“I could not agree with you more, sir,” I said, nodding my head.
“I’m sorry, Professor. It’s not actually my song,” Seth chipped in. I glared at him, trying to make him stop talking, but he ignored my warning look. “It’s Joey’s song, sir. She wrote almost the whole thing, she deserves the credit.”
A few students were picking random instruments from the walls and starting to play a few screeching tunes. At first I thought they were tuning their instruments, warming up to play, but the chaotic notes and sharp screeches were only getting worse and louder by the minute.
I saw Tristan flinching at the horrible noises around us, and I tried my best to put on a straight face, but wasn’t succeeding much. Now I understood why there were so few names on the Music class list! Staying here for a couple of hours was going to be pure torture! Seth could’ve warned us about this, the numbnuts!
Professor Rubick seemed to understand our worried glances. “Yes. Sorry about that.” He looked apologetically at his students. “So, Joey, is it? Since you two seem to be advanced students, perhaps we could work out some kind of arrangement. The same one I have with Seth and his band. We have a special deal so they don’t have to attend my classes here. But they still need to work on music, though,” Professor Rubick said firmly.
“Arrangement, sir?” Tristan and I asked at the same time.
We were up for anything that could take us out of here!
“Yes. You two can join in Seth’s band, how about that? But wait! There’s a catch. Each one of you needs to deliver me an original song by the end of term. Joey can help you guys with yours, since she already managed a song in just one week!” he said, getting excited. “Oh! This is going to be such an interesting project! I can’t wait to see what you boys will come up with!”
“But … but … sir!” Seth intervened. “I need to talk to the rest of guys first! I don’t own the band, they all have to agree with new members …”
“Well, you talk with them and let me know! It’s that, or this …” Professor Rubick gestured to the chaotic commotion thumping around us.
Tristan and I looked desperately at Seth. Anything was better than another minute in this hell! Poor Professor Rubick. I wondered how he coped with those lessons. You had to really love teaching to endure long hours of horror in this room with these students!
We huddled next to Seth, while Professor Rubick shouted at the other students to stop playing the instruments for the love of all that is good in the world.
“Come on, man! We’ll just sit quietly at rehearsals and watch you guys play. You won’t even know we’re there!” Tristan pleaded. He looked like he would do just about anything to avoid attending this class!
Seth looked at both of our desperate faces, and sighed in defeat. “Okay. I’ll talk to the guys. Come on. Let’s meet them in the practice room,” he said, waving us to follow him.
We gave Professor Rubick a thumbs-up and darted out of the room, clapping our hands over our ears.
“Thanks so much, Seth. We promise we won’t disturb you!” I said in relief as we followed Seth down the hallway.
“Hey, don’t thank me yet. I still need the guys’ permission! If they don’t agree, the deal is off, sorry!” he said in a worried tone.
“Come on! They don’t like us, is that it?” I asked by Seth’s side.
Josh seemed to be quite easygoing, and we were training buddies at M.A. Harry might have a problem with us, because we were new people and he seemed really shy. I didn’t have a clue about Sam, since I hadn’t met him yet.
“Well … I don’t think they are going to mind about Tristan. Not after they hear him sing. But, you, Joey, I don’t know … because you’re, you know, a girl and all. The only girl,” Seth mumbled.
Oh. So it was a boy band. Boys only. Crap.
“I could be your songwriter, help you with some new song ideas,” I suggested, trying to sound like I didn’t care much about being in the band. But I couldn’t hide the disappointment in my voice.
Seth took a quick glance at me and saw how much I wanted to be in the band. “But then we won’t have your wicked piano skills on board,” he said, smiling warmly at me. “Do you think you can play again on the piano for the band to hear? It was amazing hearing you two together!”
“Sure,” I said, “Let me just practice a little more, take a few lessons with Professor Rubick, then my piano won’t sound so sucky.”
Seth laughed. “It wasn’t ‘sucky’. You were really good! You too, man,” he said, clapping Tristan’s shoulder.
