Music Lessons

Part 1

A Misfit Born

By Nick Maro

Twenty-Five Years Ago:

Dr. Emmett Benton and his lifelong friend Harvey Gabor couldn't stop smiling. They sat in the bar together and made a toast to each other. They each took a long drink from their glasses and slammed them on the table top. Emmett shook his head and chuckled. "Okay, you win that time. But next time, next time I won't drink this syrup they call a soda. Man this junk is thick." He slid the empty glass aside.

"Y'know, Em, you wouldn't have that problem if you drank a beer like a man!" Harvey pounded his chest and laughed some more. "Seriously though, I can't believe we got that grant from the school to research holographic sciences. Personally, I think it was your speech about how it will shape the future." He took a sip from the new glass of beer the waitress had set in front of him. "Think about the money we're going to be rolling in! We're pioneers, my friend! We're blazing a path through science!"

"Easy now, Harv. We haven't done anything yet. So far everything is theoretical and hasn't been proven to be one hundred percent." Emmett lifted the glass of soda the waitress placed in front of him and twirled the liquid around in the glass. It was the right consistency. He looked up at Harvey and eyed him suspiciously. "You told them to make it thick on purpose, didn't you?"

Harvey chuckled softly. "Yep. How else was I going to win?" He winked and took another sip of his beer. "Now, I don't have the scientific brain you do. But I am a business man. How are we going to market this holographic stuff? Domestic? Entertainment? Military?"

Emmett sighed. "Nobody could afford a hologram machine. They'd simply be too expensive. So domestic is out. As for military? No way in hell. You know I'm a pacifist. But I was thinking the entertainment industry could use it. Jacqui was saying she'd love to have something accompany her music on stage. So I was thinking about going that route." He took a long drink of his soda.

"Sorry, I forgot. But entertainment is a great idea." Harvey slid his half-empty beer to the side and smiled. "Tell you what; you get started on the project with the grant money. By the time that runs out, Gabor Industries will be a worldwide company. We're about to release our stock to the public. I want you in as a business partner. I'll even give you your own subsidiary to run. How's that sound?"

"Sounds like a plan to me. I've dreamt about founding a record company for Jacqui. She's been trying to break into the industry for years now. Oh dammit! I was supposed to pick her up thirty minutes ago!" Emmett put his jacket on and then reached in his pocket for some money.

Harvey stood and pulled out a small roll of bills. "I got it. I was going to meet up with Evelyn at the soundstage. They should be wrapping up whatever commercial she's doing this week." He paid the bill and turned to Emmett. "I hope she remembered to allow me on the set this time."

The two best friends paused and then laughed deeply. They shook hands and parted way. Both men were looking forward to what seemed to be a bright future.

Twenty-One Years Ago:

The mood inside the living room of the Benton household was one of joy and celebration. Jacqui Benton sat in an easy chair holding her new born-baby daughter. She was talking quietly to Evelyn Gabor who was rocking her new born son to sleep. His twin sister was being cradled by Harvey Gabor who was on the couch talking with Emmett Benton.

Jacqui smiled and rocked her baby to sleep. "I can't believe our babies were born on the same day, Eve. Phyllis and David are going to have a great time being friends with Jerrica here. I heard a legend a long time ago when I lived at Berkley. The legend goes that if the children of two best friends are born on the same day, they'll be friends for life." She winked at Emmett and Harvey then turned back to Evelyn. "You think this will come true?"

"Well, considering the fact their fathers grew up as best friends and that you and I are best friends, I don't see why not." Evelyn stroked the fine hair on her baby son's head. "Maybe someday David will marry Jerrica." She looked up and giggled softly. "I'm sorry. I just sounded like I was in high school again."

The four friends exchanged glances and each started laughing softly. Slowly each of the babies woke up and began crying. The laughter stopped and the parents tried calming their new babies down.

