A/N: hello! gotta apologise for the looooong break since the last chapter. listen to my excuses?
first of all, i've been spending some time reading the works of some really incredible authors on this site, including the awe-inspiring [I Hold A Force I Can't Contain]. (yes i'm bloody late i know. but when it comes to stories like that one can appropriately say 'better late than never'). if HyperFitched happens to be reading this by any chance, i just want to say unabashedly that i'm a huge fan. :)
second reason is rather embarrassing so to speak. well the truth is, i've been having doubts about my own writing after reading so many great stories here. :/ you know that feeling you get when you read something earth-shatteringly fantastic and you're like, "damn it! why did i even start writing a story in the first place, it's embarrassing." i'd be lying if i'd said i hadn't entertained a teeny weeny (just a little) bit of thought in abandoning this story (hang on, don't start flinging the virtual rotten eggs at me first). BUT after soaking in my own little stupid melancholy for a couple of days, i decided i'd continue this story because i really like writing it. i might have started it on a whim (FitchSwitch still hasn't updated WTHS yet, noooooo). my story might not be deep and my writing's neither poetic nor exciting; but i've come to realise writing it makes me happy, it just does. and seeing that there are others who like it too makes me feel as if i'm a part of something bigger than i am. :D
so, i've sought to blatantly ignore the fact that my writing's mediocre (and i implore you to do so as well) and just continue with it – 'just because' (quoting sxe fiend)! my only hope is that i would stay inspired enough to finish the first fanfic i've written in my life.
right, now you may throw the eggs :) or, you could start reading this (caution: naomily-less!) bonus chapter III. it's really long and boring but i'm just glad i'm finally done with it so i can move on to chapter 6! *dances around room*
o, and before i forget! thanks for the lovely reviews last chapter, always glad to see one, no matter how short they are. :) i was actually waiting to get cursed by someone for always ending the chapters with cliffhangers, but so far it seems like nobody's complaining, so good for me!
"Everything in life happens for a reason, Naomikins."
It was a rare gem of wisdom that came surprisingly from Cook's mouth some years back when they were still in high school.
They were sitting together by the lake in silence when Cook picked up a stone from his side and threw into it into the water. The stone skipped on the water surface three times before disappearing under the ripples.
"If I hadn't had such a fucking crazy and pathetic excuse for a family that screwed me up real bad, maybe I wouldn't have been the asshole that I am today," he began.
Naomi looked at Cook quizzically, wondering what his point was, but the latter just kept his eyes on the evening sun reflecting off the surface of the lake.
"And if I hadn't been the asshole that I was, I wouldn't have kept trying to mess up your life in school for a whole three years. You probably wouldn't have saved me the last time, and I wouldn't have got to know the real you and we wouldn't have been friends now," continued Cook.
"So, even though I fucking hate my family sometimes, I still thank them for screwing me up in a way I end up being friends with you," said Cook as he turned to Naomi with a ridiculous grin plastered on his face.
"Because things do happen for a reason, Naomikins, even if you can't see it now."
The little girl came home one day from school in tears.
"OK, who upset my baby this time?" he asked as he sat her on his lap and gently wiped her tears away with his thumb.
"I hate school," Naomi sniffled as she choked on her words.
"But why?" he probed gently. "Didn't you say you had fun during art class the other day?"
She shook her head sadly.
"Come on, sweetheart. Tell daddy what happened."
"Ms Johnson called on me in class today to count from one to twenty," the little girl explained in between hiccups. "And I couldn't remember if it's eight or seven that comes after six. All the other kids laughed at me. I hate all of them… I hate school!"
"Shush," said the man as he patted his daughter's head and tried to calm her down. "And what did Ms Johnson say to that?"
"She called on Polly instead and Polly got all the numbers right. Ms Johnson said I should work harder to learn my numbers. But I did, Daddy! I really tried but I just can't remember them!" said the little girl as the tears started to flow again.
"I know, sweetheart," replied the man as he watched his daughter with a saddened expression on his face.
"Daddy?" asked the girl as she wiped her tears away with the back of her hand.
"Hmm?"
"Why am I so stupid?" she asked as she looked worriedly into her father's eyes.
"No, god, no, you're not stupid. Why'd you say that?" asked the man in a slightly alarmed tone.
"Because all the kids in class seem to be so much smarter than me. Everyone can already read and write, but I can't. I keep mixing up the letters," sobbed the girl.
"Sweetheart," began the man as he tilted the little girl's body so that she was facing him. "Do you remember me telling you about Albert Einstein the other day?"
