Lost City

by Tracey West

  The girls left the pizza place and walked the few blocks to the school. Since it was such a beautiful day, the windows were open and they could hear the sounds of guitars drifting through the air.

  They walked into the building and peered into the first classroom. Gigi sat in the middle of the room, holding a guitar. She was demonstrating finger placement. Mostly younger girls and a few teenagers sat around, holding guitars of their own and copying Gigi’s movements.

  “And that is a G chord!” Gigi announced with a smile. “Or the Gigi chord, as I like to call it!” The girls laughed and tried the chord for themselves.

  Gigi glanced up and saw Aly and AJ standing in the doorway. She walked over while her students practiced.

  “Aly, AJ, hi!” she exclaimed. “You are just in time to see the Girls Rock Academy in action. I’m teaching a beginners’ class right now, and Miles is down the hall teaching the advanced class. Do you want to sit in?”

  “We should split up. Maybe we’ll learn something,” AJ whispered to Aly. She turned to Gigi. “I’d like to see what the advanced class is doing,” she said.

  “Sure. I’d like to stick around here,” Aly said.

  AJ headed down the hallway to Miles’s classroom. Aly took a seat in the back of the room while Gigi resumed teaching.

  “Okay, guys,” Gigi said to her class. “Keep practicing what we learned today. I’m going to walk around and check everyone’s finger placement. Aly, you want to help?”

  “I’d love to.” Aly smiled. The girls were so cute!

  Aly looked around the room. She spotted Hana, the little girl she had spoken to at the grand opening. Hana was sitting in the corner. She had put her guitar on the stand and was sitting hunched over with her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands, looking sad.

  “What’s the matter, Hana?” Aly knelt down next to her.

  “I’m just not getting it,” Hana said quietly. Today she wore a denim skirt and a Hello Kitty T-shirt with pink Crocs on her feet. She didn’t even look up at Aly.

  “First of all, I love your shirt,” Aly said. “Second of all, don’t be so blue. Mastering any kind of musical instrument takes a lot of time and patience. You should know that from playing the piano.”

  Hana looked up at Aly. “The piano was a lot easier for me. The guitar is so different!”

  “Just think of a guitar as a piano flipped on its side,” Aly suggested. “Here, let me show you.” She guided Hana’s hands and fingers up and down the guitar neck.

  While Aly was helping Hana, AJ was watching the more experienced guitar players in Miles’s class. After showing them the chord changes from the song “Since U Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson, he slouched into a chair.

  “Now you can all just chill and practice,” he said before slipping his iPod out of his pocket and putting the earphones in his ears. He closed his eyes and started bobbing his head to the beat of whatever music he was listening to.

  AJ wasn’t very impressed. What kind of teacher does that? she thought to herself. She glanced around the room as the sounds of “Since U Been Gone” began to fill the air. She spotted Shannon, the girl they’d met the other day, wearing a deep frown as she concentrated on the sheet music on the stand in front of her. Her guitar sat comfortably in her lap. She was wearing an old AC/DC concert T-shirt and a pair of camouflage capri pants with black Converse sneakers.

  “Shannon, how’s it going?” Aly asked.

  “Ugh!” Shannon muttered. “I can play this song if I do it by listening to it. But when I try to read the music, I get all confused and nothing makes sense!”

  “You don’t know how to read music yet?” AJ asked.

  Shannon shook her head.

  “Don’t worry, you’ll learn,” AJ said. “You’ve just got to keep trying.”

  “I know, but I want to jam!” Shannon moaned. “Just like AC/DC. My dad gave me this shirt. He’s been playing their CDs for me since I was a tiny baby. That’s why I started playing guitar. Angus Young is the best guitar player in the universe.”

  AJ smiled. AC/DC was a heavy metal band that became famous in the 1970s. If the people from the Classical Music Center heard Shannon rocking AC/DC down here, they would not be happy. Now that was loud music!

  “Don’t get discouraged,” AJ told her. “It’s only the first day of class. Give yourself some time to learn.”

  She sat down next to Shannon and helped go over the sheet music with her. Before long, parents began to arrive to pick up their children. Shannon said good-bye to AJ as she packed up her stuff and left with her dad.

