The Next Generation
Chapter 3
"Name?" Gina said, looking down on her sheet of notes. Tyler, Analeigh, and she were holding auditions for their new band. The school had been kind enough to lend them the auditorium for the cause, so that's how they were spending their free period that.
"Alexis Bennett." The girl on stage said, clutching on to her bass. She seemed pretty nervous which made Tyler assume that word had gotten out of Gina's "fight" with Tim Bolton.
Tyler tried to offer her a smile in an attempt to make her nerves go away, but it didn't appear to be helping. "So I assume you play the bass?"
Alexis nodded, but didn't say anything. Analeigh scribbled a few words to her notes. A person could be the world's greatest musician, but if the chemistry wasn't there with the rest of the bandmates it just didn't matter. Analeigh had been in a few bands in New York so she knew that from experience.
"Well, take it away then." Tyler and Analeigh said in unison, but they both quickly regretted those words. Alexis could not play at all.
After thirty seconds of sheer agony Gina yelled over the music. "Thank you for wasting our time. You can go."
Alexis stopped playing and walked off the stage with her head low. When Alexis was gone, a new person stepped on to the stage. This time a guy.
He was about the same height as Tyler (who was kind of tall), but he appeared to be a little taller than their drummer. He had dark brown, shoulder-length, wavy hair, and from where they were sitting his eyes appeared to be grey. He was fit. He carried his instrument, a bass like the girl before, on his back.
"He's hot." Gina whispered to Analeigh, and the new girl chuckled.
Tyler ignored them and offered the guy on stage a welcoming smile. "Hi. What's your name?"
"Dylan Bayleaf." The guy, now known as Dylan, said. Unlike Alexis he didn't appear to nervous at all, he seemed like he knew that he was meant to be there. Confident was good.
"Rock star name, nice!" Analeigh acknowledged with a smile. "So how old are you, Dylan? If you don't mind me asking? I mean, we're starting a band so if we like what we hear we don't want someone who's off to college tomorrow or something."
Dylan chuckled at Analeigh's ramble. "It's okay. I'm 16. I'll be 17 in a few months which means I have a couple of good years left."
The gang nodded and all scribbled down some notes. "Okay, do you have any musical preferences so we know if we're in sync?" Tyler wanted to know, secretly hoping that Dylan was a decent bass player as he'd been the best prospect of one so far.
"I'm not too picky. As long as the beat is good, the music is solid, and the lyrics actually mean something then I'm good." Dylan explained, and now each one of them hoped he was a great bassist.
"That sounds good." Analeigh said with a smile. This Dylan person seemed to be all about the music, it couldn't get much better than that. "One last question from me before you start playing for us; does your bass have a name?"
Gina looked at Analeigh with a huge questionmark written across her face, not knowing whether to laugh or take it seriously (unlike Tyler who was chuckling beside her). "Analeigh, how is that even relevant?"
"Because, Gina, it says a lot about a person." Analeigh said in all seriousness, and now Tyler couldn't contain his laughter. "Tyler, need I remind you of Sally, your precious drumkit?" Tyler stopped laughing. "And G, several of your many, many string intruments have names, and I have Elvis Aron Presley."
She looked expectingly at Dylan. "My bass doesn't have a name." He could tell Analeigh looked slightly disappointed so he quickly added; "Yet! My bass doesn't have a name yet. It's an important decision, not something you should rush into."
"You're right." Analeigh smiled. "You can play for us now, Dylan."
Dylan nodded and took the bass off of his back. He started playing the bass, first covering the basics, and then he moved on to something more advanced. It sounded amazing.
Gina leaned over to Analeigh and whispered; "He just got hotter."
"Thank you." Dylan said when he was done playing for his audition, and the three friends stood up and clapped.
"We'll be in touch." Tyler smiled, and Dylan left the stage. He turned to the girls. "I think we can all agree that out of the six bass players we've seen today, he was in a whole other league."
"Definitely." Gina agreed, looking down on the sign up sheet for the auditions. "Now we just need to audition for a keyboardist. Only a disappointing two signed up. A Prue, and someone named Delia Banks."
Analeigh looked over at the sheet to confirm that only two people signed up. "Well, it's their loss."
"Who's up first?" Tyler wondered, and as if on cue a girl stepped on stage and set up her keyboard. "Hi, what's your name?"
"Delia Banks." The girl, a mousy looking, Tyler guessed, freshman said. "I'm here to audition to be your keyboardist."
"Great." Analeigh tried to sound enthusiastic, but this Delia girl just came across as miserable. "So how old are you, Delia?"
"15." Delia replied. She seemed like a very shelled person, and neither of the friends knew how to converse with her.
"Go on and play for us then." Gina said in an attempt to get them out of this awkward situation, and Delia started move a fingers across the keys.
Delia was good. She was solid, maybe even more than good, but in some way she didn't blow them away. She seemed like she didn't enjoy what she was doing, and that she was only there because her mother had encouraged her that it'd be a good idea. It didn't look like she was there on her own account.
"Thanks. We'll be in touch." Tyler shouted over the music when they'd heard enough. He was just being polite. He knew they wouldn't be in touch, and he was sure the girls felt the same way.
A second girl stepped on to the stage when Delia had left. She seemed to be older than Delia. She was about the same height as Gina, maybe a few inches taller. Her hair went down to her elbows, and it had a dark coppery color, and it was thick and straight ("Great hair!" Analeigh whispered to Gina). She set up her keyboard and sat down by it, for the first time gaining eye contact with them. She had the biggest, gorgeous, piercing blue eyes. She smiled at them and seemed to be a confident girl.
"She's gorgeous. I wanna hate her, but somehow I can't." Gina mumbled mostly to herself, but Tyler heard it and let out a short chuckle.
"Excuse me, but how tall are you?" Analeigh blurted out, but she had to know. She was 5' 2" herself, and she hated being that short. Even Gina, who was pretty tiny, was an inch taller than her.
"I'm about 5' 4", I believe." The girl said, and she didn't appear to be thrown by Analeigh's random question. She kept a smile on her face the entire time.