"You mean the very smart scientist who came up with the equation E=mc²?" said Naomi as she looked at her father intently.
The man looked a little surprised that the girl had remembered the equation correctly even though he had mentioned it in passing.
"Yes, that's him," he replied with a little smile. "He once said that everybody is actually a genius. But if we judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it's stupid."
"But I'm not a fish. I'm a girl," said the girl after thinking for a moment.
The man chuckled slightly. "I know you ain't a fish, sweetheart. What Einstein was trying to say was, not everyone is good at the same things. We all have something we're better than others at. You're awfully good at playing the guitar, for one."
"I'm awfully good at playing the guitar," repeated the girl proudly as a smile broke out on her face.
"Yes, you are. You're a genius, sweetheart, you know that? Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise," he said as he kissed her lightly on the forehead.
Naomi came home about two months before, and to her surprise and relief, Gina hadn't asked many questions about her premature return. Naomi couldn't have been more thankful for that. After months of travelling on the road and all that drama with Jake, the last thing she needed was a Spanish Inquisition into their band's failure and all the shame and guilt that came with it.
Jake's betrayal back in London had left the band reeling in shock. They'd be kidding no one if they'd said they hadn't seen it coming, though. After all, the heated one-against-four arguments in the last few months were obvious signs of Jake's disgruntlement with what he called the passivity and lack of ambition on the part of the rest of the members. Everyone knew that Jake was bound to leave the band one day; they just had no idea when.
But no one expected that Jake would actually steal from the band. Ironically, he was the one who always said that his business dealings with those rich socialites and businessmen were made in the best interests of the band.
All that seemed like total bullshit now.
Overnight, the band became penniless, betrayed by their runaway lead guitarist and stranded in London after having lost their only mode of transportation. If the past months of them living in a hellhole of an apartment desperately sourcing out gigs to play was akin to one last desperate bid to climb out of an abyss with the only rope they had, then Jake's betrayal was like snipping that rope they had in two and sending them back to where they came from.
Eventually, it was Seth who voiced out what the others knew but were too afraid to say: That it was time for them to disband and go home.
They found another band that was travelling from London and making a stopover in Bristol and the band members had graciously invited them to hop on their truck to take a free ride home after hearing about their predicament. Erik and Dan recovered fast from their ordeal, and were soon hitting it off well with their new friends, who took to the twins and their gregarious nature instantly. Seth, on the contrary, had kept to himself as he sat in one corner of the truck and stared out blankly at the passing scenery. Naomi's heart ached as she watched Seth try to hide his disappointment from the rest of the world. She knew how much Seth had believed in their band and she couldn't imagine how he must have been feeling then, having lost everything after all that they've been through.
As for Naomi, as crushed as she was that their efforts for the past seven months had come to naught, she couldn't deny that she actually felt relieved that she was finally going home. After being on the road for seven months, she was tired and worn out, physically and mentally. Moreover, all these months on the road had made her seriously question her own abilities as the band's front-man. Each time their band was rejected for an audition for a gig, she felt as if she should be the one taking full responsibility for their failure. She was never meant to be a vocalist right from the start, and she'd always suspected that Jake was right in saying that they'd do better with a more qualified front-man, even though Seth would hear nothing of that.
Naomi was resolute to start afresh after going back to Bristol. She would give up on all these silly, impractical pursuits of becoming a musician and apply to get into university like how her mom had hoped she would. She would major in Political Studies; she always liked Politics when she was in high school and she did fairly well in it. That's what she would do; she would work hard and graduate with a decent degree from a decent university in the country, and then get a stable job after graduation.
No more of these stupid dreams.
After they've got back, Seth went back to school to continue his studies; he had taken a year-long leave of absence from the university to travel with the band after his first year in business school. Dan and Erik decided not to further their studies and to set up a business of their own instead, selling second-hand musical instruments and handling ad-hoc music events. Naomi applied to Cambridge and received her letter of acceptance a month and a half after.
Yet when she first received the letter of acceptance from Cambridge, she wasn't as thrilled as she'd expected herself to be. She knew she ought to be happy; she had landed a place in a course that was well-sought after at one of the most prestigious universities in the country. Yet for weeks after she broke the news to a very ecstatic Gina, she couldn't shake off the nagging feeling inside that kept asking her, is this what she really wants?
To be honest, she wasn't so sure anymore.
Which was probably the reason why when Dan had phoned her the other day and told her that he and Erik had discovered a "secret weapon that would revive their band" while doing an ad-hoc event at a local talent competition, she jumped at it and agreed to meet at once, even though Dan had refused to divulge anything about this "secret weapon", saying it'd be a surprise.
