e Little River Review - Gorham High School!

Strangers in Aisle Six
lab with chemicals that don’t really mean anything to me. �ey mean things to some people, like to a lot
of my coworkers, but all I want to do is write songs. I want to write them, play them on the guitar, sing
them, and perform them for people. I want to share them with the world. I’m curious––do you play any
instruments, or sing? You look like a musician. �ere’s just something about you that tells me you’re a
musician.”
“I am a musician, actually! In fact, music is kind of my second passion in life a�er teaching. I play
the piano, and I sing, and listen to a lot of music. I even bring it with me into the classroom. I sing Cat
Stevens songs to my fourth-graders, and they love them! Or at least it seems like they do, from the smiles
on their faces. I don’t know what we’d all do without music.”
“We’d all be happier,” he says, “all the seven billion of us on this planet, if we listened to more
music. �ere’s something music has that nothing else has––it can make a sad person happy, it can bring us
back to our past, bring us together. What do you think?”
She sighs. “I agree with you completely, and it feels great to talk with you-but I came to the store to
get two things: a bottle of milk and some cat food! I better get going. Really. I mean I don’t want to; this
has been the best trip to the grocery store ever-I do have to say that. I mean, it doesn’t matter that you’re a
complete stranger––it’s like I do know you, a�er all.”
“We know each other” he says. “And we will still know each other when you come over to my
house tonight to eat oatmeal raisin cookies and play music. I have a piano.”
“�at sounds great, and I would come, but I’m playing in a concert tonight. It’s actually a talent
show at school that I’ve organized for the kids to play in, then I’m playing a piece on the piano. It’s by
George Winston, my favorite. You can come if you want. Yeah, you should! It’s just a bunch of kids singing
karaoke and playing violin duets with their mothers, but I think you’ll like it.”
“I think I will. Where is it?”
“Oh, it’s at Je�erson Intermediate School at seven o’clock. You know where that is, right?”
“I do. And I’m really looking forward to it. I’ll even bring some oatmeal cookies for you, in lieu of
�owers. Yeah, I’ll see you there, and I hope you have a great day until then!”
“I think I will have a great day, and I hope you do too. See you tonight!”
“I’ll see you,” he says. “And just so you know, this has also been my best trip grocery shopping ever.
�ank you.”
“�ank you, too! Wait––before I go––what’s your name?”
“Oliver. What about you?”
“I’m Jenny.”
“Jenny, would you like to be my friend?”
“Yes, I would love to be your friend,” she says.
~ 35 ~