  Miles opened his eyes and looked around. He pulled the iPod headphones out of his ears.

  “Great. Now I can go home,” he said to AJ. He began gathering the sheet music and putting it away.

  “How do you like teaching here?” AJ asked. She couldn’t help being curious about him. Why would somebody who didn’t seem to like teaching want to teach guitar to kids?

  “Whatever. It’s just a way to earn some money,” he said with a shrug. “I’m more interested in making my own music than teaching. I’ll probably be as famous as you and your sister someday. All I need is some money.”

  “For what?” AJ asked.

  “So I can record a CD. As soon as I get the money saved up, it’s bye-bye, Girls Rock Academy,” he answered. He put the last music stand away and nodded toward AJ. “I’m out of here. Later.” Then he walked out the door.

  AJ followed. She saw Aly coming out of Gigi’s classroom and grabbed her, pulling her into the equipment room. It was empty, so they could talk in private.

  “That was so much fun,” Aly said. “The girls are adorable, and they’re trying so hard to learn.”

  “They are,” AJ said. “But I think I found someone even more interesting.”

  “Who?” Aly asked.

  “Miles,” AJ told her.

  “Uh-oh,” Aly said. “Don’t tell me you’ve got a crush on him!”

  “No!” AJ gave Aly a playful swat on the shoulder. “What I mean is, Miles didn’t seem very interested in teaching the class. Afterward I was talking to him. He doesn’t like it here very much. In fact, as soon as he earns enough money to record a CD, he said he’s quitting.”

  “Hmmm.” Aly looked thoughtful. “Do you think he wants the money so badly he’d steal Gigi’s equipment for it?”

  “It’s a possibility,” AJ said. “It looks like we have another suspect!”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN:

  THE RED GUITAR

  Aly and AJ took a few steps out of the equipment room before they stopped short. Gigi was standing in the hallway with Brandon in front of her. She looked upset.

  “I’ll expect an improvement tomorrow,” Brandon said. He turned and walked off, looking angry.

  Aly and AJ approached Gigi.

  “What was that about?” Aly asked.

  Gigi let out a huge sigh and ran her fingers through her spiky black hair. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think the Girls Rock Academy is jinxed! Between losing my equipment and now having to deal with the people from the Classical Music Center, I don’t know how I’m going to make this school a success! Brandon was complaining about the noise.”

  “The noise?” AJ asked. “We could hear the guitars a little bit with the windows open but it certainly wasn’t too loud.”

  “Try telling that to Brandon,” Gigi said. “He said it interfered with their practice upstairs. If I don’t do something about it, he said he’d complain to the landlord.”

  “He did say he didn’t like loud music,” Aly remembered. “The day we were moving the equipment into the building.”

  “I’m not going to let it bother me,” Gigi said. “Today was a great day and my class was fantastic. The girls were so excited to learn. I should ask Miles how his class went. Have you seen him?”

  “He left already,” AJ said. “Something about having to get home.”

  “I’ll check in with him tomorrow,” Gigi said. “And I guess I’ll ha
ve to shut the windows then, too. Maybe that will make Brandon happy. How’s the investigation going?”

  Aly and AJ filled her in on the Lime Invasion bubble gum clue and their meeting with Melanie. Both of them agreed, without having to say anything to each other, not to mention their suspicions about Miles. Gigi had enough to worry about!

  After getting hugs and thanks from Gigi, Aly and AJ headed out of the school and back to their hotel for a pit stop before rehearsal. They decided to walk.

  The streets were getting crowded with men and women dressed in business suits hurrying home. Others were pushing baby carriages and quite a few people were walking dogs. AJ and Aly had fun people-watching as they strolled through the city.

  After seeing countless adorable babies and too-cute pups, a woman walking a pug caught their eye. The woman looked ordinary enough in a pale blue knit dress. But the pug was hysterical! It had on a frilly pink tutu with a matching bow on its head and a pink rhinestone-studded collar.

  Aly and AJ laughed.

  “Your dog is so cute,” Aly said.

  The woman looked up. She let out a shriek.

  “Oh my gosh! You’re Aly,” she said. “And you’re AJ! We love your music. Isn’t that right, Mrs. Puggy?” She bent down and scooped up the dog and cuddled it to her cheek.

