"Six hundred seventy-one dollars?" Thorn gasped.
"Ya heard me right, lady. Your radiator was completely busted. Had ta order a whole new one!" the man sounded quite brusk on the phone.
"Okay, thank you, sir. You said it will be ready at noon today?" Thorn asked for clarification.
"Uh-huh." the man confirmed.
"Great. I'll be there." Thorn tried to wrap up the phone call. This man seemed to have about the same amount of sympathy as a rock.
"Just be sure ya pay the whole amount in full!" the man snapped.
"Yes, sir. I will. See you in a few hours." Thorn hung up the phone.
"So, what's the damage?" Dusk cautiously asked.
"Well, let's just say we'll definitely need to be getting those jobs we've been thinking about all week." Thorn laughed anxiously.
"Oh c'mon, Thorn. How bad can it be?" Luna said, seeming a bit in denial.
"671 dollars." Thorn hung her head a bit.
"Oh...well...we can just put that on a credit card." Luna awkwardly chuckled.
"If we do that, we'll need to get jobs." Thorn quickly shut Luna's suggestion down. "We don't have a consistent source of income besides the few shows a month that we do. I'm not going to be buried in interest, and I don't think Dusk wants to be either. And you don't even have a credit card, Luna."
"I guess that's fair...I just never thought it would come to this." Luna looked upset. "Especially right after it looks like we may have gotten the big break we need to put out our first album."
"No one thought it would come to this." Thorn sighed. "But we've got to keep on making decisions that help us move forward now that it did."
"I guess." Luna said somberly. "Do you still think working for our parents is a good option?"
"Yeah. I think my dad would love to have me help out around his pharmacy." Thorn suggested. "Maybe we could invite the parents over for dinner tonight? There's strength in numbers, after all."
"My dad wouldn't mind having an assistant setting up appointments and filling out paperwork either." Luna's tone got a little less anxious.
"Cool! I'll invite the parents over toni -" Thorn paused when she looked over at Dusk. Although the blonde eco-goth didn't look like she was going to cry, she did look quite emotional in a grumpy way. Dusk usually expressed any sad emotions she had through anger and lashing out, because she was raised to believe sadness was weakness. "Oh...I'm sorry Dusk. Do you want to have your parents over? I'll even call them if you want. I'll just say you were too busy or something."
"No. It's fine." Dusk curtly said, without giving any hint of emotion.
Dusk's parents were so strongly disapproving of her music career that her mother and father would never let her work for either one of them. Even if she hadn't become a musician, her parents probably still wouldn't have let her. Their mentality on life was that if you wanted something, you had to do it yourself. While this philosophy perhaps could have been good in moderation, Dusk's parents took it to the point of neglecting to provide their daughter any help even if she was struggling. It was no wonder Dusk had developed such a hard outer shell growing up. She had to figure out so much about life herself, because her parents' values certainly weren't ones to base her life values off of.
"Do you want to have them over with our parents tonight?" Thorn inquired. Dusk's previous response was so short that it hadn't really answered the question in a clear manner. She always tried to use the term "parents" to make it less hard to come to terms with the fact that her mom was no longer with them.
"Sure. Yeah. If I don't, the other parents will probably tell mine anyway." Dusk presumed.
Thorn realized she was probably right. While Dusk's parents were standoffish with children, they were quite social with other adults. For whatever reason, Dusk's mother and father believed that children these days had it too easy, and that they had to be toughened up and completely independent to make it in the world. Independence was certainly an important value, but sometimes it seemed the word "independence" was synonymous with emotional abandonment for her parents.
"I'm going to call my dad right now." Thorn informed.
Thorn picked up the phone and dialed her father's number. After a few rings, she heard his jovial voice.
"Hello, Sally!" Thorn's father greeted.
"Hi, daddy." Thorn smiled.
"How are you?" Thorn's father asked her.
"I'm doing okay, daddy! Our car broke down, unfortunately." Thorn revealed.
"Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear that." Mr. McKnight seemed worried.
"We're okay." Thorn assured. "I wanted to invite you over to dinner tonight at our apartment! Luna and Dusk's parents are coming too."
"That sounds like a lot of fun! I'd love to!" Mr. McKnight agreed. "What time would you like me to come over?"
"Hmm...well, we have a little concert today at a coffee shop at 12:30, so how about 5:00pm?" Thorn suggested.
"That will work perfectly!" Mr. McKnight confirmed. "I'll see you then. Love you, Sally."
"I love you too, daddy." Thorn said, before hanging up the phone.
"How'd it go?" Luna asked.
"Good. He's coming over at 5, if you want to tell your parents that. You can use the phone now, too. I'm going to start getting ready for the concert today." Thorn informed. "We'll have to go straight there from the auto shop. We won't have time to make it back to the apartment. We'll have to bring the instruments in Bridgit's car too, when she picks us up."
"Wait, don't we have to call her?" Dusk asked. "She gave us her number to let her know when the car was done."
"Oh yeah!" Luna remembered.
"I can take care of that after I call my parents." Dusk committed. "I'll need some positivity as it is, just to get the bad taste out of my mouth."
Dusk hated talking to her parents. They were always judgmental of her life choices anytime they saw her, which is why she tried to talk to them as little as possible.
"Sounds good. Thanks, Dusk." Thorn smiled. "I appreciate it."
Thorn headed into the bathroom as Luna picked up the phone and began dialing her parents' phone number. She hadn't thought about it before, but hopefully Bridgit would be available to pick them up on such short notice.
Thorn had finished getting ready with ample time before the show, so the other two could get in the bathroom. The black-haired goth had been in her room alone, brainstorming some lines for a new song. It was a love song, which she currently gave the working title of "It's a Mystery." She'd never personally been in love, but she quite enjoyed writing about how mysterious, yet ethereal, the concept of love could be.
