Funky Drummer Demons
Chapter 2

"They're plotting dark things against us." "Good. Maybe they'll keep us entertained." -Nelson Demille's 'Cathedral'

"Name's Jack Kelly, and this here is Patrick Conlon, other wise known as Spot," Jack said, introducing himself and the boy beside him. Spot looked at each Marshallite, wondering if they did anything besides yell comebacks and be lazy.

"What are you guys, the leaders or somethin'?" Trash asked, watching them from her couch in Drummer's Corner. Drummer's Corner, the far left corner of the stage, was a place the drummers of Marshall claimed as their own and had filled with falling apart couches, chairs, torn blankets and pillows. The rule was, if you were a drummer, you could claim a spot in Drummer's Corner. The only catch was, if you were a newbie from another town, you had to prove yourself worthy of the right.

"Yeah, we are. What are you, the smartass of Marshall?" Spot spat, glaring at them.

"No, that would be me." The Villagers all turned to see who had spoken, laughing when their eyes saw her. The nearest laughing person got a brand new bruise on their face.

"Vennie, watch it. Just because they're little sad, pathetic Villagers doesn't mean you can beat them up."

"Pathetic?"

"What did we do to them?"

"Maybe they just got something up their..."

"Guys! Language!" They all turned to see Mr. P standing there, face livid.

"Oh crap," Shorty muttered nervously, getting up to go over to the instruments.

"Carter, get your behind back over here!" Shorty shuffled back, visibly shaking.

"Don't yell at her P."

"Yeah, we don't want a repeat of last week."

"Do we need to remind you why not to yell at her?" Demon inquired, walking over to stand next to his girl.

"Sorry Diane. I forgot," Mr. P said, calming a bit. Shorty nodded, calming also. The Villagers looked on in confusion.

"Alright, I want you to practice the first five songs in your binders. New kids, go to the section leaders for music and instrument assignments. I have to go take my daughter to the doctor for a checkup. I should be back in about an hour." Mr. P grabbed his coat, face stern as he said, "Please don't fight while I'm gone. Our first show is in two weeks, and I actually want to place near the top. Work hard!"

"Alright, here's how it's gonna play out. If you play tenor, go to Mallets over there. If you play bass, go to Runt. Don't laugh! She's got more skills that you'll ever have in three lifetimes!" Brittney "Runt" Boogaard stood up to her full 4'6" and waited for the bass drummers to come to her. "You play cymbals, head over to Shorty. You play snare, go to either Demon or me. And if you play in the pit, go to...Vennie! Get back over here! You can kill him later!" Peeping Tom yelled, watching as the girl knocked the Village leader to the ground. Without blinking she sat on his stomach and pinned his hands to the floor.

"You know," Spot croaked out, trying to get away from the girl, "if you weren't trying to kill me right now, I'd take full advantage of the position we're in."

Vennie landed a punch in his face, yelling, "You bloody perv!" She aimed again, but this time something- or rather someone knocked her off the boy, sending her rolling across the floor till she landed with the person sitting on her back.

"Whoa, Vennie's like twice the size of Shorty, and yet she's pinned by the girl!" Nick "Mush" Myers exclaimed, stunned.

"That's because Shorty is the only person who can do that to Vennie. They've been friends since Ven's dad became a pastor at the Methodist church. Shorty's the only one Ven'll stop for," The Ryan explained, laughing as Shorty stood up only to be knocked to the floor again. Vennie stood up, victorious over a laughing Shorty.

"Well, come on now. Let's get started." They shuffled their way over to the instruments, the tension having lifted a little.

"Uncle Mike! Aunt Sherry! Yo Josh, where's your parents?" Shorty asked her cousin, her younger cousin sitting on her shoulders. Josh Carter shrugged, then nodded to his friends. Katie, the younger cousin, just shook her head and grinned.

"Do you know anything, J.J.?" Seeker asked, fighting with the lock on the apt. door.

"Um, Demon? What are we doing here?" Saiorse "Irish" Callan asked, watching Shorty argue with her cousin.

"Well, remember when we asked you if you lived at home or not?" Irish nodded. "All of you who said no are going to live here with us, which would be all of you. Shorty gets half a floor for real cheap because her uncle owns the apt building. Only rule is you pay $15 a week to stay here. You get three warnings before you get kicked out if you miss payment." Seeker yelled in triumph, kicking the door open.

