"Look what I got! Look what I got!" As soon as we arrived at home, Alberto climbed up the tree and opened up the packaging of the book he'd bought. I chose to walk inside the house and tell Papa about our purchases before obsessing over the book LIKE A DECENT PERSON.

"Giulietta! The three of you are just in time for lunch." Papa grinned—er, tried to grin. (More like I wasn't too sure if he was smiling or not under his humongous mustache.) I waved the songbook in front of Papa's face.

"I bought this! It's a songbook. Luca and Alberto have gotten tired of my trumpet fanfares, so I decided to try something new. Also, I've been listening to the radio. The songs sounded good, so I decided to learn them."

"That's great news, Giulietta. Why don't you run upstairs and grab the boys down for lunch," Papa responded. Just you wait, Papa, soon you'll be wanting me to sing for all of us, I thought to myself. Just you wait.

To be really honest, Papa makes the best food, and I was rather reluctant about bringing Luca and Alberto down. I could've gobbled up everything if they weren't here, but I had to share. Oh well. When I reached my window and looked out to the treehouse, I found Alberto groaning in frustration and Luca being lost in his new book.

"He isn't helping at all," Alberto muttered. "Look at what's inside the book!" There were many music notes in the book, and I presumed that Alberto didn't know how to read them and was frustrated. In response, I rolled my eyes. "Get a grip. They're just music notes,"

"Well, teach me how to read the dots, then!" Alberto retorted. I grabbed the music book from him. "Alright. On a sheet of music, there are notes, and each note corresponds to a sound that you play from the guitar. This one at the bottom is a 'C' note, and so you follow the instructions up here—put your fingers on the string, and strum! Then—look at the instructions, would you?--you place your other finger here to make a C chord. Try," I taught Alberto.

Even Luca was interested in learning how to play after my mini-lesson. Once Alberto got the hang of it and learned the basics of the music notes, I left both of them alone in the treehouse to figure out the chords by themselves. As I climbed into my bedroom via my window, I could hear Luca groaning, "This is so hard! I'm going back to my Pokémon book." In response, Alberto strummed a C chord.

I sat down at my desk to figure out what songs were included in my book. "Let's see..." I muttered as I scanned the content page. "O Mio Babbino Caro...those notes are way too high, how is this song included in a beginners' book? Amore E Morte...ew, love?" I shook my head—none of these songs were to my liking. I was starting to regret my decision when I came across the last song. "Tu Lo Sai...You know full well? Seems cool!"

At last, I found a good song. I flipped to the page, and quickly scanned through the song. "D flat major. Seems manageable. This song is STILL about love. Seems like if I sing it well enough, there will be two outcomes: One, they crack up because of the lyrics, two, they fall asleep because of the melody." I nodded and began to study the music carefully.

Three weeks later, I felt ready to sing the song. "Are you confident with 'Heartbreak Hotel'?" I asked Alberto. "We could sing tonight, and hold a mini concert for Papa and Luca."

"Sounds good," Alberto replied, and carefully placed his guitar on his stand. Ever since he started practicing, he didn't let anyone touch the red guitar, claiming that we would ruin the 'practice essence' if we touched it.

After dinner, Alberto stood up from his chair. "Giulia and I are going to perform tonight." he announced regally. Luca's eyes widened, and so did Papa's. "Are you sure both of you are ready? I don't want to listen to an off-tune guitar or high-pitched singing..." Luca commented, then shoveled a large amount of tagliatelle into his mouth.

"Let's see how both of you do tonight. We'll bring some snacks to the boat, and head out to sea, how about that?" Papa suggested. "Oh, that sounds like a great idea!" I replied enthusiastically.

Needless to say, Alberto insisted that nobody touch 'his' guitar, and cradled it like a baby for the whole boat ride.

"Alright, Alberto, you're up," I smirked. "My song is a lullaby, we can wait till later." Under the light of the electric lamp, I gave Luca a look. "Papa, can we spend the night at the hideout?" I asked with my best puppy eyes. Papa laughed, "I should have seen that coming. All right, the three of you can stay there. Just be back for breakfast!"

"Yes!" The three of us punched the air. "Ready for me to start my song?"

"Wait!" A cry came from below us. Daniela and Lorenzo, Luca's parents, emerged from the sea. "We'd like to hear, too. We saw Massimo's boat from below," Daniela remarked. "Go on now, Alberto!" Lorenzo laughed.

"Alright," Alberto rolled his shoulders, and positioned his guitar.

"Well, since my baby left me
Well, I found a new place to dwell
Well, it's down at the end of Lonely Street
At Heartbreak Hotel
Where I'll be, I'll be so lonely, baby
Well, I'm so lonely
I'll be so lonely, I could die

Although it's always crowded
You still can find some room
For broken hearted lovers
To cry there in their gloom
Be so, they'll be so lonely, baby
They get so lonely
They're so lonely, they could die..."

Luca and I couldn't take it anymore and we clutched our sides laughing. Alberto was trying to impersonate the Presley guy's style, but obviously it was failing. Although I did appreciate the effort that he'd put into learning the song. His guitar chords sounded nice and solid. See, I give credit where credit is due. Everyone clapped after he finished the song—Alberto deserved it.

After 'Heartbreak Hotel', Luca jumped into the water with his parents, but Alberto chose to stay on the boat. He didn't want to part with 'his precious guitar'. We swam and paddled to the edge of the hideout island, where Alberto used to live.

Luca and his parents swam to the shore and changed into human form. Papa brought the boat on land and we traipsed to the bottom of the hideout fort. Alberto quickly lit a fire, and we all gathered around it. Luca was still chatting with his parents about how hilarious Alberto's song was.

I looked at everyone's content faces around the campfire, and decided it was time to sing my song. I started out softly.

"Tu lo sai quan-to t'a-mai,
Tu lo sai, lo sai crudel!
Io non bramo al-tra mer-cè,
Ma ricordati di me,
E poi sprez-za un in-fedel.
E poi sprez--za un in-fedel.
Tu lo sai quan-to t'a-mai
Tu lo sai, lo sai crudel,
Tu lo sai quan-to t'a-mai,
Tu lo sai, lo sai crudel!
Tu lo sai quan-to t'a-mai,
Tu lo sai, lo sai crudel!"

As I continued to sing the song, my confidence grew, and I decided to add accidentals and ornaments in the second chorus. I looked to my right, and saw Luca and Alberto passed out on the sand. I gave Papa and Luca's parents a look, and they carried the boys up to the top of our hideout, then waved goodbye as they descended down the ladder.

"These guys..." I shook my head and turned to the night sky, full of stars. I wondered if I could spot any planets without a telescope.

Alberto and I had really proved our worth in terms of music, and I knew that all three of us could achieve more as the Underdogs.

Too tired to sing now,

Giulia Marcovaldo