The Skeleton Band

Emma loved playing the drums. Sam loved playing the xylophone. Lily loved shaking her jingle bells. And Max loved his shiny triangle. The four best friends played music together every day at school, and they were really, really good! One sunny October morning, their teacher Mrs. Rodriguez clapped her hands excitedly. "Emma, Sam, Lily, and Max!" she announced. "Your music sounds so wonderful, I'm signing you up for our Halloween concert! You're going to perform for the whole school!" "A real concert!" gasped Emma. "On a real stage!" said Sam, bouncing up and down. "With everyone watching!" squeaked Lily. "This is so exciting!" cheered Max. But then they all looked at each other and felt those fluttery butterflies in their tummies. A real concert was exciting... but also a little bit scary! "Don't worry," said Mrs. Rodriguez with a warm smile. "You have three days to get ready. I know you'll be amazing!" For the next two days, the friends practiced and practiced. Their music sounded beautiful, but they still felt nervous about performing in front of everyone. "I'm a bit nervous about this," sighed Emma as they packed up their instruments. "Me too," said Sam. "I keep imagining all those eyes watching us!" "Let's practice one more time," suggested Lily. "Maybe in my garage where it's quiet?" The next day after school, they went to Lily's house and set up their instruments in the dusty old garage. But even after running through their song twice, they still felt worried about the big performance. "I don't know if we're ready," said Emma, looking down at her drumsticks. "What if we forget the music?" worried Sam. But then Max noticed something interesting in the corner. "What's in that old chest?" he asked, pointing to a wooden trunk covered with cobwebs. "I don't know!" said Lily excitedly. "Let's look!" They opened the creaky lid together and gasped. Inside were four fantastic skeleton costumes - all black with bright white bones printed all over them, plus special skeleton gloves with bony fingers! "Wow!" breathed Emma. "These are amazing!" "They must be from when my big brother was little," said Lily. "He loves Halloween!" Sam held up one of the costumes. "What if we wore these for the concert?" "We could be... THE SKELETON BAND!" announced Max dramatically. "The SKELETON BAND!" they all shouted together, and suddenly everyone felt much more excited. "Ta-da!" said Lily, holding them up. Emma put on her costume and looked in the mirror. "Wow! I look like a drumming skeleton!" Sam wiggled into his costume and struck a pose. "I'm a xylophone skeleton!" Lily slipped on her costume and shook her bells. "I'm a jingle bells skeleton!" Max put on his costume and held up his triangle proudly. "And I'm a triangle skeleton!" They looked at each other and burst into giggles. They looked absolutely fantastic! "Let's practice our stage walk!" said Emma. So they marched around Lily's backyard in their skeleton costumes. They carried their instruments like they were the most important musicians in the world. They looked amazing and sounded even better! "I feel so brave in this costume!" said Emma, standing up tall and proud. "Me too!" agreed Max. They practiced their song, and something magical happened - with each run-through, they felt more and more ready for the big day! Halloween morning arrived, and the four friends got to school early. Just before the concert, they snuck into the music room and quickly put on their skeleton costumes. They looked at themselves in the big mirror and grinned. "Ready, Skeleton Band?" asked Emma. "Ready!" they all whispered excitedly. Before they knew it, it was time for the Halloween concert. The whole school gathered in the big hall - parents, teachers, brothers, sisters, and all the other children in their costumes too. Mrs. Rodriguez walked onto the stage with a big smile. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, please welcome Emma, Sam, Lily, and Max!" But when the curtain opened, everyone gasped in surprise and delight! The friends marched onto the stage in perfect time. Their skeleton costumes looked fantastic under the bright lights! Emma sat behind her drums and felt brave and proud. Sam stood behind his xylophone and wiggled his skeleton fingers. Lily held her jingle bells high and did a little skeleton dance. Max raised his triangle and struck a superhero pose. The audience started clapping just from seeing how wonderful they looked! "One, two, three, four!" counted Emma, raising her drumsticks high. And THE SKELETON BAND began to play! *BOOM-TAP-BOOM-TAP!* thundered Emma's drums, making everyone's hearts beat with excitement. *DING-DONG-DING-DONG!* sang Sam's xylophone, playing the happiest melody ever. *JINGLE-JANGLE-SHAKE-SHAKE!* sparkled Lily's bells as she danced and twirled. *TING-A-LING-TING-A-LING!* chimed Max's triangle, making everything magical. The music was so joyful and bouncy that people couldn't help but clap along! Parents were tapping their feet, teachers were swaying, and kids were dancing in their seats! The Skeleton Band felt absolutely amazing! Their costumes made them feel brave, their music sounded perfect, and everyone was having the most wonderful time. When their song ended, the whole hall exploded with cheers! "HOORAY!" shouted everyone. "More! More! More!" called the children. "Bravo, Skeleton Band!" cheered Mrs. Rodriguez. Emma, Sam, Lily, and Max took the biggest bow ever, and their skeleton costumes made it look even more spectacular. As they walked off stage, they were glowing with happiness. "We did it!" whispered Emma. "Everyone loved us!" giggled Sam. "I felt so brave up there!" said Lily, still dancing. "Best concert ever!" cheered Max. The four friends learned something very special that day. Sometimes when we're feeling nervous, putting on something that makes us feel brave - like skeleton costumes - can help us remember how amazing we really are. And from that day on, whenever anyone asked them about their best Halloween ever, Emma, Sam, Lily, and Max would always say: "The day we became THE SKELETON BAND!"