"Sharpay!" Analeigh muttered with an offended look on her face.
"The dog?" The girl asked confused, and she looked towards Tyler and Gina for help.
"That's just Analeigh's way of swearing because you're taller than her, but that's not your fault," Tyler said and smirked at Analeigh. "Everyone's taller than her."
"I could slouch more?" The girl offered, and Analeigh eagerly nodded, taking a liking to the girl. "Or stay a few feet behind you at all times so you appear to be taller?"
"Thank you!" Analeigh exclaimed, and both Tyler and Gina giggled at her. "Sorry for that little outburst. What's your name?"
"Prue." The girl, Prue, said, and the smile on her face faded. Her name was somehow a touchy subject.
"Just Prue? Like Moses?" Tyler questioned, but Prue merely shrugged. "Your entire name is Prue? You really don't wanna tell us your full name?"
When Prue remained quiet, Gina tried her way of being helpful. "C'mon, it can't be that bad? My middlename is Esmeralda."
"My last name is Swansea, and that sort of rhymes with Analeigh." Analeigh tried as well, and Prue cracked a tiny smile. "How about you tell us your full name, and however embarrassing it is we promise not to laugh."
Prue's beautiful smile was back. "Okay, but in my defence my great grandmother was from Greenland, and my other great grandmother was a Grace Kelly fan." Prue revealed, and then went on to state her full name. "So my full name is Prudence Ivalo Des Grace Kelly. Ivalo was my great grandmother's name, and since my last name is Kelly my parents thought it would be hilarious for my last middlename to be Grace. I go by Prue, only Prue. If someone calls me Prudence it's an automatic way to get on my list."
"But why the Des?" Tyler wondered. "I mean, there's a story behind the Ivalo and Grace, but why Des?"
"That might be the most embarrassing part of it all." Prue revealed with a stiff smile. "My parents wanted one of my middlenames to be Desirée, but they didn't know how to spell it so it became Des."
Analeigh offered her a sympathetic smile. "Well, at least your parents cared enough to give you an embarrassing name." She looked down to take some notes, and then she met Prue's eyes again. "Prue Kelly, it is."
Prue did a thankful nod at them for not poking fun at her name like so many people had done in the past.
"How old are you, Prue?" Tyler asked one of their standard questions while jodding down his impression of her.
"I turned 16 a couple of months ago. On Halloween, actually." The friends looked at her with envy. Free candy on your birthday!? "My mom asks me every year if we should celebrate it a different day, but if you play the birthday card on Halloween you get so much candy, and you can get away with trick or treating a little while longer when you aren't as tall." She winked at Analeigh.
"I'm trying so hard not to be jealous right now!" Gina mumbled, mostly to herself. She met Prue's eyes and decided to ask her one last question before she started to play. "So what music are you into, Prue?"
"I've been trained classically, but then I watched some cannibal movie where a symphony player was eaten because he played badly, and then I was like 'no, thank you' and decided to go in a different direction." Prue explained, and they liked how honest she seemed to be. "I don't have any preferences in regards to music, but I like for the music to matter. Not just to me, but to others as well. If the music matters, and the lyrics are meaningful enough to be captivating then I'm more than satisfied."
Analeigh smiled and gestured towards the keyboard. "Go ahead."
Prue let off by demonstrating her classical roots which sounded like it was pretty advanced. Then she moved on to something more fun and funky, but it still sounded very skilled.
They didn't stop her as they had done with the others that had auditioned, but let her finish on her own. It was an understatement to say they were impressed.
"Uhm, this is normally the part where we'd tell you that we'll be in touch, but I think I speak for all of us when I say that there's no need for that." Tyler said as he looked to Gina and Analeigh who both nodded, agreeing with him.
"Welcome to the band!" They screamed in unison, and Prue's hand flew up to her mouth. She was surprised.
It took a moment for it to sink in, but then the widest smile appeared on her face. "Thank you so, so much. Is it okay that I hug you? I'm hugger."
She ran off the stage and gave each of the friends a hug, and then they exchanged information with her so she could be in touch with them, and they could be in touch with her as well.
Prue left the auditorium with her keyboard, and that was it for the auditions, and they still had fifteen minutes left of free period.
xXx
Joel stood outside the auditorium, waiting for Analeigh to be done with band auditions. He really needed to speak to her and apologize for being a jackass. He just hoped she'd talk to him.
Some short, happy looking girl rushed out of the auditorium with a keyboard under her arm, and few minutes later the doors opened again, and Tyler held it open as Gina and Analeigh stepped out into the hallway.
They seemed cheerful, like the auditions had been satisfying. "We've got Prue on keyboard now, and I think it's pretty obvious who our bassist is gonna be." Tyler said as he closed the door behind them.
"Dylan." Gina and Analeigh said in unison, and then Analeigh continued; "Why don't we just find him right now and give him the good news?"
"I'll do it!" Gina volunteered and rushed off, leaving Analeigh behind with Tyler.
The talking had died down, and Joel took this as his cue to speak. "Hey, Analeigh. Can we talk?"
Analeigh then noticed him, and her beautiful smile fell. "What do you wanna talk about? How you accused me of something I didn't do, and then proceeded to call me a liar?" She wanted to know, and her tone told him that she was less than impressed with him. "I think I'm all talked out on that subject, Joel."
"Would you just let me apologize?" Joel desperately tried, and she crossed her arms to close off from him and seem less receptive.
"You just did. You're sorry, I get it." Analeigh said, and she appeared to be very uncomfortable, and that's when he noticed that she wasn't wearing her sunglasses anymore. "I don't believe in apologies. Our actions define who we are, and we can apologize for those actions all we want, but that doesn't erase who we are as people."
Joel realised that he wasn't getting much further in righting his wrong, but he wasn't gonna give up. There was something about her that he couldn't give up. "If you'd just listen to me! I'm really, really sorry."
Analeigh shook her head, arms still crossed. "No, what you are is a jock. A typical womanizer who isn't used to not getting the girl, and that what's bothering you. You're not sorry."