As Thorn finished writing one of the lines, she came out into the living room to greet Luna, who was already sitting on the tan couch reading the newspaper.
"How'd the call with your parents go?" Thorn inquired.
"It was good! They're coming over at 5." Luna informed.
At that moment, Dusk came out of the bathroom, her hands quickly fixing one of her pigtails that fell out of place.
"Did the call go okay, Dusk?" Thorn asked hopefully.
"Yeah, Bridgit is going to pick us up right at 11:45. She said was excited to see us again and that she was happy to help on such short notice." Dusk relayed.
"That's not what I meant and you know it." Thorn put her hands on her hips. "How did the call with your parents go?"
"Oh. That." Dusk still pretended as if she didn't know what her friend was talking about. "It went fine. My mom said they'd be here at 5 like everyone else."
"Awesome! So should we try to guilt them into giving us jobs by telling them what a horrible situation we're in?" Luna teased.
"No, we should not." Thorn replied in a playful voice. "I think they'll be receptive to us saying this unexpected car repair happened, and we need another source of income. Well, most of them, anyway."
"It's fine, rub it in!" Dusk sighed.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Dusk." Thorn apologized. She hadn't realized the blonde-haired goth felt excluded.
"Ugh, I guess it's okay." Dusk harrumphed. "I just don't know where I'm going to get a job. It's not like we have that many businesses around here that are looking to hire."
"Oh hey!" Luna had a look on her face that looked like she was having an epiphany. "Jack is always saying he could use help around his restaurant. Why don't you ask him?"
"Actually, you know, that's not a bad idea." Dusk realized. "Jack's is right near the coffee shop we're performing at this afternoon. Maybe we could stop there after our concert."
"Sure, I think we would have time before dinner with our parents." Thorn agreed.
"Thanks!" Dusk graciously said.
"What is the dinner plan? Are we going out or cooking here?" Luna inquired.
"I was thinking we could just invite everyone here and cook something. I'm not sure what, though." Thorn pondered.
"We can figure it out later. We'd better get downstairs, though." Luna pointed at the clock, showing it was 11:40.
"Oh shit." Thorn gasped, having lost track of time. "We've only got five minutes until Bridgit is here!"
Thorn ran to her room and grabbed her guitar, while the other two girls went to their bedrooms and picked up their instruments.
"Is there anything else we need? Remember, we're going straight from the repair shop to the concert." Thorn reminded.
"I know, I know!" Dusk snapped impatiently.
"No, I think we've got everything." Luna said.
"Let's get going, then." Thorn quickly responded, as the other two girls rushed out of the apartment - well, as fast as they could holding heavy instruments, that is. Thorn locked the door behind them and hurried down the stairs with her two roommates. Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, they saw Bridgit was already outside the front door waiting for them.
"Hey, girls!" Bridgit chirped.
"Hi! Thank you so much again for offering to bring us to pick up our car." Thorn smiled, as she stepped out into the autumn air with the two other girls.
"Of course! It's the least I could do for my favorite band ever!" Bridgit excitedly exclaimed.
The four girls started walking to Brdigit's car, which was only parked a few spaces away.
"Yeah." Thorn lightly chuckled, as she put her guitar in the back seat with the other girls' instruments. "I appreciate it, Bridgit."
It was a tight squeeze for Thorn and Luna in the back seat, but they barely fit. They were separated from each other with a huge barricade of their instruments, sitting on the middle seat. Thorn sat in the back seat behind the driver's side whilst Luna sat behind the passenger's seat. Once everyone was in, Bridgit started driving.
"Which coffee shop are you performing at again?" Bridgit inquired.
"It's called Haylee's." Dusk answered. "It's just a couple blocks away from Jack's."
"Nia, Sam and I love that place! Now I'm even more pumped for your concert!" Bridgit seemed like she could barely contain her excitement. "I'll have to pick up Nia and Sam after I drop you off, so they can hear your concert too!"
"Sounds great." Dusk replied. "We need all the audience we can get."
"Oh, stop it!" Bridgit said in a teasing voice. "You girls have amazing music! Stop being so hard on yourselves. Oh! By the way, my dad wanted me to ask if you would be willing to move your meeting with him up to this afternoon at 2:30? He had something come up next Thursday and can't meet at 10:00am anymore."
"2:30 today?" Dusk gasped. "I mean...can we make it work? We've already got the concert until 1, and we wanted to stop at Jack's, and we've got to have dinner ready by 5 for our parents!"
"It'll be tight, but I think we can do it." Luna responded to her fellow Hex Girl.
"My dad said the meeting will only need to be an hour." Bridgit incentivized.
"That should work then." Thorn agreed. "Are you girls okay with it?"
"Yeah, it should be fine." Dusk said, as Luna nodded.
"Well, it's settled then! You can tell your dad that we're okay with him moving the meeting up." Thorn confirmed.
"Awesome!" Bridgit answered.
As the last syllable left Bridgit's lips, Thorn could see that they were just pulling into the repair shop. Three consecutive beeps were heard just as Bridgit parked the vehicle. It wasn't until the pink haired girl commented that Thorn realized it must have come from Bridgit's watch.
"12 o'clock right on the dot." Bridgit smiled. "Did I make good time or what?"
"You sure did!" Thorn chuckled. "Well, thank you so much again for driving us here so we could make the concert on time. You don't know how much this means to us."
"Of course! Always happy to help out the coolest band in the world!" Bridgit chirped, as the girls grabbed their instruments and waved goodbye. Bridgit did the same.
"She's a little over-the-top sometimes, isn't she?" Luna commented, as Thorn handed her the guitar to hold while she went in the building.
"She's just trying to be nice, I think." Thorn explained. "It just comes out a little awkward sometimes. Anyway, I'll go in and take care of the bill."
"Thanks for putting it all on your credit card, Thorn." Dusk called after the black-haired goth as she started heading in the building.
