Katie woke up on Sunday with Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, and Crosby,
Stills, Nash, and Young pounding in her head from the karaoke night before.
She and Kel had sung the night away, sans alcohol, and Jimmy had even sung
along with them – as long as the songs were fun and happy works by Billy
Joel or Phil Collins that were somewhat kitschy and entertaining but not
very seriously hard rock or Mariah Carey, either. Her mass of wavy dark
hair hung limply around her face, and she was dead tired, even though it
was about nine o'clock in the morning. However, she also felt positively
euphoric.
Kelly, the good roommate that she was, left early from the coffeehouse last night, and left Jimmy and Katie to have the night to themselves. They departed from Starbucks not long after that, choosing to walk around the city a little bit, dip into Central Park, and explore some of the nightlife. They talked some more about music (Katie was somewhat humorously disappointed in Jimmy's interest in rap, while Jimmy learned more of Katie's hard-rock infatuation), and movies and movie stars, before delving into serious topics. Katie told Jimmy all about her life at Horace Green and high school, and she learned that Jimmy had lived in Wisconsin before moving to New York City with his brother. They'd been living in the city for four years now, and Jimmy went to Manhattan University.
"You?" he asked.
"NYU," she said.
"Wow, number one school in the country. What's your major?" he asked.
"English Lit.," she said.
"No music?" he wondered jokingly.
"Unfortunately, no...no more music," she said.
Katie led Jimmy back to her apartment, and she'd waited by the door. Usually, every other guy had breezed past her straight for her room, and the bedroom, and she'd become used to following them up without a word. But Jimmy stood on the sidewalk, watching her, before she stepped forward. He wasn't going to come up. And she wasn't going to ask.
"So, I guess this is it," she said.
"Yeah," he said. Before she could speak, he had stepped forward in a swift motion, and kissed her very lightly on the lips. The soft pressure felt good, but before she knew it, it was gone. "I'll see you around," he said, stepping back, giving her a shy smile. She returned his gaze and waved.
"Bye."
And he disappeared in the darkness.
"Katie!" Kel woke Katie out of her brief reverie from her position behind the counter. "By the way, I forget to mention to you last night, on Friday someone called here. Zach Mooneyham, from School of Rock. He wants you to call back ASAP, and he left his number," she said. She was perusing the news, as per usual, and drinking orange juice. Katie stumbled over to the counter, and saw Kel's scrawled handwriting on a napkin: Zach Mooneyham, cell number and home number.
"Zach Mooneyham?" she said sleepily, still wiping her eyes. "What's he calling for?"
"He wants a reunion, I think he said," Kel said, eyes still glued to the front page news.
"A reunion?" Katie said, clumsily stepping forward on a barstool as she awakened more and more by the second. "Why?"
"I don't know...why don't you ask HIM, instead of grilling ME," Kel said good-naturedly. "By the way, you were right, Coffee Guy is a cutie- patootie," Kel said, smiling and giving Katie a thumbs-up.
"His name is Jimmy, as you heard last night," Katie said, grabbing her regular cup of coffee from the cappuccino machine.
"Mrs. Katherine Marlens...I think it has a nice ring to it, what do you think?" Kel said grandly.
"Shut up," Katie said, laughing. "We haven't even had a first date yet."
"Ugh, like it matters!" Kel said.
"Which it does! These things take time," Katie said, blowing on her steaming mug.
"Well not too much time, I hope. I don't want to be in a wheelchair at your wedding," Kel said.
"Right," Katie laughed. When Kel resumed reading the newspaper, Katie still had the napkin in her hand. "Zach Mooneyham," she muttered under her breath as she headed for the shower.
What the fuck am I doing?
That was the only question that kept reverberating in Freddy's mind early Friday (nearly a week and a half since he'd called Zach at Anita's) as he put the finishing touches into his packed suitcase. He stood in the middle of his floor, which was covered nearly in an inch in every direction with clothes, DVDs, and trash. Of course Freddy didn't bother packing a few nights before...that wasn't his way. To be honest, he wasn't sure he was even going to go. After calling Zach, he briefly thought about calling him back and canceling, but he decided against it. If he didn't go, he'd be dripping with guilt for the next three years of his life, and probably beyond that if and when he did meet up with School of Rock at some point down the road. And going wouldn't be that awkward. Or painful. Or...
Freddy stopped himself from going down that road. That little twist tugging at his heart hurt too much.
