Ballads of Suburbia by Stephanie Kuehnert Page B

Symbiotic flyer when I’d first gotten it and promised to take him to the show to make up for ditching him after school for the past two weeks. I’d been so busy that I’d forgotten to update him. “Sorry, Liam, the show got canceled. That guy Wes, who used to be the frontman, didn’t come home like he was supposed to last weekend and the rest of the band didn’t want to do it without him. I’m just going over to Maya’s. I’d invite you, but I don’t think you want to sit around with three sixteen-year-old girls.”
    â€œNot really,” Liam grumbled. He opened the microwave and tested the warmth of the pasta with his fingers. “Get a plate. It’s ready.”
    We ate our dinner in silence in front of the TV. I could tell Liam was disappointed, but I didn’t realize how upset he was until I rose to leave.
    â€œI won’t be out too late,” I told him.
    â€œOh, you’re sleeping at home for once?” he replied coldly.
    â€œFor once? I’ve only slept over at Maya’s three times—”
    â€œYou spent all of last weekend over there. Sorry if I’m having Stacey flashbacks and feel like I’m getting ditched all over again.”
    â€œLiam!” I objected, but quickly apologized after seeing the hurt in his eyes. “I’m sorry. I won’t be out too late. I’ll watch the end of Saturday Night Live with you, okay?” He shrugged, so I gave him a big, melodramatic, Harlan-style bear hug.
    â€œOkay!” he huffed, pushing me off of him, but at least he was smiling.
    Â 
    I found Maya and Cass having a cigarette on a bench outside of the Write Inn. Maya’d dyed her hair a darker red and in the faint street light, it looked almost purple. “Do you think Symbiotic should have played tonight?” she asked me as I sat beside her. “Christian really wanted to, but the other guys still look at it as Wes’s band.”
    â€œIt is Wes’s band. He started it in eighth grade,” Cass interjected.
    â€œClearly Cassie sides with them, but I don’t know. Wes is gone. He can play with them when he’s around, but they can do shows without him. Christian’s a good frontman, too. Even Wes says so.”
    I shrugged. “I don’t know the history and I’ve never seen the band.”
    â€œMaya hasn’t either, but she likes Christian, so…” Cass teased her cousin straight-faced, her amusement evident only in her brown eyes.
    Maya dropped her head into her hands and groaned. “Not this again.”
    I exchanged a glance with Cass and joined in on the torment, joking, “That’s who you ditched me to be with last night! You’ve disappeared on me at Shelly’s two Fridays in a row now.”
    Maya looked up quickly, concerned. “You didn’t really think I’d ditched you, did you? I would not ditch you for a guy.”
    â€œDon’t worry. I was so drunk I didn’t notice you were gone,” I reassured her with a smile. It was nice to know she wouldn’t pull a Stacey on me.
    â€œGood. And yes, I was hanging out with Christian. He’s cool, but I couldn’t go out with him. He and Cassie have a history.”
    Cass choked on the smoke she’d just inhaled. “‘AA history’? We dated briefly the summer after eighth grade and I think he was just using me so he could hang around Wes and get into Symbiotic. I’m over it. When it comes to pursuing Christian, the girl you should be concerned about is Mary.”
    Maya brushed that off. “She and Jessica can’t spread rumors about my sex life. I’m from out of town, they don’t know me.”
    â€œThey’ll make stuff up. That’s what they did to me. According to them I’ve slept with Adrian, Christian, half the skater boys…” Cass ground out her cigarette with the toe of her boot.
    â€œThey said all that about you?”