Soon we arrived at the practice room. It was on the farthest east side of the school building, in a big stonewalled room. It was crowded with boxes and all sorts of repaired furniture, tables, chairs and benches. It was a junkyard of old furniture, but the guys had arranged things in a way that actually looked sort of cool. The room smelled of pinewood and dust.
Harry was already there, waiting, sitting on some boxes, his wild, dark-red hair falling over his pale face. Josh was also there, with his usual black T-shirt and black mohawk, setting his drums in place. They turned as soon as they heard us walk into the room.
“Hey, everybody, we have some company!” Seth shouted cheerfully. “Joe, Tristan, you two have met Harry, bass man, and Josh there, drummer boy. The gloomy stranger on the other side of the room, plugging in his guitar, is Sam Hunt. Lead guitar and lead singer. Sammy, my man, how ya doing?”
A tall, strong boy stood up and smiled at us. He had curly brown hair and deep, dark-blue eyes. He wasn’t as tall as Josh, but he was larger and stronger. And he had the most open, warm smile ever. Nothing about him was gloomy; he was absolutely vibrant and full of cheer. He came over to us, laughing loudly.
“So, these are the infamous Grays!” Sam said, shaking Tristan’s hand vigorously and turning to me. “Nice to finally meet you! Seth’s been babbling about you non-stop. It’s Tristan this, Joey that, all day long! I was wondering when you were going to show up!” he said, giving me a huge hug, which surprised me a little.
And I’d been worried Sam would have a problem with us! He was so nice!
Sam, Tristan and I chatted for a while, and I grew fonder of Sam by the minute. He was funny, kind and obviously the joker of the band. He made everybody laugh with such ease! He was just naturally funny, a born entertainer. Harry laughed at almost everything Sam did or said. And Harry’s laugh was really contagious. Once you heard him laughing, you couldn’t stop yourself laughing too.
Then Seth called the band to a corner to discuss our situation, and I stood in the other corner with Tristan, looking around the room. I could hear only parts of the conversation.
“You should have heard them. It was freaking amazing …”
“Professor Rubick actually liked them? Wow, that’s a first …”
“I’m telling you, man, he has a REALLY good vocal …”
“… she plays the piano! It’d be great in some of our songs …”
“… but she’s a girl, dude. What if someone asks about the name?”
“If we change the name …”
“We’re NOT changing the name!”
Apparently, there was a name-changing discussion happening over there. After a few minutes, they seemed to have reached agreement. They all turned in our direction, and Seth walked over to us with a poker face on. “That’s settled, then! Tristan, you’re definitely in!” Seth said, clapping Tristan’s back with a wide grin.
“Great! I’ll just stay out of your way, you won’t even know I’m here!” Tristan breathed, relieved to get rid of music classes.
“Sorry, dude, but you can’t stay in the corner just watching, you’ll have to sing too. And work on your lyrics. You heard the professor: each one of us must come up with a new song.” Seth smiled evilly at him.
Tristan nodded with a happy smile.
“What about me?” I asked Seth anxiously “They didn’t let me in, right? That’s okay, Seth, you tried,” I said shuffling my feet. I was a l
ittle bit disappointed, though.
“Oh, you’re in too, Joey. But you will have to just be our composer, because they don’t want to change the band’s name. I think they’re being stupid. We don’t need to be all boys playing in the band just because of the name of the band. It’s not a literal thing, it’s just an idea. And you do rock with your piano skills! It was brilliant! We should be begging you to join in!” he said, giving the others a pointed glare. Then he gave me a welcome hug.
I smiled while I hugged Seth. Tristan was looking at us kind of seriously, with a weird expression on his face, but when he caught me looking at him he averted his eyes, fast. I wondered why …
“I’m really glad to have you on board, Joe Gray!” Seth said into my ear. Then he turned to the band and shouted at them. “HEY! She even has a boy’s name, so it all still looks certified on paper and you don’t need to worry about changing the band’s name!”
