As track after track played, we remained silent. I’d pull the glossy book out of the back of the CD case, reading lyrics along with the songs, and Wes would scribble in this palm-sized notebook.
The day’s selection was LCD Soundsystem’s self-titled debut. We pressed together, wrapped in thick wool blankets, unwilling to accept defeat against the cold January night. That was the day I was finally going to suggest committing ourselves to writing our own album. If we wanted to be up on stage like he said, we had to start soon. It had been over a year since he asked me toteach him guitar, and I’d been waiting for him to bring it up. I didn’t want to latch onto the idea, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. The two of us up on stage.
“So?” Wes asked, a little cloud escaping his lips as he breathed.
“Good synth. Nice beats. Cross-genre so it’s hard to get bored.”
As I spoke, he scratched down notes. He had this way of making me believe I was important, like every thought was worth writing down, immortalized in his jagged slanting script.
It made me want to beg him to transfer back to go to Caper High School. Made me think if I asked him, he would.
“It would be cool to see in concert,” he said, lurching forward to catch his pen as it started to roll off the roof. His fingers brushed it, but it tumbled out of reach and off the edge. The act tore the headphone from his ear, severing the link between us. “Sorry,” he said, a sheepish smile tilting his lips.
“I was wondering—”
“Would you like to come meet my band?” He fiddled with the pen, flipping it between his fingers.
“Meet your band,” I said slowly, trying to wrap my mind around the words.
“Yeah, it’s me and three guys from my grade. The drummer and guitarist are really chill. As for the bassist, well, I know he wants to be there, but he acts like it’s beneath him. He’s too good to get rid of him, though. I wasn’t sure it was going to stick at first, but we practice nearly every day. I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure it would last.” He lit up as he spoke.
My ribs were shrinking, squeezing my insides. I felt foolish for thinking it would be the two of us instead.
“How long?” I asked.
“Since last semester. There’s this one song we’ve been working on that isn’t clicking, but I have this idea. Do you remember that hook we came up with over Christmas?”
“Sure.” Because what other choice did I have? Say no and push him away?
“I think it would be perfect, but I don’t want to use it without your permission. Before you get on board, I want you to meet them, hear what we got.”
I nodded as nerves clawed at my stomach.
A month later, I made it to Nashville. George and Dad dropped me off at a house in the suburbs with beige siding and dark shingles on their way to one of her appointments. They chatted with Luca’s mom, a nice lady named Beatrice who promised she would never let the boys get away with practicing too long and forget their schoolwork.
A young girl ducked out from the top of the stairs and called out so the entire house could hear. “A girl is here!”
One by one, guys appeared from around the corner. From Wes’s description, I knew the redhead with a crooked grin was Jared, the tall tan guy with dark features was Luca, and the broody blond with glasses was Garrett.
“Since when were you cool enough to hang out with girls?” the girl on the stairs asked. From her green eyes and unruly brown hair I could only assume she was related to Luca.
“Plenty of girls adore me.” Jared winked, and she scrunched her nose.
“If you say so,” she said, walking past the guys to me. She stuck out her hand. “I’m Evelyn. You can hang out with me. They’re too loud, and their music isn’t as good as they think it is.”
“As if you’re any better,” Luca protested.
“I am. You’re just jealous,” she retorted, then told me, “I play piano. I have a recital next month if you want to come.”
“Sure, if I’m around. For now, I’m here to listen and maybe help make their music more tolerable.”
“Oh,that’swhy she’s here?” Garrett asked, shooting his question at Wes.
I bristled but tried to ignore his agitated tone. By the end of the day, I was going to make them like me. I was worried if they didn’t, Wes would start losing interest in me, so I didn’t bite back as much as I wanted to.
“If you’re as good as you think you are, you won’t have a problem.” I smiled at him. “Evelyn, why don’t you come with me and you can tell me what you think?”
“Okay!”