"Bristol's Got Talent," read the humongous banner hanging onstage that caught Naomi's eye as soon as she entered the auditorium. There was a girl with long, dark brown hair dressed in a rocker outfit standing on stage with an electric guitar. A panel of three judges were sitting in the front-most row of the audience seats. Naomi scanned the place and because the audience's seats were sparsely occupied, it didn't take her long to spot Seth and the rest.
"Hey," whispered Naomi as she made her way through the rows of chairs to sit down beside Seth. "Can anyone tell me why the hell are we meeting up in this place?"
"Shhh," said Dan and Erik as they turned their heads at the same time to shush Naomi. "Just watch," said Dan as he pointed at the girl onstage.
"Thanks for the warm greeting guys, after not meeting for two whole months," said Naomi as she rolled her eyes at the twins. Seth glanced sideways at Naomi and only chuckled.
Upstage, the brunette was speaking into the microphone.
"My name's Effy, and I'm going to play 'Gray Pianos Flying' by Shawn Lane," the brunette said flatly.
"Any time you're ready," replied one of the male judges.
"She's mad," whispered Naomi to Seth upon hearing what the girl said she was going to play.
"No, she isn't," cut in Erik knowingly as he kept his eyes on the girl onstage.
A couple of coughs echoed in the now silent auditorium while everyone waited for the brunette to start playing.
As the minus one recording started playing, Naomi watched in amazement as the brunette's fingers flew all over the neck of the guitar.
"Oh my god, …" said Naomi, her jaws dropped open.
"Told ya," said Erik as he glanced briefly at Naomi with a smirk on his face.
Naomi watched the brunette onstage in disbelief as the latter's fingers danced effortlessly across the guitar strings in a speed so fast it was impossible to catch with the naked eye. When the girl had said she was going to play Gray Pianos Flying just now, Naomi didn't think she was going to play it at the original speed Shawn Lane had played. And with such perfection as well. This was madness. Naomi felt like she could die happy now, having seen a guitar deity live in action at least once in her short life.
When the brunette had finished playing, Dan and Erik stood up immediately to give a standing ovation. Seth and Naomi both sat there, too stunned by the performance to get on their feet.
"Well," began the only female judge in the panel. "Effy, is it? You've played rather well…"
"What the fuck? RATHER WELL? Is this woman fucking deaf?" yelled Dan a little too loudly and Erik had to pull him back to his seat lest he ran to the front to strangle the woman.
"Shush, let's hear what the others have to say," remarked Seth.
"…unfortunately, I don't think you have the makings of a star," said the judge.
"OK, that's it. A murder's gonna take place tonight," said Dan, shaking his head in disbelief.
"What? Don't have the makings of a star?" exclaimed Naomi, who was starting to find the judges ridiculous as well.
"Well, Effy," began one of the male judges. "I think you were absolutely brilliant. It would be a huge mistake if you didn't get into the next round."
"Bloody huge one!" remarked Dan.
"Finally someone who's making sense," added Erik.
"I think your techniques are the best out of all the guitarists we've had so far," said the last judge. "But I agree with what Nancy had said. You don't have star quality when you're standing up there. There's no stage presence at all because all you're doing is standing there and playing. You are at best a skilful guitar player, but still not a star. I'll give you a chance to go to the next round this time – But I'm hoping the next time you'll be more expressive and project a more youthful and lively-."
"I won't," cut in the voice on stage.
"I beg your pardon?" said the judge, his voice evidently surprised.
"I won't change the next time. This is the way I play," replied the brunette without a hint of emotion in her voice. "I don't think there's any reason to change it."
There is an awkward moment of silence as the judge was apparently stunned by Effy's comment.
"You go girl," whispered Dan as he clenched his fist and waved it in the air.
"Well, in that case," continued the judge, obviously offended. "I see no reason in getting you to the next round. I wish you all the best and thank you for coming."
"What the fuck?" Erik and Dan said at once. Even Seth was widening his eyes in a rare look of surprise.
The brunette onstage just nodded stoically and turned to walk off the stage
"I cannot believe this. The judges are a bunch of arrogant twats," said Naomi as she leaned back in her seat with an incredulous look on her face.
"Let's go," said Dan as he stood up suddenly with Erik. "Here's where we come in."
Naomi had no time to ask questions before she was pulled away by Erik on the arm.
