When Walker High announced the battle of the bands, everything went into chaos. The different cliques were scrambling to learn instruments, the sign-up sheet was covered in ink and led, and music was downloaded, but for our favourite group of eight, tht was the beginning of a story. Ralphie Tenelli hurried into the cafeteria and slid in next to his girlfriend, Keesha Franklin. "Guys!" Ralphie began. "I just signed us up for the battle of the bands!" Five faces looked up at him in shock. "Why would you do that?" Arnold Perlstein gulped. "You know I get really bad stage fright. I'm out!" Phoebe Terese nodded in agreement. Wanda Li shook her head. "After the last incident I'm banned from any and all contests." Ralphie groaned. "Tim?" He began, turning hopefully. "What about you?" "Sorry, Ralph." Tim Jamal gulped. "I'm working backstage." Keesha shook her head. "Maybe DA and Carlos can help you... speaking of which... where are they?" They all looked around. Dorothy Ann and Carlos were always fifteen minutes late for lunch: Dorothy Ann Fields was studying to get into the college of her choice, plus she did tutor sessions, Carlos on the other hand, had grown up quite well, and he milked that to his advantage. Most of the time, he was seen hooking up with a random girl, so far he had hooked up with half the female population, and slept with a quarter too. Half an hour before the bell rang, Carlos Ramon came running in, his hair deshevelled and lipstick all over his face. "Hey guys." He said, pulling up a chair and sitting down. "What did I miss?" He asked. Keesha turned and glared at her boyfriend. "Ralphie here has sighed us up for the battle of the bands." Carlos arched an eyebrow. "Why?" He asked. "You guys arent made of rubber." "Carlos!" Everyone groaned in unison. Carlos stopped snickering. "Okay, okay... I guess I can join. I did learn guitar..." Ralphie's face lit up. "Great! And I'm a drummer... I hope DA can help us too." When lunch ended, DA still hadn't come down. None the less, The remaining seven headed to their classes, and since Ralphie and Carlos didn't have any afternoon classes with DA, they would have to tell her after school. Eventually, the final bell rang, and Ralphie and Carlos headed to DA's class to tell her. "Maybe she can play bass or keyboard..." Ralphie suggested. Carlos nodded when they paused outside her class in shock: A sweet, musical voice was heard singing from inside. Carlos was about to open it, but Ralphie pulled him back. "Shh!" He hissed. "Listen!"
Puttin' my defenses up
'Cause I don't wanna fall in love
If I ever did that
I think I'd have a heart attack
Never put my love out on the line
Never said "Yes" to the right guy
Never had trouble getting what I want
But when it comes to you, I'm never good enough
When I don't care
I can play 'em like a Ken doll
Won't wash my hair
Then make 'em bounce like a basketball
But you make me wanna act like a girl
Paint my nails and wear high heels
Yes, you make me so nervous
That I just can't hold your hand
You make me glow,
But I cover up
Won't let it show,
So I'm...
Puttin' my defenses up
'Cause I don't wanna fall in love
If I ever did that
I think I'd have a heart attack
I think I'd have a heart attack
I think I'd have a heart attack
Never break a sweat for the other guys
When you come around, I get paralyzed
And every time I try to be myself
It comes out wrong like a cry for help
It's just not fair
Pain's more trouble than love is worth
I gasp for air
It feels so good, but you know it hurts
But you make me wanna act like a girl
Paint my nails and wear perfume for you
Make me so nervous
That I just can't hold your hand
You make me glow,
But I cover up
Won't let it show,
So I'm...
Puttin' my defenses up
'Cause I don't wanna fall in love
If I ever did that
I think I'd have a heart attack
I think I'd have a heart attack
I think I'd have a heart attack
The feelings got lost in my lungs
They're burning, I'd rather be numb
And there's no one else to blame (no one else)
So scared I take off and i run
I'm flying too close to the sun
And I burst into flames
You make me glow,
But I cover up
Won't let it show,
So I'm...
Puttin' my defenses up
'Cause I don't wanna fall in love
If I ever did that
I think I'd have a heart attack
I think I'd have a heart attack
I think I'd have a heart attack
I think I'd have a heart attack
I think I'd have a heart attack
When the song ended, Carlos couldn't take it anymore and threw the door open. The only person in there was Dorothy Ann, cleaning up an acid spill. "DA?" Carlos began. "Was that you singing?" DA quickly stood up. "Oh! Um... Hi guys." She gulped. "Umm, yeah... that was me singing..." Ralphie ran over and fell on his knees. "Please!" He begged. "Please join my band! I already signed everyone up, but only me and Carlos can do it... Please!" DA smiled. "Only if it dosn't get in the way of my work." "It won't!" Ralphie promised. Dorothy Ann nodded. "Okay, then, I'm in." "Yay!" Ralphie and Carlos ran over and gave her a big hug. "Oh, thank-you, DA, Thank-you so much!" They cheered. Dorothy Ann pushed the guys off her and smoothed her outfit down. "Okay, you two, I do have questions though." "Okay, Shoot." Ralphie said. Carlos immediately held his hands up in defence. "I'm too young to die!" He joked. "Carlos!" DA and Ralphie protested. "Anyway," DA protested. "What's our name, who will play what and what kind of music will we play?" Carlos and Ralphie froze. "Umm... We hadn't thought about that." Carlos admitted. "But if you'd like," Ralphie continued, "The two of you can come over and we can discuss the band." Carlos and DA shrugged. "Sure." With that, the three headed over to Ralphie's house.