One random Friday at Maple Grove Elementary School, students had to, as always, put their phones in phone baskets during lessons, but a teacher accidentally switched two phones.
A new girl named Maria, who was in sixth grade, noticed as she was walking home that the phone she had in her hand had a different wallpaper than her own. She stopped walking and inspected the phone, and she realized her teacher had given her the wrong phone. She wondered whether she should go back to school to tell her teacher or go home and ask her parents what to do, and she decided to go home. When she came home, her parents greeted her but noticed she had a worried look on her face and asked, "Is everything okay?" "My teacher gave me the wrong phone—one that looks the same as mine. She must have switched them. What should I do?" she said, worried. Her parents thought for a moment, and then her mom said, "Well, open the phone app, type in your phone number, and call it!" Maria replied, "I would rather send a message to them." "Whatever," her mom said, and went to the kitchen. Maria immediately typed in her number and sent a message that said, "Hey, you probably have my phone; our teacher must have switched them. Text me as soon as you can." Then she waited. After five minutes she got a text that said, "Hi, yes—you probably have my phone. These teachers never pay attention." "Agreed. Well, who are you? What’s your name?" "I’m David, and you are?" "I’m Maria." "You must be the new girl." "Yeah. Well, when can we exchange our phones?" "Well… about that. I’m currently on a trip with my family, and I can’t make them go back—they would be furious." Maria stared at that text, thinking how she could have another person’s phone for who knows how long. Then she wrote back, "Well, when are you coming back?" "In two days… I’ve got to go. I’ll text you when I can. Bye." Maria sighed, then thought about the exam next week, so she went to study.
The next day was Saturday, and Maria slept until 10:00 a.m. When she woke up, there was breakfast on the table but no one was home, so she decided to watch a movie. She was in the middle of the film when she got a text from David: "Morning, Maria—how did you sleep?" "Well, good, except I had someone else’s phone near me." "Well, there’s nothing we can do. It is what it is…" Maria paused the film, and they spent most of the day texting and getting to know each other.
The next day, Maria went to church in the morning and spent most of the afternoon having lunch with her family. Later that evening, Maria and David texted each other. "Finally—tomorrow we exchange our phones," said Maria. "Yeah—tomorrow before class?" "Sounds good. See you tomorrow!" "See you tomorrow." Maria then took a shower, put her books in her bag, and went to bed.
Monday—the day David and Maria had been waiting for. They both arrived half an hour before class at the park nearest the school. They exchanged phones and then talked a bit on a bench. "You seem like a cool person. I noticed you have Lady Gaga as your wallpaper—are you into music?" said David. "Yeah. I love listening to music but also playing music." "No way—what instrument?" "Piano." "I’m into music too; I play the violin." They talked about music for a while and then headed to school. In class Maria was thinking about David; she liked that they had something in common. At lunch break she asked him if he wanted to hang out after school, and he agreed. After school they walked in the park. They talked about chords and riffs, how hard it is to master an instrument, and how music helps calm them down when everything else feels too loud. After that they sat on a bench and enjoyed the nature. David started humming a melody and Maria recognized it immediately. "Wait—are you singing an a cappella group song?" "Um…yes. Why?" "I thought Americans don’t have a cappella groups and songs." "Well, I guess they don’t much, but I have some ancestors from Croatia; my dad’s really into Dalmatian a cappella songs." "I’m actually from Croatia—I moved to America when I was four." "That’s so cool! We both like music, and who knows—we might have the same ancestors!" They then talked about Croatia, their ancestors, and their surnames. Once night had fallen they headed home. When Maria came home she told her parents that the boy who had her phone had a lot in common with her and was also from Croatia. She talked with them for a while, then prepared for the next day and went to bed.
The next day at school David and Maria talked and planned to go to a rehearsal room together after school. They practiced there for a few hours, and then David had an idea. "I got an idea." "What?" "We know how to play the violin and piano, you know how to sing, and we know how to produce a song. We can literally make our own song!" "That’s such a great idea, David!" They talked about it for some time and then headed home.
The next day, Wednesday, right after school David and Maria went to the recording studio. They wrote rhyming lyrics, composed the melody, arranged the song, recorded vocals and instruments, and much more. They worked on their song for a few days—editing and mastering it—until they were satisfied. When they were done, they wondered what to do with the song. "Should we maybe play it somewhere?" said David. "Well, that’s a good idea—maybe at school. Our teachers would probably allow it." They arranged it with the teachers, who accepted the idea. They made a few posters to put around the neighborhood to invite people to their performance at school.
Soon the day came. Maria and David were confident about their performance because they had practiced a lot, and they thought that only a small number of people would come. While Maria and David were waiting for people to arrive and settle in, they noticed there were many more people than they expected and felt that good kind of nervous energy inside them. When everyone settled down, they came on stage—Maria with a microphone in her hand and David with a violin beside her. The name of their song was "Echoes of Home," based on their ancestors from Croatia. They performed it with feeling and confidence. When it ended, everyone stood up and applauded. David and Maria felt proud. After they got off stage, everyone complimented their creativity and performance. When everyone left, they went for a walk. They talked about how this all happened accidentally and how happy they were that it did, because it meant so much to both of them. They continued hanging out, writing songs, and being creative, which gave them a special place in each other’s hearts.