Eighteen Years Ago:

"The memorial for Jacqui Benton was held today at Mann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood. Her husband, Professor Emmett Benton, attended briefly with their two year old daughter Jerrica and newborn daughter Kimber. Professor Benton gave an eye-watering speech about his late wife and their two friends who were also killed in the horrible plane crash just outside of New York City. He gave a public promise to Evelyn and Harvey Gabor to take care of their daughter Phyllis. Evelyn and Harvey Gabor were aboard the same plane as Jacqui when it went down.

"Professor Benton also made the official announcement of opening Starlight House; an orphanage for girls of all ages. Professor Benton will oversee the House's foundation by taking a small leave of absence in his research in the field of holographic technology. We here at V-TV wish Professor Benton the best in his noble efforts.

"A stunned music world had this to say about Jacqui Benton's work and the legacy she's left behind—" Emmett shut off the television and went up the stairs to look in on his daughters. Kimber was sound asleep in her crib. He peeked in on Jerrica and Phyllis. Phyllis was looking out the window when she saw Emmett watching her. She quickly lay next to Jerrica and acted like she was asleep. Emmett couldn't help but smile. Deep down he knew he had a long road ahead of him raising three girls.

Fifteen Years Ago:

Emmett looked at the three girls standing before him. They were in their best dresses. He wore a proud smile for his daughters. He bent on one knee before them. "Now listen. When the new girl arrives I want each of you to treat her as a sister, got it? She's not like the other girls. They were just here until their mommies or daddies got better. This one has no family. Understand?" The three girls nodded. "Good. After the social worker leaves I'm taking everyone out for ice cream." The three sisters gave a small cheer.

The cheer was cut short when the doorbell rang. Emmett answered the door and greeted the blonde social worker and the eight year old girl she had with her. The social worker bent down to the girl and spoke softly. "Aja, this is Kimber, Jerrica and Phyllis. They're going to be your new family for a while." The social worker smiled at the sisters. "Girls meet Aja Leith."

Aja brushed her soft blue hair out of her face and gave a small, nervous smile. Kimber ran up and hugged the young Asian girl. "We're gettin' ice cream later. You can come too." Aja returned the hugged and smiled softly. Jerrica saw a single tear fall down Aja's cheek.

Thirteen Years Ago:

Phyllis knocked on Emmett's at home laboratory door. "Hey Daddy, Mrs. Phillips is on the phone. She was wondering if you can watch Mary while she goes to work tonight. Her regular babysitter is working, studying or getting cooties or something. What should I tell her?"

"Tell her that's fine. Mary can spend the night if Mrs. Phillips doesn't mind. Kimber and Mary get along great. How's Shana doing? Has she apologized to Aja yet?" Emmett looked at Phyllis over the frames of his glasses.

Phyllis gave a small smile. "Yeah. Her and Aja and Jerrica are playing in the backyard now. I'm gonna go tell Mrs. Phillips what you said about spending the night. Bye!" Phyllis shut the door and vanished from sight. Emmett thought for a moment about the girls he had adopted. Especially the most recent adoption; Shana Elmsford. She was having trouble adapting. She showed that by lashing out at the other girls. But Emmett knew she'd adjust soon.

Eight Years Ago:

Storming up the stairs, Phyllis ran into her room and slammed the door shut. She threw herself on her bed and began to cry softly. She didn't hear the door open and feel Emmett sit on the bed next to her. She looked up at him and buried her face in his lap and began to cry again. Emmett gently stroked her hair until she finished. He lifted her face and smiled warmly. "Now, are you through with making your pretty face all puffy? What's wrong?"

Phyllis wiped her nose on the back of her arm. "It's school, Dad. I hate it there. All the girls tease me. They say I'm Jerrica's fake sister. You'd think that I'd be used to the idea that I'm adopted. I hate that school." She sat up on her bed and wrapped her arms around her knees and pouted.