"We promise we'll pay you back later!" Luna echoed.
As Thorn went into the building, she saw a grumpy looking man standing at the counter. He had a grease stain on his shirt, and in general looked quite bedraggled.
"Yeah? What can I do for ya?" the man snapped.
"Hi, I'm here to pick up our car." Thorn informed.
Instead of wasting time on pleasantries, the man simply grunted "Last name?"
"McKnight." Thorn answered.
"Oh yeah, I got your paperwork right here. That'll be $671.45." the man said.
Thorn simply handed the man her card without saying anything. It was clear that customer service was not this man's strong suit, so she didn't want to waste her energy trying to be friendly to him.
"You're all set." the man gruffly said, as he handed her the keys to the Soccer Mom Van.
"Thanks. Have a good day." Thorn tried to let out a half smile. The man simply grunted in response. She didn't really care for how the man was treating her, but she certainly wasn't going to be grumpy back.
Thorn was happy to see the more pleasant looking faces of her two friends and bandmates when she left the building.
"All ready to go?" Luna asked.
"Yep. It's all fixed." Thorn walked around back of the repair shop to find the Soccer Mom Van safe and sound in the parking lot, parked near a scraggly oak tree.
"We've gotta get moving then. We've only got 20 minutes to get to Haylee's and set up." Dusk pointed to the watch on her right arm.
Thorn grabbed her guitar back from Luna, and loaded it in the back seat of the car. This time, it was Thorn's turn to drive, Dusk's turn to sit in the passenger seat, and Luna's turn to be squished against the instruments in the back seat.
"We should be fine." Thorn assured, as she began to drive. "The coffee shop is only a couple blocks away from here. Then Jack's is only a few blocks away from that, and then the music studio is a few miles away. After that, it's just a few miles to get home. We'll have time for everything."
"It'll be the most eventful afternoon we've had in a while, though." Luna laughed.
The girls usually just wrote in the afternoons. It was quite unusual for them to perform during an afternoon, as most of their shows were in the evenings, since it was when everyone was done with work for the day. Thorn wondered if their turnout at this concert would be even less than usual, given no one could probably make it. Well, no one other than Bridgit, Nia and Sam.
After a couple of quick turns and a brief stop at a traffic light, the girls had already arrived at the coffee shop.
"Seems like there's a lot of people here today." Luna observed. "I wonder if they're all here to see us."
"Doubtful. I'm sure people are just here to get some work done." Thorn downplayed.
The girls hauled their heavy instruments out of the car and into the coffee shop. It was another beautiful autumn day outside, with bright orange and yellow leaves all around.
A few people briefly looked up from their work to glance at the girls carrying such bulky instruments. Having performed here before, they knew exactly where they needed to take their instruments: up to a large empty space in the front of the coffee shop with a fake fireplace.
"Hey! You must be The Hex Girls." one of the baristas realized. "Thanks for coming today!"
"You're welcome." Thorn smiled. "Is it okay if we set up here?"
"Absolutely! That's where Haylee said she wanted you." the barista said.
"Where is Haylee?" Dusk inquired.
"She's just in back doing some paperwork. If you girls want, you can get some coffee while you're waiting to hype you up for your performance." the barista offered.
"I could definitely use some coffee." Thorn laughed, as she set her instrument down once it had been hooked up to the sound system. In a matter of a few seconds, Dusk and Luna did the same.
"What can I get for you girls?" the barista asked. Thorn noticed a name tag on her chest that said 'Anne.'
"I'd like a blended mocha with soy milk and whipped cream, with an extra shot of espresso." Thorn ordered.
"I'll take an iced vanilla latte with skim milk and whipped cream, and can I get a cherry flavor shot put in that?" Luna asked.
"Of course!" Anne nodded.
"Oh for the love of god, can't anyone just get normal coffee anymore without a million things added?" Dusk rolled her eyes. "I'll take a black coffee. No cream. No sugar."
"Alright, I'll get on making those!" Anne promised, as she hurried over to the coffee machine.
"Wait, you forgot to charge us." Thorn reminded.
"Oh, no, it's on the house. It's the least we can do for you girls, since you were so generous to perform and all."
"Thank you!" Thorn smiled. It was very kind of the barista to not charge them for any of this.
The Hex Girls stepped to the side when they noticed someone else was behind them, so that the person could order.
"Hi, can I get a blended caramel mocha with oat milk, whipped cream, a little bit of chocolate drizzle, half a shot of espresso, and a vanilla flavor shot?" the woman behind them asked.
"Oh good lord!" Dusk huffed. "It's supposed to be a coffee order, not a grocery list!"
Thankfully the woman didn't hear them, possibly because she was distracted by the barista calling out The Hex Girls' orders.
"Alright, here are your drinks, girls!" Anne informed as she set the girls' drinks on the counter. Dusk quickly picked up hers and took a big chug, probably to make sure she was finished with it when they had to start performing in a few minutes.
"How's your coffee, Thorn?" Luna asked as she took a sip of hers.
"Really good. They always make great coffee at this place." Thorn responded.
"You're always welcome to try mine. Well, if you want real coffee, instead of that slightly caffeinated milkshake you're drinking." Dusk teased.
Before either girl could formulate a response, Haylee, the owner, came out from the back.
"Hey, girls. Thanks again for performing today." Haylee said. "You can start whenever you're ready."
Haylee always came off a bit firm, but not because she was in a bad mood or didn't like the girls. It was just her personality.
"Are we ready?" Thorn said, slurping down the rest of her drink.
"I am." Luna said, setting her coffee to the side for later.
The other two girls looked over at Dusk, to see her chugging down her coffee in one big gulp.
"Fuck yeah I'm ready." Dusk said after swallowing a huge amount of coffee at once. "Let's do this!"
