The next day was Wednesday. With every new day come a few unavoidable inevitabilities. The first one is that Freddy Jones doesn't have his homework, the second is band practice. As a professional rocker, Dewey Finn always looked forward to the latter. Unfortunately, this was not the case. There wasn't much he could look forward to anymore.

He watched his kids fiddle with the fine-tune adjustments of their instruments. Zack twisted the knobs on his guitar, trying to get the strings to cooperate; Freddy leisurely twirled a drumstick in one hand and flicked at a cymbal with the other. Alicia, Marta, and Tomika worked out some choreography, while Lawrence did some warm ups on keyboard. Katie sat cross-legged on the floor with her back against the couch and bass resting in her lap.

All in all, everything looked normal. Everything looked as if there wasn't anything wrong in the world. The almost familial scene is his apartment looked ignorant to the fact that one of the key players was gone.

Summer had skipped practice, on his command. She didn't really need convincing anyway, and at her request, the band was to be informed of her condition. Condition. Like it was a sickness that she could recover from. Like it wasn't something that would change her forever. Like it wasn't something that hadn't already affected her. Dewey was reluctant to comply with her simple requirement, but found himself getting the attention of each and every member.

"Hang on, there's something you guys need to hear." Expectant faces turned towards him, eager and open. "As you've noticed, Tinker Bell isn't here today." Someone snickered at the nick name, and Dewey smiled a little himself. It was too bad that no amount of pixie dust could bring back Summer's broken trust.

"Where is she? Is she sick?" Katie sat up straight; Summer hadn't looked too good yesterday. She was positive that Summer had been crying. Damn positive. And, seeing as Katie didn't like math very much, being damn positive about something meant that she was sure of it. Magnifying glass and all, Katie had planned to delve deep into the mystery that was Summer's malcontent.

"Well, guys, something happened to Summer..." Dewey trailed off, unsure of how to continue.

"What happened? Is she hurt?"

"Well, you guys... I'm sure you know what happens when..." He trailed off, unsure as to how to explain it. They were 14, it wasn't as if they were completely oblivious to what sex was. Judging by some of the notes he'd seen from sex ed., they also knew what rape was as well.

"Dewey, what's going on?" He looked over at Katie. Katie was Summer's best friend. They were practically sisters. She didn't deserve to be told that her sister had been raped. They all sensed his reluctance to speak and a cloud of uneasiness rained on them.

"C'mon, Finn, out with it!" Even Freddy's usual sarcastic command came out weak and unsure.

"Well... Summer was... She was raped...last week. And, I don't think that... I don't think she'll be back here with us for a little while."

He had a feeling there wasn't going to be any rocking out today, which was perfectly fine with him. The reaction wasn't immediate; it took awhile for the words to sink in. Nervously, Dewey watched the faces around the room. He observed carefully as chaos broke out.

Marta covered her mouth with her hand as she whimpered, "oh God..."

"Why her of all people?" Katie's eyes filled with tears as she repeated to herself, "why?"

"Please," Lawrence paled, looking like he was going to be sick, "not Summer."

"When I get a hold of the pervert who hurt her, he's dead!" Freddy looked close to throwing his drumsticks out the window.

Zack sat down on the couch with wide eyes. "Jesus. Please, no...please."

Tomika stared down at the floor in shock with a quiet, "it isn't fair..."

"Damn it! That scumbag's gonna pay!" Alicia yelled cusswords at the ceiling.

Dewey sat down next to Zack, and was joined by Katie. Her face was a pasty white; Zack put an arm around her shoulders. She sobbed wordlessly, and the guitarist looked pretty close to tears as well.

He looked over the crying girl's head, to Dewey, "what are we gonna do, man? What are we gonna do?" Dewey Finn had no answer, as the boy's words mirrored his own thoughts.

'What are we gonna do?'