RFR: The Next Generation
CHAPTER 1
There once was a little café on a quirky street in a quirky town. It was a quaint, small brick building, with an outdoor patio. It was a local hangout for the teenage crowd, who flocked to the café after school. At this café, you could browse through old records and CD's while sipping a hot cup of coffee. There was a small stage in the corner, used for open-mic nights that showcased the town's greatest talent. The original owner had passed away, and four young-at-heart adults had taken the place under their wings since, even though they were all balancing full-time jobs and children. They vowed to keep the little café the way they remembered it, a warm, comforting, place that they could go to whenever they needed a friend. Whenever their heart was broken. Whenever they felt like hanging out. Yes, to some, the little brick café was an insignificant place, just another crack in the sidewalk, but to those four friends, it was full of memories. It was the one and only Mickey's Discs.
CHAPTER 2
Lily Brennan cursed under her breath as she, for the tenth time, pressed the button on the espresso machine and no beverage came out.
A female teenage voice from behind her piped up, "Need some help, Mom?"
"No, thank you, Riley, I can handle this...just let me…urggh!"
"Mom?"
"Riley, I can handle it! Now let's see..."
"Mom?"
"Riley, go talk to your friends or something…I don't understand, I just filled it…stupid machine!"
"Mom!"
"WHAT, Riley?"
"You didn't plug it in!"
"Oh…right. Thanks, dear."
Riley sighed and walked over to the table where her brother Jack and their best friends Robin and Scott were sitting. Robin's parents, Travis and Parker Strong, and Scott's parents, Robert and Eve McGrath, were the Brennan's best friends.
"Your mom's having machine troubles?" asked Robin.
"Again. Last week it was the deep fryer."
"I swear, mom's going crazy," said Jack. "Last week, when we went to that fancy restaurant, she freaked and started bawling when dad ordered frog legs. I wonder why?"
CHAPTER 3
Sometimes, after closing hours, the whole gang would sit down, and the parents would tell "back in the day" stories about when they were teenagers.
Once, they talked about Ray's experience at the Mr. Roscoe Pageant.
"You asked mom out?"
"In front of the whole school?"
"And mom said what?"
"It was too late? How cruel, Mrs. Brennan!"
Another time, they talked about No Man's Land.
"Yep, your mom wrote a song basically telling me to get lost…WHACK …Ow, man, that hurt, Lily!"
"Don't be stupid, Ray, I was confessing my love to you!"
And, once they talked about Cougar Radio. This got the most interest from the kids.
"You broke into the Cougar Radio airwaves? Wow."
"Are you serious? How can anyone be that horrible?"
"And you dated her? What were you thinking, dad?"
"You both liked Donnie and the Dragon?"
Yes, the adults loved reminiscing about the days when they were young. But there was still one important thing they hadn't told their children. And they weren't sure how.
CHAPTER 4
Scott sat on the floor of his attic, exhausted. Was emptying old junk from boxes and inhaling billion year old dust really a chore worth $10?
"Scott? Are you almost done cleaning up the attic?" Robbie shouted from downstairs.
"Yes, dad. Just a few more."
He stared blankly at the mountain of boxes he had yet to sort through. Big boxes, small boxes, odd shaped boxes that smelled like old lady…
Urrgh. Will this ever end? I haven't even…hey, what's that?
A medium-sized and old-looking dusty box caught his eye. He dragged the strange box over, and saw that it was labeled "?'s Stuff". Being the curious person that he was, Scott ripped off the tape that held it together and opened the box.
After choking on the cloud of dust that smothered his face when he lifted the flaps, he looked inside. In the box was a pair of old headphones, some ancient cassettes, about 20 CD's, a microphone, and…
"Wow."
He took his mini-cell phone out of his pocket and dialed a number.
"Jack! You've got to come over here. Now!"
CHAPTER 5
By the sound of feet clomping up the stairs below, Scott knew that Jack had arrived. A few seconds later, he appeared in the doorway, out of breath.
"Ok, I'm here. What happened?"
"Come look at this."
Jack went over and sat by Scott and the box.
"Oh, yeah, this is really urgent, Scotty. A box of old lint and some clunky retro headgear. When you called, I thought you broke your arm, or lit the house on fire, or the hot sisters next door were having a pool party…"
"Will you shut up? Besides, this is what I really wanted to show you. Look."
Scott tossed Jack an old photo album that was almost as tattered as the box.
"Sorry, Scotty, pal, but looking at your old family photos isn't…"
"You idiot, will you just shut up and look inside?"
Jack glared at Scott, then flipped open the album. After browsing the first page, his eyes grew wide.
"Hey…that's…that's me!
Scott sighed and rolled his eyes.
"No, Jack, that's your dad! And your mom, and my dad, and Robin's dad!"
Jack looked amazed.
"Is that really my dad? Wow…and I thought my sideburns were wooly."
They continued to flip through the album. On every page, there were pictures of the four parents as teenagers. A smiling Lily with her long blonde hair, holding her guitar. Robbie, with his enormous hair and even bigger smile. Travis, with a small, stern grin on his face and his spiky hair. And finally, Ray, with his trademark sideburns and a mustard stain on his shirt.
CHAPTER 6
In almost every picture in the album, they were standing in front of various machines with many buttons and poster-covered metal walls.
Scott tapped his finger on his chin.
"I wonder where these were taken. It looks like a factory warehouse, or something like that."
"Or the cockpit of a jet, judging by all that equipment," suggested Jack.
They looked at the album for a few more minutes, until Scott realized something.
"Those CD's that were in the box…I didn't get a good look at them."
"Well," said Jack. "What are you waiting for?"
Scott picked up one of the many CD's that were in the box. It was labeled: RFR Broadcasts #12-14.
Jack looked confused once again. "RFR? What does that mean…Really Freaky…Rutabaga?"
Scott didn't answer; he was just as bewildered as Jack was. He remembered that he hadn't packed away his dad's old CD player yet, so he crawled to the corner, picked it up and brought it back by the box. He carefully took the CD out of its case and placed it in the slot of the CD player. Both boys were silent as Scott pressed play, not knowing what to expect.