Get Happy by Mary Amato
Hayes picked up a stone and skipped it across the water. Then he waded in up to his knees, not bothering even to roll up his jeans.
“You’re insane.” I laughed and suddenly remembered his list. “Hey, it’s your deadline! Did you do everything on your list?”
He turned back toward shore and looked at me. There was enough light for me to see his face. His hair was longer now, the curls falling in his eyes.
A gentle wave came in, and Hayes raised up on his tiptoes to avoid getting wetter. “I have one thing left.”
The wave folded and the foam spread at my feet. “You have to do it,” I said. “Tell me what it is.”
“I can’t tell you the last thing,” he said. “But remember how you wanted to know the first thing on the list?”
I nodded.
“I’ll show you that.” He pulled his folded index card out of his wallet and held it up.
“Just say it,” I said.
“No. You have to come out here and read it.”
“I’m not coming out there,” I said. “The water is freezing.”
He shrugged. “The water is invigorating.”
Minerva, thy name is Curious. Bracing against the shock of cold, I pulled up my skirt and waded out. He was right. The tingling on the bottoms of my feet was that good kind, when the water is just cold enough to wake up all your cells, to make you feel alive.
Another small wave was coming in and Hayes rose up again on his tiptoes and held the card higher, the white of it almost blue in the moonlight, so that only the top few resolutions were visible. There it was in his neat handwriting, in black ink, above get a job and record some music:
Say hi to Minerva Watson.
I was speechless.
The wave broke and the tide rushed back out, stronger than I expected, pulling the sand from under my feet. I stumbled and caught my balance just in time.
He put the list back in his pocket.
“ ‘Say hi to Minerva Watson’ was … that was on … that was the first thing on your list?” I stammered.
“Remember that day I got on the elevator and said hi to you, and Fin joked about how I was stalking you?”
“I do.”
He smiled. “I sort of was.”
Another wave came, and I braced for the shift in the sand. “Why did you want to say hi to me?”
He took a step closer. “Last semester, I had two classes by your locker, so I kept noticing stuff about you. That poster you had … REJECT THE ORDINARY … the way you and Fin would sing harmonies … the way you shared the locker and would leave each other notes … the way you guys made each other laugh … the way you yelled at Rick Rogan for giving Fin a hard time. I said to myself, That girl is interesting.”
The moon seemed to be glowing brighter, as if someone had turned up the voltage.
“I can’t believe you noticed me,” I said.
He laughed. “You guys were really loud. You were impossible not to notice. But I didn’t do anything about it all semester. When school started up in January, on that first day back, I heard you singing your tiny violin song in the park after school and you were wearing funny striped leggings and big snow boots, and then you tried to give Fin a piggyback ride and you both fell down in the snow. I tried to find the right moment to say hi at school but didn’t. So the day of the audition, I followed you into town, and I kept waiting for you and Fin to say good-bye and walk down separate streets, only you didn’t. So I just followed you both into the building … and the rest is history.”
The sound of people laughing drifted from somewhere down the shore and mixed with the sounds of distant traffic and the leaves of the treetops rustling in the breeze. They were beautiful sounds, all-is-right-with-the-world sounds.
“Okay. I’ll tell you a secret,” I said. “I wasn’t going to audition that day, but then you got on the elevator and you said you were going to do it, so I said yes.”
“Because of me?”
I nodded and looked out at the lake. “I said to myself, That guy is interesting.”
He smiled. Killer dimples. “Okay. Close your eyes.”
“Why?”
“ ’Cause it’s almost midnight and it would be ridiculous to not do the last thing on my list.”
“Is the last thing on your list ‘Throw Minerva in the lake’?”
He laughed. “No. Close your eyes.”
“But I don’t want to miss it.”
“If you don’t close your eyes, you will miss it.”
“Okay.” I closed my eyes. A small wave crested just over my knees, sending a new chill through me. The wave broke and I could feel the tide rushing out, the particles of sand slipping underfoot, the current trying to pull me off balance again, but I dug my feet into the sand and held on.
“I’m going to do it right now,” Hayes whispered.
And then he kissed me.
SOME OF MY SONGS
SALT
INTRO
Gsus2
I am the salt
A7
In the water,
C6 G
A far cry from sweet.
Gsus2
I am the salt,
A7
And it’s all your fault.
C6 G
I am the salt in the sea.
VERSE
G
You got a boat.
Bm
Think you own the sea.
G7
Want to sail here
C
And say hello to me?
A7 D7
You’re still a nobody.
