We're with the Band

by Adrianne Ambrose

  Veronica turned to her friend. “Yeah, but our new band is going to be even more fun.”

  “Really?”

  “Definitely! I mean, what could be more fun than being in an all-girl band with your best friend?” Veronica asked.

  Betty gave it some thought and then smiled. “You know what? You’re right! We’re going to have a great time. The frosting is the best part of the cake!”

  “That’s right!” Veronica agreed. “I mean, who doesn’t like frosting?” Veronica unlocked her car and they both climbed in. “We’re going to put together the best, most funnest, all-girl band ever!”

  Chapter 2

  The next day, Betty rode her bike up the long driveway of the Lodge Mansion and around to the back of the house. Veronica was by the pool waiting for her, reclining on a deck chair. She wore oversized sunglasses and a large, pink floppy hat.

  “Hey, Ronnie!” Betty called, climbing off her bike. “I posted flyers on the bulletin board at the mall, the grocery store, two cafés, and Pop’s Chocklit Shoppe. Where did you post?”

  Veronica stretched, luxuriating in the summer sun. “Craigslist,” she replied.

  Betty parked her bike next to the pool house. “I put on the flyers that auditions are today and tomorrow from eleven to four. How long do you think we’ll have to wait for girls to start showing up?”

  Veronica squinted at two approaching figures making their way down the driveway. “Not long.”

  Betty turned around to see Midge Klump, a petite girl, staggering under the weight of an upright bass and Ethel Muggs, a tall string bean of a gal, trundling along with a giant case that looked suspiciously like a tuba.

  “Hey, girls!” Midge called out pleasantly. “We’re here to audition.”

  “Oh great!” Veronica plastered a big smile on her face. “Give us just a minute.” Then, turning to Betty, she said in a low voice, “We need to talk.”

  They ducked inside the pool house for a bit of privacy. As soon as Betty closed the door, Veronica said, “Am I crazy or is Ethel hauling a tuba in that steamer trunk?”

  Betty nodded thoughtfully, “It did have a distinctive tuba shape.”

  “What does she think we’re putting together here? A marching band?” Veronica put her hands on her hips. “We should just tell her to go home.”

  “We can’t do that!” Betty said, her eyes growing wide with anxiety. “It’ll hurt her feelings! I mean, she bothered to carry that heavy case all the way over here. We should at least give her a chance.”

  Veronica sighed. “Oh, all right. You’re such a softy. But I guess we wouldn’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings.”

  “Good.” Betty smiled with relief. “And you never know, she might be good.”

  Veronica rolled her eyes. “Well, what about Midge?”

  “What about her?” Betty blinked innocently.

  “She brought a standup bass,” Veronica squawked. “Does she think we’re starting a rockabilly band or something? What’s next? A man with a giant beard blowing on a jug?”

  Betty dissolved into giggles. “Ronnie, stop,” she said, trying to catch her breath. “We’re having open auditions, and that means girls can audition with any instrument they want. You just have to try to keep an open mind.”

  “Oh, all right,” Veronica relented. She knew Betty was too kind to turn any girl away without at least giving her a chance. They went back outside to begin the auditions.

  Ethel did indeed play the tuba. She auditioned with an upbeat version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” She got all the notes right, and it didn’t exactly sound bad, but even Betty had to admit that Ethel’s “style” wasn’t right for what they had in mind.

  Midge, on the other hand, was fantastic on the standup bass. She could pluck it, she could slap it, she could build up quite the rhythm—even if she did have to stand on an overturned bucket to play the giant fiddle. Betty was all for making her a member of the band on the spot, but Veronica wasn’t nearly as enthusiastic and insisted they wait. She didn’t want to assign all the spots in the band before they’d finished auditions.

  More girls began to show up. Tomoko Yoshida dazzled them by playing the violin. Betty was impressed, but Veronica felt it wasn’t a very practical instrument for a rock band.

  Alison Adams brought her theremin to the audition. “What in the world is that thing?” Veronica asked when Alison plunked down an awkward gizmo that boasted two antennae.

  “It’s one of the first electronic instruments,” Betty explained. “You know the theme song to the original Star Trek TV show? It’s that sound.”