As the girls performed, they noticed that no one other than Bridgit, Nia and Sam were directly watching their performance. Some people looked up for a moment from their papers or computers to watch the girls play, while others kept their eyes glued to their work. The best they got was one girl with her long brown hair in a braid to consistently look up from her work every few minutes to watch the girls perform, as she multitasked and did whatever she was doing.
Looking at the clock, the girls saw that 28 minutes had passed. They were only scheduled for a half-hour show. Oh, how Thorn dreamed of asking if they had time for one more song as the audience cheered in response, begging to be graced with simply a few more minutes of performing.
But that wasn't what this was.
This was a coffee shop. Their audience was mostly people doing homework or completing work for their jobs. No one would cheer for them.
Thorn had a tendency to fantasize about what could be rather than what is. She needed to remind herself to stay in the moment, because dreaming about some outlandish possibility was only going to make her sad that it wasn't true.
"We're going to play one last song, alright?" Thorn announced.
Thorn took herself out of her fantasy and began performing "Trap of Love." Just as she presumed, no one cheered or even seemed the least bit excited that they were playing one last song. Bridgit, Nia and Sam clapped their hands a little bit, but that was the extent of what they got. They probably wouldn't even have anyone come up to them after the show.
Just as the girls finished the final note of "Trap of Love," they heard a surprising call from the audience.
"Let's hear it for The Hex Girls!" Bridgit shouted. "They just got a freaking record deal!"
That got the audience's attention. Many people looked up from their work, and began clapping for the girls.
Looking to her right, Thorn saw Luna blushing a little. That's when Thorn realized that she herself was blushing. It was odd, because Thorn always fantasized about people paying attention to her for her music, but having someone else unexpectedly draw attention to her felt a bit embarrassing, even if it was cool to have people congratulate them on their record deal.
Thorn expected to have Bridgit, Nia and Sam be the first to rush up to talk to them, but someone else whom Thorn did not recognize beat them to it. The young woman looked about their age and had light brown hair. She wore a salmon-colored sweater, which appeared to be over a dress covered in flower prints.
"Hey, I just wanted to say I loved your music. You girls have such a unique sound." the girl complimented.
"Thank you." Thorn smiled.
"I particularly loved 'Earth, Wind, Fire and Air'. I'm not sure if you girls would be interested in something like this, but I'm running an environmental project where we're trying to stop this oil pipeline they're going to run through a public park. It would completely destroy the habitat of hundreds of animals living there." the girl informed.
"Umm...yeah!" Thorn said after she'd thought about it for a moment. "I'd be interested in that."
"Me too." Luna agreed.
"Hell yeah. We're actually eco-goths, so all of us are definitely passionate about protecting the environment." Dusk explained.
"That's great!" the girl smiled. "We'll be meeting in the park on November 1st at 2:30. I hope to see you there!"
"Wait! I didn't catch your name." Thorn inquired.
"Oh! I'm sorry." the girl laughed. "I'm Julia Bellaveau. I'm a college student, and I'm working on my senior capstone project."
"Oh, neat. Where do you go to college? Salem State?" Dusk asked.
"I actually go to Harvard." Julia revealed.
"Woah, you go to freaking Harvard?" Dusk gasped.
"Yeah." Julia nodded. "I'm just here doing an internship in Salem for an environmental nonprofit."
"That's so cool. Thanks for inviting us." Thorn thanked. "We'll definitely be there!"
"Great! Have an amazing rest of your day!" Julia exclaimed. Just as Julia started walking away, the three they were originally expecting came over to greet them.
"That was an incredible concert!" Nia graciously complimented.
"Thanks!" Dusk replied.
"So how are you girls doing after such a freakin' awesome performance?" Sam inquired.
"Pretty good." Thorn awkwardly laughed. There were only so many ways to compliment someone, and it seemed these girls had found every way in the book. "We just got invited to an environmental event in November too."
"Woah!" Bridgit exclaimed. "That's so neat. You girls are really moving up in the world!"
"We should probably get over to Jack's if we're going to make it to Bridgit's dad's meeting on time." Dusk reminded, pointing at a large clock hanging above a chalkboard with all the baristas' names. It currently read 1:28.
"Oh, you're right. We got so busy talking to Julia that we lost track of time." Thorn said. "It was great seeing you girls again!"
"Thanks again for the ride, Bridgit." Luna meekly added.
"Of course! Have a great meeting with my dad!" Bridgit waved goodbye, as she, Nia and Sam began packing up their belongings to leave as well.
Thorn, Dusk and Luna split off from the other three girls and headed towards their vehicle. Thorn loaded her instrument in the back seat, accidentally nearly whacking Luna in the head when she swung a bit wide to open the car door.
"Hey!" Luna teased.
"Oops, sorry." Thorn felt a little embarrassed for nearly incapacitating the red-haired goth. She quickly hopped in the driver's seat and shifted the gear into drive as soon as she was sure the other two girls were buckled up. There was no time to waste, given they only had an hour to drive to Jack's, talk to him, and make it to their meeting on time.
"Do you want us to go in with you, Dusk?" Thorn asked.
"Sure, yeah. That might help. We're almost always together whenever we see him, so I think it would be weird if we weren't." Dusk rationalized.
"Okay, we're here. Long drive, huh?" Thorn laughed, given they'd only driven two blocks from the coffee shop. The downtown area of Oakhaven wasn't more than ten blocks anyway. It was a considerably small business district, but Thorn had grown to appreciate it. There was a place for everything, and you didn't have to choose between a million different options just to find something. If you wanted a certain thing, you knew where you had to go.
"Should we leave our instruments in the car?" Luna cautiously inquired.
"I think it'll be fine. We'll only be in there for a few minutes." Thorn pointed out. "No one will steal them."
As Dusk and Luna headed into Jack's, Thorn locked the vehicle. The scenery around Jack's was beautiful as always. The black-haired goth stopped for a moment to admire the leaves dropping from an autumn tinted tree, before heading in with the other girls.