Emmett patted Phyllis on the back. "Ignore them, honey. They'll go away. Kids just like picking on those who are different than them. They like finding the outcast, the misfit and picking on them. They're bullies. Nothing more, nothing less." He gave a small wink. "I'll even bet a few of them are adopted."

"Yeah, I guess," she said quietly looking out her bedroom window. "I think it's also because I like this new boy at school. His name is Rio and he's kinda cute I guess. But he's really nice and he carried my books for me yesterday. All the girls like him. Even Jerrica. I just feel like I'm not worth his attention."

"Don't think like that, sweetie. I'm sure he likes you. He did carry your books for you." Emmett sat closer to his adoptive daughter. "I don't know many guys who didn't like someone who would do that. Be kinda silly, wouldn't it?" Phyllis giggled in agreement. "Now, let's get downstairs. I'm taking you girls out for dinner." Phyllis hopped off her bed and waited for Emmett by her bedroom door. The two went downstairs together.

Five Years Ago:

Pushing her lunch around with her fork, Phyllis sat in the school cafeteria trying to tune out the voices around her. She sat with Jerrica, Aja and Shana but ignored their conversation. She had other things on her mind at the moment. A stray voice made her look up to the side near the entrance door. Her younger sister Kimber and her best friend Mary had come into the cafeteria. Mary was a year older than Kimber and was showing her the school.

Phyllis went back to her thoughts but looked back when she saw an older brunette girl approach Kimber and Mary. She watched for a few minutes before deciding what to do. The girl with the brown hair knocked the books out of Kimber's arms and began laughing. Phyllis stood up and jumped on the table behind her. She began jumping from table to table until she was behind the brown haired girl. She picked up a lunch tray.

"Hey Stacy! You wanna pick on someone, try me!" Phyllis smacked Stacy in the face with the tray as she turned around. Stacy flew back on the ground and looked up in a daze with food all over her face. Phyllis jumped on Stacy's chest and started punching the other girl in the face. "Not so nice being picked on, now is it, Stacy? Guess what? I'm not letting my sister get picked on like I was." She kept punching until Aja pulled her off.

Before Phyllis could say anything, she was grabbed by the shoulder. "Ms. Gabor! You know better than to fight in school!" yelled the deep voice of the school Principal, Mr. Deans. "Now, let's go call your father." Phyllis groaned and followed the older man. She glanced back; Kimber and Mary both whisper a thank you to her. She smiled and gave a slight shrug in response.

After a long lecture in the Principal's office, Emmett picked up Phyllis from school and went straight home. She was suspended for three days. Emmett pulled into the drive way and Phyllis got out of the car. Emmett stopped her before going inside. "Listen, Phyllis. I know you're upset about the whole Rio thing, but starting a fight at school is not the way to solve it. We'll talk about it inside over a snack, okay?"

"Goddammit, Dad! Stop constantly trying to talk to me like we're old friends. Just because my father and you were best friends doesn't mean we are! Just back off!" Phyllis opened the door and almost let the new foster girl, Deirdre out. "Just back off and stay away from me! You're not my real father anyway!" She slammed the door, leaving Emmett alone.

A few hours later Phyllis slowly opened the door to Emmett's private lab. "Hey, Dad?" Emmett turned and looked at her. He took off his glasses and frowned. Phyllis ran a hand through her hair. "I'm sorry about earlier. Just under a lot of stress and all. I'm just coming to terms with being adopted. It's hard, but you, Jerrica and Kimber are my family. I'm sorry I said you weren't my real father. I was just mad."

Emmett waved Phyllis over and she ran into his arms. "It's okay, sweetie. I know you didn't mean it. Shouting matches are a part of a normal family. I'm just glad that we still fall under the normal family category." He heard Phyllis giggle in his arms. "If you ever want to know about your parents, just ask me. They were my best friends."

Phyllis broke the hug and wiped her eyes. "I'd like that. But I want you to tell everyone else as well. I want my real family to hear about my biological family." She gave her father a wink and kissed his cheek. "I love you, Dad."

