Disclaimer: I do not own school of rock.
Chapter 3
-BAND PRACTICE-
'Alright guys, that was an awesome practice! Technically, you're allowed to leave now, but Tink over here says that she wants you people to stay for a while, but take five first. Posh, you scoot over to that corner for a second, we need a band member to band member talk.' Dewey instructed. Katie walked over to a secluded corner on the first floor of Dewey's new place and waited for him put down his guitar and come over.
'Okay Posh Spice. Something is not right with you. You couldn't even tell that your bass was not in tune. And your playing is not consistent! Your performance keeps fluc-tu-a-ting!' Dewey said, laying emphasis on every syllable while doing his usual eyebrow wave. 'C'mon man, tell me what's wrong. One second, you're playing really hard, like you're about to snap the strings, and the next second, you're playing like my grandma, and let me tell you, she's ninety-seven years old.' Dewey put his hands on Katie's shoulders and gave her a good shake.
'Uh… it's nothing Dewey. Really. It's just that I didn't eat much today, so I'm feeling a little hungry. It's no big deal, I'll go home and eat. It won't happen again.' Katie assured him.
'POSH! How could you possibly miss any meals? Food is the most important part of life. Besides rock, of course. Though if I had to choose one it would probably be…' Dewey heard Summer calling everyone to gather in the main room and headed over, still contemplating whether food was more important than rock 'n' roll. 'Okay everyone, listen up!' Summer yelled, clipboard in hand. 'LAWRENCE! Stop reading that book before I put it in Dewey's fridge. And then you'll NEVER find it among all that junk. Anyway, I received a call from the editor of 'Teen Queen Magazine' and they said that they want an exclusive interview with us tomorrow. They'll come here, sometime after school. Don't over-prepare, they just want to ask us some simple questions.'
'Teen Queen Magazine? Isn't that what all those preppy chicks at our school read? Why would they want to interview a punk band that isn't even all that popular? No wait, let me rephrase that. Why would we want to be interviewed by them?' Zack asked.
'Well, they had some polls two issues ago and a large group of fans from Ohio said that they really wanted to hear more about us. The editor even said that they collected over seven hundred signatures during a petition. It's not just Ohio, there have been random fans responding from all over the place. Besides, they probably want to be the first magazine to interview 'the quickly rising new band' or something like that. It will also boost our popularity. Think about it! With so many people reading it, we'll be getting gigs all over the place! Maybe we'll even land a record deal soon!' Summer explained, getting visibly excited.
'Wow. I never knew that we were that well-known!' Lawrence exclaimed.
'Well okay then. I'm up for it.' Freddy said from the couch, his feet propped up on the chair that Zack was sitting on.
'Yeah, me too' Zack agreed.
'Same here,' Katie added.
'So do we all agree?' The rest of the band nodded. 'Great. We'll meet here at three, then. See you guys tomorrow!' Summer ended the meeting and packed her clipboard into her bag, filled with all sorts of notebooks and organisers.
--------------------
-NEXT DAY AFTER SCHOOL-
All the School of Rock members eagerly left the classroom instantly when they heard the school bell ring. Katie was not the least bit worried about Sheila, as she had stayed up during the night to take care of her, so she was undoubtedly sleeping like a rock.
'Okay you guys, this is it.' Summer said at the small group of teenagers walking towards Dewey's house. 'It's our first interview, and there may be more to come after this one. They may ask personal questions. It is a magazine for gossip, after all. Remember, cut down on the swear words, and no insults against preps, cause they'll be the ones reading it, and you don't want to lose your main fan base. Yes Zack, most of our fans are preps,' Summer added at Zack's horrified expression. 'But you really shouldn't be stereotyping people like that, Zack. Freddy, be nice and don't hit on the reporter. And try not to fight, okay? That goes for Katie too. And-'
'We get the point, Summer. Kindly refrain from ranting anymore, it feels like a have a mosquito that's constantly buzzing in my ear. Ugh. And I hate bugs.' Marta whined loudly as she inspected her nails. 'Don't worry Sum,' Alicia whispered behind Summer, 'she's twice the mosquito you'll ever be.' Summer immediately brightened up as she unlocked the door to Dewey's house and pushed it open. 'You have the key to his house!' Michelle asked, evidently surprised. 'Yeah, Dewey was worried that he'd lose his key and he'd get locked out,' Summer answered. 'Figures.' Michelle snorted.