"Seeks, you get weirder every time I see you," Josh said, laughing as his cousin did her victory dance. (Shorty and Seeker are sisters)

"Alright everyone! Inside!" They all filed in, standing in awe at what was laid before them. Man, these Marshallites lived well! In front of them was an open living room, which flowed into the dinning room as well as the kitchen. At the end of the living room was a doorway leading to the bedrooms.

"It didn't always used to look like this. We fixed the place up with our own money," Susie Q said, heading for the fridge.

"And our own muscles!" Puck piped in, flexing his muscles. Seeker just laughed at him, punching him playfully.

"Those of us who have them, hockey boy!"

"Alright, bedroom assignments. Yes, assignments. My uncle wants no pregnant teens, so girls on one side of the hall, boys on the other. And yes, my special Marshallites, you will have a room mate. Poor, poor you," Shorty yelled, laughing. Everyone else groaned, the looks on their faces priceless.

"You're such a brat, Shorts," Josh said, standing beside his cousin.

"You're right, I am. But at least I love it! All right everyone, pair up! Find a room! Go, go, go!" They all set out to pair up and find rooms, and eventually the room assignments looked like this:

Room 1 – Shorty and Vennie
Room 3 – Runt and Seeker
Room 5 – Trash and Susie Q
Room 7 – Swinger and Irish
Room 9 – Sparks and Bourbon
Room 11 – Mem and Brownie
Room 13 – Riddle (at some points Josh will be spending the night too)

Room 2 – Demon and Peeping Tom
Room 4 – Puck and Mush
Room 6 – Mallets and The Ryan
Room 8 – Cowboy and Spot
Room 10 – Racetrack and Kid Blink
Room 12 – Boots and Bumlets
Room 14 – Itey and Snitch

Once everyone had their rooms picked out they set to the task of moving in, or in the Marshallites case moving rooms. Right up to supper the sounds of yelling, beds scraping across the floor, and music could be heard, all on loud notes. Finally everyone was moved in and supper was being made.

"You all got jobs or somethin'?" Brownie asked, stuffing her face with nachos. Supper that night consisted of whatever was lying around. This meant that tomorrow, after work, they'd have to go shopping. Or in some cases bring home whatever was left at days end from the places they worked at and eating that.

"We live here don't we? Course we got jobs. The only three who don't have jobs is Seeker, Puck, and Runt. And that's only because Shorty refuses to let them work until next year."

"Where's she work?"

"Vet's clinic on a scholarship. We may have had hard lives, but at least we learn from it and still go to school. Ven works at the local museum helping with Egyptian crap and what not," Mallets said, getting whacked in the head for the Egyptian crap part.

"Alright, rule of the place. You stay up at all hours of the night, I'd better not hear you. And if I were you, I'd get to bed soon," Trash said, heading off for the bathroom.

"Why?" Ian "Riddle" Cahill asked, looking after the girl who left.

"Oh, it's just something we suggest."

"If they don't shut up in five seconds, the cops will have to arrest me for man slaughter."

It was 3 in the morning and the sounds of thumps and crashes could be heard even in the bedrooms. Now, there's something many people ought to know. If you live in the same apartment as Vennie and Trash, you never want to wake them up. Especially at 3 in the morning. The fact that they know it's the newbies doesn't make things much better.

"Someone's gonna die," Trash sang softly, grabbing the duct tape out of her dresser drawer and walking into the hallway, where she was met by Vennie with even more duct tape. The plan was simple: attack them one by one and duct tape them to their beds. Walking into the living room, they were met with the sight of 4 very loud and awake Villagers. Sneaking slowly to their hiding spots, they waited silently. Snitch was the first one to walk into the hallway, and was quickly knocked to the ground with a muffled cry.

"Make a sound and we'll make sure something bad happens to you. Got it?" Trash whispered, taping his arms behind his back. Vennie tapped his legs and ankles together, then took a strip and taped his mouth shut. They then heaved him to his room and came back for more. Kid Blink and Itey followed, all silent. But then there was Racetrack. Poor, poor Racetrack. He just had to open his mouth and start babbling. So, they taped his mouth first. Then, after carrying him into the hall, they proceeded to tape him to the door of the apartment. What a sight Shorty's uncle would see when he opened his door to get the paper and find a boy dressed only in boxers and taped to a door. Poor, poor Racetrack.

Alright! There you have it! The SECOND chapter of FDD! Don't worry, if I haven't used your name yet, I will in the third chapter. There's a whole mess of characters to introduce yet, so hang in there. Look forward to the next chapter soon!