Summer of the Geek by Piper Banks Read Free Book Online

was pretty obvious that her goal was to go bankrupt as quickly as possible in order to end the game.
    “Passive-aggressive Monopoly,” I said as she handed over the rent on the luxury property I’d built on Park Place. “This is fun. Is it my turn?”
    Amelia didn’t reply. She’d stayed mute throughout the game, keeping her lips pressed together in a tight, white line.
    I rolled the die. “One, two, three . . . oh, look, I landed on Community Chest.”
    The game was over in a record forty-two minutes. Amelia paid over the last of her rent money to me, and then, still not saying a word, she stood, turned, and marched back to the living room. A moment later, the sound of piano music drifted back into the kitchen.
    As I stared down at my Monopoly empire, I couldn’t help thinking the whole exercise had been pointless. True, I had gotten Amelia away from her piano for a while. But it hadn’t been the bonding experience I’d hoped for. In fact, if anything, I’d just alienated her even further. With a frustrated sigh, I swept the pieces of the Monopoly game back in the box.

    After that, the rest of the day passed much as the day before had. Amelia spent all morning and afternoon practicing, breaking only for lunch, which she ate in silence. We ate lunch together, but Amelia refused to speak to me.
    No matter how hard I tried to concentrate on my writing, my thoughts kept drifting away like puffy clouds in a blue summer sky. I wondered what would happen between Dex and me if I decided to move to London to live with Sadie. Would we stay together, or break up? We hadn’t been dating all that long, and I’d heard long-distance relationships were hard to sustain even between people who’d been together for a while. Then I thought of Charlie, and how she’d lost herself when she was dating Mitch, and that I didn’t ever want to be that sort of person—the kind who puts her boyfriend ahead of everything else in her life.
    I shook my head, trying to dislodge all thoughts of this dilemma. I had to make a decision soon, but I didn’t have to figure it out today. I redoubled my efforts with my story, but no matter how hard I tried to concentrate, I found myself instead listening to Amelia’s music. The song she was playing was absolutely beautiful, slow and soothing. I wondered what it was. Another Haydn piece? I tried to figure out if it sounded like what she’d been playing earlier, but quickly gave up—I just didn’t know enough about music to distinguish one classical piece from another.
    I stood, abandoning my writing, and walked back to the living room, irresistibly drawn to the music. I didn’t think Amelia had noticed my arrival. I stood behind a wing chair and out of her line of sight, and listened to her play. The song grew in intensity, unfolding as she coaxed the melody out of the keys. I’d always thought that classical music was boring. But this certainly wasn’t. As I listened, the fine hairs on my arms stood on end. Amelia finished the piece and sat so still for a moment that I wondered if she’d fallen under her own spell.
    I clapped. “That was amazing,” I said.
    Amelia started, and turned around. Her expression was wary, suspicious that I was here to coerce her into participating in another nonmusical activity.
    “What’s the name of it?” I asked.
    “It’s Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, ” Amelia said. “It’s a really famous piece.”
    “I can see why. Look at my arm.” I held it up. “I have goose bumps. But I think that might have more to do with your playing than anything else.”
    I wasn’t humoring her. Amelia was an extraordinarily gifted musician. She played with such grace and feeling, the music soared inside me in a way I’d never experienced before, and especially not with classical music.
    Amelia bowed her head. “Thanks,” she said, almost begrudgingly.
    “Play me something else,” I suggested.
    Amelia looked up. “Really?”
    “Yes.”
    “What do you want to