  “Mrs. Puggy just loves Aly and AJ,” she said while talking in a high baby voice. “Isn’t that right, Mrs. Puggy?” The dog glared at Aly and AJ. It did not look amused.

  “Thanks,” Aly said. She put out her hand to Mrs. Puggy. The dog growled and showed her teeth.

  “Yikes!” Aly exclaimed. She pulled her hand away.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry,” the woman said, talking normally. Then she started in with the baby talk again. “Mrs. Puggy, that wasn’t very nice!”

  “Maybe Mrs. Puggy isn’t in the mood to meet us right now,” AJ said politely. “But it was nice meeting you.”

  The girls walked away. They waited until the woman and Mrs. Puggy were out of sight before they doubled over laughing.

  “I guess Mrs. Puggy won’t be joining our fan club anytime soon,” AJ said between snorts. “I wish we had a video camera. Mom’s never going to believe this one!”

  They continued on their way, and after walking for about five blocks they passed a small guitar shop. The front window was crowded with acoustic and electric guitars. The sign over the door said Izzy’s Guitars. Jammin’ since 1968.

  “Wow!” Aly said. “Would you look at that? They’ve got a lot of vintage guitars.”

  “Luckily we’ve got a few minutes,” AJ said. “Let’s go inside.”

  When they opened the door a bell chimed. The store was small, but every inch was packed with equipment. Guitars hung from the ceiling and the walls. They were also on stands on the floor, fighting for space with stacks of amps and other equipment.

  “Look!” AJ cried, pointing at the ceiling. “A 1957 Fender Stratocaster electric guitar!” The valuable guitar hung from the ceiling, too high to touch. The body was made of two-toned wood that was black around the edges and faded to a natural tone in the center. It had a neck made of smooth maple.

  “They’ve also got a 1954 Gibson Les Paul,” Aly said. The black guitar with cream trim was also hung out of reach.

  But AJ had her sights on an acoustic guitar hanging from the wall.

  “It’s a beauty,” AJ breathed. “The Martin Eric Clapton Signature Acoustic guitar!”

  Aly stood with her sister to admire the guitar. It was made out of rosewood, and the ebony fingerboard had a diamond-and-square pattern in abalone pearl. She looked at the price tag.

  “Four thousand dollars! I bet it’s still way cheaper than the Strat or the Gibson,” she said.

  “That’s okay. Artemis and Jonah are the best guitars, anyway,” AJ said. “But I wouldn’t mind trying this one out.” She looked around for a clerk to help. Even though the store was tiny, it was difficult to see with all the merchandise packing every available surface.

  She began to make her way toward the back of the store with Aly following, but a familiar voice stopped them both in their tracks.

  “It’s Melanie!” AJ whispered to Aly.

  They peeked over a stack of amps and saw Melanie talking to a man standing behind a glass display counter. He had a long, scraggly gray beard and long grayish-brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. He wore a flannel shirt and jeans.

  “What do you think you could give me for it, Izzy?” Melanie asked.

  “Let me see,” Izzy said. He opened the case and pulled out a red electric guitar. He eyed the instrument. “It’s a Gibson SG special, pretty new. They retail brand-new for about seven hundred bucks, so I can’t give you that much for it. It’s a pretty common guitar and I’ve already got a few. The best I can offer is two hundred.”

  As Melanie and Izzy negotiated a price, Aly whipped out her sketchbook and quickly made a sketch of the guitar. Izzy opened the cash register and gave Melanie a stack of bills. She pocketed the money and turned to leave. Aly and AJ ducked behind the amps so she wouldn’t see them.

  The bell on the door chimed as Melanie left. Aly and AJ stood up and exchanged looks. They were both thinking the same thing. Melanie was selling a guitar. Could it be one of the stolen guitars?

  “I really like Melanie,” AJ said. “But it looks like she’s a suspect again!”

  “We need to show this sketch to Gigi,” Aly said. “Maybe she can identify it as one of her missing guitars. Do you think we should go back and see if she’s still at the school?”

  AJ shook her head. “While we’re trying to be detectives, we’ve still got a show at Madison Square Garden to worry about,” Aly replied. “We’d better get a move on. Jim will freak if we’re late for practice!”

