Paul's Garage

April 24, 2000

1:30 PM

Paul met Ben at the front door of his house with a grin. "Hey, Squirt! Come on in. No one else is around, but my mom will be here in time to get us to the dojo. You can leave your gym bag here.", he said as he led the way down a short hall to another door. He twisted the knob, gave the door a push, and swept his now open hand after it. "Here we are, my own practice studio. Or as Dad likes to call it, the padded cell." Ben looked around as they went in to the empty space in the garage that would normally hold a second car, and set his guitar case down. The name sort of fit, the walls and some movable partitions had some kind of loosely hanging, heavy colorful fabric that looked like...

Paul followed his gaze and said "Yeah, those are beach towels on the walls. Cheap way to cut down echos, Dad said, but I think he was going for sound proofing. As if! Doesn't matter since it's only us, we can turn the amp up as loud as we can stand."

Ben grinned and turned to face him. "Cool!" He liked the idea of playing music together when Paul suggested it after they traded his guitar back and forth a couple weeks ago. That had been fun, and maybe his friend was right, he could stand to learn some new styles and techniques. The trick was finding a time and place; it helped that both their schools had the same early dismissal today for Teacher Development. And his parents liked Paul after that visit, so they were OK with this jam session at his place. And that Ben could get a lift to karate with the older boy later in the afternoon. It beat rattling around in his own house for the three hours between school and karate; lately playing Sumo by himself just wasn't as good as the Friday multi-player games. And besides, they'd pretty well figured out how to beat all the levels in the latest game.

Ben turned towards him with his hands in his pockets and asked "So you've practiced with other people a lot? Often enough to set this up?"

"Yeah, my folks got tired of hearing the cacophony - Dad's word! - in my room. Too crowded in there too, there's not enough room to swing a dead cat when there were three of us packed in. I haven't used this much since last June, though, except for just me once in a while."

"Why'd you stop?"

"One of my buddies moved to college, the other graduated and moved on to other things." Paul shrugged. "Get your guitar out, I'll get it set up with my rig. I've got an extra stand over there you can use", motioning towards a cabinet by the door.

Ben retrieved it, stood his instrument up and handed Paul the loose end of the cable. "Hey, before we get started, where's the, er, facilities?" He was pleased with himself at using one of his dad's terms for the restroom.

"The head's through the door and down the hall on the left", Paul replied without looking up while fiddling with plugging in the cable and making some adjustments to the amp.

Ben came back a few minutes later with a questioning look. Paul was standing next to the amplifier with his guitar slung over his shoulder, out of the way across his back while he tweaked the controls. He looked up when Ben opened the door and looked at him asking "Found it?" Ben replied "Yeah. What did you call it again? The head?"

Paul smirked, shifting the guitar in front again. "Yeah, that was the common term in my old neighborhood. With all those new sailors and marines and military brats running around you pick up their slang." He strummed across the strings, then adjusted the tone control on the body.

Ben was more confused by that explanation. "Where was this?" He'd never come across any Navy or Marine guys at all in Bellwood, let alone be around them to hear the way they talked. There were some soldiers showing up in town as the new post got closer to opening, but not enough to have any effect on how people talked.

Paul looked off at the main door and rested his hands on his guitar, halfway between the old neighborhood and his garage from the look on his face. "I grew up in San Diego, in Pacific Beach not far from emcrud." So far the explanation wasn't clearing anything up, and Paul chuckled at Ben's lost expression. "Sorry, the Marine Corp Recruit Depot near the airport. M C R D. Emcrud. That's where all the new guys west of the Mississippi go for basic training. Pretty much a bunch of kids fresh out of high school. There's lots of Navy bases close by, too, so PB - that's Pacific Beach - was full of the new enlisted toads when they weren't in school or on duty. And a lot of military families with kids lived there, too, when they couldn't get on base housing. My school was infested with them. Some of 'em would go surfing near my house." He snorted. "Most of those guys were really awful! I had a hard time to keep from running them over! Some got pretty good, though." he finished with a wistful look.

"Wait, wait! Marines surf?!" None of the stories he ever heard about the military included that! What next, tank drivers were actually girls?!

"Yeah, don't let it out! It's one of their better kept secrets", Paul said in a conspiratorial voice. "Turns out the Marines have one of the best surf breaks in the world! The south part of a beach called Lower Trestles is off Camp Pendleton, an hour or so north of San Diego. Civilians have a bitch of a hike to get to it, but I got to know some military kids who could get on board the base, and we could just drive to a parking lot!" He smiled at the far away memories.

