Chapter Three: The Hannigans
They didn't have a garage, but they considered themselves a garage band. They practiced in the alley behind their building. This didn't make them popular with the neighbors, but they had a lot of fun doing it.
On keyboards, Jared Arthur Hannigan. He was fifteen years old, almost sixteen, and sucked at playing his instrument. This surprised most people, himself included, considering his dad was excellent at it. But the rest of his band wasn't that good either, so it didn't matter. Jared wanted to be a rockstar.
On lead guitar, Sophie Lily Hannigan. She was almost fifteen, and contrary to her brother, she was awesome at playing her guitar. And she was a gifted singer. She wrote all the songs for their band, the Wall-Walkers. She was the only one in the band that actually had some talent. But, also contrary to her brother, Sophie didn't want to be a rockstar. She had other dreams.
On drums, Frank Buffay. More lovingly known as Frank Jr. Jr. He was twenty-one and a bit of a spaz. He was Jared and Sophie's cousin but a horrible drummer. He had no rhythm and usually liked to bang his head against the drums rather than use sticks. The only reason he was even in the band was to "score chicks" and that had yet to happen. He hadn't gone to college because his parents really couldn't afford it. His sister Leslie was really smart and had gotten a scholarship, and his other sister, Chandler, went to community college. Everyone suggested the same for Frank, but he really wasn't interested in the idea. He liked taking care of his retired mom, who was sixty, and playing in the band.
On bass, Sophie's best friend, Jamie Hunter. She really had no connection to anyone in the band and she usually just pretended to be playing. She had only joined because Sophie threatened to tell everyone at school that she once dressed up in drag and walked around Manhattan.
The Wall-Walkers practiced twice a week, on Wednesdays and Sundays, because no really had anything better to do on those days. They practiced in that alley, annoying everyone around them. Their songs weren't that bad and neither was Sophie's singing, but no one could tell because of the sucky drums and keyboards and the non-existent bass.
One Wednesday they had to cancel practice because it started to thunder and everyone thought it was going rain. Sophie was pushing for practice, but her bandmates complained.
"C'mon Soph," Frank whined. "No babes are gonna come watch me play if it's raining out!"
"They don't do that anyway," Jamie said, checking her nails in boredom.
Frank just flipped her off, and she did the same back, as Jared started banging out random notes on the keyboard.
"I'm going home!" he wailed. "Come on Sophie. I've got a date in like, ten minutes. Plus, you have to baby-sit."
Sophie sighed. "Oh yeah. I forgot about that."
"So then let's get the hell out of here!" Frank shouted from behind his set. "The Chapelle's Show marathon already started, like, three minutes ago!"
"Eww, you actually like that old show?" Jamie said. "That kind of humor is so outdated."
"You wouldn't know humor if it came up behind you, said 'Hi, I'm Humor', and bit you in the ass!" he shouted back.
"Whatever," she replied. She turned to her friend. "If I have to spend another second with him, I think I'll have a meltdown. Can we please go?"
Sophie gave in. "Fine. Let's just go."
Jared and Sophie retreated back to their apartment. It was technically a penthouse. They moved there when their little brother Liam was born. He was ten. Their parents decided they couldn't fit three kids into their tiny apartment, which was a good idea considering they had two more after him. Their parents weren't rich, but their grandparents were, and when they retired to some Caribbean island, they let them move into their place.
Sophie didn't feel like baby-sitting. Liam minded his own business, but her two little sisters, Marina and Maya, were another story. Marina was eight and too smart for her own good. She had recently picked up a book on artists of the Italian Renaissance at the library and was now obsessed with painting on the ceiling. Maya was only four but she loved Sophie and followed her around wherever she went.
Sophie knew her family was a little bit off-color. Her dad was a normal guy and she loved him, but her mom was way out there. She was 49 and still a free-lance masseuse. Phoebe Buffay-Hannigan may have not been the most normal person, but her family loved her just the same. It was from her that Sophie got her long blonde hair, guitar skills, and free-spirit. But, unlike her mom, she ate meat, didn't like cats (especially smelly ones), and didn't really care that much about the rainforest.
