Festival Day 2: Lying to the Boss, Remember?

…

Both Link and Line were sore the next morning, not being accustomed to sleeping on a wooden floor. For the male members of the Sokkarokka Band, it was actually an improvement compared to having had to sleep on the streets of various islands (which, at first mention that morning, resulted in an argument about which island sported the worst streets as indicated by amount of edible versus inedible garbage, local insect life, and the chances of having a bucket of water thrown on one's face in the morning). Once Trikky and Talukka were awake and appropriately filled in on why Kanowanotakka was the only one sleeping in the room, the band paid their bill and left with Link and Line in tow.

The first order of business was food. For Link and Line, they had some pocket money saved for this occasion. However, they quickly learned that the Sokkarokka Band did not exactly have the same means as them. While Link and Line simply grabbed something from a food vendor not too far from the hotel, the band (except for Trikky and Pea) went to a grocer to pick up cheaper items. Both boys were baffled until Pokka explained that, for all the work they see, they were not paid very well. Link was personally frustrated when Pokka said that half of the money they had saved had gone to paying for the Grand Sails to bring them to the island. They had to stretch the rest of that money until the end of the Founding Festival, whereupon they would be paid for playing at one of the venues. Link wanted to donate his pay to them so they did not have to live so roughly only to be turned down flat by Lukka without any sort of explanation. So, Link at least convinced Line to hold off buying food from the street vendors as long as they were around the band.

After shopping, Lukka led the band to their venue: the same amphitheatre as the previous year. Kookka immediately went to cooking, placing rocks (which, now that Link had seen them unlit, were actually rat briquettes) on the floor under a spit that looked to have been made with pieces of scrapped copper. While the other members of the band picked up instruments and spread to the corners of the room to tune them (except Spakky, who had set up his drum kit near Kookka for what could only be heckling purposes), Lukka took Link and Line to one wall lined with instruments.

"Okay, let me buy ya boys the story," Lukka said as he turned to them. "Jekka doesn't buy ya boys are musicians."

Line exchanged looks with Link before indicating his clothes. "Lukka, we're dressed like airmen," he said.

"Exactly!" Lukka declared. "So, we need ya'a play an instrument."

Link and Line glanced at the large instruments set against the wall. "Uh, Lukka?" Link spoke up. "I don't know if you've noticed, but, even on the Grand Sails, it's kinda hard to carry instruments like that. We don't know how to play."

"Well, we gotta all sorts," Lukka said as he motioned toward the instruments. "Pick one."

Link watched Line move over to the instruments and inspect them. Then he said to Lukka, "Is this a good idea? I don't want you to get in trouble with Jekka."

"Oh, trust me," Lukka said, one hand giving a dismissive wave. "Jekka is a pussycat comparedda our old boss. He might even let us get away with murd—… Ayeeeeeeh… Maybe I shouldn't say that…"

"Hey, I think I know this one," Line said as he pulled a brass instrument off the rack.

Lukka had only a second to see Line placing his lips to the mouthpiece. "Wait a—"

"BRRP—!" The instrument gave a complaining honk before the slide shot off the end of the instrument and clattered to the floor in front of Line. Lukka slapped a hand over his mouth and glanced at Talukka, who was tuning a violin in the nearby corner. Talukka removed the violin from her shoulder and gave all three a hard stare.

Lukka cleared his throat and turned back to Line. "You, uh… you gotta hold the slide," he said in a small voice.

Line, having stepped over to the slide, gave a quick nod before retrieving it from the floor. "Uh… do-do I… Should I…?" Line tried to ask, his movements articulating the need to put the slide back on the trombone.

Lukka stepped over to him and accepted the trombone. "Why don't… you buy another," he told Line as he fitted the slide back on. "And… maybe ask before ya honk it."

Line leaned over to glance past Lukka at Talukka. "Suddenly, I kinda want the captain to rip me a new one now…" he commented upon seeing Talukka still glaring at him.

Link sighed and rubbed his eyes with one hand. "This is a bad idea…" he mumbled.

