The narrator, Elsie, recounts her journey from being a lonely and ordinary girl to becoming a renowned musician. Growing up in Nebraska, Elsie struggled to find her place until she discovered her passion for music, particularly the piano. After a freak accident involving an angry donkey, Elsie gained an extraordinary musical gift, which led her to become a superstar pianist. However, her newfound fame and success took a toll on her relationships, particularly with her best friend Gina.
When Elsie suffered a concussion and lost her exceptional musical abilities, she felt like she'd lost everything. But with the help of Gina's words of encouragement, Elsie started practicing piano again and eventually regained her skills. She reconnected with Gina and even entered a talent show, where she performed a stunning rendition of Beethoven's music, winning the competition.
The story concludes with Elsie meeting Zach, a popular boy she had a crush on, who had been away on a student exchange program in China. They reconnect, and Zach expresses his admiration for Elsie's musical talents, offering to take piano lessons from her. The story ends on a hopeful note, with Elsie having found a new sense of purpose and connection with others.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. The narrator, Elsie, grew up in a small town in Nebraska.
2. Elsie's parents did not have any other children.
3. Elsie was very bored and lonely as a child.
4. Elsie's best friend in school was a girl named Gina.
5. Elsie and Gina made a volcano for a science project that blew up at the science fair.
6. In high school, Elsie was jealous of a girl named Ashley who was very talented and popular.
7. Elsie accidentally spilled grape juice on Ashley, causing her to slip and sprain her ankle.
8. After the incident, Ashley became Elsie's enemy.
9. Elsie wanted to find a talent to make her stand out, and she discovered a video of a girl playing the violin.
10. Elsie begged her mom to sign her up for violin lessons.
11. Elsie tried playing the violin, but she was not good at it.
12. Elsie then tried playing the guitar, but she quit because the strings hurt her fingers.
13. Elsie discovered that she enjoyed singing, but her parents told her to stop because it was hurting her throat.
14. Elsie finally found her talent when she started playing the piano with her grandmother as her teacher.
15. After a donkey kicked Elsie in the head, she woke up with a newfound talent for playing the piano.
16. Elsie's grandmother entered her into a local piano competition, and she won first prize.
17. An agent came to Elsie's house and offered to represent her.
18. Elsie started playing gigs in many cities and became very busy.
19. Elsie missed her friend Gina's birthday because of her busy schedule.
20. Elsie and Gina had a falling out, and Gina stopped hanging out with Elsie.
21. Elsie met a boy named Zach at a pool party, and he invited her to play in the talent show.
22. Elsie had a concussion and had to stay home for a week, but she still wanted to play in the talent show.
23. Elsie's talent disappeared after she hit her head on the bottom of the pool.
24. Elsie was very ashamed and didn't want to show her face at school.
25. Elsie's grandmother sold her house and moved into a nursing home, but she kept her old piano.
26. Gina encouraged Elsie to start practicing piano again.
27. Elsie started taking lessons from her grandmother over video chat.
28. Elsie and Gina started hanging out again.
29. Elsie saved up her allowance to take Gina to see an electron microscope lab.
30. Elsie eventually stopped asking about Zach because she was too busy with school and piano.
31. Elsie decided to enter the talent show again, and she won first prize by playing a Beethoven piece.
32. Elsie ran into Zach again after the talent show, and he had been on a student exchange program in China.