Forsaken Love

Chapter 6

Evelyn urged Jim to find new hobbies and be more active, instead of hiding in his house all day. As soon as Evelyn suggested music, Jim thought back to all the times he and her had laughed and sang along to their favorite songs. He thought about the possibility of him creating opportunities for children to sing along to music of his own, and it was perhaps this thought that convinced Jim to heed Evelyn’s suggestion. But few musical instruments interested Jim. In fact, he only visioned himself as a drummer. Unfortunately, pursuing that interest came with a few obstacles. 

“We don’t typically allow students to play drums without two years of piano experience,” the band teacher, Mr. Hudson, explained when Jim met with him. “And we don’t let 5th graders join the band either.”

“Why not?” 

“Because the festivals and competitions that our bands participate in only allow middle schoolers. If we were to let you play with us, then we wouldn’t be allowed to play in these events. We have the 5th graders interested in music meet near the end of the year to prep them for band in the 6th grade. You’re welcome to come to that class and we can talk about your future then. But you need to start learning the piano immediately if you are determined on playing drums.”

Already in the fifth grade, Jim could not gain the two years required. But he tried nonetheless, finding a tutor within the week. And for the next several months, he met with her twice a week. He lacked the ability to practice at home, so took advantage of every minute in his tutor sessions. 

Despite not meeting the two years of Piano experience required, Mr. Hudson permitted Jim to tryout anyway at the end of the year. Mr. Hudson initially pushed Jim to tryout for other instruments just to test how Jim fared. Jim accepted the request mostly out of curiosity. He had never played another instrument before, and considered that doing so might shift his interest.. Before Jim demonstrated his skills on the drums, Mr. Hudson handed him a trumpet, asking him to play in front of the class. 

“I’m not asking you to play anything,” Mr. Hudson explained. “I just want to see if you are capable of producing a sound is all. Go ahead whenever you are ready.”

Jim held the trumpet up to his lips. His first attempt to breathe through the mouthpiece resulted in just that: a breath, albeit an amplified breath. But no one expected anyone to succeed the first time, and Mr. Hudson insisted he try again. 

“It’s about more than just breathing,” Mr. Hudson told Jim. “Try using the tongue more.”

On his second attempt, Jim managed to produce a quiet musical sound. He felt proud, but not overly excited.

“Good job. What do you think? Want to give the trumpet a serious try?” 

Jim took little time to think about it. He had already made his mind up even before he breathed through the mouthpiece. He only walked up there to satisfy Mr. Hudson, a trumpeter himself. “No, that’s alright. I really just want to play the drums.” 

Mr. Hudson sighed. “Very well. Talk to me again after class. You may return to your seat.” 

Jim nodded and returned to his seat. He remained there watching other students repeat the same process for the duration of the class and did not leave his seat until every other student had left the room.

Mr. Hudson retrieved a snare drum from the kit in the back of the room and brought it up front. “Let’s see how you do with this.” He handed Jim a pair of sticks. Then Mr. Hudson grabbed a second snare drum. 

Naturally, Jim knew nothing about playing drums outside of banging on them, lacking the knowledge of specific rhythms. Fortunately, Mr. Hudson made it alot easier for him. “Just copy what I do.”

That turned out to be a lot simpler than Jim believed it would. Every rhythm that Mr. Hudson played, Jim matched. Mr. Hudson’s eyes widened slightly. At the end, Mr. Hudson took a deep breath. 

“Alright, Jim. Starting next year, I’ll allow you to play the drums. I think you have a lot of potential, and with practice you could be a useful member of the band. I have never before allowed a student to bypass piano lessons, so I am going to need you to continue your lessons through at least the following year.” 

Jim nodded. “I understand. Thank you.”

“You are free to go.”

“Then see you next year!” Jim picked up his backpack as dashed out of the room. He rushed past all the lockers and ignored the few students that remained in the building. He pushed the school’s front doors open and ran toward his mother’s car. 

“How’d it go?” Evelyn asked. 

“I passed,” Jim responded with a smile.

“That’s great honey!” 

Evelyn playfully fisted Jim’s shoulder. “Yeah! Now you have something to occupy your time with. And if you get good enough, maybe we can play music together someday. My teacher says she is seeing fast progression in me with the violin.”

“But sweetie,” his mother spoke, “you’re still going to already know everyone in the band. So to get you to meet someone new your dad and I are signing you up for Boy Scouts.” 

“My cousin did Boy Scouts,” Evelyn explained. “It opened up many opportunities for him. You should do it.”

“You mean like camping opportunities?” Jim asked. “I don’t know how I feel about that.”

