Morning arrived and with it the second day of school. Andy woke up slightly tired but well rested enough to get out of bed with no problem. At first the boy wasn't eager to go to school but he remembered what happened yesterday and changed his tune. The reason was because that day he befriended Luna Loud, a girl who loved rock music and aspired to be a rock-star herself. Unlike yesterday, when he was anxious and felt like an outcast, he was looking forward to another day of school. So much that he went through his morning routines with a pep in his step and a small grin on his face. This behavior didn't go unnoticed by Ms. Moreno, who wondered if her son got replaced.
"Well someone looks happy." She spoke, while her son finished eating cereal and then asked, in a playful tone. "Are you really that excited to learn something from school?"
Andy, with snarky yet playful tone, answered "Yeah. You can put it like that." while putting his bowl in the sink.
"Huh...what happened to the nervous kid I was with yesterday morning" retorted the older woman.
The young man just gave a smile and went on with his business. His mother, just watching him walk to the bathroom, felt like her worries had vanished. She feared that Andy would have struggled transitioning to the move, given that he was very shy and wasn't one to open up so easily to others who weren't his mother. I should thank this new friend of his when I met them She thought while trying to remember the last time her boy woke up excited over school.
After missing the morning school rush hour by a close call, Andy made his way to his locker to change textbooks. Meanwhile Luna, who was already at the school, was hanging out with her friends in the music room. She was chatting and strumming her an acoustic guitar until she overheard some kids talking about classic rock. She then remembers making a list of songs for Andy to listen on her notebook. The rocker took out her phone to text Andy and see if he got to school.
Luna-(Hey dude I got the list made. You at school yet?)
Andy felt his phone vibrate and saw the text. He then responded to the text with out missing a beat.
Andy-(Yeah I'm at school. I'm about to go to class)
Once Luna read his reply she started to pack her things up, told her friends she'd see them later and made her way to history class. When she arrived to class Luna saw Andy sitting at his desk appearing to have spaced off until he noticed her sitting at a desk next to him.
"Hey!" She greeted him. "I got a list of songs you should check out of Neo's Coven songs. I'm sure you'll like them."
"Thanks." the young man said. He looked at the paper and was surprised how many songs she wrote down. "You put down a lot of songs here. Did it take you long to find good ones or are these your favorites?" he inquire.
The rocker grinned as she answered "These are mostly my favorites. I added some commonly popular ones in the mix. Figured it'd be best if I added my faves in case there's a chance you miss a song you'd like."
Makes sense Andy thought while nodding in agreement. As she watched the boy put the paper in his backpack Luna had a question pop up in her mind though in her perspective it was an odd one. Nonetheless proceeded to ask "Uh Andy. I have a question but I'm afraid it'll sound weird."
Andy turned to Luna to which he responded "You can go ahead and ask. Besides weirdness is what got us on to each others radar to begin with."
She was reluctant to ask the question but it eventually came out. "So I know that you wore a Coven shirt yesterday. I was gonna ask if you were wearing another shirt with a rock band on it."
"Actually" the boy began "I was kinda hoping you would mention that." He then unzipped his gray hoodie to revealed a black shirt that had a blue circle with white outline. Above the circle, in white, were the words Blue Void. Luna figured that band would be a favorite of Andy's nonetheless she was impressed with knowing he had some good taste.
"Oh yeah you're definitely a classic rock fan, dude!" she spoke with an ecstatic tone. "Any other bands that you like?" she asked.
With an equal amount of glee, Andy began listing off his favorites. "Lets see….there's Graf Berg, Dream, Noobie Fathers, Lan Hoven, Leslie Hooper..." He started trailing off, struggling to think of what other bands he's liked with no apparent success. Slightly frustrated he then apologizes. "Its weird but I can't really think of other bands at the moment."
"Its no big deal" the rocker said "It happens. You can tell me later. Looks like class is about to start."
"Sounds good to me." Andy replied to which Luna gave a smile then went to her assigned desk as the bell rang.
When lunch came Andy was wandering around in the parts of the school that weren't patrolled by the teachers. Besides Luna the boy didn't have anyone else to socialize with so all he did was wander around. He was walking past the cafeteria when something caught his eye. His rocker friend was waving at him and signaling for him to come sit at her table. While he made his way towards Luna he noticed that the people she was sitting with weren't the ones he saw yesterday. The company she was keeping are what Andy imagined she'd hangout with. They all had a rock vibe to them some of them had a grunge look while others had punk look. Andy wasn't nervous about going to sit with them but he felt a bit out of place not only because of his appearance but also he's "the new kid" in school. When he got to the table Luna pulled up a chair so that he can sit between her and one of her friends. As soon as the boy sat down the rocker wasted no time introducing him to the table.
"Hey guys this is my friend Andy." she announced at to her group which they all locked their eyes onto him. "I met him yesterday in three of my classes. He's a big classic rock fan!"