Instead, he continued digging though his massive pile of crap and began sticking them into his suitcase three at a time. One group of shirts, some shorts, long pants, cargoes, boxers, and toiletries from his dorm bathroom went in his black traveling case. He brought along his Ipod, scanned the room briefly, and locked his door.
The hallway was fairly empty, except for some kids near the end trying to move heavy cardboard boxes across the floor. The Orlando sunlight was streaming through the windows at each end of the dormitory hallways. Freddy started to tug his belongings behind him as he made his way down the stairway. On his way down the second flight of stairs, Joey Keatings made an appearance in all his glory.
His jet-black hair was gelled straight to the side, and he wore a red Motorhead t-shirt that was probably a size too small for him. His backpack was slung over his left shoulder, and he wore that signature grin on his face.
"Back to the Big Apple, Jones?" he asked.
Freddy continued walking, but replied, "Yeah. Friend in Long Island. You heading out to Cancun?" he asked halfheartedly. He'd much rather be going to Cancun – with all its tequila, topless beaches, and spicy atmosphere. Plus, his parents would have three aneurysms a piece if they knew he were there. Long Island wasn't half as salacious a rebellion. But it would have to do.
"Si, senor. Too bad you couldn't be there, man. We'll send you a postcard! And when spring break is over, maybe we can jam..." he heard Joey's voice trail off as Freddy hit the first floor landing.
"All right!" Freddy yelled back up, but scoffed. Dragging the Sky was floundering, big time. The band hadn't practiced in forever, the guys were getting wasted every night. Freddy wanted to say something, but got the feeling that it wouldn't help. They would have one practice, suck big time, and go back to the endless parties, socials, midnight debaucheries, and formals that lined the calendar. Ironically, the band's state of emotional inertia only made Freddy less eager to play. Maybe the reunion would do something about that.
As he loaded his stuff into his car in the Terrence University parking lot, his gaze behind his shades scanned the setting, soaking in the sunkissed goldenness of Florida. Despite its beauty, he found himself surprised to feel that he was glad to be leaving. The tugging in his solar plexus grew, but instead of pain, it began to feel pleasant inside of him. He shut the trunk and peeled out, the Chevelle squealing as he shifted from park to drive quickly. Scott Murray would pick up his car from the airport; Freddy would leave the keys at the front desk of check-in, and would catch the next plane out to New York City.
To be continued...
A/N: OK guys, that's about all I can do for a few more days. Exams are coming, and they bite! Take it easy on me. I'm still sticking with this story. Have a little faith, and be patient.
Kelly, the good roommate that she was, left early from the coffeehouse last night, and left Jimmy and Katie to have the night to themselves. They departed from Starbucks not long after that, choosing to walk around the city a little bit, dip into Central Park, and explore some of the nightlife. They talked some more about music (Katie was somewhat humorously disappointed in Jimmy's interest in rap, while Jimmy learned more of Katie's hard-rock infatuation), and movies and movie stars, before delving into serious topics. Katie told Jimmy all about her life at Horace Green and high school, and she learned that Jimmy had lived in Wisconsin before moving to New York City with his brother. They'd been living in the city for four years now, and Jimmy went to Manhattan University.
"You?" he asked.
"NYU," she said.
"Wow, number one school in the country. What's your major?" he asked.
"English Lit.," she said.
"No music?" he wondered jokingly.
"Unfortunately, no...no more music," she said.
Katie led Jimmy back to her apartment, and she'd waited by the door. Usually, every other guy had breezed past her straight for her room, and the bedroom, and she'd become used to following them up without a word. But Jimmy stood on the sidewalk, watching her, before she stepped forward. He wasn't going to come up. And she wasn't going to ask.
"So, I guess this is it," she said.
"Yeah," he said. Before she could speak, he had stepped forward in a swift motion, and kissed her very lightly on the lips. The soft pressure felt good, but before she knew it, it was gone. "I'll see you around," he said, stepping back, giving her a shy smile. She returned his gaze and waved.
"Bye."
And he disappeared in the darkness.
"Katie!" Kel woke Katie out of her brief reverie from her position behind the counter. "By the way, I forget to mention to you last night, on Friday someone called here. Zach Mooneyham, from School of Rock. He wants you to call back ASAP, and he left his number," she said. She was perusing the news, as per usual, and drinking orange juice. Katie stumbled over to the counter, and saw Kel's scrawled handwriting on a napkin: Zach Mooneyham, cell number and home number.