“It will help keep you busy. Staying in the house all day is not healthy, Jim,” his mother explained. “Your father and I used to go camping all the time.. There truly is nothing like embracing the great outdoors. I know camping may not seem that fun to you now, but when you do it once you will want to do it again. I guarantee it.” 

“You haven’t heard any of my uncle’s stories, have you Jim?” Evelyn shifted in her seat, looking for a more comfortable position to talk to Jim directly.  “He was a scout leader himself back in the day, leading many camping trips for his troop. He came up with a new troop tradition one time that was meant to welcome in new scouts. 

“The adults and older scouts would have a secret gathering, hidden on one of the campsites. They would summon new scouts one by one and perform an initiation ceremony of sorts. The older scouts would huddle around a wooden chair, while the adults would escort the initiate to the site. Someone would say a few things and then the initiate would sit down. But right before the initiate sat down, someone would sneak an icy cold wet rag onto the chair. It was just a prank, but a prank that brought all the scouts together. You see, sometimes there is more to camping than just sleeping in a tent and cooking on a fire. Camping makes for an excellent time to bond with others. I would love to go camping with scouts sometime myself. At the very least, it would be an adventure. And everyone could do with being more adventurous.”

Jim leaned back in his cushioned seat. I can’t disagree there. He glanced at Evelyn for his response. “Alright, you’ve convinced me.” 

His mother grinned. “Good. Because we are meeting with a scout leader tomorrow night.”

“Mom? You already made plans?”

Evelyn and Mrs. Hughes chuckled in response. 

Nearing the end of 5th grade, the amount of homework Jim and Evelyn received gradually depleted, and they found themselves with more time to spend together than usual. But instead of engaging in their normal entertainment methods, Jim had a desire to just sit down and talk, a desire he rarely ever had. After dinner Evelyn and Jim met up again.

“Does your uncle have any more cool stories he told you?” Jim asked Evelyn while the two found seats on the swinging bench on the front porch. The beautiful stars decorated the sky that night. Evelyn took a moment to gaze upon such beauty. 

She kept her eyes toward the sky as she responded. “Oh, my uncle is full of stories. He’s traveled all over the world. I’ve always thought he should be an author and share his stories with the world, but that must have not interested him much. He’s the reason why I want to be adventurous, because I hear his stories and think, ‘Now that’s a life well-lived.’”

“I’d love to hear some,” Jim requested.

“Very well, but my uncle tells the stories better. I don’t think I really understand many of them. He mostly travels to places with historical importance, history that we haven’t talked about in school yet, though he has tried to explain some of it to me. I mostly remember fun facts of his adventures, like how one time when he was really young he went to Switzerland in Europe and took a lift up to the top of this mountain. He expected chilly weather on the summit, so he put on three layers of clothes. But when he got there he ended up removing all the extra layers.” Evelyn slightly laughed. “I believe the mountain was called Mt. Pilatus. He showed me pictures once, and they were the most beautiful pictures I have ever seen. I just love the sight of snow. Anyway, he has a lot of funny experiences like that on his trips.”

While Jim found the story interesting and indeed a bit funny, he hadn’t expected that type of story. And it definitely did not seem to awaken any adventurous spirit that Evelyn appeared to have. “That’s cool. I’ve always wondered what snow looks like.”

“I’ll see if I can find the pictures and show you sometime.”

“That would be awesome. Have another story?” Jim beamed at her excitedly.

Evelyn smiled. “The world is an interesting place, isn’t it?” 

Jim only barely heard what Evelyn just asked, too distracted to give a reply. He stared out toward the neighborhood, but no longer saw streets or houses. The land had transformed into a large body of water, the street into a beach. The waves flowed calmly. Evelyn remained at his side, but sat completely still, as if time itself had ceased to exist. The porch had also vanished, the bench they previously occupied now replaced by two reclining beach chairs. Behind him, the walls of the house now paved way for a short tunnel. Jim caught glimpses of a playground on the other side.

“Jim?” Evelyn repeated. 

The neighborhood quickly returned to its normal state. Jim smiled at Evelyn. “Let’s promise to visit the world together some day.”

“I’d like that,” Evelyn replied. “As for another story, I’ll let my uncle take care of that. I’m 

sure you’ll be meeting him soon enough anyway.” 

“I’ll hope it’s much sooner rather than later then.” 

Jim’s father walked out the front door. “It’s time for bed, Jim.” 

Jim nodded, and the two stood up from the porch seat. Evelyn walked away back to her own home. Jim watched her leave before following his father inside, then split up from him at the stairs. At the top, his bed waited for him.