“What is the band’s name, by the way?” I asked, intrigued.
Seth was strapping on his guitar on and walking into their practice area. “How about we give Joey here a preview of her song?” he said, winking at the rest of the band.
They were all set at their marks and ready to play. I sat on the floor next to Tristan, waiting to finally hear my song played for the first time! I was so excited!
“I hope you like it, Joey! And welcome to The Lost Boys!” he said, striking the first chord.
Chapter Eighteen
The Spell Bond
The song was good, but the band was amazing!
They were all really good musicians! Like, nearly-ready-to-record-an-album kind of good! I thought they were just a bunch of kids joking around with some instruments, but I was so wrong! No wonder they had pulled that arrangement with Professor Rubick. They really deserved it! I was so excited after hearing their rehearsal that I ran to my room and started working on some new songs right away. I wanted them to know that I’d do my best to earn my place in the band. I’d compose my ass off!
I spent the rest of the week, and my whole weekend, working on lyrics and melodies. Tristan helped a lot with the melodies and harmony composition. He was really good at blending and mixing those parts.
I called my mom and told her Tristan and I had to stay at school that weekend because of an intense load of homework, but really I’d stayed only to work on my songs. I felt guilty at first, because she sounded so upset that I wouldn’t be visiting her, and I could tell that she missed me a lot, but I was really excited about the band. All I could think about was music 24/7. It was like a light had turned on inside of me and I couldn’t stop glowing.
Seth was as excited as I was about working together on new songs for the band. He said it was good to find someone as passionate about it as he was. So Tristan, Seth and I spent the whole weekend working on new songs. Tiffany was really happy that all of us were staying for the weekend too. Many of the students, mostly the ones with family living close to the school, went home to spend time with their parents. Josh, Sam and Harry sometimes went to visit their parents in Esperanza, sometimes they stayed at Sagan; it depended on their mood. Tiffany and Seth were the only ones who almost never went to see their parents, since they lived in another state, and visiting was difficult and took too much time and effort.
During that first weekend with Tristan, and the next week that followed, I got to know every one of my new friends better. By the end of the second week, it was like we’d known each other for centuries; like we were childhood best friends. I couldn’t explain the instant connection, I just felt really blessed to have found them.
Sam, with his curly brown hair and midnight-blue eyes, was a sweetheart since day one. He was so much fun to be around with that goofy, cheerful way about him; a natural joker on any occasion. He had good looks, the most melodic, beautiful voice, and could make you laugh with incredible ease.
Josh was always around Sam. Or vice-versa. If you looked for one, you found the other too. Josh, with his light-blue eyes and black mohawk, was as strong in mind as in spirit, and the most loyal friend. He made you feel secure and calm, a steady arm in a wavering storm. Josh also had good looks, coolness and the most wicked drumming skills of all time.
Harry, with his lovely emerald green eyes and spiked red hair, was out of this world. He was incredibly beautiful, and the walking metaphor for his crimson and green tattoo of cold waves crashing over fiercely flaming fire. He was really shy and quiet at first, but once you got to know him better you realized he was also wild, unpredictable and incredibly passionate, all at the same time. Harry was extraordinary!
Then there was Seth. Seth and his blond locks of hair over the most kind and loving hazel eyes. There weren’t enough words to describe Seth’s friendship and kindness … He was the brightest light in the darkest tunnel, a shining spirit. It was an honor to be his friend.
And I couldn’t forget about my one and only “girl” friend! In just a couple of weeks, Tiffany had become irreplaceable. Tiff with her supermodel good looks, expensive clothes, cheerful attitude and vibrant soul. Little by little I’d allowed myself to be more free and open with her, and she in return started to let her guard down around me. Each day I got more of a glimpse into how honest, kind and generous she really was inside. I saw in her eyes all the time how much she feared that nobody would ever care for her, or love her for who she was; that her parents’ money was always in the way, always blocking her path to real happiness, to real friends, and true love.
