Monica and the Sweetest Song

by Diana G. Gallagher

  “Why can’t I stay for the Battle of the Bands?” Angela asked. “I can cheer really loud.”

  Angela was always loud. She was also a total brat when she was bored or mad. That would spoil the big band contest for me and my friends. I didn’t want to risk it.

  I stalled so Angela wouldn’t throw a fit on the sidewalk. “I’ll think about it,” I told her.

  “Let me stay or I’ll spit in your boots,” Angela said.

  “If you spit in my boots, I’ll clean the toilet with your favorite Princess Patsy shirt,” I said.

  Angela thought I meant it, so she decided to be good. She helped Chloe and me mark off a big square with chairs and blankets.

  Claudia, Becca, and Peter arrived just as we finished.

  “You’re in our spot,” Claudia told me.

  “We got here first,” I said calmly. I looked at Becca, but she looked away from me.

  “No, they did,” Claudia said. She pointed at the football players. “We’re all cheering for Scrimmage, so we’re going to sit here.”

  “Why don’t you sit on the other side of the football team?” I asked.

  “The Glitter & Grit groupies are there,” Peter said. “I’m not messing with Jenny’s fans.”

  “But you’ll mess with me?” I said sadly.

  Chloe pulled me aside. “Let’s just move over,” she said. “We’ll still be close enough.”

  “Okay,” I said. “Fine.” If I was nice, maybe Claudia would realize that she was the one being silly and mean.

  Everyone pitched in to move our stuff. Then Claudia ignored me again.

  Angela was already getting bored. “Do you have anything to eat?” she asked. “This grass is itchy. I have to go to the bathroom.”

  “Go ahead,” Chloe told me. “I’ll wait here.”

  After Angela used the restroom, I let her play on the swings. I sat on a bench nearby. I didn’t move when two Glitter & Grit fans sat on the other end.

  “Anna’s friends are here,” one girl said. “But a lot of kids just said they’d support Jenny to keep her happy. What if they change their minds?”

  The other girl shook her head. “Nobody’s dumb enough to make Jenny mad on purpose,” she said.

  The first girl shrugged. She said, “Maybe Jenny will be too busy playing to notice the kids who don’t cheer for her band.”

  “I wouldn’t count on it,” the second girl said.

  The Pine Tree kids that didn’t cheer for Glitter & Grit would probably cheer for Brad. That wouldn’t be good for Rory.

  Angela, Chloe, and I guarded our ground until Rory’s friends arrived. Owen called dibs on the front row for the stable snobs. I didn’t argue. Megan, Lydia, and Jennifer made room for Angela. That was fine with me. They’d keep her busy.

  Grandpa called at 6:45. He was still working at the Senior Center. So I had two choices.

  I could take Angela home, or I could let her stay.

  I let her stay.

  Chapter Ten

  The Battle

  Begins

  The MC’s voice blared from the loudspeakers. “Welcome to the Sixth Annual Tri-County Battle of the Bands!” he yelled.

  Everyone whistled and cheered. Then the MC explained the rules. There were a total of eighteen bands. Each band had five minutes to set up, and they could only play one song. The finalists would play again the next night.

  Some of the lesson kids from the stable arrived late. They squeezed through the crowd into our group.

  All the bands waited in an open area by the stage.

  Rory waved when he caught my eye. I waved back. Some Rock Creek girls turned to stare at me.

  “They’re jealous,” Chloe whispered.

  “Why?” I asked.

  “Rory waved at you,” Chloe said.

  “We’re friends,” I said.

  “Guys don’t write songs for girls who are just friends,” Chloe said.

  I knew that. But I didn’t know if Rory had written “Got A Girl Stuck In My Heart” for me. Chloe didn’t know, either. She just wanted to think so.

  “Whistle and scream as loud as you want,” the MC said. “The judges will give each band points for audience reaction. But remember, if you boo or throw things, you’re out of here.”

  Everyone cheered when the first band started to play. The applause was lame when they finished. The guitar player missed chords, and the lead singer hit a dozen wrong notes.

  “That was awful!” Owen exclaimed.

  Angela poked him in the side. “Be quiet!” she said. “Booing is bad!”

  “We don’t want to get kicked out,” Megan said.

  “That wasn’t booing,” Owen said. “This is.” He made a scary face at Angela. “Boo!” he yelled.

  Angela squealed. She loved it.

  Only one of the next few bands was any good. A huge group of fans shrieked for them.

  Then it was Scrimmage’s turn. Tommy and Peter raced to the stage to help Scrimmage set up. When the band walked out, their fans went crazy.

  “We can’t cheer louder than those guys,” Chloe said. “They’ve got a ton more kids.”

  “We can try,” I said.

  Scrimmage played the song I’d heard them play on Claudia’s video. The drums and guitars were still loud, and I couldn’t hear Dom’s saxophone. But Brad belted out the words, and he swung the microphone stand like the singers on Musical Idol.

  Girls from all three counties screamed. Scrimmage got huge applause. I clapped for them. I had to. They were my friends, and they were pretty good. But I was saving my loudest cheering for Rory.

