Vision by Lisa Amowitz Read Free Book Online

Something wrong with your nuts?”
    Bobby slumped lower in the seat. “Getting over a stomach bug.”
    “Right.”
    “Bobby hit his head yesterday and started acting all weird,” Aaron said from the back seat. Bobby groaned. He should have known Aaron was listening. He was the nosiest kid on earth.
    “Thanks for ratting me out, Aaron. I’m fine. Totally fine.”
    “Yep,” Coco said. “Just like you always are.”

    Bobby had Mr. Cooper for Music Theory fourth period, which he always looked forward to. The class was small and tight-knit. Oftentimes they’d go off-topic and talk politics or discuss the great bands of the sixties and seventies. Kenny Cooper shared Bobby’s passion for the music of that era, especially the Who and the Stones, and discussions got pretty heated when the other students poked fun.
    After Music, Bobby had lunch. He’d started for the door, his stomach already rumbling, when Mr. Cooper called out to him.
    “Hey, Bobby. Got a minute?”
    Lately, Mr. Cooper had been pressing Bobby to push for admittance to the prestigious Morton Conservatory. He didn’t understand why the man didn’t get that it was all pointless—that even if he got the full ride to Morton, he could never leave Graxton. Though a totally cool guy, Kenny came from a different universe than Bobby—an alternate world where there was more than enough money and endless opportunities. Bobby was grateful for his mentorship and attention and felt bad about deceiving him, but didn’t have the heart to set him straight.
    “Uh, sure.”
    “In my office?”
    The office adjoining the music room was small and cramped but, for Bobby, was like a fleeting glimpse into the magical world beyond Graxton—the closest he was ever going to get.
    A wooden bookcase filled with musicians’ biographies sat against one wall, its top crammed with photos of Mr. Cooper smiling beside the famous musicians and conductors he knew, and in some cases had performed with. A jungle of flourishing plants framed the window in leafy splendor, and a print of a painting by an old master that had always fascinated him hung on the opposite wall. Today Bobby settled into the leather upholstered chair and, instead of facing Mr. Cooper, stared at the print.
    “‘The Musicians.’ By Caravaggio. It’s at the Metropolitan Museum in Manhattan.”
    “Never been.”
    Mr. Cooper shook his head. “That’s criminal. We’re only three hours away.”
    Bobby shifted in his chair. Charity again. “Three hours and a world away.”
    “It just makes me sick how little of the world you kids up here get to see. I ought to take you myself.”
    Bobby shrugged. “Don’t think my dad would go for it.”
    Kenny Cooper took off his glasses and peered at him with the bright, blue-green eyes that reminded Bobby of a faraway tropical ocean. The fascinating subject of who Mr. Cooper, with his earnest good looks, was dating was a favorite topic circulating the halls of Greater Waterbury High. One rumor was that he was engaged to the governor’s daughter. Secretly, if Bobby really admitted it to himself, he not only looked up to Mr. Cooper, but would love to step right into his shoes and become him.
    Kenny Cooper sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “The matter of Sergeant First Class Samuel Pendell. That’s not what I want to talk to you about today, Bobby. The deadline for your application to the Morton Conservatory isn’t until November, for early decision. But I’ve heard from your college advisor, Ms. Reilly, that you haven’t signed up for the SATs yet. You’ve got to have those scores for Morton.”
    Bobby swallowed. Mr. Cooper would be angry if he knew Bobby had no intention of taking the SATs or following through on any of the teachers’ ambitions for him. First of all, he couldn’t afford the steep fee. But still the lies accumulated, the burden of them getting heavier by the day. “Mr. Cooper, uh, I—”
    Beneath the flop of sandy hair, Kenny Cooper’s