So I did my best to always let her know how much I valued her friendship, for her company alone. I never asked her for favors, special treatments, or recommendations. I didn’t want to know about anything related to her surname. She whined whenever I didn’t let her have her way on things, but I think she respected me more because of it. I was the only one who didn’t let her boss me around. She was my friend, but she wasn’t gonna tell me what to do: she didn’t own me! That was what true friends were all about. We supported each other in our choices, but we didn’t impose our needs on the other.
Tristan and Seth had developed the same close relationship as me and Tiff had. They were always together, chatting, studying, laughing and having fun. I even felt a little jealous of their bond sometimes, like it was somehow a threat to the connection Tristan and I had.
My fear was always that, although my bond with Tristan was strong, as it had been made by magic, it might not be real at all. And Seth’s bond was the real deal, no parlor tricks, no magic involved; it was true friendship. They were together all the time and Tristan was picking up a lot of Seth’s mannerisms. He’d changed his way of speaking by observing Seth and the boys in the band. He was using their cool handshakes, and some new slang even I didn’t know. He was updating himself pretty fast. He even went for a modern haircut!
Tristan looked incredible! I couldn’t believe his radical make-over. In just a few weeks he had changed from this quiet, old-fashioned, “swell” kid to this amazing “rocking” guy.
That weekend I planned to go visit my mother. I asked Tristan if he minded staying at the school, because I wanted to ask Tiffany to come with me. It would be a girls’ weekend/slumber party of sorts.
He smiled and said it was no problem, and that he would hang out with Seth at school; he’d make it a boys’ weekend for them too. He asked me to give my mother a hug from him, and to tell her he’d continue keeping her posted on everything. On that point, I raised an inquiring eyebrow.
“Yeah, well, I call her every so often to tell how things are going,” he explained, chuckling.
“You do?” I asked, bewildered.
“Yes, she made me promise! And I wouldn’t have to if you called her yourself once in a while, you know?”
“Oh, that is such bull! I call her all the freaking time!” I said, making him flinch twice. He always flinched whenever I cursed or did something bad mannered. He couldn’t help himself; it was like a body reflex or something.
“Not as often as she’d like, and she wo
rries,” he said, chiding me.
“Come on, Tris. I’ll call her every single day, if that’s what she wants! And besides, she could live life a little and stop worrying about me!” I snapped, annoyed.
“Okay, all right. I’m not getting in the middle of this. You two girls can sort it out when you get home,” he said, throwing his arms up in a gesture of surrender, and walking off to find Seth.
Mom welcomed Tiffany and me with open arms, and I smartly avoided saying Tiff’s family name during the whole time we were there, so my mom treated her just like any of my friends. She even made us wash the dishes after dinner! I washed and Tiffany had to dry and put them away. A fantastic new experience for her. She kept smiling at my mom like she was the best mom in the whole world for making us do this!
Tiffany and my mom ganged up on me and dragged me to the mall to pick some new clothes on Saturday. I tried to protest, but it was hopeless. Tiff said it was time I stopped dressing like a boy and started wearing dresses, skirts, and some color. My mom elected her my new best friend.
On Sunday I snuck out while Tiffany was occupied talking fashion with my mom, and I paid a quick visit to Miss Violet. I really needed to talk to her about all those weird dreams I’d been having lately. She received me with a warm smile and we talked in her cozy living room while we had a cup of tea. I told her all about the cloaked man and all the cryptic things he had said to me.
I had been feeling a little tired all day long, unable to shake a gnawing headache that had started earlier in the week. Recounting my nightmares tired me out even more, and Miss Violet kept asking me to repeat my dreams over and over again. I saw that she was worried, but she tried to disguise it by avoiding looking directly at me. After a long hour of talking, Miss Violet told me she was going to study “my case” with her witch friends, and would keep me posted on whatever they discovered, and that I shouldn’t worry about it for now. I left her house in a hurry, because I didn’t want Tiff to notice I was gone. Explaining to her where I’d been and what I’d been doing would be a bit difficult.
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