Nobody's going to notice we're gone."
"All right, go ahead. But don't say I didn't warn you!"
"You're not coming?" Hannah gasped.
"No."
The friends saw it would be no use trying to change his mind, so they checked the hallways for teachers. None. Carefully, they tiptoed downstairs.
Mo scouted ahead. "Looks empty. Grab the oboe."
Hannah grabbed the oboe. Mo grabbed his saxophone. As they entered the band room, they were shocked to find Gabrielle Dew inside. "What are you doing here?" Hannah asked.
"I could ask you the same thing."
"We came to practice Persevere because it looks impossibly hard," Mo stated clearly.
"Ditto. I won't tell on you if you don't tell on me."
"Deal." Hannah breathed a sigh of relief.
The trio tried to practice, but with each at different sections only cacophony resulted. "Let's do it together," Mo suggested.
So they played together, from the top. They weren't great, but Gabrielle thought if they did it consistently they would improve.
And in the Aurora Middle School band room that day, putting their right hands over Ms. Larson's music stand, the three students made a pact to persevere at improving their music.