The four was standing outside the staging area waiting in silence when Erik spotted the girl walking out of the room with a guitar case on her back. Naomi looked up and was momentarily stunned by the sight before her. From far, Naomi had already sensed an exquisite aura about the brunette. But up close, oh my god, this woman was exactly the kind who could walk into the room and make everyone stop breathing with her presence. Naomi studied her face intently as she walked past. Her features were strikingly beautiful; piercing blue eyes, wavy brown hair and a body that could tempt both men and women, gay or straight. Did the judges really say just now that this girl didn't have star quality? Seriously, now she's convinced that not only they were deaf, they were fucking blind as well. Three fucking blind mice.
"Effy, is it?" said Erik as he rushed up to the girl and extended a handshake which the girl did not take. She gave Erik a quizzical look.
"I'm Erik, these are my band mates," said Erik with a friendly smile as he gestured to the rest of them standing a few metres behind him.
"What do you want?" asked the brunette impatiently.
"I, … We… We saw your audition just now. You were fantastic," began Erik.
"And?" asked the girl curtly with her brows arched slightly.
Naomi was starting to think this was a bad idea. Why in the world would Guitar Heroine want to join their lousy band when she could well be discovered by someone who had ears and eyes and be strumming her way to international fame, say, tomorrow? With her divine guitar skills, she could literally have anything she wanted. And I mean anything. Honestly, Naomi could picture a world in which the brunette is fighting evil in a warrior-like suit (think Xena) with just a guitar in hand and where a strum of those holy guitar strings would make everything wrong in this world right again.
Naomi needed someone to remind her why she was standing there with her band mates trying to talk Effy into joining their band. Don't ask her! Let her go! She's meant for something great!
"We are looking for a lead guitarist, and were wondering if you would want to join our band," said Erik. Shit, he's said it. Naomi almost fainted on the spot.
For a moment, Naomi thought Effy would say, "no", and then turn to walk off. But instead, she was surprised to catch a slight smirk on the latter's face.
"Do you have money?" asked Effy.
"What?" Erik looked as if he thought he'd heard her wrongly.
"Does your band have money to hire me?" asked Effy again, in the same emotionless tone.
"Uh, I think you've misunderstood. We're asking you to join our band as a guitarist. We're not asking you to play for an event as a guest," said Erik, looking slightly confused.
"I know that. But I won't play for nothing. If your band has money to pay me, I'll play for you," replied Effy curtly.
Erik stared back at her speechless, evidently stunned. Dan leapt forward at once to his brother's rescue.
"Hi, I'm Dan," said Dan, flashing a business-like smile. "Our band doesn't have money at the moment, but when we earn money from gigs, we will split it evenly amongst ourselves. We really value your talent, and we hope to have the chance to play with you. Since it seems like we all love music so much," added Dan.
"I think I've made myself clear enough. Like I said, I'd only play if your band can pay me," replied Effy flatly as she turned to walk away.
"Is money really that important to you?" snapped Erik a little angrily.
"Yes, it is," said Effy as she stopped in her tracks and glanced back. "Why else do you think I've joined this audition?" she shot back rhetorically as she continued walking.
"Effy, is it?" said Seth in a low voice as he ran up to her and tapped her on the shoulder. "Really, we just want to enjoy playing music and have a great time. If you change your mind, you could call us with this number," he added as he held out a name-card in his hand.
"I don't think there's a need for it," said Effy curtly as she walked out the door.
"Come on, there's no need to sulk over that arrogant bitch," said Dan as he nudged Erik lightly in the arm, who was wearing an annoyed look on his face. "We haven't met up in so long, let's go somewhere to jam!" he added, glancing at Seth and Naomi.
"But we haven't got our stuffs with us. Are we gonna play with broomsticks or what?" said Naomi with a laugh.
"Hello, you're speaking with one half of the bosses of Duo & Co. We just did a purchase yesterday. Have got them tons of instruments in the van," declared Dan with a grin.
"Your company's name's called Duo & Co.?" said Naomi as she stared at Dan incredulously.
"Sleek, isn't it? I thought of it!" said Dan.
"It's great," said Seth with a straight face as he tried not to laugh. "So where're we heading?"
"I say, let's pick up a couple of beers and go to the hill top!" exclaimed Dan.
Naomi jumped out of the van as the engine was switched off. She drew in a deep breath of the fresh spring air as she ran to the edge of the hill and took in the view of the city basking lazily in the late afternoon sun beneath her.
As she turned back, she was greeted with the familiar sight of the radio tower hovering over her. This place was their favorite jamming spot back when they were all still in high school. It was peaceful, deserted and boasted a great view of the city. Whenever they played music here, she always felt like they were filming for an MV, what with the scenic view and fields and all. Strange how it felt so long ago, when it had only been a year since they graduated from high school.