  Betty thought the theremin might bring an interesting dimension to the band. Veronica really did try to listen with an open mind, but in the end decided the whole thing sounded too geeked-out to her.

  It was late afternoon by the time Cheryl Blossom came slinking up the driveway. She wore a snug-fitting sundress that clung to her curvy figure and her deep auburn hair was flawlessly styled. “Hello, girls,” she called. Betty couldn’t stop her hands from immediately trying to smooth down the wrinkles in her shirt. Cheryl always had that effect on her.

  “Oh, hi, Cheryl,” Veronica replied, doing her best to keep the irritation out of her voice. Cheryl had the annoying habit of flirting with Archie every time she laid eyes on him. And, even more annoying, Archie had the bad habit of flirting back.

  “I heard you girls are having band tryouts,” Cheryl said. Veronica cringed. She couldn’t stand the way Cheryl always said “you girls” as though Cheryl was so much older than everyone else. They were all seventeen.

  “That’s right,” Betty replied. “And what instrument do you play?”

  Cheryl laughed as if Betty had just cracked the funniest joke. “Oh, I don’t play an instrument.”

  Veronica leveled Cheryl with a flat look. “Then what are you doing here?” she asked, trying to keep her voice calm.

  “Why, I sing,” Cheryl said as if Betty and Veronica should have already known. “Who’s your lead singer?”

  “I am,” Betty and Veronica both said at the same time. They immediately exchanged looks, then Veronica added, “We both are.”

  “Oh. Two lead singers. That’s very . . .” Cheryl took her time searching for the right word. “Quaint.”

  “So unless you have some other type of musical talent, I guess there’s no place for you here,” Betty said with a shrug.

  “Suit yourself,” Cheryl replied. “Girl bands are so last year, anyway.”

  Veronica gave Betty an astonished look as Cheryl walked down the driveway.

  “What?” Betty asked, feeling uncomfortable under her best friend’s gaze.

  “That thing you just said to Cheryl. I mean, you were borderline . . . mean. I’m stunned.” Veronica tried not to smile too wide. She just couldn’t believe Betty had stood up to Cheryl.

  “Hmph!” Betty sniffed. “It’s just that Cheryl makes me so mad sometimes. I mean, she acts like she’s better than everyone else just because she’s been to boarding school and her parents have a little money. Your parents are as rich as rock stars, but you don’t have your nose stuck up in the air.”

  Veronica chuckled at Betty’s tone. But her friend was right. And Cheryl’s was not the kind of attitude they wanted in their amazing, new girl band.

  “Oh look, here come some more girls,” she said, seeing a few females toting instruments up the driveway. “Let’s hope at least one of them plays something normal.”

  XOXO

  By the second day of auditions, Betty and Veronica were feeling discouraged. They had listened patiently while girls displayed their skills on the accordion, the ukulele, and the vibraphone. Kim Wong had even played “Greensleeves” on the water glasses.

  “This is a nightmare,” Veronica moaned.

  “Well, even though it isn’t exactly what we’re looking for, you have to admit that Kim’s talented,” Betty insisted.

  “Oh, I think she’s talented,” Veronica assured her. “Riverd
ale is apparently crammed full of girls with weird musical talents. If we were forming a circus we’d be all set. But is it too much to ask for a girl who can hold a pair of sticks and hit a drum?”

  Betty wanted to reassure her friend that they would find the perfect bandmates. But even she had to admit that their search was proving harder than she’d thought.

  That’s why when Nancy Woods showed up carrying a bass guitar, their spirits brightened. “Nancy, you play the bass?” Betty called out, her voice filled with hope.

  “You bet I do.” Nancy smiled, her teeth dazzling white against her creamy, cocoa-brown skin. “And I’m even pretty good. I mean, if you believe my father.”

  “Great! Let’s hear what you’ve got.”

  Nancy wasn’t the best bass player on the planet, but she wasn’t the worst, either. After listening to her solo for a few minutes, Betty warmed up her guitar. Veronica plugged in her keyboard and they tried jamming a little together. After one whole song, two things were crystal clear: They needed to practice, and Nancy blended well with their style.