'Why, hello darlings! I'm Leila Floyd, editor of 'Teen Queen Magazine'. Come, come take a seat!' A woman of about fifty with blonde corkscrew curls, blood red lipstick and inch-thick makeup sauntered over to them. A/N: think Rita Skeeter from Harry Potter, but older. 'Look!' Katie whispered to the people next to her, which just happened to be Freddy and Zack, feigning shock, 'It's a sixteen year old bimbo trapped in a fifty-year-old's body!' Zack and Freddy chuckled. 'Well,' Freddy added, 'on the bright side, Summer won't be getting pissed with me anytime soon, because there is NO way that I'm hitting on that botoxed… thing.'
'Well, sit down then, kids!' Leila Floyd said, giving them all a fake smile.
KIDS!
'Alright, splendid! Let's start with you over here,' she pointed to Zack. 'Tell me something about yourself. Any juicy secrets, anything will do. Don't be shy! Go on!'
'Uh… I'm Zack, I've been playing the acoustic guitar since I was about three. I'm 15 and a half… What more could I possibly say? I like to read!'
'Hmm… perhaps it's time for a question for the band manager?' She said, looking at Summer. 'How did this band come together?' Summer explained how Dewey had posed as a substitute, taught them all about rock and roll and their performance at their first battle of the bands. After everyone introduced themselves, just as Zack had, Leila Floyd smirked at them. 'Well, I do believe you ought to answer some of the questions that the fans sent it. It is rude to ignore them, you know.' The school of rock members had begun to seriously dislike this Floyd woman. She had been criticizing them and correcting them constantly, and was really getting on their nerves. 'Oh look! Here's one for Katie. Would you rather own a blue toothbrush, or a white hairbrush?' Leila Floyd asked with vigor.
Katie raised her eyebrow. What kind of question was that? 'Uh… I don't know? A blue toothbrush?' After asking Freddy whether he preferred a teddy bear or a stuffed dolphin, making Alicia choose between yellow and purple bed sheets and asking Marta if she would rather have her room walls painted magenta or fuchsia I can't decide, she moved on to the last part of the interview.
'Oh, this is the most exciting part!' the editor said, her hair bouncing, along with her vivacious hand movements. 'You see, we had a survey in our previous issue, and, would you believe it, we got a few HUNDRED THOUSAND replies, so the results are extremely precise.' The band perked up a bit at hearing that they would get their fan's opinion for the first time. 'Firstly, the member who creates the best sound, be it vocal or instrumental… Tomika!' Michelle grinned at her best friend as she beamed.
'And it's confirmed that Freddy's the best looker around here.' She added, glancing at a smirking Freddy Jones. 'And Dewey's the most energetic. -well that was pretty obvious, Marta stated- BUT,' she interrupted, 'we have a new feature in our magazines, which allows readers to pick two members of the band who they think would seem to be the perfect match.' Zack, Freddy, Summer, Katie, Alicia and Dewey looked positively horrified, while the rest listened expectantly.
'Are you ready? Okay. The reader's favorite couple is…Freddy…' Freddy paled at the though of going out with any girl in their band. What if it was Summer? Or Alicia? Or –heavens no- Marta? He'd be taunted for months! 'and… KATIE!'
WHAT!
--------------------
A/N: thanks for the awesome reviews! The pairing chosen by the 'fans' was really obvious though. But it's a Freddy/Katie fic, and I'm trying to fit in little details that may be important later, so I'm not going to complicate my life further by suggesting a different pairing. I don't really like where my story's going language-wise. I need to work on that! But I obviously do have some idea for the content. Suggestions are welcome too! Thanks again!