Chapter Thirteen

A Song In The Shadows

Jade woke naturally, without the blare of the alarm clock to disrupt her sleep. True, she was technically meant to be at college but, well, there were more important things to do; like getting a good night's sleep for one.

She had been up until nearly 3 AM, singing low melodic tunes to herself under the moonlight up at Pillbox Hill. It was a favourite haunt of Jade's, a place she could forget about her worries and her aspirations. Up on that hill, it was just her and her voice. When she was alone like that, Jade would never sing the heavy rock songs the Miracle Skyhawk's were known for. Instead, she sung slow songs, making up the words as she went along but the lyrics always ended up about finding lost love or other such romantic notions. Jade was a sucker for traditional romance.

Pillbox Hill was far enough away from town that Jade didn't have to worry about disturbing anyone, save the occasional woodland creature or lone hiker. It wasn't too strange to see some of the more eccentric characters of Eastbourne sitting on the hill, just listening silently to Jade's melody as if it were some kind of private concert for them. These were the people who would usually drink at bars and cause trouble, shouting, fighting, and getting thrown in a cell for the night. The power of Jade's voice made them docile and that was a feeling Jade treasured. That feeling of being able to actually change people with her voice.

Pulling herself reluctantly out from under her covers, Jade wandered out of her room and into the small bathroom opposite, stopping groggily to look at her dishevelled hair in the mirror. She ran her fingers half-heartedly through the mess of black hair before shrugging and giving it up as a lost cause.

As Jade reached for her toothbrush – notably labelled 'JADE' by her sister; the other toothbrush in the glass was affectionately labelled 'NOT FOR JADE!' – the familiar tune of the doorbell reached her ears. "Katie! Answer the door!" Jade yelled out towards the door before remembering that her sister as probably at work. With an annoyed sigh she threw the toothbrush into the sink and made her way downstairs as the bell was rung again and again.

"Okay, okay," Jade groaned as she pulled open the door. "Give a girl some time."

"I'd give a girl some time if a girl wasn't late," came the disgruntled reply of Bethany Cross. She was standing with her hands on her hips, a disapproving frown on her face. Standing behind Bethany behind either shoulder were both Murphy and Sticks. Sticks was grinning ear-to-ear while Murphy had his usual carefree expression on his face. At three of them were dressed in their Skyhawk jackets.

"Late? For what?" Jade asked, leaning on the doorway.

"For what, she says!" Bethany said, exasperated. "For rehearsal? You know, for the concert at Shinewater Park?"

"Oh yeah… That…" Jade let out a carefree yawn and turned around, leaving the door wide open; Apparently inviting the three band members inside.

Bethany followed her inside. "I swear, girl, you'd forget your head if it wasn't screwed on."

"Do try your best not to sound like my mother," Jade replied as she re-entered the bathroom and picked up her toothbrush again.

"Well, somebody needs to keep an eye on you!" Bethany said, watching Jade put the toothpaste on the brush.

"Do we really need such strict times for rehearsal?" Jade asked, sticking the brush into her mouth and rubbing it back and forth rapidly.

"Yes for that one," Sticks said with an amused glint in his eyes. "Miss Parks is out of town for the day. She called the cops last time we practiced."

"Besides, since when was a whole day strict times?" Bethany asked.

"Well, if it's the whole day then we're fine, right?" Jade said after washing her mouth out noisily. She turned and passed Bethany to make her way back to her room.

"It's four o'clock!"

"Eh…" Jade shrugged. "We don't need rehearsal. We just need bigger crowds."

"Please…" Bethany put a hand to her forehead. "Do not start that again."

"Why not?" Jade said, pulling off the shirt she had slept in – revealing her bare chest that immediately made Murphy look away out of politeness, though Sticks wasn't afraid to look.

"And would you not just… expose yourself like that in front of us!?" Bethany was growing even more angry with Jade now.

"Don't be a prude," Jade replied nonchalantly, rummaging in one of her drawers. "Sticks doesn't have a chance with me, Murphy's too old, and last I heard you had a boyfriend and you're not gay. So we're good."

