Page 53 of Falling Stars (Shooting Stars 5)

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none of them compared to you."

Steven laughed and Howard smirked and

nodded.

"Okay," he said. "Have your little girlie secrets.

See if I care."

"Thanks for giving us permission," Ice said.

She didn't say much, but when she did, it carried the

chill that her name suggested.

Howard glanced at her and then quickly

returned to his breakfast. There was no question she

intimidated him far more than Cinnamon did. "I've got to get to an early lesson," I said. "I'll

take care of my own dishes."

"Butter him up for me, will you?" Steven cried

after me.

Actually, my morning went relatively better

than I had expected it would. Somehow, when I put

my fingers to my bow and held my violin, my fatigue

took a back seat to my enthusiasm and I was able to

play well enough for Mr. Bergman to give me a real

compliment. However, it was couched in one of those

between-the-lines type of remarks.

"Madame Senetsky certainly has a gift for

recognizing exceptionally talented young people." he

said. He had taken me through what he called the

basics, moving me along quickly because of his

satisfaction with my performance at almost every

level,

"Thank you," I said. He looked at his planning

book and kept his eyes glued to the pages, ignoring

me, as if thank yous were unnecessary and even

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