I nervously entered my piano teacher's house. My knees shook. I hadn't had a piano lesson for ages because of the long summer holidays. Would I have done enough practise? Would she say I had gone backwards?

"Hello!" my teacher said smiling at me and Charlotte. "Who will have the first lesson?" I didn't know if I wanted to get it over and done with or leave it as long as possible. Luckily I didn't have to choose.

"I think I will teach you first, Sophie," Christine decided. I took a deep breath and followed her into the music room.

I started on my scales, being very careful to get them all right. Christine tapped her fingers to help me keep the same pace. A few times she made me repeat a scale until I got it perfect.

Once I was finished with my scales I started on my exam pieces. My forehead furrowed in concentration. Imogen had helped me out with one of them over the holidays, so I wasn't really worried about it, but the others I had been practising on my own.

"That was really nice," Christine said as I finished one of my pieces. "I can tell you really enjoy that piece."

I sighed with relief. I did enjoy it a lot. It is really fun to play.

When my lesson was finished, I walked out and grinned at Charlotte. She smiled at me and walked into the music room for her lesson. I settled down on the sofa with my book to wait.

Later Christine walked us to the front door. We said goodbye and rushed over to the car where Mum and Imogen were waiting to pick us up.

"How did it go?" Mum asked.

"Great!" I said.

"Christine said we did wonderfully," Charlotte agreed.

The grin didn't leave my face the whole way home. I was so happy.

I walked into my piano lesson. I couldn't wait to see what I would be doing.

The first thing my piano teacher said was, "Let's choose an exam piece to learn."

I stared. Had I heard her right? Did she say exam piece? Even though Imogen and Charlotte have done lots of exams, I have never done one in my life!

It seemed that I had heard her right. My teacher opened up a music book and sat down on the stool to play some pieces for me to choose from. I listened eagerly. I couldn't believe that I was going to do an exam.

As my teacher finished the last piece she turned to me. "Which did you like best?" she asked.

I thought about it and then turned the pages over to my favourite piece. My teacher played the first bit to make sure it was the right piece and then turned back to me. "Your turn."

I sat down at the piano and started to play. The piece was much easier than I had thought it would be and soon I had finished the first page.

After my lesson I ran over to the car where Mum was waiting. "I am going to take an exam," I called, jumping in.

She smiled. "I bet you can't wait."

When I got home I told everyone else my news. They were all very impressed.

"I told you Christine would want you to do an exam, didn't I," Imogen said. I grinned. I hadn't believed her at the time.

Mum  is right, I can't wait. It will be a lot of work, but it will be worth it. This is what I have always wanted.

We have a xylophone. None of us can play it properly, but when I was little I used to pretend I could.

The xylophone sat in the study and the only person who ever even thought about it was me. I would pick it up and sit on the floor with it. I would hit it with the sticks making an awful racket. I don't think anyone liked me playing the xylophone.

When Gemma-Rose was a bit older she too wanted to play the xylophone. I gave her one of the sticks and we made even more noise than ever.

Then after ages of playing the xylophone, one of the sticks broke while we were playing it. I was most upset.

Dad soon fixed it with a bit of super glue and it was as good as new. He gave it back to us with instructions to be more careful with it.

Again we had a lot of fun with the xylophone, but then the stick broke again. Dad was too busy to fix it and so we put away the xylophone and our fun.

One of these days I am going to find that broken stick and get someone to fix it so Gemma-Rose and I can have some more fun. It is not half as much fun to play the xylophone on your own with only one stick.

Perhaps we should learn to play the xylophone properly, then everyone will stop saying, "Don't make such a racket! Stop that noise!"

Do you have a xylophone? Can you play it?

Today we got a piano! It was very exciting. It's an upright piano. Our piano teacher has a few pianos and she wanted to give this one to us.

This morning Dad, Callum and Imogen went out to get the piano, leaving everyone else at home to wait excitedly. It was very hard.

Finally they came home, but the truck was a few minutes behind them. That few minutes felt like years. I couldn't wait to see the piano. I had never seen this one when I had my lessons.

When the truck appeared, the men, with the help of Dad and Callum, slowly carried the piano into the house being very careful not to break the piano or the tiles. It did not take half as long time as it felt though.

Then the men left. We all wanted to hear the piano. The piano we had been playing on before was an electric one and sounded much different.

Imogen rushed off to get her music and started to play one of her favourite pieces on the new piano. It sounded wonderful, not that it needed an upright piano to do that, but it did make a big difference.

I was all eager to try out the new piano and went straight off to do my piano practice. I had not done it earlier while they were getting the piano, because I wanted to practise on the new piano. My music sounded so different and grand. I could hardly believe it was me playing the piano!

I love our new piano. It is so wonderful! Do you have a nice piano?

I am excited, Mum has arranged for me to have piano lessons. For the past few years Imogen has been teaching me. She is a good teacher, but being taught by your sister is not the same as having a professional  teacher.

Imogen, Charlotte and I troop up to the front door. I am ready to impress my new teacher. Our teacher opens the door smiling. She is a kind woman and she says that I can have the first lesson.

I am a bit nervous. Will I be good enough? Have I practised enough? All these thoughts run through my head as I enter the music room.

I have only ever played on an upright piano, but my teacher has a grand one. I wonder what it will be like to play on one.

The teacher asks me what scales I can play and soon I am enjoying myself, showing my teacher what I have learnt and what I am learning.

She patiently listens to what I play and fixes up the mistakes. She starts to make things more fun and exciting than I ever thought possible and I listen all ears and try to do as she says.

All too soon my lesson is over. It is Charlotte's turn to be taught. I start picking up my books and folder. My teacher picks up a chocolate and hands it to me. I cannot believe it, nor can Imogen and Charlotte. In all the years that they had been having piano lessons, they never got chocolates. I feel very happy and special.

Piano is more fun than work now. I can't wait for my next lesson.