Freddy sat at Anita's Restaurant the morning after, paper in one hand, and
cell phone in the other. In front of him was his half-eaten breakfast:
sausage, eggs, toast, and corned beef hash. The sound of the waves breaking
over the hot, sandy beach was pleasant white noise in the back of his mind.
The sky was a pale blue, and the heat was its signature Florida "sizzling".
Already people were setting up blankets and umbrellas, and loading on the
sunscreen for the inevitable hot rays.
He yawned tiredly, and ran some fingers through his dirty blond hair. The night before Freddy had gone out with some guys to Carver's, which was the best excuse for shooting pool and getting wasted. He'd hoped he would jam with the band after they went out, but by everyone's final shots, he knew it would be hopeless. It was 4 in the morning, some guys took off with their women, and one fight had broken out. Five whiskey glasses had been broken. The night was over.
And so Freddy had to face everything that sober reality brought him the next morning. He didn't have a class – it was a Saturday - but woke up with the sun and decided to haul ass out of bed for once. So he took a quick drive over to Milner's Dove, about an hour from Orlando. It was the haven of beaches and calm, retired folk, and would wake him up comfortably. The haven comprised seaside, pink marble resorts and endless arrays of fountains and gated communities. Wealth dripped in shiny gold and florid Meccas of wine and tropical flowers. So here he sat, in a rather cute locale just next to the shoreline, pretending to peruse through the paper, while his mind was really on whether or not he should return Zach's call.
On one hand...everything. He left behind School of Rock that long ago day in June. That graduation day, he let something go. It was hard, but it was over. Those people had been his friends since third grade, when he'd first come to Horace Green and gotten in trouble from Day One, but they were seniors in high school...soon to be college freshman, and they were moving away. He had to sever his ties.
On the other hand, if Zach was calling the rest of School of Rock, he was bound to get some sort of call from one of the other members at some point. If it was Tomika with her "Boy, whatch you doin'? We gotta have a reunion! I'll stick those drumsticks down your throat!" it would be Billy with his "Frederick, it's simply going to be fantastic! You must come! If you don't I will hex you until orange becomes the new silver!" Freddy sighed.
"Oh fuck it," Freddy said. His head hurt just thinking about it. It was one call. It wouldn't be the end of the world. He dialed Zach's number quickly, still had it by heart, and waited while it rang.
"Hello?"
Freddy started at the sound of his long lost best friend's voice.
"Hey...man," Freddy said, his voice cracking.
"Freddy Jones?" Zach's distinctly deep voice resonated from the other end.
"Yeah...," Freddy replied awkwardly. It had only been eight months, and yet it felt like eight years had passed.
"How have you been?" Zach asked.
"I've been all right. The weather's been great...you know, classes suck and everything." Freddy winced; he was talking about the weather to a guy he'd known since they were learning about fractions.
"How's your band?"
Freddy smiled a little at that, though. Zach was still 100% musically- oriented.
"Great," he replied, trying to sound enthusiastic even though his band had been getting wasted every night and barely practiced. "So hey, I got your call..."
"Oh yeah! I was wondering when you'd return it. So what do you think?"
The question hung in the air a bit before Freddy responded.
"It's a great idea. I'm just...it's going to be kind of strange, seeing everyone again, won't it?"
"Yeah, but it's about time, don't you think? I miss you guys. It sucks ass being here all by myself. I don't know what's happening with everyone. Last I heard, Michelle got some amazing job at her latest audition. She's playing like some Scarlett O'Hara role, very dramatic. And Lawrence has been at Julliard and touring some on the side. Makes my sorry existence seem hella boring," Zach said. Freddy laughed.
"Yeah, I sure know how that is," he said.
"So is Freddy the Ladies' Man still living up to his bad repute?" Zach joked. Freddy snorted.
"Shut up, Mooneyham..." he said, then paused. "It's not that great down here," he admitted.
"What, you're not loving the Floridian women, wine, and sun?" Zach asked skeptically. "This coming from the guy that used to party like no other with me in our senior heyday." Freddy smirked a little. They had had good times.
"No, man, I just...I'm bored by it all. I need to get out."
