"What are people saying about it?" Maya asked, even though she was scared to know the answer.
Sam was quiet for a moment. "It's mixed," he said finally. "Some people are very angry at Victor for being so mean to you. They think he was wrong to say those things. But other people... other people are saying that maybe he was right."
Maya put her head down on the table. This was even worse than she had imagined. Not only had Victor embarrassed her, but now thousands of strangers were talking about whether a blind girl should be allowed to dream of playing piano.
"Show me," Maya said. "I want to hear what people are saying."
Sam hesitated. "Are you sure? Some of the comments are pretty harsh."
"I need to know," Maya said.
Sam started reading some of the comments on his phone: "This one says, 'That pianist was so rude. The girl just wanted to touch the piano. He didn't need to be so mean about it.'"
"That's good," Maya said hopefully.
"But then this one says, 'Actually, the pianist was just being honest. Blind people can't be professional musicians. It's not fair to give false hope.'"
Maya felt like someone had punched her in the stomach. Even strangers who had never heard her play thought her dream was impossible.
Sam continued reading: "Here's another one: 'I felt so bad for that girl. She seemed really passionate about music. That famous guy was a jerk for crushing her dreams like that.'"