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Finny--
I tried calling Brinker again for the fourth time that week. I wanted him to know that he had been replaced, and that it was only temporarily, but I could never get him. I didn't want to leave a voicemail since it was so impersonal. I wanted to hear his actual reaction to the news. Leper and Ollie had been easier to get a hold on. Leper had been ecstatic to learn that he would never have to adorn a stage in front of people again. Ollie was very much into his studies and was grateful that I called.
Mallory had been quick to pick up on the techniques of the bass, and I had arranged for practices every three nights. That meant that no one's schedule could possibly be violated every week and no one was allowed to miss every session. Gene was the only one who seemed unhappy with the arrangement.
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Gene
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Finny always had a very stable way of interrupting anything I could perceive as proper. For example, whenever I decided that studying would be imperative to my grade point average, he always knew just exactly how to foil my plan. First it was the lemonade stand back in the second grade. Then it was karate lessons, then soccer, then skating, and now it had become the band once again. I had hoped that with our last gig, we had buried that ominous and provoking music forever. But of course, Finny had built up a fan base with his flyers and addictive word of mouth. Now I had become involved in the charade once again and I feared that once I had gotten roped in far enough, I would never escape Phineas' hypnotic hold.
It is dangerous to have a charming nature as powerful as that of Phineas.
Our first practice was less than predictable. We all met at the rec center in one of the empty multi-purpose rooms. I could tell that Finny was back in his element. He was wearing a black t-shirt from the old days that he hadn't worn ever since we'd been in college. In fact, I had assumed that he'd thrown it out. He was excitedly buzzing around, attaching cords and setting up drums and spilling lively chatter. It had taken the two of us four trips to bring in all the instruments, excluding Tibby's keyboard.
"Ready, Gene?" he wondered with an insane-looking smile.
"Okay," I replied, with a shake of my head.
Assuming his position at the drums and checking to make sure that the rest of us were ready with our instruments, Finny cried, "5-6, 5-6-7-8!" and we began.
I must admit, I was surprised by the sound created that day. While our first band had always emitted a somewhat guttural, hard core sound, with two girls thrown into the mix, it sounded pretty much like it had the makings of one of the songs on the radio. Mallory surprised me the most, having gotten the hang of the bass guitar in only a few days. I was happy to find that I remembered most of the chords for my guitar.
Once we had played the first song, Finny ran over to me and said, "Well?" with a brimming excitement that he could barely contain.
"I've gotta admit," I said, "I've got the fever again."
He could no longer keep his excitement to himself, for he jumped and latched onto my shoulder in an outright display of giddiness.
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NoV: Excelente, another chapter carved in the stone of