"So, like I said in the call, we should hang. The boathouse. My parents and my uncle will be away, and they gladly handed over its keys to me two weeks ago. I have it all to myself, and I'm bored as a fucking monkey. C'mon, you know you want to," Zach said. He was right, Freddy thought, he really did.
"What have the others said?" he asked, a slight edge in his voice. Zach didn't notice.
"I called some of them up. Managed to get a hold of Michelle and Lawrence, like I said. They'll be here on Wednesday. Tomika, Eleni, and Billy can get here Friday." Freddy cocked an eyebrow.
"What about the others? Marta, Summer, you know, Katie?" he asked.
"Well, Miss Christina Aguilera and Posh Spice are hard to get a hold of these days. Summer said she'd come down in a week and a half, after her internship ends. I did get a hold of Katie's roommate. Kel, Kelly, something like that. She said Katie would call me back soon...so what do you think, man, are you in?" Zach asked.
Freddy fidgeted, staring at the waves lapping over the shore, and the people passing through the restaurant and on the boardwalk. He heard a voice in his mind, something that pounded in his ears and caused a tight painful feeling in his chest.
"I'm not the kind of girl that guys fall in love with..."
"Jones? Hey? Cel-LO, are you coming or what?"
Freddy shook the voice away.
"Mooneyham...I think I'm in."
Katie and Kel entered Starbucks at five o'clock that night, dressed in fine casual wear that they figured would suit the occasion. Katie wore slim-fitting black pants and a pale pink tank top, bangle bracelets dancing around her wrists. Kel, with her mass of fiery red hair, had scooped up the mermaid tresses into a chic, messy up-do. She wore a light cream jacket, a gray knit halter top, and jeans. The coffee shop was still buzzing at the hour. People milled around the couches and sofas that rested near the entrance. Others leaned against the walls or found tables and chairs. The entrancing scent of a coffee mélange spirited its way through and awakened every sensor in Katie's body. A mock stage had been set up across from the sofas. Chords, wires, and amps lay in a giant mass, and a lone microphone with its stand stood at the front-and-center.
"Is he here yet?" Kel asked Katie into her ear as the din of voices rose.
Katie scanned the crowd quickly, looking for a specifically nice- looking lacrosse player with warm eyes.
"I don't see him," she said. She saw Talia standing at the back of the room, sipping on a mug. They locked eyes, and the prettily plump woman winked. "There's my boss. I'll introduce you," Katie said, tugging on Kel's wrist. They pushed their way to the back of the room. "Talia, hey," Katie greeted.
"Hey Wagner. Glad you could make it. By the way, there's someone here for you," she said, gesturing to the back room. Katie's brow furrowed in mild confusion.
"Who?" she asked.
"Some Prince Charming or other. He's getting what he said you recommended to him, making it himself, too. Pretty impressive," Talia said, her eyes full of mirth.
"What?" Katie asked, her eyes wide. She whirled around. Sure enough, there was Jimmy, in the back room and making his special drink, the one that she recommended, with some assistance from Benito. "Unbelievable," Katie said, smiling though. "Anyways, Talia, this is my fellow troublemaker and roommate, Kelly Armstead," Katie said.
"Nice to meet a friend of a friend," Talia said, shaking Kel's hand.
"Likewise," Kel said, grinning. "As for you," Kel said, turning to Katie, "go what you came here for."
"God, Kel, you're embarrassing me," Katie laughed, blushing, but she walked over to behind the counter.
"Hey," she said, leaning against the door to the backroom. Jimmy had just finished his drink.
"Hey, your boy is a natural. He should be working here with us," Benito said, poking Jimmy in the chest and walking off.
"Sorry about that," Katie said when Benito was out of range.
"It's fine," Jimmy smiled. "I sort of got the hang of it. But you make it a lot better. I don't see how you guys can churn these things out so fast. It took me almost ten minutes to make this one, and it wasn't even very good," he said, taking a quick sip.
"I bet it's good, let me try," she said. She reached for a straw, stuck it in the frothy mix, and their hands touched. There wasn't electricity or fireworks or things like that that you get in the movies. But there was warmth. After her sip she shrugged.
