Drum Roll, Please by Lisa Jenn Bigelow

Author:Lisa Jenn Bigelow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2018-05-14T16:00:00+00:00

Fifteen

The sunken rowboat wasn’t as exciting as it sounded. I could barely see it. I’d imagined pirate bones and a treasure chest spilling gold amid the cattails, which was silly, of course, considering we were on a tiny lake by a sheep farm in northern Michigan. Anyway, only when the light through the scudding clouds glinted just right could I see the dark, hulking shape of it.

Adeline pushed her paddle deep into the water and gave it a whack. It thudded dully. A cloud of minnows and sand whirled to the surface.

“How did it sink?” I asked.

“Don’t tell me you’ve been at Camp Rockaway this long without hearing about Nessie Smith,” Adeline said.

“Who?”

“She’s smaller than the Loch Ness Monster, but she can still do some damage when she’s got the blues. But don’t worry. It’s a well-known fact she only eats boys.”

“Please don’t say it’s because she likes the flavor of testosterone,” I said.

“Nope. Everyone has testosterone,” Adeline said. “It’s actually a mystery why she spares the girls. I guess she just likes them better.”

There she was, teasing again. I heard it in her voice. But somehow it was never a mean kind of teasing. It was a kind that made me feel special, like she didn’t bother joking around with just anyone.

Anyway, what was exciting was chatting with Adeline about everyday things as we paddled around the lake. Our favorite school subject (music, obviously). Our favorite movies (mine was Little Women, hers was Pitch Perfect). Our favorite books (mine was Little Women again, hers was Brown Girl Dreaming). I told her about Maki and asked if she had any pets.

“No pets,” she said. “My parents say things are chaotic enough with three kids, and considering how crazy my brothers get, maybe they’re right. But someday I’ll adopt a whole bunch of dogs, every size and color. And I’ll name them all after underappreciated musicians.”

“Like who?” I asked.

“I could tell you, but you wouldn’t have heard of them. Nobody’s heard of them. That’s the whole problem!”

Speaking of things I hadn’t heard of, that reminded me of the stickers on her guitar case. “Hey, what does it mean, ‘This machine kills fascists’?”

“Oh, the Woody Guthrie quote?” When I didn’t respond, she said, “Melly! Please tell me you know who Woody Guthrie is. He’s only one of the quintessential American folk singers of the twentieth century.”

“Sorry,” I said. “I don’t know much about folk music.”

“I guarantee you know one of his songs—‘This Land Is Your Land,’” Adeline said. “He was really political. During World War Two, he wrote a bunch of anti-fascist songs. Like, against dictatorships and stuff? He actually convinced the army to draft him as a musician instead of as a soldier because he believed it was the best way he could fight. And he had this sticker on his guitar—”

“‘This machine kills fascists,’” I finished. “But with ideas, not bullets.”

“Exactly!” Adeline said. “Awesome, right? I would love to write something influential someday. So far, most of my songs are pretty basic.

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