Chapter 36: Neon Knights

Hmm... interesting name we have today. But what's the meaning though? Huh.

Anyways, where are we in this fine morning? Well, everyone, which means Ed, Double D, Eddy, and Chris, went to Eddy's house to resume their practice at around 11 AM. Eddy was busy with some personal stuff, so the lads spent their time in the garage having a good ol chat, along with Chris practicing his speed and other things on guitar, as after all, it wasn't like the song that was going to be performed going to be the only thing he could play, right? Either way, he messes around playing the faster tunes, slower but heavy, more clean and ballad like tunes, you get the picture. At around 11:25 AM or so, Eddy finally finishes the stuff he was doing, and so, he joins his friends!

"How are we doing guys?" Eddy asked.

"Very well Eddy, thank you for asking." Double D responded.

"Same here." Chris and Ed simultaneously responded fo Eddy.

Chris then asks Eddy a question, "So, ready to practice? Hopefully you can get the two minute part down better."

"I'll try. It's just hard not to laugh man! You get me right?" Eddy stated.

"Yeah sure, just relax a bit alright?" Chris said before laughing a bit.

And so, the lads begin! Their first take of the song wasn't bad, but Eddy accidentally mixed words up in the last part of the song, which sorta threw the lads off, but it wasn't too bad. Now, on their second attempt, Eddy ended up screwing over the take again, but this time it was at the 2 minutes part, where he says, quote the song, "I'm such a good good boy". Oh yeah, I'm sure this is obvious, but ahem. The author does not own these songs, they are ALL BELONGING TO THE RESPECTIVE BANDS! Give them a listen, as they are the bread and butter really! Disclaimers aside, Eddy apologized, but Double D stated that it was okay, and they started the third take. On the third take, everything actually seemed somewhat fine, again not 110% perfect, but good. And for the fourth attempt, Eddy decided to change up the plan a little bit.

"Guys! I think I know what could help me out!" Eddy stated.

"Yeah?" Chris asked.

"What if we just replace the other guitar with more bass?" Eddy said.

Chris was confused at what Eddy meant by that, and so was Double D. The former asks, "Okay, are you saying someone else takes the role of bass? Because I can do that if you want. However, this means it's more on Double D."

"Yes! Perfect! You know the bass notes or whatever?"

"Kinda." Chris said. "At my home, we have a bass, and I play around with the bass at times. Guitar too, but not so much."

Double D then says to everyone, "Are you sure this sudden change won't impact the performance Eddy? After all, changes do occur, but the issue arises when it's last-minute."

"To be fair," Chris responded. "We have all of today to practice still, so it's not a total last minute decision, but we should've done this yesterday preferably."

Eddy understood the things the lads said, before stating, "I gotcha guys. I'll make sure to take advantage of this freedom I got now that I'm not on the bass. I just wanna... get the crowd into it. After all, you gotta have presence on stage, right?"

"Yeah man, I get what you're saying, even if it's silly." Chris said, while chuckling a little bit. "Let's try this new setup! One, two, three!"

As it is with new things, well uh... it didn't go smooth at first. For one thing, Chris forgot that, he wasn't doing the solo, or any guitar parts, so occasionally he messed up by playing guitar notes, not the bass notes. After that attempt however, now that he caught himself, he progressively adjusted to playing the BASS notes, not the guitar ones. Double D? Well, because he had the solo with him to do, it wasn't easy as well... Chris usually played that part. After the first attempt, Chris provided Double D with the notes for the solo, which, he probably should've done before hand, but either way, it worked out, and Double D, while still running into roadblocks, was able to improve and improve. As for Eddy, he's having a much simpler time, as he won't admit it, but playing the bass while trying to sing was tiring on his head. Because, not only did he have to remember words, but also the notes for the instrument he was playing. Not exactly easy to do, unless you're Jimi Hendrix, James Hetfield, Dave Mustaine, Tom Araya, or a person who both plays an instrument and sings while doing so. Either way you spin the dice, or roll it should I say, Eddy's life felt easier, as now he can move the mic freely, without the restriction of playing something.

Speaking of which, last but 110% not least, Ed. Well, since the decision had no effect on him, since his role was still drumming, and he welcomed the change. Of course, surprisingly, he was still nailing down everything. Well, okay maybe not everything, but pretty close! And the other lads certainly never expected it, but it might be one of few times where Eds random... bursts of intelligence and/or skill come in handy. Regardless, it took the lads as a whole 5 or so attempts to readjust themselves to the new changes, and then, it seemed like they were getting it down well! Lucky!