"Well hello there girls! It's been a while since I've seen you!" the familiar voice of the town's mayor stated. The man had reddish hair and was a bit more heavyset. He wore a blue suit and khaki pants.
"Hey, Mayor Corey. How have things been going?" Dusk inquired.
"Oh, just lovely!" Mayor Corey smiled. The mayor certainly wasn't a man to complain, so the statement didn't really mean much. He was the type of person who could have his house on fire and still be pleasant, just to keep up social niceties.
"Girls! Great to see ya!" Jack smiled, as he came out from the back. "What would you like to order this afternoon?"
"Actually, I came here to talk to you." Dusk informed. "You see, Thorn, Luna and I ran into a little issue this past week with our car breaking down. We can't really afford the payment, so I was…"
Dusk paused for a moment. Thorn knew she hated being vulnerable, so it was likely difficult for her to make such a big ask.
"...I was wondering if you were looking for some extra help. I'd love to help out, if I could." Dusk gave an awkward smile.
"Why, of course! How could I possibly turn down one of my favorite customers?" Jack smiled. "I've actually been looking for another waitress lately. Caitlin's great, but it can be hard sometimes for her to do everything by herself if we've got a big crowd."
"Awesome! When do you want me to start?" Dusk's eyes lit up a little.
"You can start on Monday if ya want!" Jack answered.
"Great! I'll be here!" Dusk said. "Thank you so much!"
"Of course! I'm looking forward to working with you!" Jack smiled.
"What about you two? Have you got jobs lined up to help you pay for the repair?" Mayor Corey inquired, apparently overhearing their conversation.
"Yeah, we do." Thorn prematurely stated. "We're going to work with our parents."
"Wonderful! That's a wonderful idea!" Mayor Corey exclaimed.
"I'm sorry to hear you girls had car troubles!" Jack somberly apologized. "By the way, here's your coffee, Mayor."
"Thanks, Jack! I've got to get to a meeting, but I'll see you girls later." Mayor Corey waved as he headed out the door.
"Speaking of that, we've got to get to our meeting too." Luna reminded the other two girls.
"Yeah, we've got a manager now!" Thorn shared.
"You do? Oh, congratulations girls!" Jack came over to give each girl a congratulatory hug. "I can't think of anyone more deserving than you."
"Thanks, Jack." Dusk said, as she hugged the restaurant owner back.
"Well, I'll let you girls be going now!" Jack said. "It was wonderful to see you again! I'll see you girls again soon. And Dusk, I'll see you on Monday at 8:00am sharp!"
"Bye!" the three girls waved, as they headed out the door.
"What a guy." Thorn smiled, appreciating Jack's generosity.
The car came to a halt as Thorn pulled into the closest parking spot she could find at Decade Records.
"Well girls, are you ready for our second meeting with a record producer?" Thorn wondered if her two friends were as excited as she was.
"Heck yeah!" Dusk exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air.
"Should we bring our instruments?" Luna inquired.
"Yeah. Gus might want us to play, so we should be prepared." Thorn presumed.
Luna seemed like she was going to respond, but she was cut off by Gus's voice.
"Hello, girls!" Gus waved. "I wanted to apologize for changing our meeting on such short notice. An absolutely dreadful thing came up on Thursday that I couldn't reschedule."
"A problem with an artist?" Dusk guessed.
"No, a company budget meeting." Gus shuddered. "It's the most boring way I can think of for one to spend their time. But oh well, someone's got to do it. Anyway, c'mon inside. And bring your instruments! I'd like to hear you play a couple songs."
"We were actually just planning to do that." Thorn said, lifting her guitar out of the vehicle.
"Excellent!" Gus exclaimed.
Thorn, Dusk and Luna followed their manager in the building, once again admiring all the posters on the wall. This time, instead of just thinking about how cool those people were, now Thorn imagined what it would be like to live the lives of those people. She and her two best friends could very well be going down that path.
"Feel free to set up your instruments." Gus informed, as he sat down in the fancy office chair by his desk.
As Thorn unzipped her guitar case, Gus continued to talk to them.
"So, have you girls thought about what you might want your first single off of the album to be?" Gus inquired.
This is something the girls had discussed a bit before, but never at length. They usually debated between "Earth, Wind, Fire and Air" and "Hex Girl," but could never come to a consensus.
"A little, yes." Luna informed.
"We go back and forth between two of our songs. 'Hex Girl' - which you heard - and 'Earth, Wind, Fire and Air.'" Thorn elaborated.
"Hmm...and why the debate about which one? Can't you just pick one and move on?" Gus asked in a bit of a blunt way. Thorn was admittedly a bit offended by the thought of just 'choosing one and being done' without putting much thought into it.
"Well, it's important to us to pick the right one. Luna and I say 'Earth, Wind, Fire and Air' because it shows off what we're passionate about." Thorn informed.
"And I say 'Hex Girl,' because we've got to shove our identity right in our audience's faces!" Dusk said with a mix of forcefulness and silliness. "We need to show people who we are right away, and that we're not ashamed of it."
"So you all want to show people who you are, it's just the logistics of how to best introduce yourselves." Gus observed. "Go with 'Hex Girl.' The environment angle is good, but 'Hex Girl' feels like more of an introduction. I obviously haven't heard the other one, but when you performed that song for me the first time, I was wowed. I knew exactly who you were and what type of personalities you had as artists from that song. You should approach the singles as a gradual introduction to what your band stands for: with every song, you're increasingly showing your audience what you're passionate about. That's why I asked why you couldn't just pick a song and move on...I wanted to test you girls to see if you knew the correct way to choose a single. Clearly, you do. Of course, in the end it's up to you, but from a managerial strategy standpoint, I advise you to make 'Earth, Wind, Fire and Air' the second single."
