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can pick me up from your place later,” he said.
    â€œThanks,” she said. “For sticking up for me.”
    â€œI didn’t have much choice,” he said. “Now we have to deliver.”
    â€œYou don’t have much faith in me, do you?” she said.
    â€œIt’s not about faith. It’s about getting up in front of tons of people and singing.”
    After Molly had eaten a bowl of Cheerios, and Murphy had eaten two, they went into the living room.
    â€œI’ll put on the music,” Murphy said.
    â€œI don’t use music,” she said.
    Murphy sat down on the sofa and scrunched a pillow on his lap. He looked afraid—as if someone was going to give him some very bad news.
    â€œCalm down. This won’t hurt,” she said. But her stomach felt as if someone had stuck a knife in it. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Murphy disappeared. Her foot began to tap, and she started to sing.
    Summertime, and the livin ’ is easy
Fish are jumpin ’ and the cotton is high…
    When she had finished the song, she opened her eyes. Murphy was staring at her as if he had seen something supernatural.
    Molly’s heart pounded against her ribs. She waited for his assessment. “So?” she asked. “What do you think?”
    â€œWhere did that music come from?”
    She put her hands on her chest and said, “It’s in here, and for some reason it won’t stay inside anymore. It has to come out.”
    On a normal day, Molly knew, she looked small and insignificant. There wasn’t anything wrong with how she looked, but she wasn’t pretty in the normal sense of the word. Some of the girls had changed a lot since grade six. Molly wasn’t one of those girls. Her hair was stringy, her clothes were plain, and she had no hips or breasts. She still looked like a little girl.
    But when she sang, she felt bigger—taller. She had to be. It was impossible for a sound like that to come from a small girl.
    â€œWhy haven’t you told anyone?” Murphy said, looking confused. Molly looked different. He wasn’t sure quite how. Older…stronger.
    She took a deep breath. “Ever since I can remember, I’ve sung to myself—in my head. My voice was my secret, and I promised myself that my mom would be the first one to hear me sing. I wanted to give that to her—it was my gift. So I was waiting for her to come home.” Molly swallowed hard. “But she took too long. It had to come out. I couldn’t wait.”
    Murphy nodded.
    â€œI broke my promise when I sang for Dad,” she said. “So I had to make another promise. When my mom comes home, I am going to sing for her—just her and me.”
    â€œShe’ll like that,” Murphy said. He was quiet for a couple of seconds. Then he jumped up and said, “Okay, Amazing Mollgirl, we’ve got work to do.”
    â€œReally? So you think I should sing in the competition?” she asked.
    â€œOf course,” Murphy said. “Trouble is, I’m not sure what to do first. Maybe I should ask Paige.” He laughed.
    â€œThat’s not funny,” Molly said and punched him good-naturedly on his arm. “Don’t you dare talk to her about this. Don’t tell anyone .”
    Murphy looked at Molly. “The first word from your new manager is, get over it. If you’re going to be a singer, then people are going to hear you sing. It’s not a secret anymore.”
    â€œMurphy!” she said.
    â€œMolly!” Then he added, “You know I’m right. Your mom will understand. You can still sing for her—just the two of you. She’ll love it.”
    When Murphy went home, Molly worried about her promise. The problem with promises was that they were so hard to keep. She had broken her first promise, and there was something wrong about her second promise. It felt as if her mom would be getting a secondhand gift. She