Sorry for the delay. Unfortunately it's another (but I promise my final) filler chapter. Please enjoy and don't hate me too much. And thank you for the reviews
Chapter 19
Ralphie lay silently in bed, staring at the ceiling. "Ralphie!" His mom called from downstairs, "someone's here to see you." Ralphie groaned to himself as his his mom told the guest where he was. Ralphie wanted to fake sleep, but the door was thrown open and Keesha came in. "Hey, Ralphie. What's up?" She asked. Ralphie sat up, and shrugged. "Not much. I'm sorry, Keesh. I'm kind of in a bad mood." "I figured." Keesha replied. "Now, what's bugging you." Ralphie shook his head, leading Keesha to cross her arms and glare at him, "I mean it, Keesh." Ralphie continued, "it's stupid." "Ralphie, as your girlfriend, I'll be the judge of that." Ralphie crawled over to her and wrapped his arms around his legs, while Keesha rubbed his back. "Today is the anniversary of the day I got nodes." "Why's that upsetting you?" Keesha asked. "They've been removed." Ralphie shook his head. "No. I let a lot of people down." "What do you mean?" Keesha asked. Ralphie held his legs tighter. "Do you remember when I transferred schools in grade 8?" Keesha nodded. "Yeah, your mom got that temporary transfer to Colorado." Ralphie nodded. "It began there..."
Flashback!
Ralphie nervously sat at an abandoned table and unpacked his lunch. This was the first time in years he wasn't enjoying lunch with Arnold, Wanda, Carlos, DA, Keesha, Phoebe or Tim. He was about to bite into his sandwich, when a cheerful "Hello." Caught his attention. Looking up, Ralphie saw two people around his age standing over him. One was a boy who had a crew cut, amber eyes and clean cut. The other was a girl with long blue hair, blue eyes and dressed punk, with snake bites and an ear cuff. "May we join you?" The boy asked. Ralphie shrugged and gestured to the seats in front of him. "You don't say much, do you?" The girl asked, plunking herself down. "Sorry..." Ralphie began. "Ignore her." The guy remarked. "I'm Mark. And this is my girlfriend, Naomi." "I'm Ralphie." "So, you're new in town." Naomi began, stirring her iced coffee. Ralphie nodded. "Perfect!" Mark continued. "We need a new band member." "Band member?" Ralphie asked. This conversation was getting too scattered, even for him. "Yeah." Mark continued. "You see, we have a band called A.E." "A.E?" Ralphie asked. "Mark is a huge Don Bluth fan." Naomi replied. "Our drummer moved away last week. Want to join?" "Why would I be a drummer?" Ralphie asked. "Because you're kind of drumming the table with your fingers." Naomi countered. Ralphie looked down and realized Naomi was telling the truth. "So, are you going to join or are we going to have to beg?" Mark asked. Ralphie shrugged. "Okay, I guess." For the next 11 weeks, A.E was a pretty enjoyable band. They did covers of songs that not a lot of people remembered, and they filmed each other singing, just for fun. One day, Mark came over to Ralphie with a proposal. "Would you like to sing a cover?" He asked. Ralphie set his drumsticks aside and bolted up. "Oh! I would love to!" He cried out. "When do I start?" He asked. "Right now. But we have a gig next month." Naomi picked up a video camera and they filmed Ralphie singing Drive by Incubus.
End flashback.
"It was around that time I got nodes." Ralphie explained. "I got them surgically removed at the cost of my singing voice, and mom got retransferred, so I let A.E down." "That's garbage." Keesha objected. "Let's get the facts, you lost your singing voice and got retransferred, neither of which are your fault, so you didn't let them down. In fact, I will prove it to you!" Going over to the computer, she went into YouTube and typed down "A.E." Clicking on the first video, Mark and Naomi popped up, singing. "And now for Ralphie Tenelli Time." Mark said. "This is dedicated to our friend and former bandmate, Ralphie Tenelli. Hit it!" At that point a giant screen appeared behind them, and Ralphie saw himself staring back at him. Mark and Naomi set off a drum kit and began playing on guitar and bass respectively. The younger Ralphie began singing.
Sometimes, I feel the fear of uncertainty stinging clear
And I can't help but ask myself how much I'll let the fear
Take the wheel and steer
Keesha stood, jaw dropped eyes wide and a light blush dusted across her cheeks. At that point, Mark pulled out a microphone and began singing back up.
It's driven me before and seems to have a vague
Haunting mass appeal
But lately I'm beginning to find that I
Should be the one behind the wheel
Whatever tomorrow brings
I'll be there with open arms and open eyes yeah
Whatever tomorrow brings
I'll be there I'll be there
So, if I decide to waiver my chance
To be one of the hive
Will I choose water over wine
And hold my own and drive?
Aah ah ooo
It's driven me before and it seems to be the way
That everyone else gets around
But lately I'm beginning to find that when
I drive myself my light is found
Whatever tomorrow brings
I'll be there with open arms and open eyes yea
Whatever tomorrow brings
I'll be there I'll be there
Would you choose water over wine?
Hold the wheel and drive
Whatever tomorrow brings
I'll be there with open arms and open eyes yea
Whatever tomorrow brings
I'll be there I'll be there
"That was Ralphie Tenelli!" Mark called amongst the cheering of the crowd.
Once the song ended, Keesha turned to her boyfriend. "Ralphie!" She breathed. "Your voice! That was gorgeous!" Ralphie shrugged. "Whatever. I bet they deleted that clip." "No!" Keesha replied. "The date! It's marked for last week!" Ralphie ran over to the screen and checked the date. Once he saw the date was in fact last week, he happily hugged Keesha. "Keesh! Thank you so much!" He squealed. Keesha laughed. "Well, now that that's over, I have a couple Killswitch Engage tickets burning a hole in my pocket. Want to join me?" Ralphie kissed Keesha. "Of course." He replied. "Let's go."