Spring break came, and Mai and my dad were taking a trip to Columbia to check out housing options for the fall. My sister had been accepted to her first choice in schools, and both my parents were focused on getting her through the home stretch. All three of them were looking toward Mai’s bright and shining future, which meant their heads were turned away from my quiet rebellion, leaving me more or less to my own devices.
My mom went to bed early, so I snuck out every night. Some nights we partied at Caleb’s apartment—I got drunk for the first, second, and third times. And some nights Seth and I just stayed in at his house and watched movies or screwed until our bodies were like plasma. One night I fell asleep and didn’t get home in time, so I had to pretend that I’d been out for a morning bike ride, huffing and puffing in my smoke-scented, beer-stained clothes from the night before. I didn’t like lying to my mom, but my priorities had shifted away from my family and toward spending more time with Seth and our friends.
And the gigs kept coming. I couldn’t go to all of them, but I’d gotten so good at sneaking out while my dad was away, that I kept it up even after they got back from New York, sometimes leaving on a school night only to return just before my alarm was set to go off in the morning. Sabrina wasn’t managing much better than me. One day she and I were sitting at the band table during lunch when we both conked out right there on the picnic table and kept on sleeping even when our friends tried to wake us. We missed the bell signaling the end of lunch and slept through our next period.
Then one night I got back from a show, and Mai was waiting in my room for me. She’d fallen asleep in my bed but stirred awake when I climbed in through the window.
My parents hadn’t texted or called me, so she must not have told them I’d snuck out.
She was up in a flash, her smooth hair standing on end from static electricity and whisper-shouting, “Where have you been? What do you think you’re doing? Do you have a death wish?”
I begged her not to tell our parents. I lied and told her it was the first time I’d ever snuck out, and it was only because my curfew was ridiculously early. I reminded her what a bitch her curfew had been when she was my age and that I was still making straight A’s, which had always been my ace-in-the-hole.
We struck a bargain. I could still sneak out, but only on the weekends, and I had to tell her where I was going and when I’d be back. Still, it meant that if Petty Crime had a show or a party on a school night, I couldn’t go, which sucked for me.
One day toward the end of April, Sabrina casually mentioned that I should come to the gig they were having that night. It was a Wednesday, and I’d already told her and Seth that I’d have to miss it.
“I’m on lockdown until Mai goes to college,” I reminded Sabrina, a little jealous her parents had started giving her a wider berth. “Then I’m home free.”
Sabrina placed a hand on my shoulder and looked at me with purpose. “I really think you should come, Hiro.”
That set off a warning bell in my mind. I tried to read her but couldn’t. “Okaaay.”
“You should come wearing sunglasses and a ball cap so no one recognizes you,” she said pointedly.
I had no idea why I would need to go to a Petty Crime show in disguise. “You mean so Seth won’t recognize me?”
“Yes.”
“This conversation is getting weird, Sabrina. Why would I do that?”
“We need a second opinion on a couple of new songs. You know how controlling Seth can be. Come as an objective observer.”
As far as I knew, they were playing the same setlist they’d always played. It bothered me that Seth would change it up without letting me know. I considered myself something of an artistic consultant on these matters. The whole conversation was strange, and it left me with an eerie feeling, one I couldn’t shake for the rest of the day.
That night I waited until my parents were asleep, then popped over to Mai’s room and told her where I was going and when I’d be back.
“You’re breaking the terms of our arrangement,” she said like a contract lawyer.
“I know, but Sabrina really wants me there tonight. I think something’s up with the band. You can come with me if you want.”
I suggested it thinking she’d decline.
“Okay, let’s do it.”
I was surprised she’d agreed to it, but I was also kind of looking forward to it. Mai and I had gone out together a few times in Japan with our cousins, and we’d had a lot of fun. And it meant that I wouldn’t have to ride my bike there. I knew I could get her in—the bouncers all knew me by name by then, and if not by name, then by my association to Seth. I pulled a pink wig off a plastic mannequin head bust—she’d gotten it in Japan—and instructed her to wear sunglasses as well. For me, I got a ski hat and aviators.
“Why are we dressing up?” she asked.
“I don’t know. I think Sabrina doesn’t want Seth to spot me.”
That uncomfortable feeling was back, like I had something slithering up the sides of my stomach, but I wasn’t going to stress until I knew the situation.
We arrived at Corner Bar after the show had already been going on for a while. The bouncer waved us in, winking at Mai as she passed by him.
“It’s so dark in here,” Mai observed, wrinkling up her nose. “And smoky.”
It wasn’t smoke. It was mist from some sort of fog machine the band must be trying out. Maybe that was what Sabrina wanted me to weigh in on. Seth was fond of using props and lights to create atmosphere. Sabrina thought it was gimmicky and that the music should speak for itself. Mitchell and Dean didn’t offer their opinions, which usually left me as the tiebreaker.
