The slow and careful notes of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata echoed in the room.  The boy at the keys carefully worked his fingers as his eyes scanned the PADD with the notes.  The room consisted of him, his piano, and a nervous looking blonde who sat in a chair and watched.  Half way through the melody his finger slipped and he hit the wrong key.  Dejected, he stopped with a sigh.

“I can’t get this, it’s too hard.”

Patricia shook her head. “That’s what you said when we began and look, you already have come so far.”

“Why do I have to do this?”

“First, because it’s a nice skill to have.  Second, it’s better than sitting in your room playing your games every free moment.  And last because you have a talent for this.  You’ve picked up this song much faster than I did.”

“Did you mother make you do this too?”

“Mhm.”  She sat next to him on the stool and began playing the song.  “When I was your age, she had me practicing this three times a week.  And I was so mad and frustrated, but you know what?  Eventually I got pretty good.  You play like you practice.  That’s true in anything from music to sports.”

“And shooting?  I know you’re always practicing that here in the holodeck.  I bet you never miss.”

“Oh, if that were true.  About ten years ago I was on a hunting trip and I was tracking a blue deer.  He was good at hiding and then one say I had him right in my sights.”

“Did you shoot him?”

“Almost.  At the very last second, another deep bumped him and I grazed him.”  She traced her finger along the side of her head.

“Did you get another shot?”

“No, he got scared and hid and then I moved on. So I’ve missed plenty of shots, but you know the shot you always miss?”

The boy with the dark eyes shook his head.

“The shot you don’t take.  Same with this.  You will never learn to play the songs you don’t attempt.  I don’t push you to be mean, I push you to reach your potential. That’s what parents do.  The same way your father makes sure you do your homework assignments.”

“If I learn piano, will you teach me to shoot like you?”

“Maybe someday when you’re older but right now if your father heard I was training you in that he’d hit the ceiling.  So, are we ready to try again?”

Kieran nodded and began anew.  This time he made it further in the song.