"It's great! You should work here."
"Then I'd get to see you more."
His statement stuck in the air like a cloud before either of them addressed it. Katie suddenly found it hard to look at him, and instead focused on the pastries lined up behind the display case.
"Yeah..." she said, blushing furiously. She started laughing at that moment, for no reason, and found it hard to stop.
"Uh oh, this can't be good. I've never had a girl laugh after I told them I liked them."
That cut her laughing short.
"Is it supposed to be this awkward?" she asked, finding herself wondering if she was in some sort of movie where everything everyone did was clichéd and awkward and celluloid cinema magic.
"I don't know," he shrugged, and then took another sip of his drink. Katie looked at him when he said that. It was refreshing – 'I don't know'. She'd expected some sort of smooth line or winning catch phrase. But 'I don't know' was so honest and natural. For a girl who was required by her parents and her expectations of self to be so on top of things, the fact that for one second you weren't required to be in charge of a situation was appealing to her.
"Yeah...neither do I," she said. She found Kel sitting in an empty sofa chair near the stage. "Hey, come on. I want you to meet my roommate," she said. He followed her to where Kel was sitting.
"Kelly Armstead, meet Jimmy," she said. Kel, the Queen of Indiscretion, gave Katie a look that almost made Katie poke her in the elbow, but then held out her hand. Jimmy took it, and they shook.
"Soooo nice to meet you, Jimmy. Do you have a last name? Or maybe some brothers?" Kel said, still holding his hand.
"Kel-"Katie said, actually poking Kel in the elbow hard.
"Ow!" Kel whispered.
Jimmy laughed.
"Sorry," Katie said, "can't take her anywhere. I just taught her table manners last night. Tomorrow she's learning to read," Katie joked, rolling her eyes at Kel.
"It's all right!" he said. "Marlens, Jimmy Marlens. And yes, I have two brothers. But by law if you looked at them in any way other than 'just friends' you may make it to the slammer, so I don't know..." he said. Kel and Katie both laughed. That broke the ice.
For the next fifteen minutes all three talked and laughed comfortably, with Kel and Katie filling in the history of their friendship to a very curious Jimmy. Many of his questions were geared towards Katie, who discussed where she grew up, what friends she had, Horace Green, School of Rock, and her college years.
"You played in a band when you were only ten?" Jimmy asked, disbelievingly. Kel had gone up to help the maintenance crew with some more tech-work before the show began.
"Yup!" Katie replied, her eyes shining, "and Kel's here to vouch for me. She's seen the pictures and everything. In fact," Katie looked down and rummaged through her purse, "I have a few right here," she said, pulling out her red faux-leather wallet, which housed a whole collection of pictures. She handed them over to Jimmy, who looked at them eagerly.
"That's the band?" Jimmy asked, gesturing to a picture of School of Rock in their early days.
"Yeah...we played at Battle of the Band with our teacher, Mr. S. He actually wasn't a teacher but was pretending to be a sub, and ended up converting our puritanical little fifth grade class into a really kickass band. We lost, but won over the audience. And that's how it all began," Katie said. Jimmy turned to look at her, but she wasn't returning his gaze. She was staring into her coffee, and her voice had taken on a sentimental tone. Just as he was going to ask her about it, she brightened up and regained her cheery, eager look. "So yeah, we continued it through high school...at least, everyone else did..."
Jimmy caught her insinuation.
"What about you?" he asked.
"My parents wouldn't let me. I was forced to quit at the beginning of eleventh grade. They thought it was a distraction. So, I put away my bass, and never played again," she said, shrugging. Jimmy noticed that though she maintained a rather cool exterior, much time and energy had gone into feeling this way when she spoke of what she gave up. She'd practiced it, like she practiced her music, so when she said it aloud, she wouldn't be hurt.
"Are you OK?" he asked quietly. She was staring into her coffee again. She looked up.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said. He gave her a reassuring smile.
"So, I hope this is good," he said, meaning the mock stage and open mike.
"Can you sing?" she asked.
"Not well," he admitted sheepishly.