At around 1 PM, the lads took a break, or should I say, everyone expect Chris? He stayed in the garage fooling around a little bit with the bass, just seeing where he was going a little off with the notes. Plus, he wanted to try his hand at some other songs. Like before, they ranged from faster, slow but heavy, ballad types, and other styles you could think of. After around 30 minutes or so, he took a break, as after all, he needed to reset, so to say.

In the living room, Double D brings up an important question that he has to Eddy. "Eddy? May I ask something?"

"What's up Double D?" Eddy responded.

"What exactly is the main aftermath you seek from this?" Double D stated. "There's many theories I personally have, but what's the actual answer?"

Eddy laughs at his friend before responding, "Double D! Isn't it obvious? We can get fame by doing this stuff! Also, you know these bands scored a lot?!"

"Ladies, I'm going to guess?" Double D said, slightly annoyed.

"Exactly!" Eddy said. "So, the way I see it is, Double D, you'll get to impress your girl. Chris? Same thing, and perhaps get something more. Ed? Same thing as Chris. Me? Boys, I'm gonna need some help handling it all."

Chris burst into laughter at what Eddy just spat out. "Dude! THE BANDS GOT THAT BECAUSE THEY BULIT IT THROUGH TIME! We are performing ONE time, and you expect to get ten or so years worth of reception? Don't be absurd dude. In fact, I actually just got another reason why this could be good."

"Oh yeah?" Eddy asked.

"Well, Double D?" Chris said. "The whole thing between you and Marie is currently the... well, let's just say it's the hot thing of the school is my bet. So, whether we perform either poorly or perfectly, it will take the attention away. Maybe not with the cul-de-sac kids, but don't worry. Eventually, everyone moves on to something new to talk about. This performance of ours will be that new thing."

Double D's mind just exploded. Chris was right! This was the PERFECT way to get rid of attention towards his relationship. That's when it hits him, this performance is basically a blessing in disguise! "You are actually correct Chris! I've never thought of the performance like that."

"Huh." Eddy said, realizing what Chris said too. "Well Double D, you can thank me later! Didn't actually plan that, to be honest with ya pal, but hey! If it works, that's what matters right?"

Chris then mentions, "You know, if we had picked a more absurd song, it would get EVEN MORE attention. But honestly? The song we picked I think will definitely be enough. Then again, there's some other songs I'm sure would be more absurd... but let's just say lads... there's limits. Especially in school, oh my gosh!"

"What other songs you have in mind dude! Tell us!" Eddy told Chris.

"Uh..." Chris said, a little stuck. "Let's just say in the vein of this story? They aren't exactly going to fit or be appropriate for me to talk about. But were we able to... oh man!"

Chris just laughs, as well, he knows the meaning of the songs he has in mind, but hey, he restricts himself. Eddy just says, "Alright, if you say so. Ed! Can you give us a single reason why you're doing this drumming stuff so well?"

Ed responded, "I clean my shoes Eddy!"

"I think he might seen someone do it before, and took inspiration." Double D hypothesized.

"That's reasonable, considering he won't give a friggin reason..." Chris said, wondering why Ed is just blurting random non sense as his answers. But then he remembers something he wanted to ask Eddy, so he stated,

"Hey Eddy, little question for ya actually."

"What's up?" Eddy said.

"Did you just drop the whole plan you had for Lee? Remember?" Chris asked the lad.

Eddy then sighs a bit before saying. "For now yeah. I mean, DID YOU SEE THAT STUFF THE OTHER DAY?! Like, even I was irritated by it. I can't say I'm really all for her right now, but maybe I'll reconsider if she changes up a bit."

"I think I can understand that. We can only hope that she changes her mind... because this might not be good..." Chris said, ambiguously.

"You know, should we get another vocalist to be backup?" Eddy brought up.

"Why?" Chris said. "Besides, who can we get really? No one here has listened to the song, expect maybe one of the girls, but I doubt they'll be available, and I also doubt it's a good idea to go near them at the moment..."

"What about Skylar?" Eddy asks.

"She's one hundred percent listened to it, but she doesn't live close enough for us to just go ask for a favor, ya know?" Chris explained to Eddy. "Why do you even want another backing vocalist? Yeah, the backing vocals in the live performances are done by girls, but I feel like as long as we deliver in a more laid back, normal way, we will be fine. No need to overwork ourselves."