"So I judge you, and you judge me, and I'm somehow still the bad guy?" Joel argued his case, still trying to make her see reason, but she kept shaking her head at him. "How is that fair?"
"You chose the game, Joel. I'm just playing it how you wanted." Analeigh said, and finally let her arms drop. She turned to look at Tyler with a softer expression on face. "I think we should get together with Prue and Dylan this afternoon. That way we can jam together and get into a rhythm as a band, and maybe we can even discuss a name. We could make it at your place?"
"Sure." Tyler agreed. "You probably weren't planning on going home anyway, Leigh."
He winked at her, and she laughed. "You know me so well, Ty." Then she swung her arm around him, and they walked down the hall together.
Was there something between them, or was he reading too much into it because he wanted to be with Analeigh, and was therefore more liable to jealousy.
xXx
Royal was spending his free period with Stephanie in the gym, discussing the problem with the cheerleading squad. The rest of the cheerleading squad were present as well, but Stephanie had made them run up and down the bleachers as cardio workout.
"You have a problem, Stephie, and I'm not just talking about the choreography!" Royal told her, and Stephanie had serious look printed on her face. She knew he was right. "Look at the squad. It's dwindling down. How many girls have your thrown off the team these past weeks?"
Stephanie sighed. "Three. Four, maybe." It wasn't good. It wasn't good at all. She needed those numbers, and she needed them fast if she wanted to be able to compete. She'd have to hold auditions soon, and maybe have a less quick hand when it came to throwing girls off the squad.
"Is Davida meeting us here?" Royal asked, and Stephanie nodded. She had gotten close with her, and Royal didn't know how, but Stephanie somehow saw past what everybody else saw in Davida. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but Davida could be a great addition to the team. She's done ballet since she was four, and she's been taking hip hop the past six years. It means she's flexible and can dance which is what you need."
Stephanie nodded, happy that at least one of the spots seemed to go away easily. "Great. I'll speak to her when she gets here." Their conversation was interrupted when they heard a loud thud as one of the girls faceplanted on the gym floor. Stephanie stood up to adress the girls. "And that's what I meant by high knees. No high knees, you'll fall and break face, okay? We don't want any broken faces!" She walked across the floor to the fallen cheerleader, bending down to console her. "Are you okay, Erica?"
Erica sat up and mustered a brave smile. She had a bloody nose. "I'm fine."
"Sweetie, you're bleeding." Stephanie said and reached into the pockets of her shorts, fishing out a small packet of tissues. She handed one of the tissues to Erica. "Here, put this up your nose and hold your head back. Can you do that for me?" Erica nodded and did as she was told, and Stephanie examined the look of her nose. "Well, it's not swollen. I guess that's good. It's not crooked either. We're lucky. Had it been crooked, we'd have been screwed. It might hurt for a few days, but I think that's the extent of it."
"I guess this is why I'm never on top of the pyramid." Erica joked, and Stephanie giggled. Erica had a great spirit, and as a leader Stephanie was happy to see that it hadn't faded with her fall.
"You're good, Erica." Stephanie smiled and helped Erica up from the floor. "You should probably take a seat on the bleachers while you're still bleeding. No more running for you." Erica walked over to the bleachers that squad weren't occupying with the workout. "Oh, and sweetie? Next time, remember the high knees."
She walked back to Royal and sat down. Royal smiled at her. "I always forget you have a different side than fierce. You were so sweet to her."
"I'm a very nice person." Stephanie revealed. "I'm just bullshit intolerant, and fierceness is one of the most well known side effects of bullshit. I know when to be fierce, and when to be nice, and I think that's important as a leader, don't you?"
Royal nodded his head to agree, but before he got to say anything the doors to the gym opened, and Davida barged through. She quickly located Stephanie and Royal, and went to join them.
"Just had an argument with Tim. His stupidity knows no end." She announced and sat down, and then she glanced at her cousin and new friend. Royal was staring at her with an expression she didn't really care for. "What?"
"Why must you always tangle with him? Look where it got you the last time with Analeigh." Royal wanted to know, secretly starting to regret the proposal he had made Stephanie earlier.
"I'm not tangling with him on purpose. I'm just bullshit intolerant." She explained, and got an excited 'hey' from Stephanie as she had used that expression only seconds ago. They did a secret handshake they made up only a few days after becoming friends. "I mean, I'm aware that I'm not everyone's cup of tea, and I don't wish to be, but arrogance is something I don't appreciate at all. Confidence, yes. Arrogance, no no."
"It's always a possibility to..." Royal began, but Stephanie could tell where it was going and quickly interrupted him.
"I have a suggestion to make." She announced, and her two friends hushed and looked at her. "Royal mentioned to me that you do ballet and hip hop. Would you consider becoming a cheerleader?"
Davida looked at her with a somewhat offended look on her face. "Short skirts, showing midriffs. Why would I ever become a cheerleader?"
Royal held in a mocking laugh because short skirts and showing midriffs weren't far from Davida's usual dresscode. He only held it in because Stephanie oddly enough seemed excited about Davida joining the team.
"Because you didn't get into the drama club, and this would be a way to perform." When Stephanie said that, Davida shot her a very saying look. That whole ordeal was still fresh on her mind, and it kind of hurt, not to mention what her mothers reaction would be when she found out. "C'mon, please... For me, Davy?"
Davida contemplated it. Stephanie was right; it would be a way to perform, and she had secretly always wanted to be a cheerleader. The only reason she acted like it was beneath her before was because it had become a habit for her to do so.
Her mother wouldn't like it. Her goals for Davida were set, and cheerleading wasn't on that list. Analeigh thought she had it hard being the black sheep of the family, but having unreachable standards to live up to wasn't a walk in the park either. For once Davida was gonna do what she wanted. Screw what her mother wanted.
"Okay, Stephie. I'll do it." Davida said, and Stephanie cheered, throwing her arms around the shorter girl to show her gratitude.
Stephanie sighed. She had one more request to make. "But try not to tangle with Tim as much from now on. He's on the basketball, and we do cheer for them, and I wanna keep the awkwardness to a minimum."