"Maybe somethin' that doesn't come apart," Lukka said after placing the trombone back on the rack. "Oh, over here." Lukka moved a bit and removed another instrument. Ta-ta-ta-ta-ttttttttttttt! "A tambourine!"

"Ooh," Line commented, his expression interested.

Lukka turned and showed him a tambourine fitted with a drumhead, an instrument which, compared with many of the others on the rack, looked quite worn. "Smiley little fella," Lukka told him. "Good for holdin' a beat and gettin' the crowd inna it." He adjusted his hold on the tambourine and ran one finger along the edge. Rrrrrrrrrrrrr, the instrument rattled, almost as if it was seething under Lukka's finger. "We don't gotta a regular tambourine player for a while; I always gotta do it. You feelin' good?"

Line held his hands out and asked, "Can I?"

"Sure."

Line took the instrument and delivered a flat-handed strike to the middle of the drumhead. Tat! Line gave the instrument a grin. Ta-ta-tat! "Hey, I kinda like this one."

"You can hit it anyway ya wanna," Lukka told him. "Hang with Spakky for a bit; he'll buy ya a beat."

"Cool…" Line droned as he examined the tambourine. Then he held it up to show it to Talukka and rattled it.

Talukka waited for him to finish making sound before setting the violin back on her shoulder. She still glared at him as she raised the bow and played the following with a slow pace and low notes. Wah wah wa-wah waaah w-wah wah wah wah waaaah. Both Line and Lukka quickly dropped the smiles off their faces. The piece also attracted attention from other band members around the room.

"I'm not sleeping tonight…" Line said under his breath.

Lukka cleared his throat and asked, "Link? And please don't pick an instrument Talukka fancies…"

Link gave a slow nod as he looked at the instruments. Each one looked more intimidating than the last. He did not want to pick up any of the brass instruments; they looked like they had been recently polished, and Link did not dare try handling one. Most of the string instruments looked too complicated for his taste. He considered something similar to the tambourine, perhaps smaller and easier to carry.

Then something caught his eye. On a small shelf underneath a set of flutes was a metal device Link had never seen before. He picked it up to examine it. It was slender and just barely longer than the width of his palm. Both ends were identical; it was the longer edges that were different. One edge sported ten holes punched through the metal bar serving as the base of the device while the opposite side had slots in the plates covering both top and bottom.

Link held this up and asked Lukka, "What's this?"

"A harmonica," Lukka replied. "This one is, specifically, a blues harp. Doesn't gotta much range, but it still makes a pretty good sound. Here, let me show you." Link gave him the blues harp. Lukka placed it to his lips, his hands clasped in front of the blues harp to hold it in place. The metallic sound that it produced caught Link off-guard, being a sudden burst of notes he would have expected from a larger instrument. Lukka quickly went into a fast-paced, thick-noted set that felt quite upbeat and carefree to Link's ears. Link watched Lukka slide the instrument across his mouth with just little nudges of movement while his cheeks popped in and out. Link was aghast; how was Lukka playing this instrument without pausing to take a breath?

When Lukka finished the demonstration, Line spoke up, "Whoa! That was nuts!"

"It's a good piece for backgrounds and foregrounds," Lukka told him.

Link shook his head. "I-I don't think I can play like that…" he said.

"No needda worry, Link," Lukka said. "You can set whatever pace you want."

Lukka then placed the blues harp to his mouth again and played. However, this time, Link had the impression that he was playing fewer notes at a time, each one a drawn-out wail. It gave a more relaxed feel as he played, a sort of casual style. He varied it up by waving one hand, causing the sound to tremble.

Once Lukka was done, he took the blues harp away from his mouth and asked, "Whaddaya feel now?"

Link shrugged. "I don't know," he admitted. "I guess it's not that scary. But I still don't think I'll be able to play it too well."

"Heeeey, Link," Lukka said as he offered the blues harp back. "Don't worry about it. I'll learn ya a few notes, and we'll see where ya go from there. How hard could it be?"