"Wow...that's really good advice." Luna said, a bit in awe.
"Indeed it is. I've managed many bands in my day, and the thing that seems to get people most interested in a band is conveying a strong sense of artist identity right off the bat. No one wants some generic song that doesn't tell them anything. They want to know what type of music you're most passionate about making, and what you stand for as a band." Gus explained. "Now, I'd like to discuss album strategy. To do that though, I need to hear all the songs you're planning to put on the CD."
"All of them?" Dusk gasped.
"Yes, all of them." Gus lightly chuckled. "You have six songs ready to go, correct?"
"Seven now." Thorn corrected. The girls had been busy working on a seventh song for the album all week.
"Excellent. Let's hear the six I haven't heard, whenever you girls are ready." Gus instructed.
Thorn didn't really like to be put on the spot, but she figured there must be a method to Gus's madness. Picking up her guitar, she looked over at her two bandmates. Luna was at her keyboard and Dusk was just finishing setting up her drums.
"Ready when you are." Luna said to Thorn and Dusk.
"Alright. 1, 2, 3…" Dusk counted up, before she started playing.
Thorn strummed one final note on her guitar, as they concluded playing "Who Do Voodoo?".
"That was incredible, girls!" Gus was so excited he stood up and clapped. "All the songs you played were bursting with energy, and I could tell every word was authentic to your artistic little hearts. If I didn't know better, I'd say I heard a bass guitar in 'Earth, Wind, Fire and Air." And you girls don't even have one! It takes real talent to be able to play the bass guitar without actually playing it."
"Thanks, Gus." Thorn smiled warmly.
"It seems like you girls are on a great path to making your first album. None of the songs sound like filler at all, so it's clear you girls are truly putting your all into making this album an expression of yourselves." Gus complimented. "The only suggestion I have is with that second to last song you played...err, what was it called? 'The Good Dad Girls?'"
"That's 'Good Bad Girls,' sir." Luna corrected as she held back a giggle.
"Yes, that's what I meant! 'Good Bad Girls.' How would you feel making that song a medley?" Gus suggested.
"A medley? What do you mean?" Dusk asked, a hint of confusion present in her voice.
"Well...I'm going to say this in the most delicate way I can." Gus stuttered. "I love everything about the song as it is. I don't want you to change everything you already have. However, it feels...how should I say...a tad incomplete? I think mixing it with another song could really complement it? There's this other band named Rude Boy and the Ska-Tastics."
"Oh, so you mean we should have a feature on the song?" Thorn realized.
"Oh god, I hope you're not suggesting we have a guest rap or something! Those are always so cringey." Dusk sighed.
"No, I'm afraid that would be quite impossible with this band. You see, they're all dead." Gus revealed.
"So we'd be profiting off of some dead guy by reusing his band's music?" Dusk gasped.
"No, not at all. What I had in mind was mixing it with a track called 'Yer Dead Right, Mate.' The band was going to release it as their next single, but unfortunately they all died in a horrific plane crash." Gus explained.
"Oh my gosh...that's horrible." Thorn hung her head a little.
"Yes, quite." Gus nodded, as he shifted his gaze to his computer screen. "Let me pull up the song for you, so you can give it a listen."
Within a matter of a few seconds, the song began coming out of Gus's computer speakers.
"I really like that!" Dusk exclaimed in surprise.
"Yeah. It's such a smooth song." Thorn agreed.
"He sounds so charming." Luna smiled.
"I wouldn't mind having this be in a medley with our song." Dusk shrugged.
"I wouldn't either. Although I do feel bad making money off of this band's music when they're not even alive anymore." Thorn admitted.
"Don't think of it as making money off of someone's death, think of it as capitalis...er, I mean, caring about someone's music by paying them tribute." Gus smiled sheepishly.
"I guess that's a good way to think about it." Dusk agreed.
"Yeah, gotta love capitalism!" Thorn laughed in a quirky way.
"Excellent! Next week will be quite busy for me, but I'd like to meet with you girls again soon. How about two Mondays from now at 2?" Gus suggested.
"Works for us." Thorn shrugged.
"Great! Girls, I promise I'm going to put in some calls between now and our next meeting, and get working on pushing your first single to radio." Gus informed.
"Wait...our song...on the radio?" Luna gasped.
"Yes! Believe it or not, I think your song will be a big hit on the radio across the country. Like I said, you girls have a very unique style of music that I think will really sympathize with listeners." Gus replied.
Quite frankly, the thought even surprised Thorn. Even though they'd been planning their first album, she hadn't really thought about the fact that in a matter of weeks, the girls' music would be heard on the radio for the first time.
The girls hauled their instruments back up to their apartment. The first thing Dusk did when Thorn unlocked the door was look at the clock, which read 4:16.
"Shit!" Dusk exclaimed. "We've only got 45 minutes to make dinner for our parents."
"What are we even making for dinner?" Luna asked.
"Oh god, we're the worst hosts of all time." Thorn laughed. "How about spaghetti? That's pretty easy to make. Just thaw some beef, warm up a jar of sauce, and cook some noodles. How hard could it be?"
Thorn admittedly did not know the answer to her own question, as the girls rarely cooked any big meals. In fact, this was the first time they'd ever had anyone over to their apartment for dinner. The girls didn't see their parents all that often since they had moved out a few months ago, but whenever they did, they always went to their parents' houses. The parents hadn't seen the apartment since helping them move in.
"I'll take care of the noodles." Thorn said.
"I can warm up the sauce." Luna offered.
"I guess that leaves me with the meat." Dusk shrugged.
With that, the girls put their instruments back in their rooms and quickly got to work: Thorn started a pot of water, and put some noodles in once it got to a rolling boil. Dusk thawed a package of frozen beef in the microwave, then put the beef in a pan to cook. Luna's job was the easiest of them all: putting a can of tomato sauce in a pot and watching it warm up.
