Disclaimer: You know the drill.
A/N: Yeah…so…I wrote this when my family went on vacation to NYC, that's how lazy I am about updating. This is one long-ass chapter, 'cause I got uber-bored in the hotel, 'cause I slept on the fold-out couch, and everybody else slept in the other room, and I stayed up late and wrote and watched old episodes of The Nanny at 1:00 a.m. Anyways, I'm babbling, so…on with the chapter! (trombones blare)
One Of Those Days-Ch. 13
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." –Gandhi
SATURDAY AFTERNOON
DUTCHY
"AW, CRUD! I'M LATE FOR BAND PRACTICE!"
It was Saturday afternoon, about 1:45. Band practice didn't start 'till 2:00, but Dietze is 20 minutes away from where I live, and that's if I hit all the lights right. And I knew exactly what would happen if I walked in late: "Dutchy. How many times do I have to tell you?! Band practice is not like Singers class, we actually start on time!"
"Alec! Alec! Where are the car keys?" I yelled in exasperation. "You drove it last, where the HELL are they?!"
Alec came out of his room, handed me the keys, then turned around and headed straight back into his room.
I swear, I'm beginning to think my brother is turning into a hermit.
So I got into my car (alright, OUR car), and started heading off towards Dietze. And-of course!-got stopped at a red light 10 minutes from my house.
"Figures" I muttered under my breath. So, I was stuck in traffic for about 10 minutes, and when I finally pulled into Dietze's parking lot, I knew I was in for a tongue-lashing. And, as soon as I got in, Liz shot me the ultimate death glare. "Dutchy. I'm not even gonna bother to chew you out. Just-sit down. We've been trying to practice (OK, Mush and Blink have been having a riff duel), but we've been held up. Can we just get started?!" Then her expression changed. "Guess what we got in yesterday? You'll absolutely love it!" She went to a back room and unlocked it. "Close your eyes!" she yelled.
So I did. And then I felt someone tickle me in the ribs. I yelped with laughter, but I didn't open my eyes. I heard her grunting, cursing when she dropped something on her foot, and Blink gasping.
"OK, Dutchy" she said dramatically. "Open your eyes!"
I did.
And my jaw dropped.
She had brought out a brand-new Pearl drum set, top of the line, everything gleaming and perfect.
"We just got it in yesterday" she said, as I circled it, admiring it from all angles. "And it won't be display 'till Monday, but I thought you might like a look at it."
Dude.
"OK. Ready for the only bad piece of news about this set? It costs $500."
I inhaled sharply. "Yeah. Quality don't come cheap, especially with musical instruments. It costs to be cool."
"Someone help me-I think I'm in love!" I said half-jokingly, fluttering my hand over my heart.
"Be in love later" she said, as she and Mush dragged the drum set back into the closet. "Right now, we need to practice."
So we sat down and got to work running through our cover set, which has songs in it like "Fighter", "Can't Hold Us Down", and "Soar" by Christina Aguilera, "Hey, Ho, Let's Go!" by The Ramones, "Desperado" by The Eagles, and "When You Come Back To Me Again" by Garth Brooks, to name a few. Then we have our originals, one of them is called "Made In Middle Earth", Blink and Liz wrote the lyrics after they stayed up all night watching all three movies in a row. They kinda had Lord of the Rings on the brain after that, and they turned their obsession into a song. Then there's "White Chicks", which Liz wrote after a particularly bad brush with the preppy crowd, and she wasn't feeling any love towards them. I composed both melodies.
At 3:00 A.M., I might add.
At 4:45, we called it a day, and had an after-practice powwow. We do it after every practice. What?! It was Blink's idea! Yeesh.
"OK, guys" said Blink, attempting to sound mother hen-ish, and failing miserably.
"Careful, Blink, your gayness is showing!" Liz cracked, punching him lightly on the arm. "You should know, Blink, you sound kinda like Carson on Queer Eye. And that's kinda scary."