Naomi's thoughts were interrupted as Seth threw a bottle of beer over to her and she caught it instinctively.
"Penny for your thoughts?" asked Seth with a smile.
"I don't mind, I could really use some money now," said Naomi cheekily. Seth only laughed as he looked her in the eye.
"Hey, you two! Quit being lovey-dovey and get your asses over here," Dan yelled over as he set up his drum set on the grass while Erik tested the amplifiers.
Naomi blushed as she ran over to Dan and knocked him on the head with her knuckles. "When are you going to stop your nonsense?"
"Oww- oww! HELP!" shrieked Dan as he ducked the blows of Naomi's fist with the back of his forearms.
"What shall we play, Goldilocks?" asked Erik with a grin, directing his question at Naomi.
"What- why am I Goldilocks?" asked Naomi as she slung the guitar around her shoulders.
"Because of your hair?" said Erik matter-of-factly.
"But I've got blonde hair, not golden hair," retorted Naomi.
"Same difference," replied Erik with the same grin from before.
"Wait a minute," said Dan. "If she's Goldilocks, wouldn't that make the three of us the bears?"
Naomi laughed as she looked at Dan's frowning face.
"We should totally change our band name to Goldilocks & The Three Bears," said Naomi.
"Seriously," said Seth with a bored look as his elbow was perched on his bass guitar with his chin on his palm. "Could we just start playing already?"
Naomi stuck out a tongue as she started strumming the first bars of the song.
Don't you know,
They're talking 'bout a revolution,
It sounds like a whisper.
Naomi smiled as she sang the first lines of the song into the microphone.
Hearing Erik's keyboard harmony, solid tones of Seth's bass and Dan's rhythmic drumbeats in the background, Naomi felt alive again all of a sudden. This feeling reminded her of why she had loved their band so much in the first place; why they had painstakingly travelled around the country to seek performing opportunities. Because they enjoyed what they were doing, and they had faith they would make it someday.
Poor people gonna rise up
And get their share
Poor people gonna rise up
And take what's theirs
Effy sat on the edge of the hill as she looked out at the city silently. As she stared far out at the many narrow streets weaving in between the densely packed buildings beneath her, she wondered for a moment if there's a place for her in this big city. In the past no place had ever felt big enough for her. No matter how big the city was, she'd always felt suffocated by the loud, self-important voices of the city-dwellers, their constantly revving car motors and the monotonous drone of their pitiable, wretched lives defined by their athletic performance in the rat race. Come to think of it, it's pathetic how she had run away from the place she hated so much only to end up realizing that everywhere else's the same.
As she got up from the spot and slung her guitar case over her shoulder, her ears twitched at the sound of music playing in the distance. Those annoying hoodlums must be blasting noise on their radio again. Why the fuck do they always choose to come to the quietest spaces just to destroy the silence?
By the time Effy reached the pathway to go down the hill, she could hear the music more clearly. She was mistaken before; it wasn't music blasting from a radio – someone was singing and playing live music. And to her surprise, they actually sounded quite good for a live performance.
Effy followed the sounds to a clearing before the radio tower and caught herself humming along to the song. Tracy Chapman's Talking 'Bout a Revolution. Neat song. When she got there she saw that a live band was indeed playing on the open field. There was not a single audience, but hell, the band sure looked like they were enjoying themselves.
It took quite a while for Effy to realise that the vocalist who was singing (who sounded marvelous by the way) was the blonde girl from the band who tried to get her to join them earlier at the audition. Effy stood there and watched in fascination. The drummer and keyboardist were alright, but the bassist was actually rather remarkable. Most amateur musicians have the misconception that bassists aren't that important in a band, but they can't be more mistaken. The bassist is usually the one that grounds the band and sets the tone for a performance. This one here did both to the point of perfection.
Don't you know you'd better run run run run run run run run
Effy eyed the vocalist with interest. The girl might not have perfect singing techniques, but her voice was uniquely charismatic and she sure knew how to deliver the songs. Now she understood a little why the judges said that she had no stage presence. Compared to the blonde, Effy really had zero stage presence. If this blonde had been standing onstage in a hall with a 300-strong audience, she would without a doubt own every inch of the entire hall with her performance and bring the house down.
But what caught her attention was the fact that all of them seemed to be having fun while jamming. It was not a let's-perfect-this-for-an-audition, but rather a let's-play-this-because-it-makes-us happy with these people. When was the last time she played music for the sake of it?
"Thank you, thank you," said Naomi into the microphone with a laugh as she finished the last line of the song and bowed to nobody. Dan and Erik were wolf-whistling from the back for themselves.
