Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Practicing the Piano (But She Does Love Being in Recitals)
Page 5
Ms. Killingher continued, “Elinor Hills will begin our concert. She will be playing ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.’ Elinor?” And Elinor Hills walked out onstage.
As Ms. Killingher was walking off, she winked at Elinor. Elinor winked back. Then Elinor sat down at the piano and began playing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”
Moxy hadn’t learned to wink yet, though teaching herself to wink was on her list of Ninety-nine Things to Learn before she turned thirteen. So Moxy wasn’t sure what she’d do if Ms. Killingher winked at her when she went on. No one had told her she might have to wink tonight. Otherwise she would have learned to do it. It was something a person her age should know how to do.
And why was she thinking about winking anyhow? It was almost time for her to go on. But what should she be thinking about? She wasn’t sure. Maybe I should be wondering if I’ll trip in my tap shoes, thought Moxy. She knew she should have practiced that part. Her legs were beginning to shake. She picked her crown up off the chair and sat down.
Her hands were cold.
Or maybe, thought Moxy, I should think about my part of “Heart and Soul” and what will happen if I forget how it goes.
What if I forget how it goes?
What if I forget how it goes?
Moxy was having trouble breathing.
“Are you okay?” asked Pansy. Moxy’s hand was freezing.
Moxy shook her head. “Pansy,” she whispered, “get Mark.”
But Mark was last in line. That’s because “The Flight of the Bumblebee” was the hardest song to play.
chapter 71
In Which Elinor Hills
Finishes Playing
“Twinkle, Twinkle,
Little Star”
In Moxy’s humble opinion, Elinor Hills played “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” far too quickly. It should have gone on for at least an hour—maybe more. But suddenly Elinor Hills was offstage and standing beside Moxy again. And Ms. Killingher was back onstage.
“How was it?” asked Moxy.
“It was brutal,” said Elinor.
chapter 72
In Which
Joan DeMayo Plays
“Chopsticks”
“And now, Joan DeMayo, who has been a student here at the Killingher School of Piano and Bass for almost five months, will play ‘Chopsticks,’ ” Ms. Killingher said to the audience. And Joan DeMayo, who had been standing in line in front of Moxy, trotted out onstage. She seemed very happy to go, thought Moxy. She was almost running. Moxy couldn’t tell if Ms. Killingher winked at Joan when Joan went out, because by then Moxy had put her head between her knees.
chapter 73
In Which
Mark Arrives
As soon as Mark arrived, he took this picture of Moxy with her head between her knees.
Then Mark knelt down. “What’s wrong?” he whispered.
But Moxy didn’t look up at him.
“I don’t want to go on,” mumbled Moxy.
“What!” exclaimed Mark. He said it so loudly that Ms. Killingher had to pretend to zip her lips to remind him to be quiet.
“But you love being the center of attention,” whispered Mark.
“I think maybe … I might be … just possibly … I’m afraid.”
“You? Afraid?” Mark had never heard Moxy say she was afraid of anything.
Moxy nodded. “I might be afraid I’ll make a mistake.” She said it very quietly and more to herself than to anyone else.
Mark looked at Moxy. She didn’t look well. Her forehead was starting to sweat—even with all the stage makeup, you could still tell.
Pansy was looking up at him. “What’s wrong with Moxy?” she whispered.
“She’s afraid she might make a mistake,” said Mark.
“But Moxy couldn’t make a mistake,” said Pansy.
chapter 74
In Which
Joan DeMayo
Finishes “Chopsticks”
Reader, if there is a faster song than “Chopsticks” I don’t know what it is. And Joan DeMayo’s interpretation of the beloved tune was nearly electric. She was on- and offstage in ninety seconds. Granny George timed it.
chapter 75
In Which
Ms. Killingher
Announces That
Moxy and Pansy
Are Going to Play
“Heart and Soul”
Ms. Killingher sort of ran onstage (she hadn’t expected Joan DeMayo to finish “Chopsticks” so quickly).
