Page 4 of Bluebird

“Well, I’m not Nate.”

“Yeah, I know,” I sighed, refocusing on my guitar.

Luke remained silent for a moment. “You know, I’ve written a few songs.” A hint of pink touched his cheeks and my face brightened.

“Really?”

“Yeah, when I was bedridden with my stupid leg. It helped me…mentally I guess.”

I nodded. I couldn’t imagine how hard it must have been for him. “Can I hear them someday?”

“As long as you show me yours, I’ll show you mine.” He winked and I smiled bashfully. “But first, you need to learn the basics.”

Luke had such a casual approach to teaching, I barely knew I was learning. Dawn’s method was entirely different. She drilled me on scales and theory for hours before I was allowed to play anything that resembled a song. Fortunately, both techniques worked on me. I was a sponge to their knowledge and however different their lessons were, they both shared the same passion for music that ran through my veins.

* * *

Over the next month, Luke and I met every day after school. My weekends were reserved for Jake, but he rarely came home. He was slaving away at his new job trying to build a life for us in the city. I spent my spare time practicing and improving my talent, hoping that one day I’d get noticed and live the life I dreamt about.