"Kel can, damn her," Katie joked.
"Why don't you join her, when they're done setting up," Jimmy suggested.
On any other night, Katie would've probably turned it down with a smile. But why not, right?
"OK, I'll do it," she said.
He yawned tiredly, and ran some fingers through his dirty blond hair. The night before Freddy had gone out with some guys to Carver's, which was the best excuse for shooting pool and getting wasted. He'd hoped he would jam with the band after they went out, but by everyone's final shots, he knew it would be hopeless. It was 4 in the morning, some guys took off with their women, and one fight had broken out. Five whiskey glasses had been broken. The night was over.
And so Freddy had to face everything that sober reality brought him the next morning. He didn't have a class – it was a Saturday - but woke up with the sun and decided to haul ass out of bed for once. So he took a quick drive over to Milner's Dove, about an hour from Orlando. It was the haven of beaches and calm, retired folk, and would wake him up comfortably. The haven comprised seaside, pink marble resorts and endless arrays of fountains and gated communities. Wealth dripped in shiny gold and florid Meccas of wine and tropical flowers. So here he sat, in a rather cute locale just next to the shoreline, pretending to peruse through the paper, while his mind was really on whether or not he should return Zach's call.
On one hand...everything. He left behind School of Rock that long ago day in June. That graduation day, he let something go. It was hard, but it was over. Those people had been his friends since third grade, when he'd first come to Horace Green and gotten in trouble from Day One, but they were seniors in high school...soon to be college freshman, and they were moving away. He had to sever his ties.
On the other hand, if Zach was calling the rest of School of Rock, he was bound to get some sort of call from one of the other members at some point. If it was Tomika with her "Boy, whatch you doin'? We gotta have a reunion! I'll stick those drumsticks down your throat!" it would be Billy with his "Frederick, it's simply going to be fantastic! You must come! If you don't I will hex you until orange becomes the new silver!" Freddy sighed.
"Oh fuck it," Freddy said. His head hurt just thinking about it. It was one call. It wouldn't be the end of the world. He dialed Zach's number quickly, still had it by heart, and waited while it rang.
"Hello?"
Freddy started at the sound of his long lost best friend's voice.
"Hey...man," Freddy said, his voice cracking.
"Freddy Jones?" Zach's distinctly deep voice resonated from the other end.
"Yeah...," Freddy replied awkwardly. It had only been eight months, and yet it felt like eight years had passed.
"How have you been?" Zach asked.
"I've been all right. The weather's been great...you know, classes suck and everything." Freddy winced; he was talking about the weather to a guy he'd known since they were learning about fractions.
"How's your band?"
Freddy smiled a little at that, though. Zach was still 100% musically- oriented.
"Great," he replied, trying to sound enthusiastic even though his band had been getting wasted every night and barely practiced. "So hey, I got your call..."
"Oh yeah! I was wondering when you'd return it. So what do you think?"
The question hung in the air a bit before Freddy responded.
"It's a great idea. I'm just...it's going to be kind of strange, seeing everyone again, won't it?"
"Yeah, but it's about time, don't you think? I miss you guys. It sucks ass being here all by myself. I don't know what's happening with everyone. Last I heard, Michelle got some amazing job at her latest audition. She's playing like some Scarlett O'Hara role, very dramatic. And Lawrence has been at Julliard and touring some on the side. Makes my sorry existence seem hella boring," Zach said. Freddy laughed.
"Yeah, I sure know how that is," he said.
"So is Freddy the Ladies' Man still living up to his bad repute?" Zach joked. Freddy snorted.
"Shut up, Mooneyham..." he said, then paused. "It's not that great down here," he admitted.
"What, you're not loving the Floridian women, wine, and sun?" Zach asked skeptically. "This coming from the guy that used to party like no other with me in our senior heyday." Freddy smirked a little. They had had good times.
"No, man, I just...I'm bored by it all. I need to get out."
"So, like I said in the call, we should hang. The boathouse. My parents and my uncle will be away, and they gladly handed over its keys to me two weeks ago. I have it all to myself, and I'm bored as a fucking monkey. C'mon, you know you want to," Zach said. He was right, Freddy thought, he really did.
