"Can we pull over?" Zack mumbled between shallow breaths.
"What for?" Dewey called over his shoulder, a gnawed length of salami between his teeth.
"I know what for," said Freddy, "It's like a freaking oven in here! Dewey, you smell like my gym socks, man, this whole van smells like my gym socks!"
"It must be a hundred degrees at least," Lawrence added, quickly and quietly.
"So stick your head out the window already!"
"There aren't any windows back here!" barked Summer, whacking the band frontman across the back of his head. "And no offence, but watching you drive in your underwear is horrifying!"
"None taken, and you know you love it," said Dew with a snicker, itching his bare, sweaty stomach. "I dunno what you want from me, guys. I mean we could stop and take a breather, but if it messes with Summer's schedule??"
"Are you kidding me?" she cried. "We're almost fourteen hours ahead of schedule! I didn't think you'd keep going after dark."
"Well then, kiss my grits!" howled Dewey.
He swerved the van to the side of the road, and it shuddered to a halt in a haze of exhaust fumes. Seven sweaty musicians and one flustered musical manager burst from the back and staggered onto the asphalt, gasping for air. Zack stumbled a small distance from the group, hunching over and bracing his knees with his hands.
"Y'alright?" asked Freddy, groggily.
"I'm fine," Zack assured him, absently waving him off.
Katie sat down in the grass and took a hold of the tears in her trouser knees. Without a second thought, she ripped them all the way around and stuffed the ruined material into her backpack, leaving her clad in a crude (but oddly fashionable) pair of torn denim shorts, with stray threads plastered down her glistening calves. Freddy admired her from the corner of one partly open eye, and took a swig of warm beer for courage.
"Now there's a good idea," he remarked, falling onto his back beside her. "Stylish and practical - it's you!"
Too strong, ease off, his mind warned him, but Katie scarcely noticed. She merely gave him a weak smile, her dark eyes dazed and lazy from the sweltering summer heat. Whereas the day before had been only mildly humid, this morning was impossibly hot, and nobody was taking it well. Freddy cleared his throat and set the bottle to one side, draping his elbows over his knees and staring vacantly at the woodlands on the other side of the road. He gradually became attuned to the shrill song of a thousand cicadas and was beginning to relax when Katie gave a small yawn from beside him. Sluggishly, he turned to face her.
She had stretched her limber arms elegantly in front of her, and rested her head on them, murmuring sweet nothings as the world became a blur. Unconsciously, Freddy reached for a thick tress of wet hair plastered over her brow, and combed it away, mesmerized by her beauty.
"Hey-hey-hey," teased Alicia, waggling her finger at Freddy, "What's goin' on over there, loverboy?"
Startled, the drummer gave the girls a guilty look, opening and closing his mouth in dumb succession.
"Nothing!" he insisted, grasping for an excuse. "I-I think she might have passed out!"
The playful raised eyebrows became knit with concern, and everyone except Zack gathered around Katie's limp body.
"Is she alright?" asked Dewey, skirting around the gathering with worry in his voice.
"Put some pants on, then we'll talk," said Summer, checking Katie's pulse. "Looks to me as though she needs water, and quick."
"Then you're in luck!" they heard Zack's broad voice call from the shrubs, "Come check this out, you guys!"
0-o
"Kick ass!" Freddy and Dewey announced in unison.
They were right to think so. Not far from the side of the road, beneath a dense canopy of trees, a sprawling creek shimmered beneath the rays of sun that filtered in through the leaves. Its banks were steep and muddy, but the water looked fantastic. Adjacent to the band, on the other side of the pool, there must have been three dozen people splashing about, swaying on tyre swings and setting up barbeques in the grass.
The School of Rock gave a delighted cheer, and Dewey shook his flabby girth around in a thrilled, clumsy dance. With mock disgust, the girls turned away and jogged to the van for their swimsuits. Dewey, of course, was still in his briefs, and plunged into the water without a second thought.
"What should I do with Katie?" Freddy asked him, worriedly.
He was carrying Katie's unconscious form in his arms as he stood by the riverbank. Dewey surfaced and slicked his long hair back, thinking for a moment.