"Naomi," cried out Erik as he got the champagne bottle and ran up behind the blonde.
Naomi turned just in time to hear the loud "pop" of the bottle cork and screamed in surprise. Erik laughed as he tried to fling the overflowing contents of the bottle at the shrieking girl who was turning to run away.
Soon enough, all four were running around the place having a beer fight, and poor Seth was drenched head to toe when Dan and Erik ganged up on him to pour the ice-cold water in the cooling box over his head.
"What the fuck!" yelled Seth as he shook the water from his hair and proceeded to chase the twins around to seek vengeance.
In the state of commotion, no one even realised when Effy had slowly made her way to one of the empty amplifiers and plugged her guitar in.
"DumDumDum, DumDumDumDum-," the sudden sounds of an electric guitar playing stopped all four of them in their tracks. Their faces were mixed with surprise, confusion and disbelief as they turned their heads to see Effy playing the guitar with an expressionless face. A smile broke out on Seth's face as he ran over and picked up his bass.
"Hey, hey, hey, that's MY part," he said in jest with a grin as he glanced at Effy, who only returned a smirk and switched to playing the electric guitar part in an instant. There was a look of delight on Naomi's face as she picked up the microphone that was flung onto the grass and mumbled the first words of the song in a low growly voice, making all of them including Effy laugh.
As the four of them rocked to the rhythm for four more bars, Dan's drumfill brought them into the first proper verse of the song. Naomi was all smiles as she belted out the words she knew by heart since she was 7.
Pressure, pushing down on me, pushing down you
No man ask for
…
The five silhouettes sat in silence on the edge of the hill against the brilliant rays of the setting sun on the horizon, as beer bottles were passed amongst themselves. As they stared ahead in silence watching the beautiful sunset with quiet smiles, their feet dangling over the wall as they sipped from the beer bottles, the silence was strangely very comfortable, despite the presence of an Effy, whom they had only met today.
"Cheers to the newest addition to our band," offered Seth with a smile as he raised the bottle in the direction of Effy who was sitting right on the other end.
"Cheers," chipped in the rest as they knocked beer bottles together.
"Two years," said Effy quietly, her eyes fixed on the city ahead of them coated with the warm, orange rays of the evening sun.
The rest arched their eyebrows at her curiously.
"Two years and we must make it to somewhere. If not, I'll leave after that," said Effy as she sipped nonchalantly from her bottle.
The four of them plunged into silence at once upon thinking about the implications of what Effy had said. Two years? Can they really make it to something big after two years? Effy's conditions were a tad too demanding, but who were they to say anything? They knew she meant it; if they had accomplished nothing in two years, then she would surely have no qualms about leaving.
"What do you need the money so urgently for?" asked Dan all of the sudden.
Naomi looked at Dan in alarm, before glancing quickly at Effy. "Dan, I don't think we should ask-."
"I want to go to college," said Effy, to Naomi's surprise.
"College's overrated," said Dan with a laugh.
"Maybe," replied Effy after thinking.
The five sat for a moment in awkward silence that was finally broken by Erik.
"Say, why don't we think of a new band name? The Inclining Backyards was really a mouthful, don't you think?" he remarked.
"Yeah, who the hell thought of that name? It was so cheesy!" Dan asked.
"YOU!" said Erik and Seth at once.
"ME? Serious?" asked Dan in surprise. "OK, how about this one – DENSE?"
"You're talking about yourself?" asked Naomi.
Dan shot back a glare.
"I meant D, E, N, S, E. You know, like D for Dan, E for Erik, N for Naomi, S for Seth and E for Effy," said Dan with a smug look on his face.
"Oh my god," said Naomi as she rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you thought of that."
Seth stared at Dan. "Dude, I hope you're kidding."
"It's good, isn't it?" asked Dan.
"We are starting all over here - new band, new beginnings… But before we even start doing anything, you sentence our band to death with a band name like DENSE. Nice one, Dan," remarked Erik with a sarcastic grin on his face.
"New beginnings, …" remarked Dan absent-mindedly. "I know!"
"What?" asked Erik.
"Naomi, do you remember back in London, we were playing with tarot cards and Jake was yelling at us?" asked Dan excitedly.
"Yes, how in the world would I forget that…" began Naomi.
"That's right, do you remember you showed me a card then, and told me that it meant something along the lines of new beginnings, power, creation-," said Dan.
"Hmm…Was it the Ace of Wands?" asked Naomi after thinking for a while.
"Yeah! That's it! Ace of Wands!" shouted Dan animatedly.