"H-hi everyone" Andy said while trying to make proper eye contact with each person around the table. There was a small, awkward, pause which made the young man a bit wary but, to his surprise, he received a warm response from the rest of the table. He was rushed with so many greetings and questions about what his favorite bands are that he didn't know which ones to respond to. Eventually Luna managed to calm everyone down so that Andy wouldn't be overloaded. Once the table settled down one of the kids spoke up.
"So Andy" began a young brunette man with a leather jacket and a necklace with a lock on it, "I know Luna just said you're a classic rock fan but I gotta ask what got you into that genre?"
"I can't remember the exact date but a couple years ago I heard a song from the band Settler, which was Stereo Warrior, on the radio and it just resonated with me." Andy said. "I found myself wanting more of that music and I got what I wanted" he finished with a little chuckle.
The brunette nodded "Nice. That's pretty cool to know man."
"Scuse me Andy" a girl with her hair in her eyes chirped "Do you play any instruments? I didn't see you with any but I just figured I'd ask anyways." she finished.
Andy shook his head. "No I don't play any instruments. Though the thought has occurred every once in a while."
The girl then asked "Which one would you learn to play if you could?"
The boy had an answer. He was hesitant but decided to answer anyways. "This might be generic but I'd like to play the guitar. Electric guitar to be exact but I guess I'd have to start with an acoustic"
"Oh its not generic" said the girl. "Guitars are pretty rad to play though I mainly play the drums."
"I got a question." One girl said to which Andy looked at her. She had blonde hair with a single teal streak that stood out. "Do you listen to any modern rock bands?" She asked.
"I actually don't" Andy said "I guess I find modern rock to be...boring and a bit too hybridized. Honestly sometimes I think it sounds more like pop music instead of rock." After he said that he felt a sense of shame. He didn't know much about the company he was with, especially Luna, and he felt that his comment would insult the group.
"I can see where you can get that impression" said the blond "Honestly its not for everyone but I think you should give it a try. Who knows you might like a band." she finished with a smile.
The young man nodded his head and thought That might not be a bad idea. Its always good to be open minded. And who knows maybe I will find some bands or songs that I'll like.
Once he made up his mind he spoke "I'll definitely give it a try ah...um..." he sputtered. He didn't know the blonde's name. Embarrassed he apologized and asked for the blonde's name.
"My name is Sam Sharp." she said smiling
"Ah Sam. Again I'm sorry. I should have asked to begin with." Andy said to which Sam simply just told the boy to not worry about it.
Luna, during all this time when everyone was talking to Andy, stayed quiet with a small satisfied grin. She was glad that her friends welcomed him and that he opened up to them fairly easy and fast. She also figured it would take a bit more time for the young man to fully join the circle of friends but she wasn't too worried about it.
It was the final period of the day, although with the study hall teacher still kept her focus on the crossword puzzle she was working on yesterday, it may as well be an hour long high school recess. Andy and Luna were doing their homework while also conversing with one another both working on, and expressing their disdain, for math.
"Algebra is such a drag man..." Luna grumbled. "Even though I have a sister who helps me with this stuff its still a pain to do."
Andy smirked. "Preaching to the choir on that one," he responded. "I personally want to get this over with cause these equations are pure torture"
The rock star chuckled about their mutual suffering at the hands of math. She then became quiet all of a sudden. This was noticed by the young man who asked his friend what was the matter. She put her pencil down, turned to Andy and spoke in a hushed voice so that no one else would interject.
"Remember when you asked me to be your friend cause you didn't know anyone here at Royal Woods?" the rocker asked.
"Yeah I uh….remember that embarrassing moment" the young man said.
"I know its a bit late to ask but where did you live before coming here?" she then asked.
"You're gonna be disappointed at this but I lived in Omaha of good ol' Nebraska. I know I know its not anything exciting." he said
Luna made a small playful smile. "You say that as if Royal Woods is an animated town."
Andy rolled his eyes and smirked at Luna's comment. "You got me there," he said "Its just that where I lived it was pretty quiet. Nothing note worthy happened. Not to mention I was the only kid in my street." he finished with a solemn look on his face.
The rocker noticed the expression and decided to liven the mood up. "I know I just dissed Royal Woods but there's still plenty of things to do here. You just gotta have the right people with you and it can be a blast."
"I guess you're right." he replied with a lighthearted smile.
"I am dude trust me! Tell you what me and my friends hang out in the music room in the morning before the bell rings. You should come hang with us. It'll be fun!"
Andy gave it a little thought and then said "I'm all for it. Beats sitting in history class, waiting for school to start."
"Cool!" replied Luna "oh one more thing bro." she then looked at her homework with an irritated look on her face and showed Andy the paper "Can you help me with this question? I think my brain going out on me..."