Davida wasn't happy about it, but she agreed to that condition. It wasn't gonna be easy, but she was gonna try her best to meet Stephanie's wishes.
"Great, now you're only down a couple of cheerleaders." Royal said, and Stephanie knew he was right. She was gonna have to hold auditions. She hated auditions!
xXx
"Royal. Hey, Royal!" Joel shouted as a sea of students left the school, and he was in the middle of them with Royal already out of the door. "Royal, wait up!"
Joel finally got out of the school, and Royal had walked onto the parking lot. He tried yelling his name one last time, and then Royal stopped and turned around to see who was calling on him.
He waited as Joel ran up to him. The athlete wasn't out of breath, but Royal still waited a few seconds to start a conversation with him. "Bolton, what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Analeigh." Joel simply said as though that explained everything.
Royal folded his arms and looked at Joel in a very similar way as Analeigh had done earlier. "What about Analeigh?"
"You know her."
"Yeah, she's my cousin so we're familiar." Royal said, hoping he had underlined the stupidity of Joel's last statement. He knew everything about what had gone down between her and the school's star player, and he also knew that Analeigh needed a guardian angel more than anything in this world, and he was gonna act like that the best he could.
"She's really mad at me, and I don't blame her, but do you know how to get on her good side again? She says she doesn't believe in forgiveness, so what do I do?" Joel questioned, and Royal held in a contemptious chuckle at how little he actually knew Analeigh. He didn't know what his cousin had told Joel, but Analeigh forgave more than anyone. Infact, he thought she forgave too much. She did good in prolonging this thing with Joel. "I mean, do I get her flowers? What?"
"Well, she hates flowers so I wouldn't suggest that." Royal revealed, and then he got a plan to test how serious Joel was about his cousin. "The only flower she likes is a Tinkerbell. They are a reminder to her that dreams do come true, and they give her hope that it does get better. There's only one problem!"
"What?"
"It's winter, and there are no Tinkerbells around." Royal said, and then he pretended to be deep in thought for awhile. "Although there is one specific spot in the park where they for some reason always grow."
"Let's go to the park then, and you can show me that spot." Joel said, and Royal could tell he was eager and had jumped in with both legs. Joel held up a pair of keys. "I'll drive."
They found his car on the parking lot and got in, and then Joel drove them to the park. He parked on the curb close to the park, and they both got out of the car. Joel locked the car, and then they both crossed the street and entered the park.
"Now show me that spot." Joel said, and looked expectantly at Royal who was glancing around the park, before focussing back on Joel.
"You see that lake?" Royal asked, and pointed at the enormous lake in the middle of the park. He had always believed that the park was more lake than anything else.
"You mean that gigantic thing in the middle of the park?" Joel questioned, and Royal nodded as a reply. "That's not a lake, that's a freaking ocean!"
Royal nodded his head, agreeing that the size of the lake was out of control. "Yeah, but do you see that tiny island in the middle of the ocean?"
"Yeah?"
"That's the spot." Royal revealed, and had to hold in a smirk at how succesful his plan turned out to be. Joel really seemed to believe him.
"What?" Joel exclaimed, his eyes wide. "How am I supposed to get across?"
"Let's go this way. It's easier to get across from this side, the length is smaller." Royal lied, and steered Joel to the left while he stayed behind the jock.
"I don't see a way to get across." Joel said, and kept glancing around the side of the lake they were on to see if there was a boat or anything. "I mean, there's no boat, no bridge, no anything to help me get to the island."
"Where there's will, there's a way." Royal said mysteriously. "How much does my cousin mean to you?"
Joel contemplated what to do. He could only think of one way to get across. They were in January, and even though they lived in New Mexico it was still quite cold. It was gonna be freezing, but he did it anyway; he jumped into the lake.
The water was, as anticipated, freezing, but hopefully he'd make it the whole way. It took five minutes to get to the island, but it felt longer because of the cold.
When he was on land he glanced around the island, and his teeth were shattering. The island was made up of an overflow of bushes, a few trees, and a bunch of flowers he didn't recognise. He wasn't good with flowers, but he did know Tinkerbells were purple and shaped like a bell hanging down.
He spotted a Tinkerbell underneath one of the bushes, and he bent down to pluck it, but he hadn't anticipated that the bushes might have thorns, and he pricked his arm on one of them. He looked down on his arm, and he accepted that he'd be getting a red mark from the thorn.
He managed to pluck the Tinkerbell without further damaging his arm, and then he dove into the water and swam back. When he got back on land he held up the flower to show Royal that he had succesfully gotten it.
Royal smiled with satisfaction. His plan had worked out just the way he wanted it to, and Joel had proved how much Analeigh meant to him.
They silently agreed to leave the park. The only sound that could be heard between them were Joel's teeth shattering. He was freezing too much to have a conversation so Royal got out his phone to text someone.
When they reached their starting point Joel finally took notice of the right side of the park, the side they hadn't been on. The grass was filled with flowers, and a lot of them were Tinkerbells.
"Royal, I thought you said there were no Tinkerbells in the winter, and they only grew on that island this time of year." Joel said in demanding tone. Royal put his phone back in his and looked up, a nonchalant look on his face. Joel pointed towards all the flowers. "Look, the park is filled with them."
"Oh, yeah. I lied." Royal said as if it was no big deal. "Tinkerbell is a winter, spring sort of flower as you can see. I just wanted to know if you're serious about Analeigh. I wouldn't want her going out with some douche."
"So I jumped into a freezing lake and risked getting a cold because you wanted to know my intentions?" Joel exclaimed, and Royal simply nodded as a reply. "Couldn't you have asked like a normal person?"
"No, because you see; people lie. You should know." Royal said a little too cheerful for Joel's liking, refering to what had just happened between them. "The good news is that you now how my approval, and a Tinkerbell. Go get her."
"I won't forget this!" Joel said. It was both meant as a threat and thank you.
"That dancer boy bested jock guy?" Royal smirked. "Neither will I."
Joel didn't have time for that. He ran out of the park to go find Analeigh. He knew where she'd be, he'd heard her mention it earlier, and it was where he was headed now.
xXx
Tim watched his father putting finishing touches on his dating attire. Tim was less than impressed with the situation, especially considering the fact that his father got married more than Ross from Friends. The only good news was that he always got divorced.