CHORUS
G6 Gsus2 C Cm
Don’t try to hold me. Oh, no.
G6 Gsus2 C Cm
Don’t try to own me. Oh, no.
G6 Gsus2 C Cm
Don’t you try to know me.
VERSE
G
Waves throw castaways
Bm
On the sand:
G7
Broken seashells
C
And rusted cans—
A7 D7
That’s what you mean to me.
REPEAT CHORUS
BRIDGE
G
And I won’t waste time
G7
Thinking of you,
C
Won’t chase the tide
A7
Of that deep and bonny blue.
REPEAT CHORUS
OUTRO
Gsus2
I am the salt
A7
In the water,
C6 G
A far cry from sweet.
Gsus2
I am the salt,
A7
And it’s all your fault.
C6 C Cm
I am the salt in the sea
Gadd9
In the sea.
MONEY
VERSE
A
Don’t send me pearls or shiny things,
G
Don’t give me any bling.
F E
I’m not a girl who likes the tangled strings of debt.
A
Don’t give me gifts so I’ll forget
G
Mistakes you made, you’ll lose that bet.
F E
My heart’s an iron fist inside my chest.
PRECHORUS
F
Been giving it, giving it, giving it thought.…
E
I will not be bought.
CHORUS
A
I got tens and Benjamins,
A
Got ’em from the ATM.
E
Money makes the world go round.
G
Gotta have the ching, ching sound.
VERSE
A
If our roads should intersect,
G
Turn to the right, and I’ll go left
F E
Elect to swerve and let’s avoid the wreck.
Don’t think I’ll behave the way
G
You want me to. Don’t hold your breath.
F E
You’ll get depressed. I’m not some Juliet.
REPEAT PRECHORUS
REPEAT CHORUS
VERSE
A
I’ll buy dresses, feather beds,
G
A brand-new house of gingerbread.
F E
I’ll buy the dye and dye my hair bright red.
A
Cash my checks and buy some leather,
G
Velvet gloves for colder weather.
F E
Buy some love for me and all my friends.
REPEAT PRECHORUS
BRIDGE
A G F G
No, no, no, no,
F
I’m not gonna owe you,
G
Not gonna owe you,
E
Not gonna owe you, oh …
REPEAT CHORUS
FINALLY
VERSE
D
Saving my wishes,
E7
Holding my breath,
G
Outside that window,
A
Too broke to take that step.
D
But now I promise
E7
To nail the test,
G
Take the oath to pursue
A
My happiness. Oooh.
CHORUS
D G
Finally, I’m right where I want to be.
A D A
I’m right where, I’m right where I want to be.
D G
Finally, I’m right where I want to be.
Bb D A
Right where I want to be.
VERSE
D
Are you that person?
E7
You know the one
G
Longing to say out loud
A
What you really want.
D
You draw a picture,
E7
Show what you need,
G
Tape it up on the wall
A
So everybody sees. Oooh.
CHORUS
D G
Finally, you’re right where you want to be.
A D A
You’re right where, you’re right where you want to be.
D G
Finally, you’re right where you want to be.
Bb D A
Right where you want to be.
BRIDGE
G D
Sing the day, sing the sky,
G D
Sing the paycheck, sing the hi.
G D
Drop a dollar in my hat.
E7 A
Nothing better than that.
VERSE (Key change)
B E
Oh! Hey, people
F#7
Passing on by,
A
Consider what you miss
B
If you keep it quiet.
B
(Don’t keep it quiet, don’t keep it quiet.)
CHORUS
E A
Finally, we’re right where we want to be.
B E B
We’re right where, we’re right where we want to be.
E A
Finally, we’re right where we want to be.
C E
Right where we want to be.
SECRETS
VERSE
C6
Look in all the windows
B7
Of the houses on the street.
C6
Pretty people with pretty secrets
B7
Underneath their feet.
C6
Cigarettes in the bathroom,
B7
Smoke trails out like steam.
C6
Close the door so no one
Cm D
Hears you scream, hears you scream.
CHORUS
G Bb
I got a secret.
G Bb
I got a weakness.
G Bb
Don’t want to feel it.
F D7
Keep it, keep it, keep it secret.
VERSE
C6
My father tiptoed out the door
B7
To never-never land.
C6
My mother gives me gifts that prove
B7
She doesn’t understand.
C6
I drop words like bombs online —
B7
That’s my evil plan.
C6
No one has to know
Cm D
Who I am, who I am.
