I nodded, holding my sticks over the drum and standing with my legs apart.
“Ichi, ni, san, SO-RE!” Kat said.
I lifted my right arm and hit the drum, hard.
BOOM!
“Whoa!” I stared at the drum and then at my arm. It was like the sound went from the drum, up the stick, and through my whole body. It made me feel strong! This was the perfect talent for me. Not only did it make me feel strong, it also made me feel happy.
Plus, it was easy! I was gifted, like Maggie’s teacher said she was.
A buzzing came from Kat’s pocket. She pulled out her phone and looked at the screen.
“My son’s soccer game was canceled. I have to go and pick him up,” she said. “I’m so sorry. Let’s continue the lesson tomorrow.”
Tomorrow? That would only give me two days before the dress rehearsal. Then again, I was pretty great already, so maybe I wouldn’t need to practice much.
I smiled. Finally I had my talent! I got my miracle!
7
TAIKO
On Wednesday during lunch, everyone was busy practicing their talents. Linnie played her pretend piano on the lunch table, Tommy spun his yo-yo, and Daisy danced around us.
Maggie Milsap walked over to our table.
“I don’t need to practice,” she said. “My violin piece is perfect. My teacher said so.”
“Well, my teacher told me I was excellent,” I said.
Tommy’s yo-yo stopped in mid-flight, swinging around his arm and hanging from the string. Daisy leaped over to me, and Linnie stopped playing the table.
“What teacher?” Linnie asked.
“My taiko teacher!” I grinned.
“Is that a word?” Maggie said.
“It’s Japanese for drum,” I said, “and it’s a special drum. I’m going to play it for my talent.”
“That’s fab, Jasmine,” Linnie said, clapping her hands.
“Wow!” Tommy said. “Drums are cool!”
“I can’t wait to hear you play,” Daisy said, doing a ballet twirl.
“I’m going to win that first-place prize,” I said.
“I don’t think Ms. Sanchez said it was a contest,” Daisy said.
“Doesn’t matter,” Maggie said as she walked away. “I’m going to be the best. I always am.”
Linnie patted my shoulder. “Don’t let her get to you, Jasmine,” she said.
I couldn’t wait to get to my next taiko lesson!
* * *
“I have to run some errands,” Mom said as she pulled up in front of Kat’s house. “Will you be okay by yourself?”
“Hai!” I said the Japanese word for yes and held up my taiko sticks, the bachi that Mom had given me.
“Have fun,” she said. Her smile turned into her serious face. “And behave yourself.”
“Of course,” I said.
Kat was waiting for me with the same two drums in the room. I greeted her with a bow and said, “Konnichiwa.” That meant good afternoon.
Kat smiled and bowed back to me. “Konnichiwa, Jasmine. Are you ready to learn your song?”
“Hai!”
“I love your enthusiasm,” Kat said.
We practiced the rest and ready positions.
“Great job, Jasmine!” Kat said. “You have a good memory. Ready?”
Then, without any warning, she said, “Ichi, ni, san, SO-RE!”
I lifted my right arm with Kat, and we both hit our drums at the same time.
BOOM!
The sound was louder and stronger when we both played together.
“Very good! Now we’re going to play a game called Copy Kat,” she said, her eyes bright and smiling. “Get it? Copy Kat!”
I got it and I laughed with her, even if her joke was silly.
“I’ll hit the drum, and you copy exactly what I do,” Kat said.
Kat hit the drum four times. Her arms flew up and down—right, left, right, left. I copied her.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
Then she hit the drum four times faster, and I copied her.
Boomboomboomboom!
She hit the drum three times and then on the fourth hit, she struck the side.
Boom, boom, boom, clack.
Over and over, she hit the drum and I copied her. She got fancy and spun in a circle before the last strike. I copied her. My forehead got sweaty and I was having a hard time breathing, like when I run around the track at school. I gasped for breath. Then Kat stopped.
I stopped, too. My outsides were all sweaty, but my insides were all happy.
“Very good, Jasmine,” Kat said. “Are you ready to learn your song?”
I nodded so hard it was like my head would fall off. My hair stuck to my face with sweat.
This was it! I was going to be a perfect taiko player for the talent show.
8
A LOT OF WORRIES
“First we’re going to learn the sequence before you play the song. You have a good memory, so I think it will come easy to you,” Kat said. “It’s 5, 5, 8, 5, 3, 3, 5, big 8.”
My eyes went wide. That was a lot of numbers! And they didn’t make sense like when Ms. Sanchez taught math. In math class, 5 plus 5 equals 10. But these were just a bunch of mixed-up numbers.
“It’s okay,” Kat said. “Let’s break it down.”
She went over the numbers in sections and I repeated them until I did finally remember them.
“See?” Kat said. “You’re doing great!”
I grinned.
“This is what the numbers mean,” Kat said. “Five means you hit the drum five times and then lift both arms and say HA! Eight means you hit it eight times and then swing your arms down by your side and up over your head and say SO-RE! Three, you hit the drum three times.”
My eyes got big again. That was a lot to remember!
“For the last eight, called Big Eight, you hit the drum slower eight times and then you yell SAH and make up a pose of your own and hold it,” Kat said. She held her arms straight up and yelled, “SAH!”
I smiled. Being able to make up my pose sounded like fun.
“Let’s try it,” Kat said, “without hitting the drum.”
We practiced on air drums and after a few times, it wasn’t so hard to remember anymore. I was definitely talented at taiko! And I was definitely going to win first prize!
“Let’s try it on the taiko,” Kat said.
“YAY!” I shouted.
Kat
