Strawberry Fields excerpt

So this month I'm trying to finish a first draft of the novella I'm working on. Instead of writing a proper post this Monday, here's a snippet of what I've got thus far--

 


While Joel was making popcorn and hot chocolate during their break, it occurred to Joss that Desi's hands were not necessarily too small to play individual notes.

"Hey. Desi. Come here."

Desi gave him a wary, disbelieving look and Carol raised her eyebrows.

"I promise not to yell at you."

Carol looked at Desi and then at Joss again, and Desi toddled over to the couch where Joss was now sitting. Joss patted the spot immediately next to him, then positioned his guitar so it was in front of him and Desi, with his left arm behind Desi's back.

"Your hands might be too small for chords, but I think you could still play notes one at a time. Like this." He played the first note of an easier bit from the vocal part of the song they'd been working on. "The notes change depending on which string you press and where. Now put your finger here--press harder. Yeah. Now pluck the string above the sound hole. No, harder."

"That hurts."

"It's worth it. Besides, the more you play, the less it hurts. Look at my fingers." Joss spread the fingers of his right hand so the tips were facing Desi. "See how the skin's all crusty? Those are callouses. It's like... I dunno. Protective armor made of... dead skin, I guess--" Desi grinned when Joss mentioned dead skin. It was really creepy and kind of heartwarming at the same time. Mostly creepy. "--but you only get it if you play enough so your fingers hurt really badly."

"How bad?"

"Um... well, basically, you have to rub off the skin that's there now--" Desi's mouth suddenly stretched and turned down at the corners. And her eyes practically popped out of their sockets. I wouldn't have believed kids could do that with their faces if I hadn't seen it. It wasn't as creepy as the grin from before, though. "--not to the bone, just like a couple layers--" Desi calmed down, "--and then new better skin grows in. And you have to keep doing that until it grows crusty." Desi started plucking at the strings again, mouth puckered in determination. And she didn't stop until the popcorn was ready (guitarists--the only thing worse than them is drummers. Carol was tapping on the table through the whole break, by the way.)

Joss managed to teach her one more note during that time. "And if you're good for the rest of the rehearsal, I'll show you the rest of that line."