Eddy then says, "Alright... I guess you're right. Man! Now I wish that incident didn't occur!"

"What, were you glad it occurred?" Chris jokingly said.

"No!" Eddy responded rapidly. "You know what I mean!"

"Relax man, I know." Chris said while laughing at Eddy's ridiculous burst of defense.

"Guys?" Ed asked.

"Yeah?" Chris said in response.

"Is the cafeteria big enough for us to perform?" A curious Ed said.

"Yep!" Chris responded, speaking for the lads. "Besides, at my old school, one time, someone had a band of like nine people, and the space management I think was longer than the actual performance, because good god it was awful. Funny thing is, when we had to do an assembly or something, it worked, but the fact that NINE people were performing... yeah, not easy."

Double D got curious to something. "Why were there nine people performing? Doesn't that seem a little bit on the excessive side? Not to be disrespectful."

"No worries." Chris began to explain. "I think they just wanted to do a duet type thing? As I recall, it was a couple thing mostly, one of the members was a teacher who guided them through the whole process. Then, they had a mix of instruments that they all played right? But they also had lyrics that were assigned for certain people to sing to each other. So, when it was their turn, they said their lines. You get me?"

"Makes more sense." Double D responded. "Did this performance end up working out?"

"Yes, basically. The only issue was the spacing, but after that, all was well. But we won't run into that issue, the cafeteria is more open than at my previous school." Chris explained.

"Perfect!" Eddy said. "Let's get back to practicing! I'm itching to practice my moves!"

Everyone shared a laugh, and then Double D said to Eddy, "Be careful to not let your shenanigans interfere with your performance Eddy! It's unlikely the audience will let it slide."

"Don't worry, when you're me, you got nothing to worry about." Eddy responded.

"Enough with the ego flexing you dork! Let's go." Chris said, laughing a little.

Does it really get easier than, they went back to practice? The more funny part was how, to them, because they kept replaying the song for a record of like 20 times at this point, they all seemingly nailed down what words were coming up, what notes were set to be played, and among other things. While yes, again, it's not like it's down to the last little detail, it was good enough where they felt like they had something that they could perform pretty well, in front of their school no less. Then again, it's not like they are playing to people in the 10,000 to 100,000 range. That would be... something else, but then again, if you got 50 schools to come together and form an audience... it probably would BARELY scratch 5,000 people.

Ridiculous estimates aside, the lads all agreed at around 4 PM, they have essentially gotten this song down good enough! Do they expect perfection? Of course not! But they feel as though that they can manage themselves on stage, and bam! Performance is delivered! If there's a lesson to be learned folks, is that practice ALWAYS makes you better at something. Whatever that something might be!

Anyways, the lads all concluded that... well, they had their fill of practice for today, and so, they all split apart, saying their cheerios for the day at around 6:30 PM. They all went to their homes, expect Eddy, who was already home.

All four boys are thinking differently though. Let's see what's up!

(Chris's POV)

It feels like entering a party where you're a stranger, yet you have experience with the stuff. I don't even know man... Hahahaha! This is honestly so absurd, I can't even believe myself right now! I mean hey, I'm sure I'll have fun, after all... that's the goal of this no? I can only pray the other lads feel the same way. Either way, can only hope this doesn't come back to bite me. But I wouldn't worry.

(Eddy's POV)

Oh man! I got this in the bag! I'm surprised the other agreed, but that's what friends are for right? Help each other? Work together? I can just see it now, Eddy McGee, world renowned singer and with style! This will help the others too, so it's even more of a great thing! Scams have failed in the past, but this time? No way this can fail. I swear on my grave, this will work! Hopefully it becomes the new hot topic too, so Double D can relax about his girl. Guy is kinda lucky, but I'm gonna make him jealous!

(Double D's POV)

Well, all seems to be in clear order. I can only hope that Chris's statement of this performance detracting attention from me and Marie. The question is, how long will this last? I certainly would prefer not having to do another performance, as it would start taking its toll eventually. Even then, Eddy seems to have his "charms" ready for the ladies. Why can't he just resort to being more relaxed, calm and collected, instead of being ridiculously direct? Whatever works in his favor I suppose. I should rest in order to be in the mood for the performance.

(Ed's POV)

How long can my toes go? Oh oh! I should get my buttered toast for the next monster movie marathon!

Wow, wasn't Ed's little though so inspirational? I truly felt it, my goodness... WOW.