Ben was floored. There was always something new with this guy! "You surf, too?" Not a common thing in this part of California.

Paul laughed "Dude, you should see your face! Yeah, I'm kind of a real life California cliche - SoCal native, blond, garage band guitar playing surfer dude! We really do exist outside movies and The Beach Boys!"

Ben threw up his hands and let them drop a second later. "Geez, what don't you do?"

"Team sports and cooking", Paul deadpanned without skipping a beat. "All right, we can talk more about my bitchen' childhood later. I've got your axe hooked up, and no effects on the amp, just playing back what comes out of the cable. What are you in the mood for?"

Ben looked at him with a blank grin and shrugged, more than a little out of his depth. He only knew what he could play, and his amp didn't have any effects.

"Sorry, I forgot you've never played in a group before. Let's try something we both know..., how about Follow You Down. Only you focus on the vocal line, and I'll do the lead guitar and the solo. OK?"

Ben let his relief show at being rescued from not having a clue what to do. "Yeah, I'll try." He reached down, grabbed his guitar and put the strap around his shoulder. He strummed it to hear how it sounded out of the unfamiliar amplifier and turned the volume down on his instrument a little to keep from overdriving it.

"Let me play my part alone first, then you can do yours. It's gonna sound different than you're used to." Paul started in, and Ben tried to see how he'd fit his part in while he listened. His guitar definitely sounded different than Paul's; it had a brighter tone was the only way he could describe it. Then it was his turn, and it took a few tries to remember to only play the vocal part. On the second go his fingers were hitting the strings almost as surely as when he played his mix of both parts. He grinned to himself while he played, then looked up at his friend when he finished with an apologetic cringe.

"That was good! It takes some time to get a new handle on what you're gonna play. Ready to try it together?" Paul encouraged.

"I think so."

"Good. Don't worry if you forget or something, I did when I first tried playing with other people. I'll follow, go at whatever tempo works for you." Paul said.

After a few fits and re-starts, Ben was getting the hang of it, and after the third run through from start to finish they stopped to rest. Playing and hearing complete lead and rhythm lines instead of the sometimes mangled mashup that results from one guitar trying to include both was terrific! Even when his fingers stumbled on a wrong note, his partner's music smoothed over the glitches, and he even heard a couple times where he returned Paul's favor. The dopey grin he had almost split his face in two!

Paul grinned back and said "That was pretty good, Shorty! You picked that up faster than I thought you would! Fun, huh?!"

"Yeah it was! It always bugs me when I play a song that I can't get all the sound right. This is so much better! And I heard you with that whammy bar, lots better than when I try vibrato using my fingers."

"Yep, thems the limits of only having two arms, you just have to pick out the parts you can fit in and make some trade offs to get a decent sound." He shrugged. "So, you want to try switching? I'll do the vocal line once or twice. You focus on the solo."

"OK, that would be cool." Limits of two arms, hmm..., he thought, then shook his head to clear it away. Save that for later.

Paul unslung his guitar. "K, let me have yours." Ben was confused again. "They sound a little different, so I think that using the same guitar for the same part makes it a bit less confusing to hear at first. You mostly know what you're doing, but the whammy bar takes a little getting used to. Take it easy with that at first." Paul explained.

Ben nodded and traded with him, and didn't try to hide his eager expression. He had wondered what playing his friend's guitar would be like when he walked in and saw it standing next to the amplifier that was twice the size of his, bristling with knobs and switches. After another false start while he adjusted to the feel of Paul's axe, they played the song a few more times. "That was awesome!" he couldn't stop grinning when they stopped again. "I like the way your guitar plays, it seems, like..., it's quicker than mine, especially when I did the solo. Does that make sense?"

Paul laughed. "Yeah, I have lighter strings, remember? You don't have to pick so hard at them. You really picked this up quick! How long have you been taking lessons?"

"I've never had any. I just go at it until I think it sounds right."

"No shit! You've got great sound, and self taught! You're a natural talent." Paul snorted. "Must be nice. I was taking lessons until we moved here. Never really looked for a school since then."

He took off Ben's guitar and held it out. "OK, let's try something new. You wanted to learn Cliffs of Dover, right?" Ben traded instruments while Paul was talking. "All that sound is from one person on one guitar, believe it or not. I think I can get you up to speed for the main melody, up to the bridge." He studied Ben for a few seconds. "Maybe a good part of that, too."

