Chapter Seventy-Six

John leaned back in his chair, sliding down enough that he could rest his head on the back. He listened as Mister Fredricks droned on and on about geography, drumming his fingers on his desk and watching as the clocked ticked. He jumped as the door was pushed open, interrupting the class.

Principal Anderson, pointed to John waving him forward. "John, I'd like to speak with you." He ducked back out the door, not hearing the snickers from the others in John's class.

John stood, walking into the hallway to see Principal Anderson with the rest of the band. "What the hell did you knuckleheads do?" He asked, taking in the goofy grins on their faces. "You didn't kill anyone did you?"

Allison laughed, taking Kaylie and Dominic's hands in hers. "We didn't do anything."

Principal Anderson nodded, showing John the tape they'd given him. "You've all got some real talent here." He handed John the tape. "I used to be a music producer for LA Records. I spent a lot of years listening to albums, and tapes sent in by amateurs like yourselves." He looked at John, pride in his eyes. "In all those years, I never heard a voice like yours."

John smirked, looking at the others. "Thank you, Sir."

"What do you call yourselves?" He asked, noticing that there wasn't a name on the tape.

Dominic pulled John under his arm, ruffling his hair so it stuck up at all angles. "We call it 'Wrong Side of the Tracks.'"

Jim nodded, his southern accent becoming thicker and slower as he spoke. "We all came from the wrong side of town. Except little Alli-doll there, she grew up in a good part of town."

John laughed, letting the group hug him. "To tight!" He winced as they all squeezed him, feeling his ribs start to ache with the pressure. "Off!"

The band jumped back, Kaylie and Allison resting their hands on his back incase he needed to be caught or have his head held if he got a seizure. "You good?" Kaylie asked, sighing in relief as John nodded.

"Yep." He nodded, holding his thumb up. "Just a little soar still."

Allison helped him straighten his back, unbuttoning his flannel to check the wrappings on his chest. She found the end of them, gently untying the bandages to show the purple and blue skin beneath them. She rested her hand above his sternum, carefully applying pressure to see if anything had shifted. "You still feel pretty solid. I think it's just the cartilage that got you."

Principal Anderson, looked at John's bruised chest swallowing at the thought of what he'd gone through. All the scars lacing his torso told of his parent's abuse, showing that this kid was a survivor and wouldn't go down without a fight. "You must be one tough kid." He watched as Allison rewrapped John's chest, noticing how John's behavior changed. The kid became softer, more approachable, and even submissive as the girls took care of him. That's when he saw the scars that had obviously taken stitches on the other band members arms. "You all take care of each other, don't you?"

Jim nodded, handing John his shirt as Allison finished wrapping his chest. "He takes care of us when we need it, so we take care of him." He ran his finger over the scar on his collarbone, pointing out where the stitches had been. "He learned how to sew just so that he could sew himself and us up if we needed it."

John pushed his hand onto Jim's face, pulling the bandana he wore over his eyes. "Shut up man. I learned to sew so that I could fix my clothes and my boots. Stitching you assholes up was just a hobby."

Dominic chuckled, remembering how John's fingers had been slick with blood the last time he'd needed stitched up. "A hobby that you absolutely loved."

John rolled his eyes, the feeling of fresh blood on his fingers returning with the thought. "Oh yeah, I loved having all of you guys bleeding on me all the time. In fact I loved it so much that's why I patrolled the streets every night, just to see if anyone needed stitched up."

Principal Anderson shook his head, looking at his watch. "Alright, everyone back to class. You've only got twenty minutes left before you go home."

John slapped Dominic and the other boys on the shoulders, gently giving the girls a brotherly kiss on the cheek as they went back to their classes. "Stay out of trouble!" He called, a hint of authority in his voice as the others all nodded.

"Yes, El Jefe!" They replied, making John laugh as the door to his classroom closed.

He looked up at the class, noticing the looks they were giving him. "I'm playing in the Battle of the Bands tomorrow, if you're up for some good music and no judgement, come watch." He slid into his seat, looking up at the board for a moment, before leaning back and nodding off to sleep.