"Ace of Wands…?" Erik repeated to himself.
"Doesn't sound too bad," said Seth.
"Better than The Inclining Backyards, if anything," said Naomi with a grin.
"How's that huh? Sounds great?" asked Dan as he looked to each of them enthusiastically.
"Effy, what do you think about it?" asked Seth.
Effy only shrugged. "Names don't bother me much."
"Right, Ace of Wands it is then! Woohoo! Once again, the brilliant me has saved us from a nameless crisis with my ingenuity!" declared Dan with a satisfied grin.
Seth, Naomi and Erik only looked on uncertainly.
"Why does Nameless sound more attractive than Ace of Wands suddenly?" asked Erik with a frown on his face.
"Shut up, you. You're just jealous," said Dan with a smirk on his face. "Come on! Cheers to a brand new beginning. Cheers to Ace of Wands! Bottoms up!"
And so, despite the fact that Naomi had promised herself not to go after those silly dreams, her heart brought her back to where she had first started out: doing what she really loved – being a musician. She rejected the offer from Cambridge and began their whole journey all over again with the band, this time with the powerful addition of one Guitar Goddess Effy.
The band started out in the streets performing as baskers in the ghettos. As time went by, they grew a little in fame and were invited to play at private events and gatherings. It was hard; some days they earned enough just to get by.
It was also during this time when one particularly bizarre incident took place.
One morning while they were all asleep in their rented apartment after the gig the night before, Dan was heard running into the room shouting and holding a piece of paper in his hand.
"Fuck, guys! Guess what this is!" yelled Dan, unable to contain his excitement.
"Shut the fuck up, Dan," hollered Erik, hiding his head under his pillow.
Naomi sat up in bed and went back to sleep after taking a glance and realised it was nothing special. Effy hadn't even stirred. Seth rubbed his eyes and put on his glasses before staring at the piece of paper in hand.
"Is that a cheque?" asked Seth.
"Bloody hell it is!" exclaimed Dan. "I found it in our mailbox!"
"Who's it addressed to?" asked Seth.
"No one! It's a cash cheque. And you know what, it's fucking twenty thousand pounds!" said Dan.
"What?" said Erik, who heard "twenty thousand pounds" and had sprung up in bed.
"Did it say who it's from?" asked Seth, his brows furrowed in suspicion.
"Nope, but the cheque is issued by Lloyds," replied Dan.
Effy's eyes shot open. "Where did you say you found it?"
"In our mailbox. The apartment's mailbox. I'm telling you, it's real! Somebody liked us so much they fucking gave us twenty thousand pounds!" cried Dan.
"Does that even make sense to you, Dan? Giving us twenty thousand pounds just like that, without even telling us who it's from?" asked Naomi, who had sat up in bed now.
Dan looked deep in thought for a moment.
"Burn it," said Effy.
"What?" Dan looked at her, not believing his ears.
"I said burn it," repeated Effy.
"Are you out of your fucking mind?" asked Dan angrily.
"We don't know who it's from. It's better to burn it," said Effy.
Dan looked to Seth for help.
"I don't know, Dan. Naomi has a point. Why would everybody give us money out of the blue and be so sneaky about it? It does sound fishy," said Seth.
"You guys have gone bonkers. It's twenty thousand pounds we're talking about here. And you want me to throw it out? Why can't it be a fan out there who likes us very much?"
Effy rolled her eyes and stood up. "Give it to me, Dan."
"No," said Dan as he turned away and kept the cheque in his pocket. Effy walked over and Dan started running around the apartment away from her. Seth groaned. Dan could behave quite like a child sometimes.
"I'm telling you. It's either this cheque burnt or I'm outta here," said Effy quietly.
Dan looked helplessly at Effy. He knew that Effy meant every word she said. He turned to Erik, but Erik only shrugged apologetically. Reluctantly, Dan walked over and handed the cheque over to Effy.
Effy took out a lighter and burnt the cheque into the bin, much to the dismay of a distraught Dan.
No one mentioned that incident again.
Eventually they'd earned enough money to make their way through the clubs and bars across England and ended up in London again. London still reminded Naomi of that incident with Jake. Sometimes, she still wondered where he was now; if he had managed to join another band and clinched a deal with those rich businessmen; if he actually felt guilty at all about betraying them.
She got her answer one night when they had just finished a performance at a bar down south of London. Just when they were loading their instruments into the van in the alley, Naomi witnessed a police raid just down the street. Naomi was taken aback when she saw that one of the men who were found selling drugs to some youths and arrested was Jake. As he walked past her, Naomi saw a look of recognition in his eyes. A look that was quickly replaced with malice and he spat in her direction as the police dragged him into the police car. Naomi didn't tell anyone else about the incident. She knew that Dan would get upset about it and would want to get even with Jake.