“And now for a duet!” Ms. Killingher said to the audience. “Moxy Maxwell and her sister, Pansy Maxwell, will play ‘Heart and Soul.’ ”
The audience started to applaud. Ajax and Granny George and Aunt Susan Standish clapped very hard. Sam was even louder. Mrs. Maxwell was so nervous she forgot to clap. We all know what Mrs. Maxwell was nervous about. She was worried that Moxy would start to play “Heart and Soul” and never stop.
chapter 76
In Which
Moxy Maxwell and
Pansy Maxwell
Do Not Play “Heart and Soul”
But Mrs. Maxwell didn’t have to worry. She didn’t have to worry because Moxy and Pansy didn’t come out onstage.
When Moxy and Pansy didn’t appear, there was a very loud silence in the audience. Then Ms. Killingher said again, “And now Pansy and Moxy Maxwell will play ‘Heart and Soul.’ ”
chapter 77
In Which
Moxy Maxwell
and Pansy Maxwell
Do Not Play
“Heart and Soul” Again
Then, instead of Pansy and Moxy appearing onstage, Max Daks appeared onstage. Even though Max Daks was supposed to play right after Moxy, he could tell that Moxy didn’t look very good. And he was worried that if Moxy and Pansy didn’t get out there soon, the whole show might stop and he would lose his turn. Max Daks was planning to be a world-famous piano player by the time he was twelve. And he needed to practice playing in front of a live audience.
You could tell that Ms. Killingher was a little surprised to see Max Daks out there. But she remained calm when she said, “There’s been a little mixup. It seems that instead of Moxy and Pansy, Max Daks will be playing …” Ms. Killingher checked the program she was holding. “… will be playing ‘Glow, Little Glowworm, Glow.’ ” Ms. Killingher also forgot to wink at Max Daks when she rushed offstage.
“Moxy,” said Ms. Killingher when she got backstage, “what’s wrong? You and Pansy are supposed to be on.”
“I want my mother,” said Moxy. But Ms. Killingher couldn’t hear her. Moxy’s head was still between her knees.
“She wants our mom,” Pansy explained to Ms. Killingher.
chapter 78
In Which
Mrs. Maxwell Arrives
Without Anyone
Telling Her to Come
The moment Ms. Killingher announced that Moxy and Pansy were going to play “Heart and Soul” and Moxy and Pansy didn’t come out onstage, Mrs. Maxwell got up from her seat, walked to the back of the Palace Theater, and went out the door. Then she walked through the parking lot and went in the stage door. That’s because Mrs. Maxwell knew something was wrong—Moxy would never miss an entrance.
When Pansy saw her mom, she wasn’t surprised. Her mom always came when she needed her.
“Mom,” whispered Pansy, “Moxy’s scared.”
Moxy pulled her head from between her knees. She was so relieved to see her mother she almost started to cry.
Mrs. Maxwell knelt down and smoothed Moxy’s hair. “What’s wrong, darling?” she said quietly.
“I don’t want to go out there,” Moxy whispered.
Mrs. Maxwell had known Moxy for just over ten years now and she had never seen her like this. Moxy’s hands were cold. And her legs were trembling. And white sweat was starting to streak from her forehead down her cheeks.
chapter 79
In Which
Aunt Susan Standish
Arrives
As soon as Aunt Susan Standish had seen Mrs. Maxwell get up from her seat and walk to the back of the Palace Theater, she had followed her. A twin often knows when something is wrong with the other twin.
chapter 80
In Which Moxy Sees
Aunt Susan Standish
When Moxy looked up and saw Aunt Susan Standish standing behind her mother, she was so embarrassed, she put her head back between her knees.
“What’s up?” said Aunt Susan Standish. Aunt Susan Standish did not whisper when she said it. But it didn’t matter because Max Daks was making a lot of noise out there onstage.
“She doesn’t want to go on,” whispered Mrs. Maxwell.
