Everyday Heroes - Oticon

The Piano
By Marie Hvolbæk
Simon tramped quickly down the stairs. He needed to hear his own
footsteps if he was going to stop himself crying. It was Monday
morning and he was on his way to school – somewhere he’d rather
not go at all. He felt as though he was living in a world of his own,
particularly at school, where he found it hard to follow what the
teacher was saying. Sitting in the classroom, he suspected that his
classmates might be talking about him. But he couldn’t be entirely
sure. The morning’s fi rst lesson would be dictation, which he
loathed because he always felt so stupid having to put his hand up
and ask the teacher to repeat herself.
Simon always spent the breaks together with his friend Jacob.
Most of the time they would just sit on a bench, talking. Simon
would often tell him about the big black piano that stood in his
grandmother’s living room.
‘Why are you so interested in that piano?’ asked Jacob.
‘I don’t know...’ said Simon, smiling.
‘I’d like to hear you play one day. But you’re so secretive about
it,’ laughed Jacob.
‘I’ll play for you one day, trust me.’
The other children were playing at the far end of the playground;
Simon could hear them shouting, but not what they were saying. In
another few minutes the break would be over.
Ten-year-old Simon lived with his mother in a small house in the
suburbs. Most of his memories of the house were good, apart from
an incident two months previously, which would probably stay with
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