Seth managed to get a deal with a strip club owner who allowed them to sleep in the basement under his club in exchange for a free gig once a week. For almost one whole month they slept on hammocks and sleeping bags in the basement, amidst rats and other disgusting creatures Naomi couldn't bear to think of.
It was also during this horrible period when it hit Naomi abruptly that the two years were up. The two years that Effy set as the time limit before she would leave the band for greener pastures. In fact, Naomi realised, the two years was up two months ago, but surprisingly, Effy didn't indicate any intention of leaving.
True enough, Effy's relationship with the rest improved a lot over the past two years. There were quite a few occasions Naomi even caught the Ice Queen Effy smiling genuinely. Sometimes she even joined in the fun when the boys were fooling around, and Naomi could tell that despite her cold hard exterior, Effy had grown to be genuinely concerned about the welfare of all her fellow members, especially her own. Effy had been a great listener all this while, listening to Naomi pour her heart out about everything, and sometimes even managing to psychoanalyse her to the point where Naomi suspected that Effy secretly knew her better than she did herself.
But apart from all these incidents, sometimes Naomi felt like she didn't know Effy at all. Her past was a total mystery to them; Effy only mentioned vaguely that her parents had died and she was alone; that she came from a small town near Woking. But that was all. Effy never talked more about them. Naomi realised the other day in horror that she didn't even know what Effy's last name was.
"Names don't bother me," said Effy flatly in response.
Still, Naomi really enjoyed Effy's company and she was flattered that Effy had stayed on with them through their darkest days even when the two years' time was up.
Their break finally came one night when a record label director was hanging out at the strip club with his friends when he heard their band and was so impressed he offered them a record deal on the spot. They couldn't believe their ears when they heard him. How ironic was that? When they were playing at proper bars and clubs, nobody had thought they were worthy of fame. Ace of Wands got their first record deal at a strip club. That would go down well in the history of the band.
Thereafter, it was a whirlwind of events. They released their first record with their own compositions and it hit gold with seven no.1 singles, much to the surprise of almost everyone. The company decided to set up a world concert tour for them despite them just starting out, because it was felt that their strengths were in live performing. The tour turned out to be a huge hit with the fans, and gained them a large following across the Americas, Europe and Asia. They won three awards at their first Grammy: Best New Artist, Best Rock Album, Best Rock Performance by a Group.
At one of the Christmas concerts they had, the band was asked to write a short shoutout to all their fans, and Naomi was tasked with writing it because "her handwriting was the most legible amongst all of theirs".
Dearest Fans of Ace of Wands,
Have a graet X'Mas this saeson!
p/s: we believe in Satan! :-P
XOXO
Ace of Wands
"What the fuck, Naomi," said Erik as he stared at the card. "That's not funny."
"What?" asked Naomi, not getting what Erik was saying.
"What the hell did you mention Satan for?" asked Erik.
"I didn't!"
"Yes, you did. Look," said Erik as he handed the card to Naomi to see.
"Fuck, I meant Santa!" cried Naomi.
"And this, you can't spell "great" and "season"?! Did you say you got accepted into Cambridge the last time? How did you get in with such an IQ," joked Erik with an amused look on his face.
Naomi shot him a death glare.
"It's nothing to do with IQ, Erik," said Seth as he entered the room. "Dyslexic people are as smart as any of us. Or even smarter in some cases. Their brains are just wired differently."
Naomi and Erik shot surprised looks at Seth at the same time.
"How… How did you know that I was…?" Naomi asked Seth, her jaws dropped open.
"The first time you played by ear at our audition and said you couldn't read notes, I sort of guessed it," said Seth as he shrugged. "My sister suffers from dyslexia too. She can't read notes, but she's an excellent musician who plays by ear," added Seth as he sipped from a cup of coffee nonchalantly.
"Come to think of it, if you hadn't been dyslexic, Jake wouldn't have been busy capitalizing on your inability to read notes, and I wouldn't have thought of getting you as the vocalist for our band. Everything that had been today wouldn't have happened. Imagine how different things would be," added Seth thoughtfully.
Naomi chuckled softly as she thought about how familiar this all sounded. She winked as she looked Seth straight in the eye.
"Everything happens for a reason, Seth," said Naomi, smiling from the bottom of her heart.
p/s: does anybody even read the bonus chapters?! i mean, other than me of cos. -.-