Page 3 of Movers and Shakers

“Just because you don’t care about what Mom and Dad think doesn’t mean I don’t. Go away!”

“Can’t we hang out or something? I’mbored.”

“No!” She threw another pillow.

I rolled my eyes, but they caught on a CD she had in her room. I grabbed it, wondering if theft would distract her from her studies.

“I’m taking this,” I singsonged.

“I don’t care.”

“I really am.”

“Just go!”

I slowly walked out of the room, CD in hand. It didn’t do anything to curb the disappointment. Sometimes, I could get Ruth to hang out—something I loved since Mom and Dad didn’t let us have friends over because we needed to focus on our studies.

This was obviously not one of those days.

When I got to my room, Mom called out that I needed to be working on homework. I ignored her and slammed the door, alone once again.

But at least in the confines of my bedroom, no one was telling me what to do.

I looked at the CD, seeing a girl with black hair and hazel eyes staring back at me.

She’s pretty,I thought. I wondered what her music would sound like.

I grabbed my CD player and put it in, knowing I had nothing better to do.

Words filtered over me. It was an upbeat party song with a killer baseline, and the girl singing had a bright voice, in tune at every note, even when she belted.

We didn’t listen to music in the Murray household. Tom had tried to once, but then he stopped out of nowhere. Ruth probably listened to this while doing her homework.

The second song came on as I was mulling over the fact that my brother and sister were at our parents’ beck and call.

But then the lyrics hit me. They were about the moments of silence when alone, when no one’s expectations awaited you.

And they hithard.

I sat up and grabbed the lyric book, flipping to the second song. As I read along, I saw myself in the words and felt connected to this pop star in a way I never had with anyone else.

Suddenly, being alone didn’t seem so bad if I got to listen to her sing.

I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I’d use my meager allowance to buy more of her stuff. And Ruth wasn’t getting her CD back. I doubted she would care all that much anyway.

No one ever really cared in the first place.

Chapter One

Lila

Has Lila Wilde Fallen Off?

By Perez Adder

After her last album’s release, critics and fans are wondering what happened to the woman we once loved. In the last few years, her music has become increasingly shallow. Of course, her fans are unlikely to care as her music still charts with every release.

But for the rest of us not in her cult, we wonder if she’s lost her writing talent entirely. When will we hear her more profound songs again? Is she doomed to be a basic pop-song factory forever?

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