  CHAPTER TWELVE:

  A DREAM COME TRUE

  The girls decided to catch a cab to their hotel so they could freshen up before practice. After all, it had been a really long day!

  They each took a quick shower and got dressed. Since they wanted to be comfortable, they put on their oldest, most comfy jeans. AJ paired hers with a racerback tank. It was black and had a picture of an electric guitar on the back. Since it was getting cooler out, she pulled on a gray hoodie with the Rolling Stones’ logo on the back.

  Aly grabbed a supersoft baby doll tank with lace trim. It was worn-in and had a few carefully placed distressed holes. She grabbed a hoodie, too—a black one with cartoon pictures of smiling pieces of sushi all over it.

  “I feel so much better,” AJ said. “Are you ready?”

  “Let’s go!” Aly replied. They left the hotel and took a cab to the studio.

  “So,” AJ said to her sister as the cab sped through the city streets. “Do you think Melanie is the thief after all?”

  “I don’t know,” Aly said. “But it doesn’t look good. Why was she selling that guitar? As soon as we get a chance, we’ll have to show the picture to Gigi. If it is one of the missing guitars, Melanie will have some explaining to do.”

  The cab dropped them off in front of the office building where the studio was. They entered the studio to find everyone there and ready.

  Jim smiled in relief. “You are right on time! Not that I was worried or anything, but, you know…”

  “Oh, Jim!” Aly said. “When will you learn to relax? Hey, guys!” she said to the band.

  The band greeted them with cheery hellos. Everyone was psyched about the big gig at Madison Square Garden. Now it was only days away!

  Jack hit a note on his keyboard and held it. “That’s an E,” he said to Malcolm and Matt. Malcolm was holding his bass and Matt had his guitar. They were tuning their instruments to the note Jeffrey had just played.

  Malcolm nodded. “Sounds good.”

  Meanwhile, Tommy was tightening and loosening the skins on his drums, making sure they were perfectly in tune.

  The girls strapped on their acoustic guitars and asked Jeffrey to play the E note again. They wanted to make sure they were per
fectly in sync with the rest of the band.

  “Let’s get warmed up,” Tommy suggested. He began to beat out a funky groove. Malcolm joined in on the bass. Matt, Aly, and AJ came in on guitar, and soon Jeffrey was playing along. They jammed out a fresh, groovy sound.

  The music ended. Jim clapped.

  “That was a great,” he said. “And it wasn’t even a real song!”

  AJ looked thoughtful. “I did like that,” she said. She grabbed her notebook and made a few notes. “I’ll have to remember some of those sounds when we’re writing our next album.”

  “Should we run through the set list?” Matt asked.

  “Let’s do it!” Aly replied.

  As the music played, the world seemed to disappear. Lost in the notes and lyrics, there were only the sounds of their voices and the guitars, bass, drums, and keyboards. Thoughts of stolen equipment, suspects, and Mrs. Puggy were far, far away.

  Halfway through the set they launched into “Rush,” a song from their album Into the Rush.

  “Don’t let nobody tell you, your life is over, Be every color that you are, Into the rush now, You don’t have to know how, Know it all before you try,” AJ and Aly sang together.

  Time flew by, and before they knew it they had gone through the entire set.

  “That felt good!” AJ said.

  “I feel like I’m coming out of some kind of trance,” Aly said. “I totally lost myself in the music.”

  “That’s what made it so great,” Jeffrey said. “No one was thinking too hard. We just let the music do the talking.”

  “You were all fantastic,” Jim said. “The show is going to be great!”

  “But we do have a few other things we should talk about,” Jeffrey added. “Like, did you have anything you were planning to say to the audience in between songs?”

  Aly and AJ shrugged. “I hadn’t really thought about it,” Aly said.

  “Usually I like to have a plan, but we probably want to keep it fresh,” AJ answered. “I don’t want us to sound scripted or anything.”

  “That’s a good point,” Jeffrey said. “But you might want to look over your set list and see if there is anything special you might want to mention about certain songs. You know, your inspirations, any funny stories about the writing or the recording of it, that kind of thing.”