As soon as Tyler and Brian walked into music class on Monday, they ambushed Matt.
"So, I hear you're a real opera fan." Brian grinned. "Did your car windows shatter while you were listening on Saturday?"
"Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ACK!" Tyler sang, sliding up the scale until he ended in a high-pitched squeak.
"I'm glad I left the car before the shrieking—I mean singing—started." singing
Matt put his books under his chair and sat down. "Nobody broke any glass, you guys. That only happens in cartoons."
"Well, how long did that opera last anyway?" Brian said. "They usually go on for hours and hours, right?"
"Days and nights!" Tyler chimed in.
"It didn't last that long." Matt tried to peer around them to see what the teacher, Mrs. Menendez, had written on the board.
"How can you even understand what's happening when it's all in a foreign language?" Tyler said.
Matt sighed heavily. "You two are awfully curious about opera for people who can't stand it."
"Oh, we're just trying to keep up with your latest activity," Brian said in a mockingly cheerful voice. "We want—"
"Time for class!" Mrs. Menendez clapped her hands.
Brian took his seat next to Matt while Tyler sat behind them.
"Before we return to our discussion of Baroque music, I'd like to make a plea for your help," Mrs. Menendez said.
"I desperately need more people to join the school chorus, especially boys."
"No way," Tyler muttered.
Mrs. Menendez went on. "I don't know what any of you sound like because we don't sing in this class.
But I'm sure there's some real talent lurking out there, just waiting to be discovered."
Brian elbowed Matt. "Sounds like something you should try, Opera Fan."
"No way! I'm not doing that!" Matt said. that
Tyler and Brian snickered loudly, and the teacher looked in their direction. "Is there a problem, boys?"
"No, Mrs. Menendez," Matt said.
"We thought Matt was volunteering for chorus," Brian said as Matt glared at him.
"Well, you should all consider trying out." Mrs. Menendez smiled hopefully at the boys.
Matt ducked his head and stared at his hands. He liked to sing, but he wasn't going to give his friends any more ammunition in their war on opera.
He also liked Mrs. Menendez's class.
He especially enjoyed it when she played recordings to illustrate her points about composers. Today she was talking about Handel.
"You might know him from Messiah, his famous choral piece that's often performed at Christmas," Mrs. Menendez said. Messiah
"But Handel composed other kinds of music, too, including many operas."
At the word "operas," Tyler leaned forward and tapped Matt on the head with his pencil.
"Ow!" Matt rubbed his head. This was going to be a long class.
When music finally ended, Matt braced himself for another round of teasing from his friends.
But Tyler was too busy searching through his books and notebooks to say anything. "I know it's here somewhere," he mumbled as he opened his social studies book and shook it.
"What did you lose?" Matt asked.
"My social studies homework. It's not here, so I must have left it at home."
"Well, you're in trouble now," Brian said. "You know homework counts as part of our grade."
"Yeah, thanks, I'm aware of that."
"Maybe you could call home and have someone send it by drone," Matt said as they left the music room.
"It'll take us a few minutes to walk to class."
"Great idea!" Brian laughed, but Tyler was not amused.
"Hey, look!" Matt grabbed Brian's arm. "Isn't that Becky walking with Jameson?
She keeps looking over here like she wants to make sure you see she has a new boyfriend."
Brian pretended to be very interested in getting a drink from the water fountain. "What's she doing now?" he whispered.
"Whoa! She's kissing him right here in the hall!" Matt exclaimed.
"What?" Brian stood up so quickly that he lost his grip on his books. They tumbled to the floor.
This time it was Tyler's turn to laugh.
"Gotcha!" Matt said as Brian frantically scanned the crowded hallway for his Becky. "You deserved that for volunteering me for chorus."
Matt was glad to be the one doing the teasing instead of getting grief from his friends.
For the rest of the day he laughed every time Tyler made kissing noises at Brian, or Brian waved his hand like a drone circling for a landing.
After school Matt had to see his science teacher to make up a test.
When he finished, he still had fifteen minutes before the late bus arrived to take him home.
It was raining pretty hard, so he decided to wait inside the school.
He was feeling happy because the science test had been easy. So, as he waited, he hummed a song to himself.
Actually it was more than just a song. It was "Nessun Dorma," an aria from Turandot, a famous opera. Turandot
Matt had listened to it so many times that he knew most of the words, even though they were in Italian.
He started out humming softly, but gradually he sang louder and louder as he realized the empty corridor had great acoustics.
Just as he reached the highest note, the door to the teachers' lounge flew open and Mrs. Menendez rushed out.
"Was that you singing, Matt?"
"Uh . . . well . . . um." Matt didn't know what to say, but then he remembered what his mother always said:
you can never go wrong with an apology.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to disturb anyone."
"You weren't disturbing me at all. I had to come out and see who was singing. You have a fabulous soprano voice! You absolutely have to join chorus!" have
Matt was flattered, but there was no way he was doing anything musical after the way his friends had reacted today. "Oh, no, I couldn't possibly do that because I have—"
He stopped while he tried to think up an excuse.
Mrs. Menendez jumped right in. "Whatever you're doing, cancel it! Chorus is the activity for you!"
Matt wished she would go back into the teachers' room, but she kept talking to him and piling on the compliments.
"That's amazing that you can sing 'Nessun Dorma'! Most kids have never heard of it. And your voice—so beautiful!
You have a wonderful gift that you should share with everyone before your voice changes."
"I think my bus is coming!" Matt finally said in desperation. Then he ran outside into the pouring rain.