#68 - Taken in Stride

Piano Man

Segment Notes: I really like the mental images of Radley playing the piano and also being the opposite of what he initially seems. And this happened.

It wasn't really a surprise, somehow, that Radley had musical talent with an instrument as well as his voice. For some of the Bunch's mini concerts, they recruited him to play the electric keyboard. Radley loved it and the audience always wanted more. The Bunch was happy to provide more.

One mini concert got particularly wild, with the Bunch deciding to dip into Little Richard's classic hits. Scotch jumped and danced across the floor as he belted out Tutti Frutti and Good Golly Miss Molly while Radley blasted accompaniment on the piano. The audience leaped up with a standing ovation.

Kalin leaned back, smiling in approval. He loved seeing his friends so happy. Scotch was amazing as a vocalist, and at being able to sing and dance at the same time. And Radley pounded on the keyboard like he had been born to play.

There were rarely ever any complaints from the audience. But tonight one smug person leaning in the doorway just snorted.

"You people have no class. Always all of this rock-and-roll music and wild dancing! That's just about what we can expect from a motorcycle gang."

"Seriously?" Scotch scowled.

"Why don't you get a life?" Virgil snapped. "Just let us have ours."

"Not much of a life," the man sneered. "All of you rejects and your simplistic music."

"Hey, it takes a lot of talent to put together what we do," Billy said. "I'd like to see you try."

"I'd never be caught dead trying," the heckler snorted.

"Oh?" Radley looked over at him, quirking an eyebrow. "Well, I suppose 'class' for you would be something like this?" Without so much as batting an eye, he launched into Chopin's Etude in E Major. Everyone stared at him, stunned, as he calmly played the entire piece with scarcely a mistake and then leaned back with a satisfied smile.

The troll just stood there, his mouth working in his disbelief. The audience erupted into applause and Scotch promptly glomped Radley.

"That was incredible!" Scotch exclaimed. "Radley, why didn't you ever show us you could play like that?!"

Radley chuckled and hugged back. "It never came up," he said. "My parents made me take classical piano lessons growing up. It stuck with me." He casually started playing Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata while he spoke. The heckler, realizing it was hopeless, faded into the shadows of the night.

Kalin smirked, pleased as he watched their enemy depart. "Maybe that will keep him quiet for a while," he said. The man was one of those in town who had willingly sided with Malcolm. Now and then he tried to cause trouble for Radley and the Bunch, to all of their displeasure.

"It's funny, you know," Radley said in amusement. "I think we can be pretty sure Malcolm doesn't have any 'class,' and yet that guy puts us down saying we don't."

"Well, most of us didn't grow up rich," Scotch said. "You've got class, Radley, but we probably don't."

"You don't have to grow up rich," Radley said. "And for that matter, just because I can play a classical piano doesn't mean I have class. I'm sure I don't always fit the bill. I get the giggles insulting idiots like Malcolm. That's . . . not very classy."

"Well, okay, maybe not, but it's you," Scotch said. "And Malcolm always deserved being shown up as the moron he is!"

Kalin had to smirk a bit at that.

Radley laughed. "No arguments there."

Kalin sat down next to him at the keyboard. "I've been wondering how you play this so well," he said. "I'm not that good with anything other than a harmonica." He tapped on a few random keys.

"Learning the basics of the piano isn't hard," Radley said. "Of course, actually pulling out something like Chopin or Beethoven takes a lot of work and dedication. I could teach you how to play the piano, if you want."

Kalin smiled. "Yeah, I'd like that."

"Sure," Radley smiled back.

Kalin—and all the Bunch—watched attentively as Radley demonstrated the basics of the piano and reading music. He played a quick tune, showing how he was reading the notes and counting the beats as he went, and then let Kalin try.

"That was good," he praised after the attempt.

"Thanks," Kalin said. He had done his best to imitate what Radley had done.

"So how do you play really fast, like you were doing for me?!" Scotch exclaimed.

Radley chuckled. "That takes a lot of practice. It took me a long time to be able to go that fast without hitting the wrong notes. And of course, sometimes mistakes still happen even after you get that good."

Kalin pondered a bit. "I think slow and introspective pieces are more my thing."

"I think so too," Radley said. "And I'm sure you can do it."

Kalin looked through the music book Radley had on the stand. "This is just popular music," he said in surprise. "You memorized those classical pieces?!"

Radley shrugged. "I played them a lot as a kid. It was about the only thing I did that my family liked, so . . . I did a lot of it." But, not wanting to dwell on sad things, he rushed on. "So! You see anything in that book you wanna try, Kalin? They're all more advanced pieces. Most people start out playing things like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star for a while."

Kalin grunted. "I'm not going to play that." He opened the book to Mariah Carey's Hero and slowly started to work on the chords.

Radley watched in impressed surprise. Of course Kalin made mistakes, and he was going slower than the song really was, but overall he had picked up on the principles very fast. "You're doing really well," he said in all sincerity. "Hey, if you wanna figure out the piano by going to complicated pieces right away, go for it!"

Kalin smirked a bit, genuinely enjoying both the praise and the piano. "I will," he said. "And maybe someday at our impromptu concerts, we can play a duet."

Radley grinned. "You got it."