It still didn't sit right with Tim, even with that in mind. "Dad, seriously! Out of all the moms, why did you pick Gina Suaves' mom. I hate Gina."
"Wouldn't it be quicker if you mentioned someone you do like." Troy teased his youngest son, and Tim was about to reply, but Troy interrupted him; "Joel doesn't count, son."
"But why do you have to date? Mom is practically a hermit for us, why do you feel the gross need to date Gina's mom?" Tim wanted to know, coming off as brat. Troy, however, let that slide for now.
"I know you're only 16, Tim, and you're not that experienced when it comes to love, but when I was a few years older than you and graduating from High School, Gabriella was the one that got away." Troy explained things to his son, but Tim didn't seem to care at all. "Now I have a second chance with her. I love your mom, Tim. I will always love her. She's one of my best friends, and probably one of the longest relationships I've ever had, but we weren't meant for each other."
"This isn't coming from a "I want my parents to be together" place. It coming from "Please, don't date. Period" place, especially not Gina's mom." Tim argued. "Mom gets it, why don't you?"
Troy shook his head at his son. There was so much he didn't get. "Son, I know your mother better than you do, and believe me; she's dating as well. She's just been more sensible about it than me, I guess. She won't let you meet the guys unless she knows it's the real deal."
Tim was fuming. "You're ruining my life!" He shouted in the best unhappy teenager sort of way, but Troy chose not to start an argument.
"My middlename, I believe." Troy said, watching himself in the mirror. He had finally gotten the tie to look the way he wanted it to. He'd never been the greatest at the knot thing. "What's the big deal? Just because I'm going out with Gabriella, doesn't mean you all of the sudden have to be best friends with Gina."
"But aren't mom's usually close with their daughters?" Tim asked with a confused look on his face. He'd had a girlfriend once who was obsessed about this stupid tv-show where the mother and daughter were insanely close, and he'd always thought that it was how all mother/daughter relationships were.
"Not always. I think Gabriella has pretty normal relationship with Gina, but Gina is very preoccupied with her music to go anywhere than Tyler King's house." Troy explained, and finally he said something that seemed to satisfy Tim. "Analeigh, the girl Joel is crushing on, didn't appear too fond of her mother when she came to the school. So not all mothers and daughters are close."
"I guess you're right." Tim shrugged, and then he realised that Troy could do worse than Gina's mother. "At least you're not dating Davida and Analeigh Swansea's mom."
Troy chuckled. "Well, it would be pretty awkward if I did. Sharpay is married."
"Who'd marry her?" Tim unwillingly exclaimed, causing Troy to chuckle again. "I mean, she was like Godzilla in heels."
"She used to frighten your uncle Chad and I in High School, too." Troy revealed, shivering as he thought back on Sharpay's High School reign of terror.
"She is very scary." Tim agreed. His initial displeasure of his father's dating life had settled, and he thought it over and decided to be reasonable with his old man. "Fine, I guess you can date, dad. Just promise me you won't pull a Troy and be married in the morning!"
Troy laughed. Normally he took offense when his sons poked fun at his failed marriages, but this time Tim did it in a way so he couldn't be made.
"I promise I won't marry Gabriella on this date." Troy said, and Tim couldn't be more satisfied as he could now breathe easy again.
"That's what I wanna hear, old man." Tim cheered, and his father shot him a very saying look when he was called an old man. Tim offered him his signature smirk that often got him into trouble, but not this time. "I'm gonna go in the backyard and shoot some hoops."
Troy nodded, thereby allowing his son to do so. "Sure. Remember, your mother is expecting you for dinner tonight."
"Fine." Tim agreed. He picked up his basketball and spun it around on his finger. "Just don't stay out and be embarrassing too late. You have work tomorrow."
He dribbled the ball on the wooded floor, and ran outside to shoot hoops before his father could tell him not to play with the ball inside.
xXx
Tyler and Analeigh were hanging out at his place. Gina wasn't there yet, and neither were Prue and Dylan. They had said later, but Gina was supposed to be there by now. She had texted, though, and apparently it had been more important to talk her mother out of going on a date with Joel and Tim's father.
Analeigh was currently sitting on the floor of Tyler's room. She was alone. Tyler had gotten a phone call that he didn't seem too pleased about. Analeigh had guessed it to be Tyler's sorry excuse of a father, and she had a horrible feeling she was right.
She preoccupied herself with the book that she'd been writing songs in the past few years. Some were very personal and not fitted for the band, but she wanted to find something that was so they'd have a few songs already.
She landed on a page with an unfinished one she'd attempted to write. There was something about it, even though it only had half a verse and a chorus. She just had a feeling that it would be good for the band in a way. If only she knew how to finish it.
It was intended to be about her mother, but now she didn't know. It was titled Pathetic, and after Pathetic is what you are to me. Pathetic, you're pathetic. And the way you feel sorry for yourself. Is pathetic, you're pathetic, she found it difficult to continue because it was basically what she'd wanted to say.
Tyler reentered his room with a gloom look on his face. He sat down next to Analeigh on the floor, holding in the tears. "He's pathetic!"
"I'm sorry, what?" Analeigh was ripped out of her thoughts at the sound of the word pathetic. "Who's pathetic?"
"My father." Tyler replied, the anger clear in his eyes. "The deal was he stayed away. He kept the house, and my mother kept me, and the deal was that he left us alone after that."
"He traded you for a house?" Analeigh exclaimed, disbelief in her eyes. "Who does that? You're definitely right, he's pathetic."
"Yeah. He was beating the crap out of her daily. Of course I never saw it, but my mother constantly had bruises that she claimed came from something else." Tyler said, and Analeigh didn't interject. He needed to vent, she could tell. "Guess who bruises less easily without him around? I've gotten her to admit to me what he did. I'm not a little kid anymore. I can handle the truth." Tyler paused as he blinked away some tears. "And now he thinks he can buy his way back into my life with fake sob stories. He thinks that'll somehow convince me to come live with him, but I'm not buying it."