LIZ
As usual, our after-practice powwow degenerated into a circus. Two seconds after we finished, my cell phone rang. It was my aunt Kelly, Spot's mom.
"Hello, Elizabeth. How are you, how's your mom?"
"Hey, Aunt Kelly. I'm good. Mom's working a double shift at the O.R.; she'll be home around 3:00 A.M. As per usual."
"Oh, that's too bad." The obligatory aunt thing to say. "Actually, the reason I'm calling was to ask if you've seen Spot lately. He went out around 9:00 this morning, and I haven't seen him since."
"Did he say anything before he left?" I asked, slightly puzzled.
"Something about…his mind being clouded. Elizabeth? Does that mean anything to you?"
"Not really", I lied. I knew exactly what it meant. "But if I think of anything, I'll call you. I have to go now, Aunt K. I need to close up. And don't worry so much, I'm sure we'll find Spot. I'll see you later."
"Goodbye, Elizabeth."
"Adios." I hung up. Everyone was looking at me.
"Who wuzzat?" asked Blink, who was putting his guitar away.
"My Aunt Kelly, looking for Spot" I replied.
"Well, where is he?" asked Blink. "He was supposed to call me back, but he never did. Asshole."
"Hey!"
"No offense, Liz."
"At least it's not the 'fairy and fag hag' joke someone made up at band camp" I muttered, picking at a loose thread on my T-shirt. It was one I'd made, it said, "I took the red pill, and my life is STILL crappy!" I went through a phase when I watched The Matrix for 23 straight days. (A/N: That, by the way, is a lie! LOL!) I'm just slightly insane, ya know?
"He's at the Ellis Island Ferry. If we hurry, Blink, we might be able to catch him. Come on! ¡Vamos! We close in 10 minutes, anyways."
So I shooed everyone out of the store. "Spot has liked the ferry ever since he was little" I explained to Blink as we walked toward the subway station. "He told me 'To clear your mind, you must cloud your eyes'. And he says, since it always seems to be foggy near Liberty Island, it clouds his eyes…and clears his mind."
"Oh" said Blink, looking thoroughly confused. "Makes perfect sense to the two o' youse, I'm sure." And we both laughed.
SPOT
OK, I know storming out of the house without telling my mom where I was going wasn't exactly the smartest thing to do. But I'm kinda ticked at the world, and I'm a man who's a slave to my passions.
So, where do you go when you're pissed off in NYC?
Well, first, you buy a hot dog and Pepsi off a street vendor, and then you ride the subway all the way to South Ferry, where you then board the Liberty Island Ferry. But it's weird, this is the place where my ex dumped me, yet it's the place that makes me the most happy.
Now that's ironic, Alanis.
All of a sudden, I heard the strains of 'Mr. Mom', being sung as loudly as humanly possible, in an alto range, very throatily. Liz was singing, and Blink was holding onto an umbrella, trying to shield them both from the light rain that had started up, but, like always, she was being the Supreme Queen of All Idiots, and was dancing out from underneath the umbrella, getting herself really wet in the process. Blink was yelling stuff like, "You moron, you're getting all wet!" and "I'm gonna adopt, I ain't gonna get a wife!"
And all the while, we heard, "PAMPERS MELT IN A MAYTAG DRYER, CRAYONS GO UP ONE DRAWER HIGHER! REWIND BARNEY FOR THE FIFTEENTH TIME, BREAKFAST AT SIX, NAPS AT NINE! THERE'S BUBBLE GUM IN THE BABY'S HAIR! SWEET POTATOS IN MY LAZY CHAIR! BEEN CRAZY ALL DAY LONG, AND IT'S ONLY MONDAY, MR. MOM!"
Then, when she reached the bench where I was sitting, she abruptly stopped singing.
"Heya, Spotty, how's it rollin'?" asked Blink, trudging up behind her. "You never called me back, asshole."
"Sorry, Blinky-boi" I said, laughing. "I got kinda…sidetracked, if you will."