"That would be great! I figured the intro and a lot of the bridge would be hard. It'll be fun even if I only do the chorus." Especially when I can show her, he thought.

Paul smirked, catching Ben's expression and knowing what was behind it. "The right motivation always makes it easier! I'll start with the main chords and strum patterns first, and get to picking after that. Watch me first, then follow along..." he explained as he stepped in front of Ben, showing how his fingers pressed the strings on his fretboard.

/

Rising Phoenix Dojo

May 1, 2000

6:07 PM

"Oh man, what got into Sensei today? I haven't been this sore after class since... Oh, who cares? My whole body hurts!" Ben heard from someone collapsed on the mat. Could have been him, actually. It was hard to say in his present state.

"Oof! Even my hair hurts!" "What did we do to deserve that?" he heard other voices around him.

He turned his head to see Gwen smirking, stretching with her arms over her head and standing on tip-toes, still panting a little. "It has been about four months since the last all-conditioning class, huh Paul?" she said as she started rubbing at her left shoulder, trying to keep the muscle there from tightening up.

Paul tried to grin back but winced instead as he stretched his arms across his chest, also breathing harder than usual. "Yeah, pretty much on schedule. Remember the class in May two years ago? He was really rough that time. I could hardly move all the next day." He looked at Ben, who had managed to sit up on the mat with his head against his knees now, his usually messed up hair no doubt looking even worse plastered against his head with sweat. "Looking a bit peaked there, Runt, you gonna die on us?"

"If I fall over, just put a marker here to my memory. And who are you calling runt, ya friggin' bean pole?" Ben complained without heat with his own pained look. He looked at Gwen, who was now bent over resting her hands on her knees, her damp hair partly hiding her red face. This time, though, he knew the flush was only from exertion. "You mean he does this on a schedule? I thought they were just days he was pissed off and wanted to torture us." He did a passable Cindy-Lou imitation "Why, Sensei? Why?"

She let out a strangled giggle at the lame humor. "Well, Sensei always says we have to have strength and stamina to go with technique, right? No one knows how he picks the timing, but he's been doing it about every four months since I started here." She straightened up and walked to him, stopping at his feet.

"And no one has had the cojones to ask him about it", Paul chimed in, moving to stand next to her. They both looked down at him with amused faces and no sympathy, as he extended both arms and a puppy dog look, and he even threw in a little moan. Gwen laughed softly and said "Drama queen! You're pathetic!", grabbing his left hand while Paul got the other, both pulling Ben up with groans in triplicate.

She turned and headed towards the girls locker room, calling over her shoulder "Tell whoever's here to pick me up I'll be out in a couple minutes. If you fall back on the mat I'm gonna leave you there!"

"Yeah, yeah" Ben grumbled "Mean, awful witch!" in a stage whisper to her back as she shook her head, laughing. Lo, er, really like hearing that sound... he thought.

Paul's snort snapped him back to the here and now. "Blink a few times, bud, or your eyeballs are gonna dry out!" He looked back where Gwen disappeared through the door and said "Its good to hear her laugh like that again. Good one, Squirt."

Ben shook his head to clear up his brain. "Uh huh." He paused, then turned to Paul. "Hey, can I ask a favor? Can I borrow your guitar next weekend? My parents will be out on Saturday so I'll be able to try some new stuff without getting interrupted. I want to re-record some songs, too, I think your axe has better sound for them."

His friend thought that over for a few seconds, then said "Sure, you know what you're doing with it. I'm going to be in Santa Cruz all weekend anyway, so I won't be using it. ... There's supposed to be a good swell from the south, three to four feet. I'm meeting up with some buddies to see what we can catch." he explained to Ben's questioning look. "Tell you what, send me a list of songs you're thinking of, maybe I can help you with which ones would be good with my guitar. I'll bring it by at the next class, you can bring it back that Monday."

/

Ben's House

May 2, 2000

7:10 PM

Carl and Sandy were looking forward to the Redwood Coast Music Festival this coming Saturday. They'd gone to it every year for the past three years and raved about it for days afterwards, so this year's event was a no brainer. Lots of great food and drink, not to mention the world class jazz, bluegrass, blues and soft rock music acts. In the past it was also a rare married-parents date, but given Ben's recent increase in playing his guitar they were thinking about taking him along, so Carl brought it up during dinner. After hearing some details about the styles of music, his boy's response was less than enthusiastic.

"Um, you're joking, right? No offense, but I've heard your music, and I think I'd rather retake math in summer school." Ben mimed gagging to the side of his chair, ignoring Carl's and Sandy's disgusted looks. Then had the nerve to shoot a be-sympathetic look at his Dad. "Please let me stay home?"