Analeigh put an arm around him. "You don't deserve that, Ty. You're the kindest guy I know, and I can't help hating your dad for making you feel this way." She rested her head on his shoulder, hoping that the physical contact along with her words would convince him that she'd be there for him through anything. "I know how it is. I've been ashamed of who I was my entire life. I looked different. I was different, and therefore I wasn't worth anything. At least that's what my mother wanted me to believe. I know my abuse hasn't been as physical, but has been on an emotional level instead. However, that doesn't make my scars any less real, and the inner ones don't heal quite as easily."
Tyler turned in his seat to look Analeigh in the eyes. "Your mother is pathetic, too."
"Tell me about it."
Analeigh looked into Tyler's eyes as well, and he held her gaze that, but didn't say anything. There was something about her right then and there. He didn't know if it was the conversation they'd just had, or the intimacy between them just now, but it made him question his initial feelings for her.
She moved away from his gaze and picked up a book from the floor. Apparently it had been just him so he brushed it away.
"It sounds like we have the same sort of feelings when it comes to our parents." She said, looking down on the pages of her song book. "I have my horrific mother, and you have lameass father. Maybe you could help me with this, I'm sort of stuck. I was thinking we could finish it together, and we could make it about a mix of my mother and your father?"
Tyler looked down at the pages of the book, and he now knew that the book Analeigh was always carrying around along with her guitar was her song book. He glanced at the title "Pathetic", and then at what she'd written so far.
He could help her. It could be a thing they had together, writing the band's songs. They could at least try and see if they worked well together like that.
So far she didn't have much of the song. To him it seemed like an unfinished verse, and the start of an angry chorus, but he had a feeling that if they worked together it could turn out great.
"I like the beginning of the chorus." He said, and pointed to the part of page where it was.
Analeigh's eyes followed his finger, and her brows furrowed. "I thought that was the entire chorus?"
"Yeah, but it doesn't sound finished." Tyler explained, and Analeigh seemed to think it over, and then she nodded for him to go on. "How about we continue it with; You made your own bed. And you know what they say. So go lie in it. I hope you sleep like hell."
"That's all you deserve anyway. Pathetic is all you are to me. Pathetic, you're pathetic." Analeigh continued Tyler's train of thought, and the drummer nodded his head to agree. "I was thinking that what I have for the first verse could be at the end of it, and we could start it off with something along the lines of; There was a time when you had everything. But you neglected to cherish it. And it all went away."
"I like that." Tyler said, and Analeigh scribbled down the words. Tyler pointed at the next line of the song and continued; "But then the next line doesn't fit in with the start and ending, you see?"
Analeigh looked at the words, and then into Tyler's eyes again. Her wheels were turning to figure out how to finish the verse.
She had beautiful eyes in Tyler's opinion, and he got lost in them as she sat there deep in thought. They were like a brownish green, and bigger than her evil twin's. He didn't mind the icy spots on her right eye that made it seem like some of the iris was missing, because he could tell what it would have looked like; beautiful.
What was he doing? Analeigh was one of his two best friends, and he couldn't get lost in her eyes like that. You didn't do that if you were friends with someone. It meant something else entirely.
"I see what you're saying." Analeigh finally spoke, and she hadn't noticed that Tyler had been lost in her eyes before. "But what if we rework the lines a little to, perhaps; So you threw your words to sting. You said I was different and therefore unfit. And that's just not okay."
"That sounds great." Tyler nodded, pointing to the chorus again. "And then we go straight to the chorus, right?"
"Yeah, which you've made so much better. Thanks." Analeigh said with a smile that in Tyler's opinion was gorgeous, and he smiled back to say she was welcome. "Now comes the dreaded second verse. That's what I'm worst at. I'm good when it comes to the first verse and chorus, but continuing it from there can be difficult."
Tyler reached out and placed his hand on top of hers. "That's why I'm here. Let's show this second verse that we are inferior!"
Analeigh nodded, thinking back on the conversation they'd just had about their parents. "What was it that you said about your father and mother? Your dad traded you for a house, and your mom doesn't bruise as much now, and he's trying to manipulate you back. How do we make that songish?"
Tyler thought about it for a minute and then said; "I have an idea, but correct me if it doesn't come out 'songish' as you put it. So now you're out there on your ass. Missing what you could have had. While you blame everyone else. But you're the one who traded your son for a house. And I know someone who bruises less easily without you around. Who you should blame is yourself."
Analeigh scribbled down in her song book which meant she liked it. "It's great. It's a bit long compared to the first verse, but we're musicians. We'll make it work." She smiled at the words she'd scribbled down. Her feeling about the song had been right, she could tell, and she'd been right to ask for Tyler's help. He was a songwriter in disguise. "Now all we need is a bridge, and we're good to go." She paused when her phone started buzzing, announcing a text which she quickly glanced at, and then she put it away. "Anger works for you, my friend."
"Thanks. Likewise." They joined in a short laugh, but soon became serious. They had a song to finish, and Tyler was still using his anger for his father as inspiration. "You're selling fake tears, but I'm not buying. One look at you, and I know you're lying. How does that sound?"
Analeigh took in the words, and as a reply she continued his train of thought; "So go somewhere else with those self-centered tears. We won't be needing them here." Analeigh scribbled down the last lyrics of the song, and then she met Tyler's eyes with a smile. "We've got ourselves a song. Who knew inside our drummer was a talented songwriter?"
"You made it easy." Tyler smiled. "But what about the melody, do you have any ideas there?"
She grabbed another one of her books and tossed it at Tyler. He opened it, and it contained musical notes for the songs she had written in the other book. He found the notes meant for Pathetic.
"Obviously, I realize that we're gonna have to rework it a bit to fit the song, now that it's different than I'd initially thought, but that's the easy part." Analeigh explained, and although Tyler was a drummer he understood the original melody. "I was thinking that we'd save that part for when Gina, Dylan, and Prue get here. We can have it be like a bonding experience, making a new melody for Pathetic. What do you think?"