"What have the others said?" he asked, a slight edge in his voice. Zach didn't notice.
"I called some of them up. Managed to get a hold of Michelle and Lawrence, like I said. They'll be here on Wednesday. Tomika, Eleni, and Billy can get here Friday." Freddy cocked an eyebrow.
"What about the others? Marta, Summer, you know, Katie?" he asked.
"Well, Miss Christina Aguilera and Posh Spice are hard to get a hold of these days. Summer said she'd come down in a week and a half, after her internship ends. I did get a hold of Katie's roommate. Kel, Kelly, something like that. She said Katie would call me back soon...so what do you think, man, are you in?" Zach asked.
Freddy fidgeted, staring at the waves lapping over the shore, and the people passing through the restaurant and on the boardwalk. He heard a voice in his mind, something that pounded in his ears and caused a tight painful feeling in his chest.
"I'm not the kind of girl that guys fall in love with..."
"Jones? Hey? Cel-LO, are you coming or what?"
Freddy shook the voice away.
"Mooneyham...I think I'm in."
Katie and Kel entered Starbucks at five o'clock that night, dressed in fine casual wear that they figured would suit the occasion. Katie wore slim-fitting black pants and a pale pink tank top, bangle bracelets dancing around her wrists. Kel, with her mass of fiery red hair, had scooped up the mermaid tresses into a chic, messy up-do. She wore a light cream jacket, a gray knit halter top, and jeans. The coffee shop was still buzzing at the hour. People milled around the couches and sofas that rested near the entrance. Others leaned against the walls or found tables and chairs. The entrancing scent of a coffee mélange spirited its way through and awakened every sensor in Katie's body. A mock stage had been set up across from the sofas. Chords, wires, and amps lay in a giant mass, and a lone microphone with its stand stood at the front-and-center.
"Is he here yet?" Kel asked Katie into her ear as the din of voices rose.
Katie scanned the crowd quickly, looking for a specifically nice- looking lacrosse player with warm eyes.
"I don't see him," she said. She saw Talia standing at the back of the room, sipping on a mug. They locked eyes, and the prettily plump woman winked. "There's my boss. I'll introduce you," Katie said, tugging on Kel's wrist. They pushed their way to the back of the room. "Talia, hey," Katie greeted.
"Hey Wagner. Glad you could make it. By the way, there's someone here for you," she said, gesturing to the back room. Katie's brow furrowed in mild confusion.
"Who?" she asked.
"Some Prince Charming or other. He's getting what he said you recommended to him, making it himself, too. Pretty impressive," Talia said, her eyes full of mirth.
"What?" Katie asked, her eyes wide. She whirled around. Sure enough, there was Jimmy, in the back room and making his special drink, the one that she recommended, with some assistance from Benito. "Unbelievable," Katie said, smiling though. "Anyways, Talia, this is my fellow troublemaker and roommate, Kelly Armstead," Katie said.
"Nice to meet a friend of a friend," Talia said, shaking Kel's hand.
"Likewise," Kel said, grinning. "As for you," Kel said, turning to Katie, "go what you came here for."
"God, Kel, you're embarrassing me," Katie laughed, blushing, but she walked over to behind the counter.
"Hey," she said, leaning against the door to the backroom. Jimmy had just finished his drink.
"Hey, your boy is a natural. He should be working here with us," Benito said, poking Jimmy in the chest and walking off.
"Sorry about that," Katie said when Benito was out of range.
"It's fine," Jimmy smiled. "I sort of got the hang of it. But you make it a lot better. I don't see how you guys can churn these things out so fast. It took me almost ten minutes to make this one, and it wasn't even very good," he said, taking a quick sip.
"I bet it's good, let me try," she said. She reached for a straw, stuck it in the frothy mix, and their hands touched. There wasn't electricity or fireworks or things like that that you get in the movies. But there was warmth. After her sip she shrugged.
"It's great! You should work here."
"Then I'd get to see you more."
His statement stuck in the air like a cloud before either of them addressed it. Katie suddenly found it hard to look at him, and instead focused on the pastries lined up behind the display case.
