A/N: Okay, so I've been trying to keep this story to what it would be in the show (early 2000s), but I think I'm going to have to bump it up to now just for the music sake. I'm planning on limiting technology use to keep that part the same, but if a song seems out of its time frame, that's why. Thank you again for your continued support!
"Marie! You've got to keep calm. Feel the waves, don't fear them!" Otto shouted, drifting closer to where Marie clung to her board. She tried to take on a baby wave but freaked out and lost her balance.
"I got a great shot of her wiping out, though, Ottoman," Twister laughed, coming up alongside them. "Probably the best wipe out I've seen this year!"
"Gee, thanks, Twist," Marie said while rolling her eyes.
"Aww, come on, I'm just joking! It's your first time surfing ever, we totally expect you to screw up and wipe out and a bunch!"
"I know. It's just frustrating. Plus, I'm trying to keep tabs on the time so I can get back in time to look up a few songs. I know I'm rusty on drums."
"Oh, yeah. The band thing. Heh, I doubt Lars will be able to keep it together enough to actually have a band!"
"I don't even care that much about it being a band, I just miss playing. I'm doing it for the music!" Marie shouted, raising her fists in the air before bringing them down to do an air-drum solo. The boys laughed and helped her get back on the conceptual horse and literal surf board. By two that afternoon, Marie had successfully surfed. She grabbed one last wave before heading back to shore to Otto and Twister.
"I did it! Oh, my god I can't believe I actually surfed! That was incredible! It's like… It's like… It's like being on a motor cycle but with water instead of just air," she exclaimed as she set her surf board down and pulling the two boys into a group hug. "Thank you both so much! I can't wait to do this all the time!"
The two boys awkwardly hugged her back before pulling away. "Okay, the next time you want to group hug, give us more warning first," Otto told her, picking up her board. "And we're glad we could help. It only took 5 hours, too! Are you always this fast of a learner?"
"If it's something that really excites me, then yes. Like drums. I took to those so fast. Faster than the guitar, which tends to be easier. Which probably also explains why I still can't skate board," she laughed, scratching the side of her head. "But hey, at least Squid and I can suck at it together."
Twister laughed and looked at his watch. "You guys want to grab a bite at the Shack before you need to head home?" He asked, pointing at Marie.
"Yeah, that sounds great. I'm starving! Teaching someone to surf is harder than I remembered," Otto complained, tapping his elbow to Marie's arm before throwing his other arm around his best friend. "Let's go pig out on burgers and fries!"
Two hours later, Marie was standing in front of the Rodrigues' garage with Lars' two best friends.
"Alright, boys, this is Marie. She's our drummer. Pi is the short stack and Sputz is the giant. And, as you all know, I am the Incredible Lars." Marie snorted, causing Pi and Sputz, who were already laughing at Lars' remark, to laugh even harder. "I'm sorry, Marie, but is there a problem with what I call myself as the front man of this band?" He sneered, leaning closer to her.
"Yeah. Just the ego. We're in the band, too. No need to act like it's a one man show," she replied, earning 'ooooh!'s from the other two guys. Lars scowled and stood up straight, turning towards the garage.
"Guess you'll just have to deal with it. You could quit, but I do believe that your words were 'I'm doing it for the music'," he stated, opening the door to reveal a drum kit, mic stand, bass guitar and electric guitar. Around the edges of the garage were their amps. Marie stepped over to the drums, taking a seat at the tiny stool as Sputz and Pi picked up the bass and the guitar, respectively. Lars stepped up to the amps and starting turning them on.
"I plugged everything in a while ago and made sure the amps were working," he said, burping into the micro phone. It echoed around the garage and the boys starting laughing hysterically, holding their sides and stomachs. Marie put her head in her hands and tried her hardest not to laugh along with them with some success.
"Okay, okay, seriously, that's a gross misuse of equipment!" Marie said, some laughter still caught in her voice. "We need to get to this."
"Ah, you're not fun," Pi said, playing a couple notes on his guitar. Marie smiled and shook her head, picking up her drum sticks. She started playing the opening notes of T.N.T. by AC/DC, her smile splitting into a full on grin. Lars and Pi both had confused looks on their faces, but Sputz knew what was happening. He joined in with his bass and just felt the music travel from his fingers and into his instrument. Marie kept a steady beat on the bass drum and hit the right drums in perfect synchronization with Sputz. When the song ended, they both laughed. Marie was relieved that she could at least play one song. And what a song it was. She could remember learning it the first time and practicing it every day. She smiled at the memory and looked down at the drums. The music was good.
"So, now's your chance to kick me out of the band if you've been having any thoughts about it," she said, grinning even wider than she had been.
"I dunno. Pi, what do you think? Think she's good enough to stay in? I'm having my doubts," Lars trailed off, nudging his best friend with his elbow.
"Heh heh, I dunno either, man. She sounds rusty, and I don't know if practice will help," Pi started chuckling, setting his guitar down.
"Rusty, huh? Well, we'll see about that…" Marie mumbled. She knew they were only messing with her, but she felt like she had something to prove. Without warning, she started up with Rise, Rebel, Resist by Otep. By the end of the very fast paced song, Marie had a thin layer of sweat on her forehead and arms.