Thorn and Dusk still had a little ways to go before their respective contributions to the meal were complete, but Luna had just finished warming the sauce when she heard a knock at the door.
"I've got it!" Luna offered, as she went to see who it was. As the door swung open, it revealed the faces of her parents.
"Hi Mom! Hi Dad!" Luna smiled, as she gave each of them a big hug.
"Well hello there Kimberly!" her dad smiled, as he reciprocated the hug. Luna's father donned a plaid button-up shirt and khaki pants. He was of medium build and had brown hair.
"It's great to see you again, Kimmy." Luna's mother smiled, causing Luna to blush at hearing her childhood nickname. Her mother's red hair was accented by her orange blouse and light blue skirt.
"Dinner's almost ready!" Thorn promised.
"Hi Sally! It's so good to see you again." Luna's mom said.
"It's great to see you again too, Trish." Thorn replied. Her attention was quickly averted by the sound of the kitchen timer, signalling that the noodles were done.
"Hey, Sally! Hi Jane!" Luna's father greeted.
"Hi!" Thorn waved, as she quickly put her hand back on the pot to dump the cooked noodles in a strainer.
"Hey Mark." Dusk waved.
"Great to see you again, sweetie." Trish smiled at Dusk, who was the only girl she had not previously greeted.
"So how are things with you two?" Thorn inquired.
"Oh, they're good!" Trish smiled. "Things have been busy for me at my teaching job, and your father has been keeping busy at the dentist's office."
"That's great -" Luna started to say, before she was interrupted by another knock at the door.
"I can get it this time." Thorn offered, as she fast-walked over to the apartment door.
"Sally!" the voice of her father shouted in delight as she opened the door. He had gray hair, and was still wearing his white pharmacist coat from work along with some dress pants. "It's so great to see you!"
"It's wonderful to see you too, daddy!" Thorn initiated a hug.
"Hi Robert!" Luna waved, as she stirred the spaghetti sauce a little to make sure it was continuing to stay warm evenly.
"So nice to see you again, Kim. It feels like it's been a while." Robert McKnight said.
A chorus of "hi's" and "hello's" came from Luna's parents and Dusk.
"How have things been at the pharmacy?" Trish inquired.
"Oh, they've been great! We've been keeping busy." Robert answered.
"Alright, the meat is ready." Dusk informed everyone.
"Wonderful!" Mark exclaimed. "I guess we're just waiting for Aaron and Debbie."
As if on cue, a knock could be heard at the door.
"That's probably them." Dusk said. "I can grab it."
Dusk ran to get the door for her parents. She tried to put on a happy face when she opened the door, even though she wasn't really ever happy to see her parents. The blonde-haired goth opened the door to see her parents. Her father, a more heavyset man, wore a red shirt and black dress pants, whilst her skinnier mother wore an orange sweatshirt and blue jeans.
"Hey. Good to see you two!" Dusk faked a smile.
"Hello, Jane." Aaron said, as he patted his daughter on the back.
"Hi, darling." Debbie said coolly as she gave her daughter a hug. To Thorn, the hug looked almost as if it were obligatory, rather than a genuine display of affection.
"Aaron! Debbie! Great to see you two again!" Robert smiled as he got up from the dining room chair he was sitting in to give them both a handshake.
"Dinner is ready! I hope you all are hungry!" Thorn smiled, as she served up the plates for everyone and brought them to the table one-by-one. Of course, she served the parents first, since they were the guests, before serving her two friends and herself.
"So, how has making music been going for you girls?" Trish inquired.
If Thorn didn't know better, it almost looked like Dusk's father scoffed at Trish's comment.
"It's been going really well! We've actually got some amazing news for you: we were just signed by a record label." Thorn revealed.
"Oh my goodness!" Trish gasped in delight.
"That's incredible! Congratulations!" Robert applauded.
"We're so proud of you girls." Mark smiled.
"We're looking to release our first single now." Luna shared.
"Hex Girl...you know, one of the songs we sang at the Autumn Fest." Dusk elaborated.
"How exciting!" Trish exclaimed. "We're so proud of you girls for following your dreams."
"I suppose we should share the bad news now." Thorn said.
"Bad news?" Robert asked in surprise.
"Our van broke down earlier this week. The radiator busted." Luna clarified. "It cost $700 to replace, and we couldn't afford to pay cash. We had to put it on Thorn's credit card, Robert."
"Oh...well, that's what it's for!" Robert comforted. "Emergencies."
"We don't really have any sort of income to pay that back though." Thorn's tone became a bit more somber. So Luna and I were wondering if the dads would be open to us getting jobs with you guys. You know...just until we were able to pay the credit card off. If you're okay with that."
Dusk's parents had not said anything in the conversation up until this point, but given what was about to come out of Aaron's mouth, that was probably a good thing.
"Oh, for the love of god! Jane, your mother and I told you that making music wasn't a viable source of income. Now you're going to go into debt just because you chose a stupid career that isn't even real work!" Dusk's father shouted.
"Aaron." Debbie put her hand on her husband's shoulder to calm him down.
"I don't mean to disagree, Aaron, but the girls are following their passions. Sure, they may have had a little bump in the road, but they're young. I think they're doing quite well so far on their own." Robert defended. "Sally, I'd love to have you help me out at the pharmacy. You'd be a great help doing paperwork and helping me fill the medication bottles. How would you like to work four hours every morning starting Monday?"
"I'd love that, daddy!" Thorn exclaimed. The arrangement seemed perfect. That would still allow the girls to write music in the afternoons while working to pay off the car debt in the morning.
"I could only afford to pay you minimum wage, unfortunately." Robert informed.
"That should be perfect." Thorn said.
"It'd be great to have some help around the dentist's office too." Mark added. "I'd love for you to work with me, Luna. I've been wanting to hire a receptionist to pick up the phone and do paperwork."