"Just ease her in," he replied after a moment, gesturing for Freddy to obey.
Freddy nodded and stepped into the warm water, crouching low and immersing the girl up to her neck. She gave a startled gasp and her eyes fluttered open. Zack and Lawrence rolled their trousers up to the knees and waded in beside them, anxious to see if she was okay.
"Hey," she mumbled, grinning awkwardly up at the guys, "What happened?"
"Heya, Spunkmaiden!" Dewey enthused, discreetly trying to pull his underwear out from his backside, "Lost y'there for a lil' bit, you feelin' okay?"
"I think so," she nodded, easing herself out of Freddy's hold and standing upright woozily. "Where are we?"
"Not rightly sure," he replied. He turned his attention to the gathering at the far end of the pool and called out, "Hey, can anyone tell me where we are just now?"
"Coup'la miles from Cleveland, Ohio," answered a gentleman, prodding at steaks and sausages on the grill, "You folks hungry?"
A twisted grin crept over Dewey Finn's mouth, and fastening his waistband, he gave the man a big thumbs-up.
o-0
It was almost four.
On a densely grassed bank in the shade, Alicia, Tomika, Marta and Summer lay sprawled and soaking, their bellies full and their bodies cooled by a gentle afternoon breeze. Lawrence was wading about in the shallows, just circling a patch of reeds like he was on patrol. He was quite well-built, Tomika thought to herself with a lopsided smile - granted, he had a small paunch at the belly, and there wasn't much definition in his chest or shoulders, but his frame was certainly sturdy, and his posture rigid. She liked it.
Zack Mooneyham had nestled comfortably into a groove at the base of a tall oak, his bare feet dangling into the water as he plucked at one of Dewey's acoustic guitars. Not far from him, the Dewster himself was at rest in a mud flat - a slippery brown snow angel who still hadn't bothered to clothe. That explained why the other people had skedaddled so soon, thought Zack with a tired smirk. He set his guitar down and folded his hands behind his head, dreaming up chords for a new hit song, while at the same time wondering where in the world Freddy and Katie disappeared to.
"John Paul Jones," she said, clicking her fingers.
"Zeppelin guitarist," replied Freddy with a casual smirk, "Or was he on bass? Did Zeppelin even have bass?"
"A lot of pre-Nirvana bands didn't," she shrugged, "Grunge was a revolution."
"My dog's name's Nirvana," he told her with a larrikin grin.
"Really?"
"No, actually it's Cedric," he murmured. "Mom thought Nirvana meant acid."
"It probably does for a lot of people!"
The two of them shared a laugh, and Freddy's heart soared, though he didn't dare let it show. He just lay back on a fat, gnarled root, chewing a grass straw like a backward hick. Katie was crouched in a pool not far beneath him, combing her fingers through her wet tresses distractedly.
"Thanks again for this morning," she said quietly.
"Katie, it's no big deal!" he snickered, turning onto his front, "Thank Summer, she...checked your pulse."
"I will," she nodded, before a thoughtful pause passed over them. "Hey, did...oh man, this is gonna sound so mainstream pop, but...did Zack do anything...at all...that you know of, while I was out?"
Freddy disguised his hurt with a complete lack of expression. He was conflicted now: bad-mouth his best friend and score big points with the girl of his dreams? Or tell her the truth and be faced with more setbacks? He sighed through his nose and rolled over to face the sky.
"Uh, he found this creek?" Freddy offered, flatly.
"Yeah?" said Katie, her face lighting up. "I'm gonna go thank him, okay?"
"Sure."
He watched her jog over to the brooding musical genius he called Zack, and gave a disgruntled mutter, cursing himself for doing the right thing.
"Buenos noches, stud!" purred Dewey, wading over. "Way to earn some serious brownie points with the face of bass, am I right?"
"Yeah, but she's still hot for Moons," he sighed, sliding off his perch.
"Don't pull a love muscle, Spazzy," said Dewey, slapping a muddy, encouraging hand over Freddy's bare back. "The tour has just begun."