"I love you too, Phyllis."

Two Years Ago:

The doctor finally came out of the bedroom solemnly. He motioned for Jerrica and Phyllis into the next room where they could speak alone. He shut the door once Phyllis had entered and sat down. The doctor sat across from the two sisters and slid a folder to the side. He removed his glasses and sighed. "You've asked me time and again to be frank and to the point. Well, I'm afraid your father doesn't have much longer to live. He asked to speak to everyone privately."

Jerrica wrapped her arm around Phyllis to support and comfort her. She glanced at the doctor while giving her sister a hug. "Let the Starlight Girls go in together. It's best they see him first, Dr. Hayes. Phyllis and I will go last with Kimber. I think his final moments should be with his daughters. I mean this without insulting everyone else."

"I think he knows what you mean, Jerrica." Phyllis rested her head on Jerrica's shoulder and sighed. She watched Dr. Hayes leave the room. "I feel numb. Like this isn't even real and can't be happening." She sniffed back oncoming tears. "I'm losing another father but this time I can remember it. It's just not fair."

Jerrica kissed the side of Phyllis' head and just held her until the nurse came in and said it was their turn. Jerrica looked up at the clock and saw that an hour had passed. She gave Kimber a small smile and big hug when she came out. Together, the three sisters entered their father's bedroom. He was in his bed with a wide grin. The air tubes had been removed. Dr. Hayes and his nurse left the room.

Emmett sat up in his bed and let out a soft wheeze. "There are my girls. I have so much to tell each of you and so little time. Stop standing by the door. You can sit by me." The girls all blushed and sat on the side of the bed. "My God you three have grown into three beautiful women. Now, I want you three to know that I love you very much and I raised you the best I could. The Starlight Girls, as Kimber has come to call them, will need all the help they can. Mrs. Bailey can only do so much. I have asked Aja and Shana to help out. But they're grown women with their own lives to live.

"I'm not telling you to take care of the girls, I'm asking you. It was your mother's dream of one day opening a home for lost girls." Emmett coughed a few times and waved off Jerrica. "Jerrica, Kimber can I speak to Phyllis in private?" The sisters left the room leaving Emmett and Phyllis alone. "I hope I've raised you right, Phyllis. You're my best friend's daughter and I've raised you as my own. Your father wanted the best for you. I tried to give you that."

"Emmett…Dad, you did raise me right. I know all about my father from you. Jerrica and I are better than best friends. We're sisters. Kimber has always had two older sisters to look out for her." Phyllis sat closer to her adoptive father. "I do have something I want to know about. It's been bugging me for years."

Emmett closed his eyes and sighed. "Your brother, right?" Phyllis nodded. Emmett opened his eyes and looked at her sadly. "I don't know where David is. After your mother and father divorced, she got custody of him and went to Japan. She had her own instructions in her will for him I'm afraid. I tried to find him. I really did."

Phyllis hugged Emmett tightly. "Thanks, Dad. I was always afraid to ask. Umm, I'm gonna get Jerrica and Kimber. You deserve some time alone." She hugged Emmett again and kissed his cheek softly. "I never meant that you weren't my real father. You are. I love you, Dad." Emmett kissed the top of her head whispered his love to her. Phyllis went to the door and let Jerrica and Kimber in.

Jerrica stopped Phyllis and hugged her tight. Phyllis mumbled a thanks and waited in the hallway with the rest of her extended family. She sat on the floor and leaned against the wall. Mary sat next to her and took her hand. Phyllis wasn't aware of the passage of time when Jerrica tapped her shoulder. She looked up at Jerrica and saw tears starting to fall with building speed. She jumped to her feet and followed her sister quietly into the bedroom.

Emmett's breathing was getting increasingly more shallow by the moment. Kimber was hugging her father with her head on his chest. Emmett smiled weakly when he saw his two daughters enter the room. They each hugged him tightly and spoke softly to him. He spoke in a thin whisper to them. Shana and Aja quickly joined the three sisters in the final moments of the man they loved as a father. Rio and Mary watched the private scene from the doorway.