Tyler nodded his head, agreeing with Analeigh's suggestion. "That sounds like a great idea. They should be here soon, what time is it?"
Analeigh got out her phone to check the time. It was three minutes past five in the afternoon, and that meant they should have been there three minutes ago.
Then, as if it had been on cue, Gina barged through the door to Tyler's room. She looked from Tyler to Analeigh who were sitting on the floor, and then she shook her head at them.
"Prue and Dylan are waiting for us in the basement." Gina said, and she anticipated Tyler's question so she continued; "I let them in with me and showed them down there. They're setting up as we speak. We can't very well fit in here, now can we?"
Tyler got up from the floor with both Analeigh's song books in his hand, and then he helped Analeigh up with his free hand.
"We wrote a song." Tyler told his best friend through the past many years, and the latina suggestively raised her brows at him as if to say 'but you're a drummer' as an argument. "We did so don't be giving me that look, okay? Spitballed off of the anger we feel over our useless mother and father, respectively. It's called Pathetic."
"Oh, speaking of pathetic..." Gina said, and turned towards Analeigh as Tyler's words had just reminded her of something. "Joel's waiting outside. He came onto the porch with us, and I told him I'd send you out. Sorry, Leigh."
"It's okay." Analeigh whispered, and then she walked out of Tyler's room to go outside and meet Joel, even though it was the last thing she wanted to do right now.
Gina focussed her attention back on Tyler when Analeigh was completely gone. "I told Prue and Dylan to think good and hard over possible band names. We're a band now, and we need a name. Any ideas?"
Tyler shook his head. He had to shake the feelings of being alone with Analeigh off before he could think clearly again. Then he looked at Gina, and he told himself that if he couldn't talk to her then who could he talk to?
"Gina, I have to tell you something that has to stay between us." Tyler revealed, and his shorter best friend tilted her head and stared at him with disbelief at the fact that he had to add that.
"Le d'uh, Ty. We're best friends! The staying between us thing sorta goes without saying it." She said and cracked a smile. She could tell by his expression and voice that it was serious stuff, and she wanted to ease his concern a little. "Tell Gina Suaves, she's nothing if not a good listener!"
"I think I might have feelings for Analeigh." Tyler breathed out a sigh of relief that he'd gotten it off his chest, and he decided to continue now that it was out there. "I don't know if it's a crush, or if it's something more than that, but there are definitely feelings there."
Gina didn't say anything. Instead she reached out and smacked the back of his head with a stern look on her face. "Pathetic!" She yelled at him.
"Yeah, I'm not really digging that as a band name, but try again." Tyler joked, but despite poking fun at Gina's outburst he knew where she was going with this.
"You can't be into her like that, Ty. She's our best friend, and our bandmate. It's not good, it's so not good." Gina told him, and it wasn't something he didn't already know, but at the end of the day he couldn't help it. Gina went on; "She's a sweet girl, and she's attractive. I get that, but this won't end well for you. Joel is standing outside your front door right now, dripping wet with a Tinkerbell in his hand. I think we both know where this is all headed. Even if there wasn't another guy, you've been friendzoned, mister!"
Tyler nodded his head, agreeing with his best friend. "Maybe it'll fade eventually. Maybe I just need to get it out of my system."
Gina gave him a hug. "You know I didn't say it to be a buzzkill, right? You know I'd root for you any day if the circumstances had been different?" She whispered in his ear, and Tyler nodded yet again. "I'm here for you. I'm an extra shoulder, an extra ear through anything."
Tyler shot her an appreciative smile, and then they walked out of his room to go down to the basement to meet Dylan and Prue. He still had Analeigh's books in his hand.
"Besides," Gina decided that she had something to add just to tease him, her right as a best friend, "She's too short for you."
"Joel is taller than me!" He exclaimed, and Gina bursted out laughing so he kicked her playfully in the shin. When they got downstairs he opened the door to the basement, and they went down the stairs. They were met by Prue and Dylan who were completely set up, and were now talking. It was good to see they also hit it off. "Welcome to my basement. That's Sally."
He gestured to his precious drumkit. They all shared a laugh, and then Gina picked up Kingsley (one of her guitars that was sort of named after Tyler) and put the rim over her shoulder so she'd be ready to play.
"Analeigh will be happy to know that my bass now has a name." Dylan announced, and then went on to reveal the name; "I named him James. Not very creative if you consider that it's my middlename."
"Hey, my middlename is James, too." Tyler cheered as he sat down behind Sally, getting ready to play as well.
"Well, my keyboard is named Imogene." Prue revealed, and patted the top of her keyboard. She was already sitting behind it. "See, Imogene doesn't care that she has an embarrassing name 'cos she's awesome."
Gina chuckled while tuning her guitar. "We'd introduce you to Elvis, but he and Analeigh are pretty much inseperable. They'll both be back soon."
"In the mean time, Analeigh and I have already created a task for us." Tyler announced, and held up the song book in which they had just written Pathetic. "Earlier we wrote a kickass song that needs some kickass music to go along with that, and we thought it would be a good idea to come up with that together. We can begin the work while we wait for Analeigh. What do you say?"
"Sure!"
xXx
Analeigh opened the front door to Tyler's house, and Joel was waiting on the porch just like Gina had said. She stepped onto the porch and closed the door behind her.
"What going on?" Analeigh demanded to know. He was dripping wet, his teeth shattering, and he was clearly freezing.
Joel handed her something that she reluctantly accepted. She looked down to see what her hand had folded around. It was a Tinkerbell; dreams do come true. It gets better, Analeigh.
"I know what they mean to you, Analeigh." Joey said, and tried his best to muster a smile, but it simply turned in to a teeth shattering spectacle.
Analeigh just stared at him. So many questions were running through her head. "The flower is nice, Joel, but why are you wet?"
"I had to go through this big ordeal to get it." Joel revealed, but it didn't eliminate any of Analeigh's questions so he explained further; "I had to jump into the lake to get to the island so I could pluck that flower for you."
"But the water is freezing this time of year." Analeigh stated, and Joel nodded. He realized that the hard way. "Why would you jump in the water to get to the island when they grow all over the park this time of year?"