  “I don’t get it,” Owen said, frowning. “Those guys aren’t good. They just made a lot of noise. What’s with all the cheering?”

  “Brad is a great football player,” I explained. “Everyone at Pine Tree likes him.”

  “In other words, all the girls think he’s cute,” Owen said.

  I laughed. “Yeah,” I said. “I guess so.”

  Chloe grabbed my arm. “River Stone is next!” she said. We crossed our fingers.

  Rory didn’t sing the song he wrote. The band played a fast song about girls, guitars, and pick-up trucks. They were wonderful.

  When River Stone finished, we jumped up, shouted, and applauded. A bunch of kids from Rock Creek Middle whistled and called out Rory’s name.

  “Wow!” Chloe said, grinning. “They were great.”

  I thought so, but several groups that followed were good, too. Only ten bands would be picked for the finals, which would be held the next day.

  Then Glitter & Grit was on stage.

  Everyone from Pine Tree held their breath. Nobody wanted Jenny’s band to mess up. If they lost, Jenny might blame everyone at Pine Tree Middle School for not cheering loud enough. The halls and cafeteria wouldn’t be safe for weeks!

  We didn’t have to worry. Glitter & Grit made the finals. So did Scrimmage and River Stone.

  After Mark and Alice congratulated Rory, Chloe and I rushed over. We had to walk past Claudia on our way. I smiled at her, but she just turned around.

  Rory smiled at us as we walked up, but he didn’t look as excited as I thought he should. After all, he’d made the finals!

  “You were the best,” Chloe said. “The harmonies were perfect.”

  “And you didn’t try to outplay each other,” I said. “I loved the song, too.”

  “So did I,” Chloe said. “But why didn’t you sing the one you wrote?”

  “I wanted to sa
ve it in case we made the finals,” Rory said. “An original song might give us an edge — if I get to sing it.”

  “Why wouldn’t you?” I asked.

  Rory sighed. He looked at me and said, “Jaden just quit the band. If we’re playing tomorrow night, we have to find a new drummer.”

  Chapter Eleven

  A Different

  Drummer

  I wasn’t really surprised by Jaden’s reasons. Cheering for different bands had torn Claudia and me apart.

  I decided to talk to the marching band myself. I knew they practiced on Saturday afternoons, so I showed up early at the field to explain the situation to Mr. Renault, the band director. He told me I could talk to everyone as soon as practice started.

  As soon as everyone was there, Mr. Renault said, “Okay, kids, Monica here has something to say to all of you.”

  “When I asked Jaden to play drums for Rory Weber, he was surprised,” I began. “But he wasn’t surprised because Rory goes to Rock Creek.”

  A few kids booed.

  Mr. Renault cut them off. “That’s enough!” he said, frowning at the kids.

  I took a breath. “He was surprised because I thought he was good enough to ask,” I told them.

  “Jaden is the best!” a girl shouted.

  “All of you know that,” I said. “But how many other kids at Pine Tree know that marching band musicians play other kinds of music, too?”

  “Not very many,” a boy in the front row said.

  “They think we’re dorks,” another boy said.

  Everyone nodded.

  “That’s one reason Jaden wanted to play in the Battle of the Bands,” I said. “To get rid of the dork image.”

  “It worked,” a girl with a saxophone said. “Everyone thought Jaden was great last night. And he was. Great, I mean.”

  “Except that he was playing with guys from Rock Creek,” someone else said.

  “None of the Pine Tree bands gave Jaden a chance,” I explained. “It’s something he’s always wanted to do. So when Rory asked, he went for it.”

  “I would have,” a boy with a trumpet said quietly. Several other kids nodded.

  “And River Stone made the finals!” I exclaimed. “But instead of cheering for Jaden, you guys used school pride to make him feel guilty.”

  I looked around.

  All of the marching band members were looking at the ground. I could tell they were embarrassed.

  “Jaden thinks friends are more important than having a great time and playing great music,” I said. “So he quit the band, and now River Stone has to drop out.”

  “No, they don’t,” Jaden said. He stepped forward and turned to face the group. “I’m playing drums for River Stone tonight.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Saturday Night

  Showdown

  Grandpa took Angela to sit with Jenny’s fans. I ran to the area Chloe and I had staked out yesterday. It was already packed with fans.

  Chloe stood near the back, holding up a sign: River Stone Here!

  “We need a bigger space!” I exclaimed.

  Chloe laughed. “It gets bigger every time someone new squeezes in,” she said.

  “Where did all these kids come from?” I asked.

  “The whole Cougar Marching Band is here,” Chloe said. “And a lot of Rock Creek kids switched to Rory when their favorites didn’t make the finals.”

  “This is great!” I said. I was thrilled by the big crowd. “I hope we can get close enough to see!”

  “Owen and Megan are saving seats for us,” Chloe said.

  “What’s the catch?” I asked.

  “They owe us one,” Chloe explained. “We pushed them to support Rory, so they made points with Mark for showing up last night. Therefore, they owe us.”

  Chloe and I sat down when the MC walked on stage.

  “The rules are a little different tonight,” the MC said. “Each band will play three songs. And this time, cheering doesn’t count.”