After a few moments of the women hugging and showing their affection to the kind old scientist, he whispered his love and final farewell to each of them. His breathing stopped and Emmett Benton passed away peacefully, surrounded by the people he loved.

Present Day:

"Okay Gabor, the charges have been dropped. Get outta my holding cell." The officer opened the door to the cell for Phyllis. She looked up and slipped her shoes on and walked out of the cell. The officer walked ahead of her to small table. "Here's your things. Now you know the drill, sign the papers and get the hell outta here."

Phyllis took the pen after examining the plastic bag and signed her name on the inventory sheet. She then followed him again out into the lobby where Jerrica was waiting for her with an impatient look on her face. Phyllis smiled. "Can you believe it? They dropped the charges and here you are waiting to give your loving sister a ride home." She hugged Jerrica and made a show of kissing her on the cheek.

Despite herself, Jerrica giggled lightly. "Okay, okay. Knock it off. You're lucky I was able to talk the couple out of pressing charges. I told them you had a mental imbalance that made you attack women wearing gray." Phyllis stopped lacing her shoes and laughed. Jerrica shrugged. "C'mon, let's get out of here, Phyllis."

"Ugh," Phyllis snorted, "I told you to call me Pizzazz. It's my stage name and I need to get used to it."

"Whatever, Pizzazz." Jerrica waited for her sister to finish tying her shoes. She then led Pizzazz to the car. "Anyway, what were you doing in that bar? We turn twenty-one in a few weeks, can't you wait until then?"

Pizzazz chuckled. "Where's the thrill of sneaking into a bar then? Besides, Aja was my back up and stop acting like my mother."

Jerrica bucked her teeth out and mocked Pizzazz. "I know I'm not your mother!"

"Then stop acting like it," Pizzazz mocked back. The two young women looked at each other and started laughing harder. "I'm sorry to have you to come all the way out here for me. I won't do it again and I mean it." She watched the streetlights go by. "That is until after you spring me for killing Aja. She said she was my back up." The two women laughed again.

They drove in silence for a few minutes. Jerrica nudged Pizzazz's leg. "Hey, what do you think about us getting our first gig on Saturday, huh? Huh?" Pizzazz rolled her eyes. "C'mon, Phyllis. Tell me what you're thinking. You don't seem thrilled by this."

Pizzazz turned and looked at the blonde. "I think we should enter the Battle of the Bands rather than do this gig." Jerrica started to voice her objection. "This contest will give us more exposure to the music world than going gig by gig by gig. This contest was designed for bands like us. We're more than ready. No one is going to hire a band called The Holograms by name alone. We have to get out there and prove that we're worth hiring. Just think about it, Jer."

"I'll think about it," Jerrica said at last.

"You'll think about saying yes?"

"I said I'll think about it!" Jerrica chuckled. "I swear you're worse than a five year old at times." They drove the rest of the way home while talking and laughing.

Kimber knocked on Pizzazz's bedroom door and slipped inside. She had a big smile on her face as if she was anticipating good news. Pizzazz looked up from her book with a slight frown and a sad look in her eyes. Kimber's jaw dropped and she sat on the edge of the bed. "So we're not doing the Battle of the Bands concert? You couldn't convince her?"

Pizzazz let herself smirk. "She caved faster than I expected. We're doing the gig first then going right over to the concert. We're gonna be hauling a lot of ass that day. Are you sure you're up to it, kiddo?" Kimber nodded and Pizzazz dragged her into a half hug. "That's my girl. Now get to bed you have school in the morning." Kimber hugged Pizzazz and ran out of the door excited. Pizzazz stared at the door a long moment and started reading again. She still couldn't believe she was going to be in the Battle of the Bands.

TO BE CONTINUED IN "THE BANDS BATTLE"

PART 2 OF MUSIC LESSONS