A Note Of Magic
Lilly wet her lips quickly, then rested them on the mouthpiece of her clarinet and waited. The reed pressed against her tongue, its rough texture and wooden taste familiar and comforting as she readied herself.
All around, the other members of the McClain High School Performance Band—more an orchestra than a band, really—had their gazes locked on a slender woman in a white and yellow sun dress that set off her greying hair, who stood at the center of the semicircle of musicians.
Mrs. Quigley smiled and raised the baton that she carried loosely in her right hand. Then, with a negligible flick of the baton, the band commenced.
It usually did not take very long for Lilly to become caught up in the pleasure of performance, all else forgotten but the notes on the sheet mus