“She’s afraid,” said Pansy helpfully.
“Well, of course she is!” said Aunt Susan Standish.
Moxy looked up. She hoped Aunt Susan Standish didn’t think that she, Moxy Maxwell, was always afraid.
“She’s afraid she might make a mistake,” said Aunt Susan Standish.
“How did you know?” said Moxy.
“I’m a Mistake Expert. I’m always making mistakes,” said Aunt Susan Standish. “The only reason I’m here is because I made a mistake.”
“What do you mean?” said Moxy.
“If I hadn’t been standing on a tippy ladder feeding a giraffe, I wouldn’t have fallen off. If I hadn’t fallen off, I wouldn’t have gotten that concussion. If I hadn’t gotten that concussion, your mother wouldn’t have brought me to your house to stay. And if I hadn’t been at your house, I wouldn’t have been able to come to your recital today. I would hate to have missed all this.”
“But what if I don’t play?” mumbled Moxy.
But Aunt Susan Standish wasn’t listening. “And last September I made a huge mistake. I took ten tourists on a shortcut through the rain forest. It took me two extra days to figure out where we were.”
“Were you afraid?” interrupted Moxy.
“I would have been insane not to be,” said Aunt Susan Standish.
“Then why did you take the shortcut?”
“Well, I was curious, I suppose, to find out where the shortcut would go.” Aunt Susan Standish thought about it for a minute. Then she said, “I was more curious about where the shortcut would go than I was afraid of what would happen if I got lost.”
“Moxy,” said Mrs. Maxwell, “if you don’t want to go on, it’s perfectly all right. We just have to make a decision.”
Moxy closed her eyes. She wished she were young again and didn’t have such hard decisions to make.
She knew that if she was afraid of going onstage now, she might always be afraid of going onstage. And if she was always afraid of going onstage, she would have to cross at least half the stuff off her list of 211 Possible Career Paths.
But what if she went onstage and made a mistake … what would she do?
Moxy turned to Mark. Mark was the smartest person she knew. “What will I do if I make a mistake?” she said.
“Do what you always do,” said Mark. “Just keep on going.”
Moxy remembered how earlier her feet had gone on walking across the parking lot toward the stage door even though the rest of her didn’t want to go.
She remembered how nervous she’d been the first time she dove into the deep end of the pool when she was practicing her water ballet routine last summer. But it hadn’t been that bad in the end (though the water had been surprisingly cold).
She remembered the time she sprayed Pansy’s hair with gold spray paint and how afraid she’d been that her mother would kill her when she got home and saw what she’d done. But here she was—still alive.
Moxy could hear Max Daks playing the end of “Glow, Little Glowworm, Glow.”
Moxy closed her eyes.
“Okay,” she said, “I’ll try.”
Moxy surprised even herself when she said it.
chapter 81
On with the Show!
Max Daks was playing the end of “Glow, Little Glowworm, Glow” for the second time when Ms. Killingher tapped him on the shoulder. Not a person to stop in midmeasure, Max Daks finished the song.
As he was walking offstage, he heard Ms. Killingher say: “Ladies and gentlemen, at long last, Moxy and Pansy Maxwell will play ‘Heart and Soul.’ ”
Reader, I wish I could say that Moxy’s legs had stopped shaking. Or that her hands had warmed up and her heart wasn’t beating like a bird in her chest. Or that her stomach didn’t feel purple. But it wouldn’t be true. In fact, Moxy’s legs were shaking so much that her shoes were making extra little tapping sounds when she walked onstage.
But when the stage lights hit Moxy’s eyes—the lights were bright blue on the sides and very white in the center—Moxy felt much better. The lights were so bright she couldn’t see anyone in the audience. And the lights were warm. Their heat felt lovely on her hands.