"Your cousin tricked me." Joel said, and shook his head at the memory. The fact that Royal had so cleverly outsmarted him, and that he had believed him... "He convinced me that they only grew on the island this time of year. He wanted to test how important you were to me. After I'd been through the freezing experience I noticed that the park was booming with them."
"So I was important enough for you to jump in the lake?" Analeigh asked, and Joel nodded again to confirm this. "You're so stupid, but I guess that's what this meant." She held up her phone and showed him a text from Royal; He's a good guy, it read. She hadn't known what it meant at first, but now it was pretty clear. "I'll never understand guy logic."
"I feel the same about girl logic, but I did all of this because I wanted a second chance." Joel explained, hoping that the thoughtful look on Analeigh's face would turn out in his favor.
"If I do give you a second chance you have to promise me not to jump to conclusions again." Analeigh demanded, and Joel quickly agreed to her terms. "If there is a conflict, ask me about it. I will try my very best to be honest with you. I have an evil twin, that's a fact. She constantly gets me into trouble, but trust that I will never behave like her."
"I do. I was an idiot, I know that now. I'm sorry." Joel apologised to which Analeigh smiled. He saw a light. "Does that mean you forgive me? That you'll give me a second chance?"
"How can I say no after the quest you've been on?" Analeigh said, and then nodded to say yes. "I still think you're stupid, though. I can't believe Roy fooled you. He's a terrible actor."
"He took advantage of my desperation!" Joel whined as joke, and Analeigh giggled. Now that she wasn't mad at him anymore, he all of the sudden had become charming again. "So do you wanna go on date with me tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow is wednesday."
"I'm aware of the days, yes."
"No." Analeigh said, and then she saw the look in Joel's eyes so she quickly offered him an explanation. "I can't go out on a wednesday. Wednesday is my monday. I hate wednesdays."
Joel chuckled. "How can you hate wednesdays?"
"Wednesdays are annoying. They're sitting there in the middle of the week being annoying." Her explanation simply made Joel laugh more. "Mondays and tuesdays are fine for me. I know the deal, I know they're the start of the week, but then comes wednesday. By wednesday you're like; it'd be good if there'd be weekend soon', and then wednesday is all like 'haha, there's still two more days left after me'. Plus, bad stuff always happen on wednesdays. Take notice of the day next time something bad happens to you!"
"How about thursday then?" Joel offered, but he had lost connection with her. She was lost in her thoughts. He waved his hand in front of her face to get her back to reality. "Hello, Analeigh? Thursday?"
"I just... I have to go." She said, and turned her back to him to walk inside again. She opened the door and glanced over shoulder before she walked inside. "Thursday sounds great!"
Then she ran inside, closing the door behind her. She knew her friends would be in the basement for band rehearsal so that's where she was headed.
She ran down the stairs to the basement, although she was normally terrified of that, but she didn't give it a single thought because she was in a hurry.
They were already playing when she arrived in the basement, and whatever they were playing it sounded awesome. They had put together a pretty amazing band by the sound of it.
They stopped playing when they noticed her, and then Tyler stood up behind Sally. "We just whipped together some music to go with Pathetic." He said, thereby revealing what they'd been playing before.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Analeigh said, not caring right now. Well, she did care, but this was too important for her to indulge in how awesome she thought it sounded. "I think I have an idea for a band name!"
"Let's hear it!?" Prue said behind her keyboard, Imogene.
"See You Next Wednesday!" Analeigh announced, throwing her arms out as if to say 'tadaaaah'. "What do you think?"
"My initial thought is why?" Gina asked. She liked the name, but she was confused. "You hate wednesdays."
"How can you hate wednesdays?" Dylan questioned, but Tyler chipped in before Analeigh got the chance to reply to it.
"Don't get her started, man." He said, and then he focussed on Analeigh. "But Gina is right, you hate wednesdays."
"Yeah, but I thought this would be an epic way to take back the wednesdays." Analeigh explained, still smiling because she hoped that would be a selling point. "I think it's kind of fun."
"I like it." Prue smiled. "I think it's attention grabbing, and people will wonder why. Like 'it's friday, why are they called See You Next Wednesday'? I think it could be a cool band name."
Dylan nodded his head, agreeing with both Prue and Analeigh. "I think it's an awesome band name, and I think it would suit us."
"If it'll get Analeigh over her wednesday issues, then I say yes." Gina said, and couldn't resist to make a joke. "Joking aside, I think it would be an awesome band name."
"Pathetic by See You Next Wednesday." Tyler thought it over for a minute, but already knew his answer. "I like it."
They all looked at each other and shouted in unison; "We're See You Next Wednesday!"
xXx
Disclaimer; Still don't own High School Musical, but I created the kids. The song Pathetic is however mine. I wrote it about my former stepfather who did infact trade my lil bro (his son) for a house. He wanted my mom to sign some papers so he could sell the house that she still owned part of, and the he would in turn give her full custody of their son. It's no surprise that it broke my brother's heart.
Well, this is the end of chapter three that turned out to be quite long, and written in one sitting to yay me. There was a lot of Analeigh, Gina, Tyler, and Joel in this chapter, but I felt that it was necessary. It's gonna variate in different chapters how much each kid is in it, but See You Next Wednesday was always meant to be an important storyline. So is Joel and Analeigh's relationship, along with Tyler's unrequited feelings for her. I've planned pretty far ahead in the game, but now I'm questioning some things. Joel and Analeigh were supposed to be endgame, but now I'm not too sure. I have a huge decision to make in regards to them. You'll get why later, but you can probably figure out that has something to do with Tyler. You can tell me you thoughts on the subjects as the story progresses. You might be able to persuade me.
I also wanna point something out. I know I've made Sharpay out to be the big, bad mom in this story, and I've really made her horrible in this story (she gets worse by the way), but in the real franchise she's actually my favorite character. So if you don't like what I've done with Sharpay in making her an evil mother, it no way reflects how I really feel about the character.
I think that ends my long author's note. Thanks for the feedback so far.
Laters,
AK-tutti :)