Carl replied with a frown "Offense taken. You could be a little more open minded, Sport. You don't have to listen to screeching heavy metal all the time, you know. Or play it."

Sandy sighed. "Uncle Frank and Aunt Lili are going with us, and Lili told me Gwen had the same reaction. Honestly, you two could stand expanding your tastes in music. You might even like it."

Ben muttered "I wouldn't count on it" then just glowered, but looked a bit surprised at that news. His brother and Lili never went on one of these trips before, in fact he and Sandy left Ben at their house with his cousin the past two years since they were getting along better. Since last summer, though, his wife and Lili had been noticeably friendlier, almost like when they first met. Not surprising that Gwen didn't want to go, either, even though he was sure she'd been less obnoxious about saying so.

Carl knew, as did his wife, trying to talk their boy into it any further would be like wrestling with a pig in the mud - you only get dirty, and the pig likes it. But what were they going to do with the kid?

Ben could see this turning into a 'family outing', which didn't fit into his plans at all. The obvious solution is right there, if she goes along with it. he thought. "Why can't Gwen stay here while you guys go?" He asked, taking a bite of his dinner.

Carl wasn't surprised by the suggestion, but was still a bit vexed with his son. "We'll be gone for a long time, at least 5 or 6 hours. What will you two do for that long?" He couldn't hold back a slightly suspicious look.

Ben was equally exasperated. He slowly finished the bite, then shrugged "I don't know, play games, practice, watch some TV? We've done it before without killing each other or burning down the house, Dad. Maybe we'll go get a smoothie or something."

Carl raised his eyebrows "A smoothie? Where? There's nothing within a ten minute walk!" He smirked, thinking of Ben's general reluctance to do physical activity outside karate.

Ben was indignant. "We go... could go to the Mr Smoothie..." was as far as he got before Carl interrupted.

"The one on the way to the mall? That's like two miles from here. It would take an hour and a half just to walk there and back!"

"Well, then, that covers two hours, doesn't it?" Ben sassed back. "And we do know how to ride our bikes there." He was warming up to the idea. "We can cook dinner, too, or we can get a pizza delivered! What do you think? ... You know she'll keep me from doing something dumb." I've heard them say it often enough, he thought with a smirk.

Sandy was wavering, Carl saw, and so was he, so Ben threw in his last card. "We could even study. For an hour, maybe." he hurriedly tried to backtrack a little. Carl thought that was almost believable, he had just complained about starting a new unit in math, something about 'm's and 'b's - "I just got the hang of 'x's and fractions and now there's new letters!" his boy had whinged at the time. No doubt Gwen could explain this new stuff to him, she was a lot better than his teacher at school, it seemed. Thank God for that miracle!

Sandy laughed "He's got you there, Carl! They are almost teenagers, heaven help us. They can manage for half a day."

Carl grumbled "Getting too damn smart for his own good! All right, I'm almost convinced. If they're all OK with this cockamamie idea, I'll go along with it."

/

Ben's bedroom

7:40 PM

When dinner was over he called Gwen as soon as he got to his room. She answered on the second ring.

"Hi, Ben"

"Hey Dweeb? You know about the music snoozefest our 'rents are going to next weekend? I asked mine if you can come here instead of dragging us along with them. They said they'll go for it if you guys do!"

"Really?! How'd you manage that?"

"Yeah. I said you're good at keeping me from doing something stupid. They liked that - go figure! ... Aaand I may have said something about doing homework, too."

"Wow! You actually admitted that? I never thought I'd hear you say that, Ben! Either one! Wish I could have recorded it! ... " Then she got quiet.

"There's a 'but' there, you just haven't said it. What?" he said in a flat tone.

"I don't know. ... I was going to hang out with Michelle on Saturday."

Ben groaned, her again. "You gotta be joking!" He fumed for a few seconds, then had a flash, it could still work ... "I know! Split your time, do stuff with Army Girl in the morning, and come to my house at, like, one or two. They said they'd be back around five or six." He heard her hesitating. "Please don't make me tag along with them!"

Gwen considered his suggestion. She saw Michelle every day and most weekends, and it had been a while since she hung out with Ben other than Friday nights. "All right, Doofus, you got me. I'll save your sorry butt, again." she smiled, knowing he was, too.

/

Notes: This chapter got way bigger than I planned, so I had to work out how to break it in two. Bear with me...