"So, am I still rusty?" She asked, trying not to breathe heavily. All three boys were standing there, staring at her. It was then that she noticed the Rockets, Twister and Sam were also standing there, looking as stricken as Lars' gang. "Blank stares aren't real answers, guys."
"Okay, wow. You said you played, but I didn't know that you played that well! Wow. Honestly, that's all I can say," Reggie said, pulling herself out of her daze and running the short distance to Marie, pulling her into a tight hug. Marie laughed and returned the hug, feeling proud of herself.
"Uh, uh. Closed practice, get out, dweebs!" Lars suddenly said, getting aggressive with his brother and his friends.
"Geez, Lars, we just wanted to listen to Marie play! I mean, she's pretty much going to be carrying the band on her back," Twister scoffed. As a result of his insult, Lars threw his arm around his neck and pulled him in, knocking his hat off and giving him a noogie.
"Watch your mouth, Maurice, or I'll whomp you into next week!" Lars growled, finally releasing his young brother. Everyone laughed lightly at the mention of Twister's real name, including Marie. Twister turned red and hit Lars in the ribs with his elbow.
"Cut it out, Lars!" Twist whined, taking a few steps back. He sighed in defeat. "Why can't we just listen?"
"Yeah, Lars. Why can't they listen?" Marie asked, crossing her arms.
"It's a closed practice. Honestly, do you really want them just standing there listening and staring and judging?" Lars asked, walking up to Marie. As he said the last word, he dropped his voice to a whisper and stared her down. Marie began chewing on the inside of her lip. She knew her friends wouldn't be that mean as to criticize her harshly or tell her that she sucks on a bad day, but she did feel rusty. Those were the only two songs she could play anymore, and that was mostly because they were two of her favorite songs and she listened to them so often that she never gave herself the chance to forget how to play them.
Sighing, she looked around Lars and at her friends. "Sorry, guys. But I think for now it might be best to have it a closed practice. I haven't had any practice in a few years, and I doubt Lars is any good, so we wouldn't want to embarrass him." She smirked at Lars who turned bright red at the insult and glared at her. "I did say I was only doing this for the music."
Lars looked like he was going to say something, but pressed his mouth into a hard line instead and spun on his heel before stalking to the garage door and slamming it shut. A few seconds later, a man in a suit and a moustache poked his head out of the door leading from the garage into the house.
"Lars. What have we told you about slamming doors? Garage doors are no different. And this one would be more expensive to fix. Don't let it happen again, son. Ah, hello boys! And girl! You must be Marie," the man spoke in a slight Spanish accent.
"That I am. And you must be Lars and Twister's father," she said as she stood up to shake his hand. "It's nice meeting you!"
"Please, the pleasure is all mine. I'm sure my wife will be out soon and you'll get to meet her, too. You kids have fun!" He said as he went back inside.
"We'll try to keep it down, Dad," Lars called out, adjusting the volume on the amps. "Alright, Sputz, you and Marie obviously already know a song. What was it?"
Marie and Sputz both scoffed, exchanging worried glances. "You really don't know AC/DC when you hear it? I mean, the bass is a little bit harder to pick out, but the drums should be a dead giveaway! Geez, it looks like we're gonna have to start with classic music lessons. What do you guys even listen to?" Marie asked, looking at Pi and Lars in disbelief.
"Hey, we listen to rock! Maybe not a lot of classic rock, but I know who AC/DC is," Pi defended, playing with his guitar. To prove his point, he played the opening cords of Back in Black. Lars slowly nodded his head and when Pi finished said, "Yeah, I know that one. I think that's a good song for our first band practice." He spun his mic around to face his band members, smiling slightly. He nodded to Pi, who started the song over.
It took them an hour to play the song correctly. Everyone in the band had missed cues, played the wrong note, sped up or slowed down in the wrong place, hit a few sour notes, everything that could have gone wrong did. And every time something went wrong, even if it was her own fault, Marie laughed. And every time something went wrong, even if it was his own fault, Lars got mad.
"C'mon, Lars, there's no need to get mad," Sputz mumbled, his voice low and raspy as always. Lars simply glared at him in response and barked, "We're starting again, from the top."
Once they finally played it successfully, everyone smiled.
"We should probably start thinking of band names," Pi mused, setting his guitar down and cracking his knuckles.
"I was thinking about that," Sputz started, fiddling with his bass some more. "Maybe it's dumb to do this, but we already call ourselves the Lasers, so why not stick with it? I always thought it would be a cool band name."
Marie mulled it around in her head. Did she see herself as a laser? Maybe a laser beam. She smirked. Yeah, she could see that happening. "I'm down with that name. Pi? Lars? How do you feel about it?" Pi nodded enthusiastically while Lars leaned against the garage door, obviously thinking it over. "Yeah, I'm in. We are officially the Lasers," he said with finality, giving each of his band mates a fist bump. He gave Marie hers and smiled softly at her. Marie smiled back and noticed that Lars' cheeks turned a little pink when she did. Huh, that was weird, she thought. I wonder what that was about. She mentally shrugged and put it to the back of her mind to maybe deal with it later.