"Ouch…" Murphy put a hand to his heart, still looking away. "A bullet to my heart, Jade. Though, you are too young for me. I don't date college girls – personal rule after '06."

"What do you mean I don't have a chance?" Sticks asked, aghast.

"Shut it, Sticks!" Bethany shot down the drummer quickly as Jade clipped on a bra. "Jade, you need to show a bit more… I don't know, care for this band."

"Care?" This struck Jade the wrong way as she turned around. "I'm probably the one who cares most about the Skyhawks! You guys seem just content to sit around and perform for this town! I care about performing for more than a bunch of fisherman and teenagers!"

"To be fair, our future promoter passed away…" Murphy put in.

"Four years ago!" Jade said with wide eyes. "It's not like we're some rookie group. We can play. We're good. Hell, we're amazing! You see the reaction we get here in a town on the fuck-end of nowhere! Now imagine if we were in Wembley with that massive crowd spread out before us! Imagine the sound! The cheers! The support!"

"I do imagine that," Bethany replied, standing forward. "I just know when to separate dreams from reality. And Jade, don't you dare imply that we don't care about this band! We're the founders! And you're right, we're not a rookie group, you're the rookie, filling in shoes you can't possibly fill!"

"Whoa," Murphy warned but Bethany and Jade were having none of it as the two girls got face to face.

"So you still see me as just a replacement!?" Jade roared, her voice filled with anger. "Well guess what, I'm the replacement that saved you people! You were floundering and without me you would have drowned! I'm the one keeping the Miracle Skyhawks alive, Bethany!"

"Don't be so self-centered!" Bethany replied, equally angry. "Sticks, Murphy, and I put in just the same amount of effort as you!"

"I'm the voice of the Skyhawks! Literally! Without me you'd be, what? A percussion band? Or what, are you gonna get Sticks to sing? He's the best out of all three of you and he still sucks!"

"Hey, now, that's not fair. It's just a unique take on it, is all…" Sticks muttered.

"When am I going to actually be a part of this band, not just a stand-in?"

"When you prove yourself!"

"And I haven't?"

"Not with that hot-head of yours! Not if you act like a child! Not if you don't treat us like teammates!" Bethany leaned forward before. "And hey! We made it without you before, Jade! We can make it without you again if need be!"

"Is that a threat!?"

"ENOUGH!" Murphy's raw voice surprised Jade and Bethany enough to send them flying apart like two children caught fighting. He looked out from under his sunglasses at the two of them. "You go too far, Bethany. You too, Jade. We're a team. We can't be fighting like this." He looked to Jade. "If you want to succeed, you need to be a team player."

"That's what I was—" Bethany started but Murphy interrupted her.

"And you need to understand Jade's aspirations. It has been four years since Eddy Cool died. And you've refused to accept any promoter's conversations."

"You what!?" Jade's eyes widened at this fact.

"Not now!" Murphy said firmly, shutting Jade down. He turned back to Bethany. "So go cool your head and meet us at Sticks', okay? We are going to practice and AFTER we practice, we'll have a good talk about the future of the Skyhawks, okay? And I DON'T want to hear anything about anyone leaving!"

"Fine." Bethany turned on her heel and with that left the room. Murphy turned to Jade.

"And you?"

"I understand." Jade said, chewing the inside of her cheek.

"Good. I'll meet you outside after you're ready." With that, Murphy followed Bethany out of Jade's room.

"Phew…" Sticks rubbed his stiff Mohawk with one hand and grinned at Jade. "You guys scare me sometimes, you know?"

"…I just want to get out of here, Sticks…" Jade said, sitting on her bed. "Is that so crazy?"

"It isn't crazy," Sticks said, sitting down next to Jade and putting a friendly arm around her shoulders. "It's really quite sensible. Eastbourne's great for a little while. But then you get fed up of the old-fashioned buildings and you know, the sea really gets noisy sometimes. But look, Jade… You got to understand how Bethany thinks and you got to understand… you really aren't going to fill Kingsley's boots."

"Sticks!"

"Listen! You won't fill his boots because you are a completely different person, Jade. Kingsley Newport is Kingsley Newport, and Jade Skysong is Jade Skysong, understand?" Sticks leaned forward towards Jade, a deadly serious expression on his face. "Though… I do have one very important question for you, Jade…"

"What is it?"