"Aww, that's awesome! When would you want me to start?" Luna asked.
"Monday is perfect!" Mark elaborated.
"Well, if you think I'm giving you a job, Jane, you've got another thing coming." Aaron scolded. "Your mother and I told you that music isn't a career that would give you a sustainable cash flow, but you chose to do it anyway."
"I'm afraid your father's right, honey." Debbie jumped in. "Life is all about working hard, and that means you have to do real work to be able to make a living. You can't just do whatever you want and expect it's going to make you money."
"As a matter of fact, I've already got a job. I'm working at Jack's as a waitress." Dusk put her hands on hips in an irritated fashion, as she stood up from the table in frustration.
"Oh. Well, good for you." her father coldly stated.
"Yes, I'm glad you're finally doing something that gives you a reliable source of money." Dusk's mother agreed.
There was a silence that clouded over the dinner table for a minute. Everyone likely felt awkward about Aaron and Debbie's strong opinions, and lack of compassion for their daughter.
"Umm…" Thorn struggled for something to say. She hated awkward silences, almost as much as she hated Dusk's parents' shocking lack of compassion for anyone that didn't live up to their obnoxiously high expectations. "How's everything tasting?"
"Mmm, it's great Sally. You girls are great cooks." Robert smiled.
It was a relief for Thorn to hear the phone ring.
"Dusk, can you answer the phone?" Thorn specifically asked Dusk, figuring she'd need a distraction from her boorish parents.
"Yeah." Dusk said, as she raced over to get the phone before it stopped ringing. "Hello?"
A pause could be heard, presumably because the person on the other end was speaking.
"What?!" Dusk screamed. Thorn and Luna looked quite concerned, as did their parents. "Thank you so much for calling!"
Dusk set the phone down as she raced to her bedroom. Within a few seconds, she charged back to the dining area with an alarm clock in her hands. Quickly plugging it into the outlet on the kitchen wall, she blurted "What's the station number for KWPL?"
"It's 101.3, darling." Trish answered. "But why? What happened on the phone?"
Dusk didn't answer and just continued turning the dial on her radio alarm clock until it was at 101.3.
A few seconds of the end of a song could be heard, followed by a man's voice. It appeared to be a pre-recorded transition between songs.
"KWPL! #1 for new music!" came out of the radio, before a male DJ began talking over a very familiar sound...the intro to their song.
"It's from The Hex Girls, a local band from right out of Oakhaven! Here's their new one. The track's called 'Hex Girl'. Check it out!" the DJ announced.
"Bridgit just called!" Dusk finally explained. "Gus got our song to play on the radio!"
The room erupted in excitement as "Hex Girl" began playing, with lots of whooping, excited yelling and hugs from both the girls and their parents alike. Well, everyone except Dusk's parents, who sat there looking serious. Luckily, Dusk seemed too caught up in the excitement to notice.
"I can't believe it! My little girl on the radio!" Robert said, as he gave his daughter a big hug.
Thorn quite frankly couldn't believe it either. This felt like the first step into finally putting their music out there for the world to hear.
Author's note:
I always try to make my stories relatable to my readers and myself. Unfortunately for me, the beginning of this chapter became a bit too relatable to my own life. Ironically, I had just taken my car in to be repaired because a tire wasn't properly inflating, figuring it was just that I had somehow run over a nail or it needed to be patched. While writing the scene where the girls have to pay $671 to repair their vehicle, I got an unexpected call from the mechanic saying that I actually needed four new tires and that it would cost almost the same amount, $645. I wanted to make this story relatable, but not quite that relatable haha.
Speaking of which, the $671 amount I picked was not just a random number I pulled out of nowhere. I did pretty extensive research into what it would cost to get a new radiator, and took the average of all the costs I found, which was $671.
In addition, at one point in the chapter, Dusk mentions Salem State. This is the real name of the most popular college in Salem, MA. As I mentioned in the author's note for the last chapter, Salem is set about an hour and 35 minutes (by car) away from Oakhaven in this fanfic. Since there wouldn't likely be any colleges in a small town like Oakhaven, it seemed like the most logical place that many people from the town would attend college, since it's relatively close. In general, I've done quite a bit of research on various aspects of Massachusetts to try to make this fanfic as realistic as possible.
Obviously, Rude Boy and the Ska-Tastics is referencing the villains of "Dance of the Undead" from Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, whom The Hex Girls have a "battle of the bands" with. I thought giving "Good Bad Girls" the backstory of being an original song that later became a medley would be interesting. Also, I had forgotten to put this in the author's note last chapter, but "Trap of Love" was written by only Thorn, Dusk and Luna for the purposes of this fanfic, as it just makes more sense than having Daphne also be involved in the writing process (like she was in "In Fear of the Phantom" from Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated).
For those that have read Fangs and wondered if the person the girls meet in the coffee shop, Julia Bellaveau, is the same Julia that was friends with Sybella: yes. I thought it would be fun to include a cross-fanfic reference, as I do think of all my fanfics as taking place in the same universe.
Lastly, Gus's comment about how "It takes real talent to be able to play the bass guitar without actually playing it" is a tongue-in-cheek reference to how if you listen closely during their performances in Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost, a bass guitar can be heard even though none of the girls are actually playing one.
While I can't guarantee it will be consistent every week, there will be a new chapter next week. Like I've mentioned, I hope to get back to a place where I'm publishing every week, I'm just not quite sure if I'm there yet, as chapter 4 was only finished so quickly due to it being a little shorter.
I hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween! Or, if you're reading this chapter a few days after it was first published, have a great normal day! I hope you enjoy doing all the things you normally do lol. I really wish they would add a feature on this site that showed you when each chapter was first published, as I always worry about confusing people whenever I'm referencing some sort of current event if they're reading it months or years after it was first published.