Chapter 1: Concert Bound
My friends and I were way in the back of the bus on the way to Symphony Hall for our latest field trip. We were dressed up in our best clothes.
“This tie is so annoying,” I whispered to Egg, one of my best friends. All the boys were in suits or in nice pants and nice jackets. All the girls were in dresses.
Well, almost all the girls. Not Sam—her name is short for Samantha, and she’s one of my best friends too. She was wearing a man’s suit. It looked like it was probably her grandfather’s. She lives with her grandparents, and she’s always raiding their closets.
Sam sat in the seat across the aisle from me. Next to her at the window seat was Catalina, another of my best friends, who we always just call Cat. Cat was in a pink dress, and her hair was done up nicely. “You look nice in your dress,” I told her.
“Dresses are too girly for me,” Sam said, smiling. She tipped her hat at me and I laughed.
Egg sat next to me. “I’m used to you talking like your grandfather by now, Sam,” he said. “But dressing like him too? That’s a new one.”
“Hey, if you boys don’t have to wear a dress, I don’t see why I should have to!” Sam said loudly.
A voice shouted from the front of the bus: “Keep it down back there!” It was Mr. Forte, our music teacher. He was in the front of the bus with his big headphones on. “I can hear your screaming over my Beethoven,” he said. “Quiet down, kids.”
Beethoven was Mr. Forte’s favorite composer. This field trip was to see an orchestra play some of Beethoven’s music at Symphony Hall. It was a very big deal, which is why we had to get dressed up. Mr. Forte was in a tuxedo, but he still didn’t look dressed up. He looked like he’d slept in the tuxedo, rolled out of bed, and gotten on the bus with us.
“Sorry, Mr. Forte,” Cat called out with a smile. “We’ll be quieter.”
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Adapted from The Symphony That Was Silent, by Steve Brezenoff, ©️ by Capstone. Reprinted with permission.
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Compared to the narrator, how does Mr. Forte feel about the talking on the bus?
The narrator enjoys talking to his friends, but Mr. Forte thinks they are being too loud.
The narrator enjoys talking to his friends, and Mr. Forte wishes he could join the conversation.
The narrator feels sad about the conversation, so Mr. Forte tells everyone to stop talking.
The narrator gets annoyed about the yelling, but Mr. Forte is glad the students are having fun.