News
Storytelling

Billionaire Asked His Black Maid's Daughter To Play Piano 'For FUN' But She Was A Gifted Musician

Billionaire Asked His Black Maid's Daughter To Play Piano 'For FUN' But She Was A Gifted Musician

Chapter 2

Theme:
Font Size:
24px
The house had many expensive things: paintings on the walls that cost thousands of dollars, vases from China, and carpets from faraway countries. Everything was perfect and clean and beautiful. But to Sophia, it felt like a museum—pretty to look at, but not a real home where people laughed and talked and lived.As the morning went on, Sophia could hear Maria working upstairs, cleaning the bedrooms and bathrooms. Maria always started downstairs and worked her way up. Then she would come back down and do the final touches: she would make sure every surface was clean, every mirror was shining, and every floor was spotless.Sophia looked at her book, but her eyes kept moving to the piano. She tried to imagine what it would be like to sit on that bench and put her fingers on those keys.She had learned to play piano at her church. The piano there was old, and some keys didn't work very well, but it was where she had fallen in love with music. Every day after school, Sophia would walk to St. Mary's Church. It took her forty minutes each way, but she didn't mind. Mrs. Chun, an old Chinese lady, taught her how to play. Mrs. Chun had been a real piano teacher many years ago. Now, she was retired, but she still loved music. She taught Sophia for free because she said Sophia had a gift.Sophia didn't know if she really had a gift; she just knew that when she played piano, she felt happy. The music made her forget about everything else. She could play for hours and never get tired. But the piano at church was so different from the beautiful black piano in Mr. Wellington's living room.At noon, Maria came back to the kitchen for lunch. She looked tired but satisfied; half the house was done. She sat down next to Sophia and opened her lunch bag. She had brought sandwiches for both of them."How is your book, Mia?" Maria asked."It's good, Mama. I'm learning about a composer named Chopin. He wrote the most beautiful piano music."Maria smiled. She was proud that her daughter loved to learn. Even though Maria had never finished high school, she made sure Sophia always did well in school. Education was the way to a better life.As they ate their lunch, they could hear a car in the driveway: Mr. Wellington was coming home earlier than usual.Richard Wellington stepped out of his silver car and walked toward his house. He was talking loudly on his phone about some business deal. His voice carried across the yard as he spoke about millions of dollars like other people talked about buying groceries. He was a tall man with gray hair and expensive clothes. Everything about him said money.Maria quickly finished her sandwich and stood up. She always made sure to look busy when Mr. Wellington was around—not because he was mean, but because she wanted to show respect for his home. Sophia quietly put her book away and tried to make herself smaller at the kitchen island."I don't care what the lawyers say," Mr. Wellington was saying into his phone as he walked through the front door. "We need this deal closed by Friday, or we're walking away." His voice echoed through the big house as he moved from room to room.Maria went back to her cleaning. She was working on the dining room now, dusting the long wooden table where Mr. Wellington ate his meals alone most nights. The table could seat twelve people, but Maria had rarely seen more than two or three people use it.Mr. Wellington finished his phone call and wandered into the kitchen to get a bottle of water from the refrigerator. He noticed Sophia sitting quietly at the island."Oh, right. Summer break," he said, more to himself than to anyone else. He had forgotten that Maria sometimes brought her daughter during school holidays. "What's your name again, kid?""Sophia, sir," she answered softly, looking down at her hands.
PREV NEXT

News in the same category

Billionaire Asked His Black Maid's Daughter To Play Piano 'For FUN' But She Was A Gifted Musician

30 Part