Nadia and the Low C Bell

Nadia and the Low C Bell

1Nadia had wanted to join the fourth-grade handbell team ever since she heard it play at the winter concert. When Ms. Ferreira handed out the bells on the first day, Nadia got the two biggest ones on the table, the low C and the low D. They were heavy, and their deep voices seemed to hum inside her chest.

2Each ringer was in charge of only a few notes, so a song was like a puzzle that the whole team built together. Nadia's notes came just a few times in each song. Most of the time she waited, holding her bells still, while the small bells at the other end of the table sparkled and chimed.

3Waiting turned out to be the hardest part. At practice, Nadia lost her place in the music and rang her low C two beats too early. The note boomed across the music room like a foghorn. A few kids giggled. Nadia's face grew hot, and she pressed the bell against her shoulder to stop the sound.

4"Everybody misses a note sometimes," said Theo, who rang the bells beside hers. "Try this. Slide your finger under the notes while you count. Then your finger shows you exactly where we are."

5For the next two weeks, Nadia practiced counting with her finger gliding along the music. At home she even practiced with a wooden spoon in place of a bell, while her little brother pretended to be the audience.

6On the night of the spring concert, the gym was full of families. Nadia's hands were sweaty inside her white gloves. When the first song began, she kept her finger moving under the notes. One, two, three, four. Then her moment came. She swung the low C forward, and its deep note rolled out beneath the bright little bells, right on time.

7After the last song, Ms. Ferreira smiled at the team. "The low bells are the floor that the song stands on," she said. Nadia looked down at her big bell and grinned. Being the floor, she decided, was a pretty good job.