"L IS FOR THE WAY YOU LOOK AT ME! O IS FOR THE ONLY ONE I SEE!"-
"SHUT UP, LIZ!" we shouted in unison. She just looked at us for a second, then we each gave her $10, and she trotted off to buy us ferry tickets.
"Anyways…now that the 4th Stooge is gone, what'd you wanna talk to me about, Blinky-boi?" I asked.
"What do you do if…you like someone, and you think they like you too, but you're afraid to ask them out 'cause you're not sure what they're gonna say?"
I looked over at him. "This about Dave, goofball?" He nodded gloomily. "I heard this quote once" I said. "It went something like, 'Live every day like it's your last. Dance like no one's watching. Love as if you'll never get hurt.' So I apply it to my life."
"Thanks, Gandhi" he said grumpily.
"No, but Gandhi did say, 'You must be the change you wish to see in the world'. In other words, Blinky-boi, you gotta take action to get whatcha want. And that includes dates with pretty boys who have nice asses."
He smacked me, then smiled. "Any more advice, Buddah?" he asked.
"Yeah. Don't call me Buddah ever again. It makes me feel fat."
"RUB SPOT'S BELLY FOR LUCK!" he crowed.
"AAAH! NOOO! NOT THE WASHBOARD!" I yelled, laughing madly as I danced out of his grip.
"Not to be confused with Dashboard!" he howled, amused at his own joke.
"COME ON, MORONS!" Liz yelled. "THE FERRY'S HERE!"
"COMING!" I bellowed back. And we took off running, toward the Ellis Island Ferry, and the best damn cheese fries in existence.
END CHAPTER
Yeah…and the award for biggest lapse in updating goes to…ME! Not exactly something to be proud of, but I accept it none the less. Anyways, I'm gonna cut the crap and go to shoutouts:
SHOUTOUTS:
Saturday: Yes, Dutchy is kind of uber-protective, but I love him anyway. He's based largely on the guy at my school that I have a huge-ass crush on. He's oblivious, just like his Newsie counterpart. Yeah, I made Sapphy kind of psycho, but I think she kind of likes it that way, and she shall be as such from now on. Your birthday fic is in the process of being written, I'll get it up as soon as possible. Love ya, thanx for the review!
Depends Solomon: Something happens with Blink and Davey in the next chapter, this one was written in a fit of random boredom, it's just to make the charcters seem more three-dimensional. Yeah, band camp sucks, but it pays off in the end, when you get Best Guard and a One rating in one fell swoop! We had to wait a week for Best Drumline, but it was worth it. Thanx for reviewing!
Coin: I'm glad you liked your uber-long shoutout. I must, however, make this one kind of short, because I'm supposed to be doing homework. I'm glad you liked the majority of the stuff in the story. Love ya, thanx for the review!
Erin Go Bragh: "IN YOUR FACE SIR!" I like that. Very funny. And your whole five points in line thing is pretty much identical to ours, we yelled it every evening after band camp let out. Sorry for writing that you like bologna, I didn't know! LOL! Thanx for the reivew!
Elvenrarehunter: Hmmm…your Skitts muse is sure interesting. Your bickering with him certainly amuses me. I LOVE getting your reviews in my inbox!
Dutchy: More than you love me?!
Me: Get a clue, Dutch. (eye roll)
Dutchy: (pouts)
Love ya, thanx for the review!
Ccatt: Thank you for saying it was awesome! I know, I have that problem too, I have a really clever comeback line, then when it comes down to the wire, I can't remember it! (shrugs) Oh, well. Thanx for the review!
Sapphy: Yes, Idina rocks my SOCKS! By the way, when I wrote this, I was in a 'Wicked' rut, so it pops up in passing in the next two chapters, but I got weaned off of it, so it'll stop appearing all the time. LOL, Spot's got Halloween nails! Love ya, thanks for the review!
Another Author's Note: By the way, the song 'Mr. Mom' belongs to Lonestar. It's not mine! –el sob- Oh, well!