You Lost Me At "Drum Roll"
…
Link and Line had been confined to the Grand Sails for the past month after having resumed duties on-board. Although neither had the guts to ask Captain Alfonzo why, they had come to the agreement that Alfonzo was still angry with them. It was their luck that Lieutenant Greg had risked life and limb asking if they could have a few moments at the next port the galleon stopped at. Alfonzo had been distant with them, passing orders through Greg and the Chiefs instead of speaking to them. It could only ever get more awkward if they had to actually walk past Alfonzo on a regular basis. So it was probably just as beneficial to them as it was to him that they had been allowed to go ashore for a couple hours. It was not much time to enjoy themselves, but it gave them an opportunity to look around Might Island's northern docks.
Which was probably the lamest idea they could have possibly had. Line thought so, anyway.
Most islands would have a few shops or maybe a tavern somewhere within the port areas themselves. Might Island seemed to be the only exception. It was mostly warehouses and different company offices. They were not even anywhere near the Skyriders' branch office, having wandered away from that direction to better avoid Alfonzo. Maybe they had been spoiled by the graffiti usually seen around Sagacity Island's port, but Might Island looked as if it preferred to use the same, drab, grey buildings everywhere. About the only break in the monotony was a run-down wooden building just on the edge of the port.
"Hey, Link," Line spoke up, nudging Link with his elbow, as they approached the building. "Look who it is."
Someone had decided to set up a drum kit outside the front door of what looked to be a bar. That same person was sitting on a box against the outer wall, staring up at the sky with a bored look on his face. He was a slightly round man with short, blond hair and wearing a navy-blue jacket that had been left open to expose a hairy chest and slacks that had been torn apart below the knees. One of his hands idly flipped a drumstick back and forth.
"Isn't that… uh…" Line said as they stepped closer.
"Spakky, I think," Link replied. "From that band."
Upon hearing his name, Spakky dropped his gaze onto the boys. He gave them a wide grin and sat up. He played a quick roll on his snare drum before striking his crash symbol. Then he pointed his drumsticks at them.
"What's going on, Spakky?" Link asked. "Where's the rest of your band?"
Spakky, with a hesitant look on his face, scratched the back of his neck with the end of one stick. Then he struck his snare, floor tom, and crash symbol, each twice, before playing his bass drum and hihat twice. Then he hit his hanging toms twice each, gave his ride cymbal a strike, and then gave his snare, floor tom, and crash cymbal a single strike in quick succession. Link and Line just stared at him for a moment. Neither one could make out any sort of rhythm to Spakky's playing. It also did not help that neither boy understood Spakky's brand of communication.
Link was the first to remember this particular aspect of Spakky's character and said, "Sorry, Spakky, but we don't understand you. Could you just talk to us?"
Spakky shook his head. At the same time, he struck a single note on his bass drum.
"Why not?" Line asked. "You know us."
Spakky nodded at the same time he tapped his splash cymbal with a stick. Then he struck his drumsticks together in a motion that resembled brushing his hands off.
"We don't get it, Spakky," Line said. "Just talk to us."
Spakky gave him an annoyed look and struck his bass drum.
"You didn't get separated from them, did you?" Link asked. Spakky struck his bass.
"I wouldn't be surprised," Line told Link. "That's a lot of stuff to haul around just so the guy can talk."
"I think that was supposed to be 'No'," Link said while watching Spakky dig into one ear using the butt of a drumstick. Spakky replied with a toothy grin. "So what happened then? They just wandered away?"
Spakky replied by striking a count on his drumsticks. Then he alternated striking a single note on his snare drum and one hanging tom for a brief moment.
Link scratched his head. "Man, this is harder than I thought."
"Think we could find a kazoo and talk back to him through that?" Line asked.
Link watched Spakky shake a fist at Line, who missed it while he was looking over his shoulder. "He understands us just fine, Line," Link said. "We're the ones without a clue."
"Don't you ever talk?" Line asked Spakky in exhaustion. Spakky replied with a strike to his bass drum.
"Do you need us to find the rest of the band?" Link asked. Spakky hit the bass. Then he indicated Link with one drumstick while he pointed the other to his own temple. "What? What is that?"
"Could be 'Go find me an interpreter, stupid'," Line replied in a flat voice. Ba bum, tshhh.
"You're not helping," Link told Line. Then he asked, "Do you guys need a place to stay orrrr…?"
Spakky scratched the back of his head with one stick. Then he slowly rapped his drumsticks on the edge of the snare drum to make them click in a steady rhythm.
"What is that?" Line asked.
"Uh… it… kinda sounds like footsteps?" Link suggested. Spakky used one drumstick to point between himself and Link for a moment. Then he repeated the sound, except he carefully controlled his tapping so that the sound seemed like it died away after a moment. Link groaned to himself as he thought. Then he said, "Footsteps… leaving? Like they're going somewhere?" Spakky clapped the drumsticks together with a silent laugh on his face.
"Going somewhere?" Line asked. "Who? Where?"
"Is it the whole band?" Link asked Spakky. "Do you guys need to get somewhere?" Spakky struck his splash cymbal and nodded. "Where?"
Spakky looked past the boys, and then he released a flurry of drums and cymbals. "Easy there, Spakky," a voice from behind said, causing Link and Line to spin around. Lukka, the band's leader, gave them a big grin on his sunken face while he scratched at the stubble on one cheek. He had on his straw boater hat, the same had from when the boys had first met him as identified by the square hole missing from the brim, and a purple robe secured around his waist by a chain and a padlock. "Hey, boys. Long time, no see."
"We just got into port," Line said. "And we just… kinda bumped into Spakky."
"You tell them what's up?" Lukka asked Spakky. Spakky just stared at him with irritation prevalent on his face. "Uh… right. I'll buy it for ya boys. We gotta the money, but we don't gotta the wayya Castle Island."
"Castle Island?" Link asked. Then he nodded his understanding as he said, "Oh, yeah! The Founding Festival."
"Really?" Line asked. "Is it that time again?"
Lukka nodded. "Can you boys buy us a lift?"
"Well…" Link replied with a hesitant grimace. "We could try, but we're not exactly friends with our captain this time around." Ba bum, tshh. Link glanced at Spakky, who gave a clueless shrug. "No, I mean it. We've been stuck back at the Port for a while for fighting."
Spakky struck his crash cymbal twice before alternating his floor tom and bass for a moment. "Spakky wantzza know who won," Lukka told them.
"I think we did," Line said. "The other guy got fired."
"If you guys want," Link said, "you might be able to buy passage to Castle Island again. All you have to do is talk to our captain."
Line hesitated before adding, "Withou-without mentioning us."
"Can do," Lukka said.