"Zach Mooneyham?" she said sleepily, still wiping her eyes. "What's he calling for?"
"He wants a reunion, I think he said," Kel said, eyes still glued to the front page news.
"A reunion?" Katie said, clumsily stepping forward on a barstool as she awakened more and more by the second. "Why?"
"I don't know...why don't you ask HIM, instead of grilling ME," Kel said good-naturedly. "By the way, you were right, Coffee Guy is a cutie- patootie," Kel said, smiling and giving Katie a thumbs-up.
"His name is Jimmy, as you heard last night," Katie said, grabbing her regular cup of coffee from the cappuccino machine.
"Mrs. Katherine Marlens...I think it has a nice ring to it, what do you think?" Kel said grandly.
"Shut up," Katie said, laughing. "We haven't even had a first date yet."
"Ugh, like it matters!" Kel said.
"Which it does! These things take time," Katie said, blowing on her steaming mug.
"Well not too much time, I hope. I don't want to be in a wheelchair at your wedding," Kel said.
"Right," Katie laughed. When Kel resumed reading the newspaper, Katie still had the napkin in her hand. "Zach Mooneyham," she muttered under her breath as she headed for the shower.
What the fuck am I doing?
That was the only question that kept reverberating in Freddy's mind early Friday (nearly a week and a half since he'd called Zach at Anita's) as he put the finishing touches into his packed suitcase. He stood in the middle of his floor, which was covered nearly in an inch in every direction with clothes, DVDs, and trash. Of course Freddy didn't bother packing a few nights before...that wasn't his way. To be honest, he wasn't sure he was even going to go. After calling Zach, he briefly thought about calling him back and canceling, but he decided against it. If he didn't go, he'd be dripping with guilt for the next three years of his life, and probably beyond that if and when he did meet up with School of Rock at some point down the road. And going wouldn't be that awkward. Or painful. Or...
Freddy stopped himself from going down that road. That little twist tugging at his heart hurt too much.
Instead, he continued digging though his massive pile of crap and began sticking them into his suitcase three at a time. One group of shirts, some shorts, long pants, cargoes, boxers, and toiletries from his dorm bathroom went in his black traveling case. He brought along his Ipod, scanned the room briefly, and locked his door.
The hallway was fairly empty, except for some kids near the end trying to move heavy cardboard boxes across the floor. The Orlando sunlight was streaming through the windows at each end of the dormitory hallways. Freddy started to tug his belongings behind him as he made his way down the stairway. On his way down the second flight of stairs, Joey Keatings made an appearance in all his glory.
His jet-black hair was gelled straight to the side, and he wore a red Motorhead t-shirt that was probably a size too small for him. His backpack was slung over his left shoulder, and he wore that signature grin on his face.
"Back to the Big Apple, Jones?" he asked.
Freddy continued walking, but replied, "Yeah. Friend in Long Island. You heading out to Cancun?" he asked halfheartedly. He'd much rather be going to Cancun – with all its tequila, topless beaches, and spicy atmosphere. Plus, his parents would have three aneurysms a piece if they knew he were there. Long Island wasn't half as salacious a rebellion. But it would have to do.
"Si, senor. Too bad you couldn't be there, man. We'll send you a postcard! And when spring break is over, maybe we can jam..." he heard Joey's voice trail off as Freddy hit the first floor landing.
"All right!" Freddy yelled back up, but scoffed. Dragging the Sky was floundering, big time. The band hadn't practiced in forever, the guys were getting wasted every night. Freddy wanted to say something, but got the feeling that it wouldn't help. They would have one practice, suck big time, and go back to the endless parties, socials, midnight debaucheries, and formals that lined the calendar. Ironically, the band's state of emotional inertia only made Freddy less eager to play. Maybe the reunion would do something about that.
As he loaded his stuff into his car in the Terrence University parking lot, his gaze behind his shades scanned the setting, soaking in the sunkissed goldenness of Florida. Despite its beauty, he found himself surprised to feel that he was glad to be leaving. The tugging in his solar plexus grew, but instead of pain, it began to feel pleasant inside of him. He shut the trunk and peeled out, the Chevelle squealing as he shifted from park to drive quickly. Scott Murray would pick up his car from the airport; Freddy would leave the keys at the front desk of check-in, and would catch the next plane out to New York City.
To be continued...
A/N: OK guys, that's about all I can do for a few more days. Exams are coming, and they bite! Take it easy on me. I'm still sticking with this story. Have a little faith, and be patient.