After she sat down at the piano bench and just before she began, Moxy turned and looked at the lights again. For just a moment her eyes got lost in them. She felt like she was having a very pleasant dream. Then Pansy began to play her part of “Heart and Soul,” and without hesitating Moxy joined her.
chapter 82
In Which We Learn
How Moxy Sounded
Moxy’s heart was pounding so loudly that she had to pound the piano even harder than usual to be sure she was playing “Heart and Soul” correctly.
Ms. Killingher, who was standing between Aunt Susan Standish and Moxy’s mother, put her hands over her ears. She had never heard Moxy play so loudly before. Mrs. Maxwell didn’t seem to notice how loud it was. She was just grateful that Moxy was out there at all. And Aunt Susan Standish was snapping her fingers.
“It has a good beat, don’t you think?” she said.
But no one could hear her.
chapter 83
In Which Mrs. Maxwell Stops
Worrying About
Whether Moxy Will
Stop Playing “Heart
and Soul” When
It’s Over
But before “Heart and Soul” was officially over, Moxy stopped playing.
chapter 84
In Which We Learn
the Reason Moxy
Stopped Playing
“Heart and Soul”
Before It Was
Officially Over
Moxy stopped playing “Heart and Soul” before it was officially over for three very good reasons. They were:
The string around her neck that kept her cape on was strangling her.
She wanted to move on to the part of the show that she had rehearsed more—the bows.
She was suddenly very hungry.
chapter 85
BRAVA!
As soon as Moxy stopped playing, Pansy stopped playing. Then they walked to the center of the stage, holding hands. Then they held their hands up in the air the way heavyweight champions do and bowed and bowed—just the way they’d practiced a hundred times at home.
Here is a picture Mark took of Moxy and Pansy with their hands in the air.
Naturally, the applause went on and on (or so it seemed to Moxy). And the longer the applause went on, the longer the bows went on. The bows went on for so long that finally Moxy was forced to put her free hand in the air to settle the crowd down.
Here is a picture Mark took of Moxy’s hand in the air. He called it “But Enough About Me.”
“But Enough About Me,” by Mark Maxwell.
chapter 86
Proceed with
Caution—the End
Is Near
After the recital came the after-recital party. It was a smashing success. Moxy could hardly catch her breath, there were so many people crowded around congratulating her—though no one asked for her autograph.
“The only thing missing,” Moxy said in the car on the way home, “was a bouquet of roses to hold in my arms.” Moxy was in the backseat with Mark and Pansy. They were counting to see how many cupcakes were left.
“Only seventy-five!�
� called out Pansy.
Moxy did some quick math. “That means,” said Moxy, subtracting 75 from 150, “seventy-five people were watching me.”
“Some people had more than one cupcake,” said Mark.
“I had five,” agreed Pansy.
“Still,” said Moxy (who had eaten four cupcakes herself), “there were quite a few people out there. The applause was very loud.”
“You didn’t seem the least bit afraid,” said Aunt Susan Standish. She turned around to look at Moxy.
“Oh,” said Moxy, “that. I don’t think I was ever really afraid. I think I was afraid of being afraid.”
“Of course,” said Aunt Susan Standish, turning back around. “And that’s an entirely different thing.”
Moxy was so excited about all the applause she’d gotten that she didn’t know how she was going to fall asleep that night.
She wondered if sometimes you had to feel very bad in order to feel very good.
She rolled down the window and stuck her head out as far as she could without getting yelled at. The April air had that first-day-of-spring smell—a combination of old snow just melting and new mud just sprouting. The wind whipped her hair. She put her arm out and pretended it was a wing. It felt terrific to not feel afraid. Then she started to sing.
About the Author
Peggy Gifford is the author of Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little, which was chosen for Oprah’s Book Club’s Kids Reading List, and Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Writing Thank-you Notes, praised by Booklist as “laugh-out-loud funny.” Peggy holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and has worked as an editor for the Feminist Press and as an acquisitions editor for SUNY Press. She divides her time between New York City and South Carolina with her husband, Jack. You can visit Peggy and Moxy at www.peggygifford.com.