Oliver's Overture

      "Class," Miss Fermata called in her nasally voice. "Class! Come on, listen! The annual Compose-a-song-a-thon will be taking place starting this week! The winner will have their song played in the winter concert. I will be looking forward to all of your submissions." Their blue Lenny teacher stepped down from her stand and wrote a date on the board. "It's due in a week from today."

      Oliver, a cloud Lenny, raised his wing. "Can it be an overture?" he asked as he accidentally dropped his clarinet on the floor.

      "Yes," Miss Fermata said. "At least a page long."

      The bell rang for lunch, and Oliver was ready to compose.

      "Hey Oliver," said Oliver's best friend, a Darigan Krawk. "Watcha doing?"

      "Composing. Can't eat, can't talk. Busy," Oliver replied back.

      The Krawk, Sora, sat down with his pizza. "Okay then," Oliver said. "What'cha composing?"

      "Overture for the contest."

      "I see…"

      Oliver looked up and stared at Sora. "I need inspiration." The Lenny walked out of the lunchroom into the courtyard.

      The sound of the other grade's recess. The bell signaling five minutes until class was over. The shouting of a teacher in a classroom upstairs. Oliver had inspiration.

      During math, Mr. Porous, a sponge Blumaroo, handed out the graded math test. Soggy as usual. Mr. Porous glared at him and said in a gruff voice, "See me after class." Oliver glanced at his paper and spied his grade. It was a 70. Oliver's grades were going down. And it was all because of band.

      After class, Mr. Porous took Oliver to his office, a small, square walk in closet in the back of his room. It was a very messy room, containing shelves of textbooks, pencils, novels, and stacks and stacks of homework dittos. And right in the back, was a large oak desk with a chair in back and two chairs in front. The chair in the back was a blue fuzzy chair, where Mr. Porous sat, and in the front was a very uncomfortable wooden patio chair, and on its left was a coconut chair.

      "Have a seat," Mr. Porous said gesturing to the wooden patio chair. That was for the ones in trouble. Oliver sat down, and Mr. Porous started to talk.

      "I have been noticing that your grades are going down," he said pacing, and then finally sitting in his squishy chair. "I am concerned. You are in band, aren't you?"

      Oliver nodded.

      Mr. Porous continued. "And you are in the song writing contest?"

      Oliver nodded again.

      "I think you should keep up your studies. Your clarinet seems to be an obsession. I was a band dork myself…" He went off into a fantasy. "Ah yes, I bid you farewell, and I expect you to start studying more. Oh, good luck."

      Oliver trudged out of the class and onto his free class. Oliver worked on his overture, and after the last class of the day, walked home humming his song.

      Oliver's owner, a tall girl named Krissy, was concerned about her only pet. Oliver had been up in his room for hours, and refused to come down for dinner. It wasn't like him to refuse dinner. Krissy decided to go upstairs to his marble bedroom. She trooped up the stairs, and knocked softly on the door.

      "Oliver?" she said opening the door. Her black hair brushed against her forest green eye as she peeked through the crack of the door. "Hey Oliver, are you okay?"

      Oliver turned around and shut off his Neopian Philharmonic speaker. "Yes, I'm composing a piece for the contest this year."

      "Oh okay," Krissy said. "But do you want anything to eat at all?"

      Oliver shook his head.

      "Okay then, good luck."

      Even after her less than a minute conversation with Oliver, Krissy still worried. Music seemed to be Oliver's obsession. She wondered if she should have signed him up for a sport, like Gormball or hockey. Or even send him to Space camp up at the Virtupets space station. Krissy shook off her worries, and climbed into her coconut bed. Hopefully, Oliver would get a good night's rest.

      Oliver rose out of bed at seven in the morning, happy and smiling. This could mean one out of two things. Either he had finished his overture, or got a good night's sleep. Or maybe it could be both. Oliver was very unpredictable.

      Right before school, Oliver looked over his overture. It was amazing how he had gotten it done in a week. All the parts for the instruments were perfected. It was showtime.

      Right before band, Oliver handed Miss Fermata his overture. She gasped and quickly read it over. With every measure of music her eyes widened with amazement.

      "O-Oliver, this is amazing!" she squawked. "Oliver, you have a very good shot of winning!"

      Oliver blushed. "Aw… thanks…" He walked to his seat.

      "Class, listen!" Miss Fermata said in her nasally voice. "PEOPLE, LISTEN!" Everybody shut their mouths.

      Miss Fermata continued, "The results of the song contest will be announced tomorrow. Now let's play our concert B flat scale…"

      Oliver sat nervously during all his classes after band and all night. Miss Fermata's face said that nobody but Oliver had a chance, but Oliver knew that there were pets in other grades might out-song write him. In the morning, Oliver shrugged off any doubt, and trooped off to school.

      During the morning announcements, Oliver was shaking with excitement. When the principle announced, "Oliver from Miss Fermata's period five band class has won the song contest with his overture, 'Overture for a Neopian Explorer.' Congratulations Oliver! Please report to the band room as soon as possible!"

      Oliver ran to the band room, with his clarinet case under his wing. "THANK YOU MISS FERMATA!" Oliver cried through tears of joy. "Thank you SO much!"

      Miss Fermata was flattered. "Oh, thank you Oliver…" she smiled.

      The director of the other two grade's bands, Mr. Treble and Miss Forte, shook hands with Oliver, and handed him a certificate.

      "We have come to the conclusion," Miss Fermata said smiling. "That you should conduct your overture in the concert."

      Oliver said, "Oh, I'd love to Miss Fermata! I'd love to!"

      "How about we practice it after school today?"

      "Sure!"

      At the winter concert, after playing three songs, Miss Fermata announced Oliver's overture. Oliver went up to the conducting stand, smiled, and conducted.

      "Overture for a Neopian Explorer" was a moving piece. It told of adventure, sadness, adventure again, and finally victory. All the instruments had a part, and the end closed with a long note, and finally a short one. There was a round of applause enough to wake the games in the game graveyard, and Oliver turned to the audience. His owner was crying with joy, and Miss Fermata was wiping tears from behind her rectangular glasses. Oliver's dream had come true.

      After the concert, Krissy ran to the band room where they were resting after their performance. She hugged Oliver and said, "Oliver? I think I'm going to sign you up for conducting lessons. You're going to be a band teacher or something one day.

      Oliver laughed, "Thanks Kris. Thanks."

      From that concert on, Oliver was a famous conductor. He made the front cover of the Neopian Times, and, to Mr. Porous' delight, Oliver's math grades went up. But Oliver started daydreaming in science. And it was now a whole 'nother road for Oliver…

THE END

Author's Note: Thanks for reading and feel free to Neomail me with questions, comments, and suggestions. I know I'm not the greatest at grammar or depth, so I'm sorry. Have a spiffy day!