Blended

With the recital that Saturday, Izzy tries to control her nerves. She knows the piece. She has played it a thousand times. At odd moments, she thinks that because both of her parents will attend, all the beautiful music they will hear might get them to continue being nice to each other. Without warning, Izzy notices she has popped a “giant zit” right in the middle of her forehead. Anastasia sympathizes and offers her expensive facial cream. They hug, and Izzy feels closer to her than she has ever felt before. By morning, the pimple is gone. On Saturday morning, Izzy takes the first of what will be four showers to get ready to head to the recital hall after lunch. She decides not to practice—the song is in her heart and her head now: “When I sit down to play, it will pour out of me” (254).

Darren volunteers to drive Izzy to the concert venue in her father’s Mercedes. Sensing her nerves, Darren offers to stop at Izzy’s favorite ice cream shop at a strip mall. The shop is next to a small bank. When they are heading back to the car with their ice cream cones, a white man with reddish hair rudely bumps into Darren, who in turn drops his ice cream cone.