  A bunch of kids booed. But the MC went on, “The judges want the best band to win, not the most popular.”

  I thought that was fair. The winner should be the band that played the best. I looked over at Claudia, sitting with the Scrimmage fans. She looked a little nervous. When she glanced over and saw me looking at her, we both quickly looked away.

  River Stone was the second group to play. Two kids from the Cougar Marching Band helped Jaden roll out his drum set. When the rest of the band walked out, the girls behind us waved signs and shrieked.

  “We love you, Rory!” one of them yelled.

  “Sing to me, Rory!” the other one shrieked.

  Glitter from their signs fell on our heads. “Watch it!” Megan yelled. She brushed the sparkles out of her hair. Then she muttered, “As if they had a chance.”

  Chloe smiled and nudged me. Megan flirted with Rory all the time. He was always nice, but he never asked her out.

  Rory was nice to me, too. He was nice to everyone. It didn’t mean anything. Chloe was still convinced that he like-liked me.

  I couldn’t let myself believe that. It would hurt too much to be wrong.

  River Stone’s first two songs were songs from the radio that everyone knew. The crowd clapped to the beat and sang along.

  Kenny and Jason played dueling bass and guitar during the first song. Jaden had a drum solo in the second. But Rory was the star. The sound of his voice gave me chills. All the girls squealed when he looked at them.

  He didn’t look at me. Not even once. I didn’t want it to bother me, but it did.

  For their last song, Rory sang the song he wrote. “Can’t think straight, I’m falling apart . . .”

  “I’ve never heard this before,” Owen said.

  “Nobody has,” Chloe said. “Rory wrote it.”

  “He did?” Megan asked. She watched Rory with a goofy grin.

  Chloe nudged me and whispered, “She thinks it’s about her!”

  The crowd didn’t recognize the song. They didn’t know the words so they couldn’t sing along, and they didn’t clap as much.

  Rory sang with all his heart and soul anyway. “Take a chance! Ask her out, she might go. I can’t. What if she says no . . .”

  “I wouldn’t say no,” Megan mumbled.

  “Neither would I,” the girl behind me said.

  Rory looked right at me when he started the second verse. “So the secret I keep, I know it’s not smart. Awake or asleep, can’t escape Cupid’s dart.”

  My stomach turned to mush. I couldn’t breathe, and I couldn’t look away.

  The song finished, “But I’m too shy to tell her, so I love from afar. Got a girl stuck in my heart.”

  Rory held my gaze for a few seconds. Then he smiled and waved to the crowd.

  “He is so gorgeous,” Megan said. She sighed and leaned against Lydia.

  Chloe and I tried not to giggle.

  The next three bands were okay, but not great. Then it was Scrimmage’s turn. They had a lot of fans. The fans all cheered and applauded while the band set up.

  “It’s a good thing audience noise doesn’t count tonight,” I said.

  “I hope the judges remember that,” Chloe said.

  Scrimmage still played like five solo stars. Brad’s voice cracked on the slow ballad. Adam and Jake sang backup on key, but they didn’t harmonize. The judges took a lot of notes.

  The Scrimmage cheering section roared.

  “They’re not bad,” Chloe said.
r />   “They’re not as good as River Stone,” Owen said.

  The girls in Glitter & Grit looked great and sounded fantastic.

  Jenny kept a steady beat on drums and wowed everyone with a dynamite solo. Karen had a clear, mellow voice, and she hit all the high notes. Anna’s keyboard and Sylvia’s bass blended as perfectly as their harmonies.

  Everyone whistled and cheered when they finished.

  “Wow!” Chloe said. She looked at me and made a face. “They’ll be hard to beat.”

  She was right. When the MC announced that Glitter & Grit was the winner, I heard Angela scream with joy.

  Jenny, Anna, Karen, and Sylvia shrieked, jumped up and down, and hugged each other. They would be the middle school warm-up band for Bad Dog next weekend.

  A Lake County band was second. River Stone was third.

  All the bands were immediately surrounded by family and fans. Megan, Lydia, and two dozen Rock Creek girls closed in on Rory. Chloe left to find Mark. I stayed where I was so Grandpa could find me.

  Jenny found me first. “I’ve been looking for you!” she said.

  My heart skipped a beat out of habit. “You were great, Jenny,” I said. “Glitter & Grit deserved to win.”

  “Thanks to you,” Jenny said. “You gave me a great name and a great bass player who can sing harmony.”

  “I was happy to help,” I said.

  “This is for you,” Jenny said. She handed me a front-row ticket to the Bad Dog concert.

  Claudia found me next. At first, we just looked at each other. Then I said, “I’m sorry Brad’s band didn’t do better.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t listen to your advice,” Claudia said. “But I’m sorrier that I acted like such a jerk.”

  “You just really wanted Brad to win,” I said.

  “That’s no excuse,” Claudia said. “Are we still friends?”

  “Are you kidding?” I asked, smiling. I gave Claudia a hug. “We’re best friends. Forever.”

  “Oh, thank goodness,” Claudia said. Then she crossed her heart. “I promise never ever to let something stupid come between us again.”