Chapter 3 – The TenderVille Kids' past
In the parking lot, Liam had a surprise for Nick! There, in a big parking spot, was a big white bus with a rainbow heart on it. The sides of the bus had 'The TenderVille Kids' on them. Nick recognized the bus!
Nick: Is that the tour bus? You kept it in your garage the whole time?
Liam: Sorry it took so long, Nick! It was a lot of pieces to go through.
Nick: That's okay, Liam!
On board the bus, Chloe had a question!
Chloe: I know I'm new here, but what are the TenderVille Kids?
Liam: They were our old band!
Chloe: You two were in a band?
Nick: Yes, it originally had seven members! Liam, Felicity, Stacy, Melvin, Robert, Spike, and myself. We formed it one day in kindergarten!
Nick and Liam remembered the day they formed the band. In the memory, Nick played the guitar, Liam played the piano, Felicity played her carnival calliope, Stacy played the keyboard, Melvin played the bass, Robert play the DJ turntables and Spike played the sax.
Liam: Everyone loved to hear us sing and play! Oh, and three days after we formed our band, a gray tabby cat with black stripes came into our classroom and sang with us. He was a very unusual cat.
Chloe: Wait a second! A cat?
Nick: That's right! But he wasn't like a regular cat! He walked on two legs and he can talk. His name was Trevor Tendercat! He was our band's mascot!
Chloe: I've never met a real live talking cat before! Was he a good cat?
Liam: Oh yes, very good but very sleepy sometimes!
Nick: Yep! That cat can sleep anywhere! Anyways, we were so famous since kindergarten that before long, when we reached grade school, we were given our own studio inside the schoolhouse.
Liam: It's true! And one day, Felicity brought a surprise for us! It was Dereck, her little brother! He loved listening to our music so much, he joined along by patting his lap.
Chloe: You must have been famous for a long time!
Nick: Yes, but unfortunately, it didn't last long! Because by the time we reached 4th grade, we started facing problems of our own.
Chloe: What happened?
Nick: A man named Blackmailer Boris had grown jealous of us. Since we beaten him in a talent show, he wanted to take revenge on us. He blackmailed Animal Control to get rid of Trevor, Robert's parents to take him out of town and a construction crew to get rid of our studio. Liam and I managed to catch him in the act. When we told the police, they chased after him. But Boris made a quick escape!
The memory disappears as Nick and Liam finished explaining what had happened. Chloe felt sorry for her friends.
Chloe: That's unthinkable!
Liam: We even heard the police exclaim that if Blackmail Boris comes back and pulls a stunt like that again, he will end up in jail.
The thought of Blackmailer Boris returning scared the two boys.
Nick: Anyways, I'm sorry it took so long on the maintenance, Liam!
Liam: It's okay, Nick! What matters now is that you're home! Well, what do you say, shall we head home?
Nick: We shall! I can't wait to see Gnome Manor again!
Chloe: Gnome Manor?
Nick: That's what I call the house next door to Liam's! It's named after the gnomes that live there. When I was thirteen, I was scared when I saw my parents arguing. I was so scared; I was worried that they might get a divorce. And if they do, one of them might take me and end up marrying someone that hates music.
Chloe: So, what happened?
Nick: I was so scared of that thought that I decided to run away! Then, I saw Gnome Manor! I've been living there for a long time! It became a hideout for me. But despite Liam living next door and the gnomes, I felt very lonely!
That made Chloe remembered of the times she tried to make friends but didn't succeed.