"Yeah..." she said, blushing furiously. She started laughing at that moment, for no reason, and found it hard to stop.
"Uh oh, this can't be good. I've never had a girl laugh after I told them I liked them."
That cut her laughing short.
"Is it supposed to be this awkward?" she asked, finding herself wondering if she was in some sort of movie where everything everyone did was clichéd and awkward and celluloid cinema magic.
"I don't know," he shrugged, and then took another sip of his drink. Katie looked at him when he said that. It was refreshing – 'I don't know'. She'd expected some sort of smooth line or winning catch phrase. But 'I don't know' was so honest and natural. For a girl who was required by her parents and her expectations of self to be so on top of things, the fact that for one second you weren't required to be in charge of a situation was appealing to her.
"Yeah...neither do I," she said. She found Kel sitting in an empty sofa chair near the stage. "Hey, come on. I want you to meet my roommate," she said. He followed her to where Kel was sitting.
"Kelly Armstead, meet Jimmy," she said. Kel, the Queen of Indiscretion, gave Katie a look that almost made Katie poke her in the elbow, but then held out her hand. Jimmy took it, and they shook.
"Soooo nice to meet you, Jimmy. Do you have a last name? Or maybe some brothers?" Kel said, still holding his hand.
"Kel-"Katie said, actually poking Kel in the elbow hard.
"Ow!" Kel whispered.
Jimmy laughed.
"Sorry," Katie said, "can't take her anywhere. I just taught her table manners last night. Tomorrow she's learning to read," Katie joked, rolling her eyes at Kel.
"It's all right!" he said. "Marlens, Jimmy Marlens. And yes, I have two brothers. But by law if you looked at them in any way other than 'just friends' you may make it to the slammer, so I don't know..." he said. Kel and Katie both laughed. That broke the ice.
For the next fifteen minutes all three talked and laughed comfortably, with Kel and Katie filling in the history of their friendship to a very curious Jimmy. Many of his questions were geared towards Katie, who discussed where she grew up, what friends she had, Horace Green, School of Rock, and her college years.
"You played in a band when you were only ten?" Jimmy asked, disbelievingly. Kel had gone up to help the maintenance crew with some more tech-work before the show began.
"Yup!" Katie replied, her eyes shining, "and Kel's here to vouch for me. She's seen the pictures and everything. In fact," Katie looked down and rummaged through her purse, "I have a few right here," she said, pulling out her red faux-leather wallet, which housed a whole collection of pictures. She handed them over to Jimmy, who looked at them eagerly.
"That's the band?" Jimmy asked, gesturing to a picture of School of Rock in their early days.
"Yeah...we played at Battle of the Band with our teacher, Mr. S. He actually wasn't a teacher but was pretending to be a sub, and ended up converting our puritanical little fifth grade class into a really kickass band. We lost, but won over the audience. And that's how it all began," Katie said. Jimmy turned to look at her, but she wasn't returning his gaze. She was staring into her coffee, and her voice had taken on a sentimental tone. Just as he was going to ask her about it, she brightened up and regained her cheery, eager look. "So yeah, we continued it through high school...at least, everyone else did..."
Jimmy caught her insinuation.
"What about you?" he asked.
"My parents wouldn't let me. I was forced to quit at the beginning of eleventh grade. They thought it was a distraction. So, I put away my bass, and never played again," she said, shrugging. Jimmy noticed that though she maintained a rather cool exterior, much time and energy had gone into feeling this way when she spoke of what she gave up. She'd practiced it, like she practiced her music, so when she said it aloud, she wouldn't be hurt.
"Are you OK?" he asked quietly. She was staring into her coffee again. She looked up.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said. He gave her a reassuring smile.
"So, I hope this is good," he said, meaning the mock stage and open mike.
"Can you sing?" she asked.
"Not well," he admitted sheepishly.
"Kel can, damn her," Katie joked.
"Why don't you join her, when they're done setting up," Jimmy suggested.
On any other night, Katie would've probably turned it down with a smile. But why not, right?
"OK, I'll do it," she said.