Hank smiled as his girlfriend approached, tan and lithe and tall and purposeful and serious as always, though with a smile and a nice little wet kiss on the lips for him. For the tall dark-haired girl with the neat short pony tail it was time for her afternoon sprint. Wendy Mac was now captain of the track team and had been put in charge of training others. Two companions in sweat clothes and sneakers clumped along behind her in the wet snow, Tommy Chen, who had just made the team, and...

It was, as I say, an uncomfortable journey. Like everyone else I was glad to get back to the Palace and shower myself off. The rooms here, though small and not equipped with modern conveniences like electricity or telephones, are quaint and comfortable. Despite the culture’s general disapproval of alcohol there is a well-stocked bar in an alcove hidden next to the front hall, one assumes for the convenience of foreigners. I chatted with the bartender, who is originally from Siam, and a...

They were lucky. All the practice rooms were empty. He led her into the one in the back. Each room was tiny, with room for maybe three chairs and stands. They all had windows, but at least the one in back seemed more secluded. “Here,” he said, nervously placing a sheet of music on her stand as she assembled her clarinet. He had stayed up late writing it, in his overly neat music notation. It was a passage from “You Make Me Feel Brand New”, off one of his father’s CDs. He had a vague...