"…Do I really have no chance with you?"

"Not a chance!" Jade grinned, suddenly bursting out laughing as she pushed Sticks off the bed. "You won't add me to your list!"

"Oh come on! I've nearly hit two hundred! Once Miss Parks gets back I'll only be two away!"

"Go away, Sticks!" Jade threw a trainer at Sticks, who dodged it nimbly. He made for the doorway but stopped as Jade called out: "Sticks."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"No problem." With a small salute, he left the room, leaving Jade deep in thought.

Jade arrived at Stick's garage feeling a heavy weight on her shoulders. The large metal doors were open and the three older band members were standing around, tuning their instruments. Murphy leaned against a wall, Sticks sat at his drums, and Bethany seemed to be fiddling with her bass though not actually doing anything with it. As Jade approached, each of them looked up. Jade took a deep breath and approached Bethany.

She had dressed in her full band gear, complete with Skyhawk jacket and braided hair. As Jade approached Bethany, she slowly pulled off her jacket and, after looking at it for one long moment, handed it out towards Bethany.

"Jade…" Seeing the jacket, Bethany's face grew conflicted. "Are you sure…? We can talk about this… properly. Without the arguments. Without me acting like I did."

"I'm sure," Jade said firmly, sensing Murphy and Stick's gazes upon her back though she didn't take her own eyes away from Bethany. "I'm sure that I'm no Kingsley." Jade let go of the jacket, allowing Bethany to take hold of it. "That jacket doesn't belong to me. It never did and it never will… but the Skyhawks? You guys are my family," Jade looked to Bethany. "I'm just a kid with big dreams who doesn't know how to be patient. I'm rude and I get angry and I tend to be lazy and I know that it's irritating. I know that I rub people the wrong way. I think wearing that jacket… wearing Kingsley's jacket… it put a nametag on me. Like I had to be like him, like I had to act like him, sing like him… I can't and I won't.

"I just heard the words I needed to hear," Jade glanced appreciatively at Sticks. "Kingsley Newport is Kingsley Newport. Jade Skysong is Jade Skysong. Bethany… I'm sorry if I'm wrong but the reason you act like you do, the reason why you didn't talk with the promoters… it's because it reminds you of him, right?"

Bethany didn't respond but her expression said it all.

"You put that jacket on me and you gave me his songs and I sung 'em. I enjoyed them. They're great lyrics. But I think when Kingsley died… you refused to realise that the Skyhawks had to change. We can't live in that shadow of his death. I never knew Kingsley but I saw him on stage and I know what his lyrics meant. I believe he wouldn't have wanted the Skyhawks to just… coast on by like this. I know you have the final say, Bethany, but I think the Skyhawks need to change… need to evolve. If possible… I would like to sing my own songs. I know they're not traditional work but… well, the Skyhawks were never traditional, were they?"

"A change like that would be startling to the fans…" Bethany mused, definitely entertaining the idea. "We wouldn't know how they'd take it. Your songs are good, Jade, don't get me wrong… but whether they'll work for the Skyhawks… I think we do this the old fashioned way. Let's put this to a vote." Bethany nodded her head, holding the jacket close. "Jade, I assume you'll vote for change?"

"Yes," Jade said firmly.

"Okay… Sticks?"

"I think we're called the Miracle Skyhawks for a reason," Sticks said. "I reckon we go with it and make ourselves a miracle."

"And Murphy?"

"Kingsley was a great friend but I think Jade's right. I think we have been using his shadow as a safety net. Perhaps it's time to spread our wings?" Murphy pushed up his glasses to wink at Jade. "Our old singer led us to new heights before with his own songs. Perhaps it's time to let our new singer give it a go."

"Well… There we are. I know my vote doesn't matter now but… you're right." Bethany held up the jacket in front of her. "Kingsley would want the band to rise to all new heights and we can't do that with the same old songs. It's time to change." Bethany looked to Jade. "We're a team. A family. Murphy, order a takeout. Sticks – go down the street and get drinks. We're gonna have a long night ahead of us."