Jared was more like his mom than he was willing to admit. He was a closet fan of hippie bands like Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane and he had recently given up vegetarianism for being a full-out vegan. He was growing out his light brown hair, and the other day, he had tied his little sister's headband around his head. When Sophie was over Jamie's house one day, he picked up her guitar and started strumming. He was actually much better at guitar than he was at piano. He was better at playing his nose than he was at piano.
Sophie was more like her dad. She was a little uncomfortable with the whole penthouse thing, but she had gotten used to it. It had three floors, which rocked, but everyone thought she was rich. She wasn't rich and she didn't ever plan on being rich. She knew that in four years, instead of going to college, she was going to pursue her dreams. She was going to move to Australia and be a surfer bum for the rest of her life.
She knew college education was important, but she just knew, deep down, she was one of those people college was just not for. She had yet to tell her parents her plans but she figured they might be okay with it. That was one of the perks of an off-color family. If you wanted do something different, that might not be so bad.
When Sophie and Jared got back to their apartment, Phoebe and Mike were heading out the door. They looked relieved to see their children.
"There you are!" Phoebe exclaimed. "We're leaving now! Who was going to watch the kids?"
"Calm down ma," Sophie said. "I'm here now."
Mike turned to Jared. "Are you home tonight?"
He shook his head. "Nope. I got a date." He looked at his watch. "I better go get ready."
Sophie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, because changing your shirt and brushing your teeth takes such a long time."
Jared just ignored his sister's comment and headed toward the elevator that would take him up to his room on the third floor.
"Bye hun!" Phoebe called to her son.
"See ya," he shouted without turning around as he disappeared into the elevator.
Phoebe sighed. "What's been with him lately?"
"I'm not sure," Mike said. "He's been acting weird." He turned to his daughter. "Soph, do you know wrong with him?"
She shook her head. "He's almost sixteen. There could any number of problems wrong him."
"Thanks Sophie. I feel so much better now," Phoebe said sarcastically.
A few minutes later, Phoebe and Mike were gone and Sophie could relax. Well, sort of. She was kind of worried about her brother. They were only a year apart, so they were as close as twins, but he had never been so distant before. Was he doing something behind everyone's backs? Drugs? Sex? Ditching school?
'No, that's not Jared,' Sophie thought. 'It's got to be something on a catastrophic scale in Jared-world.'
She wanted to talk to him. She went to the elevator and pushed the up button. She had to wait a minute, which meant someone was using it. She hoped it was her brother, but when the doors opened, she was disappointed to see Marina, covered from head to toe in paint.
"Hey sis!" she shouted. She puckered her lips jokingly. "Gimme a kiss, will you?"
Sophie pushed her sister's painted-covered face away from her disgustedly. "Gross. Reena, go take a bath."
"Fine," she replied. "I'll just take one down here." She pushed past her Sophie. "Ex-cuse me."
Sophie got inside the elevator and pushed '3'. Both her bedroom and Jared's were on that floor. As she moved up slowly, music filled the small space. When they moved in, her mom thought it would be fun to install speakers in the elevator, but not play crappy elevator music. Now it was playing one of her dad's favorites from back in the 60's.
People try to put us down… talkin' bout my generation. Just because we get around… talkin' bout my generation…
The elevator dinged, the doors opened, and she walked out. Her brother's door was closed. She could hear music coming from inside.
"Jared," she called, knocking on the door. "It's me. Let me in. I want to talk to you."
At the sound of Sophie's voice, Jared panicked. He turned off his stereo – which was playing "Light my Fire" by the Doors – and put out the incense sticks he had lit.
"Come in!" he shouted after a second.
"Hey," Sophie said as she walked in. "I just wanted to see…" She stopped and looked at her brother funny. "Are you wearing Maya's headband?"
He quickly ripped it off. "Um, I was just-"
"And what is that smell?" Sophie interrupted. "It smells like jasmine or something."
Jared tried to explain himself but gibberish just came out. It wasn't like him turning into a hippie was something he needed to hide from Sophie, but he felt like everything he was dabbling in was, for once, in a family of five kids, just his.