“I’m actually glad I had to make new drums,” said Sam. “Check this out.” He hit his drums in turn.
“They each have a different sound,” observed Emily.
“I know,” said Sam. “Before, they sounded the same because they were the same material. But these are different sizes and different materials. So now the beats make all sorts of sounds!”
“Maddie, when are you going to show us what your instrument is?” asked Bella.
Maddie was hunched over something, her back to her friends. They could see that she was tying a bow around the back of her neck.
“Now!” she said as she turned around.
Maddie was wearing the piece of corrugated metal that had come off the roof as if it were a long bib. It hung from a ribbon around her neck. She was holding a metal soup spoon and a wire whisk, which she proceeded to scrape up and down the zigzag surface of the metal, producing a really cool scratchy sound.
“Wow,” said Sam. “What is it?”
“It’s called a zydeco washboard,” announced Maddie. “My uncle Alvin lives in New Orleans. He plays one in a band. Emily helped me trim the sides and bend the top edge so it sits right on my shoulders.”
“I can’t believe it, but our instruments are even better than before!” said Bella. “I guess we have the rain to thank.”
“Rain, hard work, patience, and the best friends ever,” said Maddie, whisking her washboard with a flourish.
“I think it’s about time we start practicing!” suggested Emily.
After all, the talent show was in three days!
Chapter 8
Practice, Practice, Practice!
The next day the band members gathered at the Craft Clubhouse, ready to practice.
“Okay, why don’t we start with a simple song?” said Bella.
“How about ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’?” suggested Emily.
“Sure!” said Bella. And she started strumming her guitar. “And a one, and a two, and a three, let’s go!”
Emily joined in using her shakers and bells. Sam picked up the beat on his drums. And Maddie whisked along on her washboard.
When they got to the end of the song, the friends looked at each other.
“Not bad,” said Bella.
“But not great,” said Emily.
The friends tried a few other songs, but none of them were quite right. Then Bella had an idea.
“Maybe,” she said, “we should play something different. Like . . . our own song?”
“How would we do that?” asked Sam.
“Well, in my guitar lessons, we used to improvise sometimes,” Bella said. “Like this: Sam, drop a beat.”
Sam began tapping out a rhythm on his drums.
“Now I’m going to add my guitar.” Bella began strumming, paying attention to Sam’s beat but weaving in her own twangy notes.
“Maddie, you ready to jump in?” Bella asked.
Maddie nodded and began skritch-scratching away.
“Guessing that means it’s my turn,” said Emily, and she picked up two shakers so she could add two distinct sounds to the song they were forming.
Slowly, smiles came to all four faces.
“We sound . . . not bad!” said Bella. The others nodded in agreement.
“If we keep practicing, we’re going to sound great!” said Sam.
And so they practiced for the rest of the afternoon.
By the time Maddie’s, Emily’s, and Sam’s parents came to pick them up, the kids were exhausted.
As Maddie was walking out, she suddenly gasped and turned around. “Guys, we don’t have a band name!”
Chapter 9
Four Surprises
The day before the talent show, all of Mason Creek Elementary was buzzing with excitement.
To Emily, Maddie, Bella, and Sam, it felt like the longest school day ever. Finally the bell rang. The four friends grabbed their things and practically ran out of the school building.
“Hey, what’s that?” asked Emily, noticing Maddie was carrying an extra bag.
“It’s a surprise,” said Maddie mysteriously.
And when they all arrived at the craft studio, Maddie showed her friends what exactly was in that bag.
She pulled out four black T-shirts. Each one had a band member’s name scrawled on the back in silver fabric paint. Maddie had then decorated the backs with patches and buttons and designs out of multicolored threads. Each one was unique.
“These are so cool!” Emily exclaimed.
“But there’s one thing missing,” said Maddie. “There’s nothing on the front of the shirts because we haven’t picked a band name yet!”
“Fantastic Four?” threw out Sam.
“Craftastic Four?” Bella chimed in.
“What about Craftastic Crew?” Emily suggested.
At that suggestion, a smile spread across the face of each kid. That was it!
Maddie had brought her silver paint with her. She grabbed brushes from Sam’s Painting Pavilion and passed them around so everyone could add their new band name to the custom T-shirts.
“Hey, speaking of painting, I have a surprise too.” Sam pulled out a roll of paper from a long tube he had borrowed from his dad. He unrolled it to display a gorgeous painted backdrop for the band.
“That’s amazing, Sam!” said Emily.
“I left room for the band name,” Sam pointed out. “And I think I have some regular silver paint that would match the T-shirts perfectly!”
“I also have a surprise,” said Emily. She went to the back of the shed and pulled out a wooden storage crate to which she had added wheels and a handle. “This way we can bring our instruments into the auditorium more easily.”
“And I borrowed some extra microphones from the music room, plus speakers to rig them up to,” said Bella.
“Wow,” said Sam, admiring the shirts, the instruments, and the gear. “We make a pretty great team, don’t we?”
And it was true. They really did make a good team. But that team also knew they needed just a little more practice.
Following Bella’s lead, the kids picked up their instruments and got in position. The talent show was the next night, so it was their last chance to