  Veronica shot Betty a look. “Are we both in agreement on this?” she asked in a low voice. Betty nodded eagerly. “Nancy, you’re in!” Veronica announced. “Welcome to the band.”

  “Yay!” Nancy jumped up and down with excitement. “I can’t wait to tell Chuck!”

  “Speaking of Chuck,” Veronica said slowly. Both she and Betty knew Nancy’s longtime boyfriend. And they knew that Nancy and Chuck spent a lot of time attached at the lips. “We’re going to have practices and shows and stuff. And I know you guys like to spend a lot of time together. Is that going to be a problem?”

  Nancy shook her head. “He’s trying to get a portfolio together to submit to art schools, so I don’t get to see him a ton right now.”

  “Okay, good.” Veronica smiled. “I mean, we’re not going to practice that much, but you know how it is. No band husbands.”

  “Got it.” Nancy winked. “So who do we have for a drummer?”

  That was a very good question. Betty and Veronica still didn’t have a good candidate. They’d had over a dozen girls audition and there were absolutely no drummers at all. “No one so far,” Betty told her.

  Veronica yawned and gave a big stretch. “I guess we have to keep up with the auditions.”

  Betty sighed as she plopped down onto a chair. “I’m not sure I can handle any more auditions. Maybe we should just get a drum machine or something.”

  “Don’t do that,” a voice called from the driveway. “Never fear, the cavalry is here!”

  All three girls spun around to see a lanky girl walking up the driveway. She had long, curly, chestnut-brown hair and a smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose.

  “Who are you?” Veronica asked.

  The girl smiled. “I’m Tina Starling.”

  Veronica arched an eyebrow. “And we should care about this because . . . ?”

  Tina’s grin grew even wider and her green eyes twinkled as she announced, “I’m your new drummer.”

  “You play the drums?” Veronica asked. She looked the new girl over from head to toe. Tina stood so confidently in front of them on the lawn, like she knew she was just what Betty and Veronica had been looking for.

  “You bet I do!” Tina nodded, tossing her corkscrew curls wildly around her head. “And if you guys will help me get my set out of the car, I’ll prove it to you.”

  Betty, Veronica, and Nancy hurried down the driveway to help Tina unload. They set up her drum set on the patio beside the pool.

  Once she was all set up, Tina started her audition. She beat out complicated rhythms and lightning fast drum fills, trying to impress the girls. But it didn’t really sound like anything more than a jumble of noise.

  After a few minutes, Betty interrupted her. “Tina? I’m sure what you’re playing is really good if you know a lot about drumming, but it isn’t exactly for us. Why don’t you just show us a simple beat and we’ll see if we can build from there?”

  Tina grinned. “Sure!” she said. She readjusted her position and started playing a new beat. Suddenly, all the notes made sense. Nancy joined in on the bass and they worked out a funky little rhythm. Then Betty started strumming her guitar, too, and it all seemed to come together.

  “That sounds great!” Veronica clapped her hands. “Tina, you’re in!”

  Chapter 3

  The girls all smiled at one another over the table in the Lodge Mansion kitchen. They’d spent the last two hours rehearsing songs. Now they were taking a well-deserved break and getting to know their new bandmate.

  Betty and Veronica couldn’t believe their good luck. Tina fit into the group as though she’d always lived in Riverdale.

  “My family just moved here at the beginning of the summer,” Tina explained. “I’ve been looking for a way to make some friends.”

  Betty set down her glass after taking a long sip of lemonade. “Well we’re glad you saw the flyer.”

  “By the way, I can sing, too,” Tina added. “I don’t know if you’re looking for a lead singer.”

  “Thanks, but we’ve got that covered,” Veronica told her. “Betty and I are both going to be the lead singers.”

  “Oh.” A flash of disappointment crossed Tina’s face, but she quickly recovered. “So what are we going to call this band?”

  Veronica sat up straight. This was the moment she’d been waiting for. “I’ve been giving it some thought,” she said slowly, drawing out the suspense. “And I have the perfect name.”

  “Really?” the other girls asked eagerly.