REPEAT CHORUS
BRIDGE
Gm6 D
Behind the friendly eyes,
Gm6 D
Behind the smile,
Gm6 D
A shadow hides.
Cm D7
I wonder why there’s got to be a dark side.
REPEAT CHORUS
JUST SAYING
VERSE
F Gm Am7 Gm
I want to make a list
F Gm Am7 Gm
Of all the things I don’t want to miss—
F Gm Gm7-5 C
This journey full of sudden turns and twists.
F Gm Am7 Gm
You got one of your own.
F Gm Am7 Gm
Your resolutions down in a row.
F Gm Gm7-5 C
Come on and show me what you wrote, I want to know.
Gm Am7
Someday the writing’s gonna fade away.
Gm G7sus
We gotta move before it goes.
CHORUS
F
Something good, something new,
C7sus
Something out of the blue,
F
Something untried and true,
C7sus
Something big to see you through,
F
Something long overdue.
C7sus C
It could happen to me and you.
VERSE
F Gm Am7 Gm
Let’s get on the next train,
F Gm Am7 Gm
Ride the busy rhythm on through the day,
F Gm Gm7-5 C
Watch for signs and let our own rules decide the way.
F Gm Am7 Gm
Fate could take you and me,
F Gm Am7 Gm
Throw us out on some random street.
F Gm Gm7-5 C
Strangers we meet could change our destiny.
Gm Am7
There are cracks in the sidewalk,
Gm G7sus
I think they’re meant to be.
REPEAT CHORUS
INSTRUMENTAL BREAK
VERSE
F Gm Am7 Gm
I’m at the very beginning.
F Gm Am7 Gm
I may be losing or may be winning.
F Gm Gm7-5 C
While I’m on the solid ground, my head is spinning.
F Gm Am7 Gm
But in a quiet room
F Gm Am7 Gm
I’ll find the time to heal the wound,
F Gm Gm7-5 C
Grab a line and hold it tight to pull me through.
Gm Am7
We got to keep this world we’re on
Gm G7sus
From sinking down too soon.
REPEAT CHORUS
THE TRUTH
VERSE
Cm11 G7sus Csus4
This is the bird that flew in the door,
G7sus Cm11 Csus4
This is the bracelet that fell on the floor,
Cm11 Fsus4 F
This is the gift that should have been mine,
Cm11
This is the heart of the valentine.
PRECHORUS
Cm Dm
Look what the net dragged in.
Eb F Gm Ebadd9
Can’t throw it back again, again, again. Oh …
CHORUS
Fsus4 F Fsus4 F
This is the truth I hold in my hand.
Fsus4 F Fsus4 F
This is the truth I hold in my hand.
VERSE
Cm11 G7sus Csus4
This is the day I needed the charm,
G7sus Cm11 Csus4
Tiny and silver to keep me from harm,
Cm11 Fsus4 F
“Love is home,” says the painted sign
Cm11
Hung by the clock that stopped keeping time.
REPEAT PRECHORUS
REPEAT CHORUS
BREAK
VERSE
Cm11 G7sus Csus4
This is the mermaid who lives on the land,
G7sus Cm11 Csus4
Knives in her footsteps and trident in hand.
Cm11 Fsus4 F
This is the voice that she wouldn’t trade.
Cm11
This is the wave that couldn’t sweep her away,
Dm Gm Ebm
Sweep her away, sweep her away, sweep her away.…
OUTRO
Cm11
This is the truth I hold in my hand.
G7sus
This is the truth I hold in my hand.
Gm7-5 F
This is the truth I hold in my hand.
To hear the songs, sing to the karaoke tracks, and download lyrics and chords, check out www.thrumsociety.com.
Acknowledgments
I OWE THANKS to Yvonne de Villiers at Luna Guitars for her enthusiasm and support; the booksellers, librarians, teachers, bloggers, and everyone at Egmont USA, Penguin Random House, and Scholastic Book Clubs and Fairs for getting Guitar Notes, my first Young Adult novel, into the hands of so many readers; Dr. Amanda Vincent, director of Project Seahorse (www.projectseahorse.org), for information about seahorses for this book; Juliette Zielke, Karen Giacopuzzi, and Maria Adamson for feedback on the manuscript; the musicians who gave comments on the songs or helped on the recordings (see my website for that list); Nancy Gallt and Marietta Zacker for their partnership; Regina Griffin at Egmont USA for her always inspiring editorial questions; and finally, to Ivan, for buying me my first uke and for being a holdfast for me even when the waves are strong.
Mary Amato, Get Happy