  Veronica nodded. She smiled her biggest smile. “Ready?” she said. “The Veronicas.”

  Nancy’s mouth dropped open in shock. Tina’s smile melted into a look of sheer confusion.

  But Betty was the most shocked of all of them. “What?!” she cried.

  Veronica shrugged. “What do you mean, what? It’s the perfect name.”

  “Ronnie, we just left The Archies because we wanted to be part of a band that included everyone,” Betty said. She struggled to keep her voice calm. “Now you want our new name to be the Veronicas? That’s just . . . weird.”

  “It is not weird,” Veronica insisted. “The Veronicas is inspired. Besides”—she counted on her fingers—“I have the most stage presence, the band was my idea, and we’re practicing at my family’s pool house.”

  “The band was our idea,” Betty fired back. “And I think we should pick a name that’s cute and something we all like.”

  Veronica sighed. “Like what?” She couldn’t believe Betty was being so difficult.

  “I’m thinking maybe something to do with fashion,” Betty suggested. “You know, something like Kitten Heel.”

  Tina grinned. “Kitten Heel is pretty good. Or the Kitten Heels.”

  “It’s not as good as the Veronicas,” Ronnie told them.

  “Well, how about The Candy Hearts?” Tina suggested. “That’s very girl band, don’t you think?”

  “Cute, but still not as cute as the Veronicas.”

  Betty felt her face starting to flush with anger. “Ronnie, you can’t be serious about this.”

  “Uh, guys?” Nancy looked up from her laptop. She had been searching the web while everyone else chatted. “There’s already a band called The Veronicas. They’re in Australia. That name is definitely out.”

  Veronica looked disappointed, but Betty was relieved. She didn’t want to have to fight over it, but there was no way she was going to go from The Archies to the Veronicas. “Why don’t we come up with a list of potential names and then vote?” she suggested. “That way it’s fair for everyone.”

  “Okay,” Tina agreed. “Betty likes Kitten Heel, I said The Candy Hearts, any other ideas?”

  “How about the Hemlines?” Nancy suggested.

  Tina smiled. “That’s pretty good, too. Anything else?”

  No one said anything. Tina glanced at Veronica. “Any other ideas before we vote?” she asked again.


  “No.” Ronnie shook her head.

  “Okay, then,” Tina continued, “Raise your hand if you want Kitten Heel.”

  Betty raised her hand.

  “How about the Hemlines?”

  Nancy raised her hand.

  Then, while simultaneously raising her own hand, Tina said, “Who wants The Candy Hearts?”

  Veronica uncrossed her arms and raised her hand.

  Tina beamed. “The Candy Hearts it is!”

  XOXO

  The Candy Hearts held their first official practice the following afternoon in the Lodge family’s pool house. Veronica had the butler make room for the band to practice. She also had the mini fridge stocked with sodas and sparkling water, plus the cupboards were filled with low-calorie snacks. And, as the final touch to celebrate the launch of their new band, Veronica set out a bowl of pink and white conversation hearts. She’d had the little pastel-colored candies custom printed with CH on them in cursive.

  Tina was the first to arrive. She carried a small speaker, which she set down beside her drum set. “Cute!” she chirped when she saw the candy hearts. She grabbed a pink one and popped it into her mouth. “I didn’t notice if you guys had any equipment yesterday, so I brought my amp,” she explained, pointing to the speaker.

  “Oh yeah.” Veronica suddenly remembered that the band would need things like microphones and speakers and maybe even a mixing board. “I’ll pick up some stuff tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow?” Tina’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “How? Through magic?”

  “No, through plastic,” Veronica said. “Daddy gave me a new credit card and I haven’t tried it out yet.”

  “Your parents let you buy stuff with a credit card?” Tina asked.

  “Sure,” Veronica shrugged. “Don’t yours?”

  “No. Not at all.” Tina shook her head. “I think my mom maybe has one, and she only uses that for emergencies.”

  “Bizarre,” Veronica commented. She couldn’t imagine not having her little plastic card. “Well, when the other girls get here we’ll put together a list of what we need.”

  “Sweet!” Tina smiled, crunching another sugary heart between her teeth.