nothings. I can get guitar players as easy as I can get girls."
Butt threw a drumstick at him. And I figured in about ten seconds all three of them would start throwing punches. "Enough!" I shouted at them. "You're acting like six-year-olds."
Butt calmed down pretty fast. Relly and Jerod were still steaming. "We're all pretty stressed out," I said. "Why don't we take a break for a little while?"
Without saying another word, Jerod stormed out. Butt stayed behind his drums, adjusting the heads and tightening the stands for about the hundredth time.
I went downstairs with Relly and flopped onto the living room couch. Jerod was already out the door, revving his engine.
"You think he's quitting?" I asked.
Relly sneered. "He quits about once a month. There's always something bugging him. A while back he brought in this tune called 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World.' It was like a disco thing. Or one of those wimpy British synth bands. Duran Duran. Wham. Tears for Fears. God, I hate that stuff."
"And you just told him no?"
"It was perfect for him. He really does think he's the king of the world. But we're a metal band. It was totally not us."
Tannis came into the room. "Something wrong?" she said.
"Same old hissy fit from Jerod. He'll be back. He'll rip around the block a few times in his Acura. I don't know who he thinks he's showing off to. But he always comes back once he gets that crot out of his system."
Relly went to the bathroom and I was alone with his mom.
She pointed to a picture on the wall. Two girls, maybe my age. Back in the early '70s from the look of the hairstyles and the way the jeans were cut.
"That's me," Tannis said, pointing to one of the girls. "And that's my sister. Did Relly ever tell you about his aunt Lissa?"
"I don't think so."
I heard the toilet flush and then Relly's footsteps as he went back to the attic. As usual, it felt weird being alone with Tannis. But for once I didn't try to get away.
"We were only a year apart," Tannis said, taking the picture off the wall and handing it to me. "She was really into drama. You know: plays, theater. She was good. Very good."
"Does she still do it?" I asked. It was easy to see which one was Tannis. Darker hair, heavier features. Tannis, at least in the olden days, was kind of cute. But her sister was beautiful. "She's the one in the kitchen, right?" I said. "The zodiac picture. Aquarius."
"Yes, that's Lissa."
We heard a car door slam and then Jerod came stomping into the house. "So what are you waiting for?" he asked me. "Let's get back to work."
Just like Relly said, the fight was all forgotten. And if anything, we sounded even better after Jerod had his little tantrum.
No more talk about the set list. Relly had added the last tune, "Silence Loud," and that was that.
It was great, better, I bet, than any drug. So much
power, so much joy blasting out of the amps. Relly faced in toward the drums. And me, too. With Jerod in the middle. We were a perfect four, banging our heads against the air.
Afterward, I wondered what the real Silence Loud would've thought if she'd heard us. She was a pioneer girl from the olden days. She died when she was seventeen years old. That's what her stone said. Probably she'd run screaming from the room if she heard her song. I felt a little bad about that, stealing her name. Maybe in a hundred years somebody would steal mine too, thinking,
Zee, that's the weirdest name I ever heard.
I was OK with that though. And I hoped Silence would understand if I ever met her and had to explain it all.
Twenty-six
W E HAULED OUR GEAR TO the Bug Jar in Butt's van.
Just like a real band,
I thought.
This is what it will be like when we tour. The four of us together, all cranked up, ready for the stage, hungry for the almighty noise.
Only when we got big, we'd have roadies and the places would be huge.
The Bug Jar holds maybe a hundred people. In the front room, a gigantic fly rotates from the ceiling above the bar. There's
Butt threw a drumstick at him. And I figured in about ten seconds all three of them would start throwing punches. "Enough!" I shouted at them. "You're acting like six-year-olds."
Butt calmed down pretty fast. Relly and Jerod were still steaming. "We're all pretty stressed out," I said. "Why don't we take a break for a little while?"
Without saying another word, Jerod stormed out. Butt stayed behind his drums, adjusting the heads and tightening the stands for about the hundredth time.
I went downstairs with Relly and flopped onto the living room couch. Jerod was already out the door, revving his engine.
"You think he's quitting?" I asked.
Relly sneered. "He quits about once a month. There's always something bugging him. A while back he brought in this tune called 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World.' It was like a disco thing. Or one of those wimpy British synth bands. Duran Duran. Wham. Tears for Fears. God, I hate that stuff."
"And you just told him no?"
"It was perfect for him. He really does think he's the king of the world. But we're a metal band. It was totally not us."
Tannis came into the room. "Something wrong?" she said.
"Same old hissy fit from Jerod. He'll be back. He'll rip around the block a few times in his Acura. I don't know who he thinks he's showing off to. But he always comes back once he gets that crot out of his system."
Relly went to the bathroom and I was alone with his mom.
She pointed to a picture on the wall. Two girls, maybe my age. Back in the early '70s from the look of the hairstyles and the way the jeans were cut.
"That's me," Tannis said, pointing to one of the girls. "And that's my sister. Did Relly ever tell you about his aunt Lissa?"
"I don't think so."
I heard the toilet flush and then Relly's footsteps as he went back to the attic. As usual, it felt weird being alone with Tannis. But for once I didn't try to get away.
"We were only a year apart," Tannis said, taking the picture off the wall and handing it to me. "She was really into drama. You know: plays, theater. She was good. Very good."
"Does she still do it?" I asked. It was easy to see which one was Tannis. Darker hair, heavier features. Tannis, at least in the olden days, was kind of cute. But her sister was beautiful. "She's the one in the kitchen, right?" I said. "The zodiac picture. Aquarius."
"Yes, that's Lissa."
We heard a car door slam and then Jerod came stomping into the house. "So what are you waiting for?" he asked me. "Let's get back to work."
Just like Relly said, the fight was all forgotten. And if anything, we sounded even better after Jerod had his little tantrum.
No more talk about the set list. Relly had added the last tune, "Silence Loud," and that was that.
It was great, better, I bet, than any drug. So much
power, so much joy blasting out of the amps. Relly faced in toward the drums. And me, too. With Jerod in the middle. We were a perfect four, banging our heads against the air.
Afterward, I wondered what the real Silence Loud would've thought if she'd heard us. She was a pioneer girl from the olden days. She died when she was seventeen years old. That's what her stone said. Probably she'd run screaming from the room if she heard her song. I felt a little bad about that, stealing her name. Maybe in a hundred years somebody would steal mine too, thinking,
Zee, that's the weirdest name I ever heard.
I was OK with that though. And I hoped Silence would understand if I ever met her and had to explain it all.
Twenty-six
W E HAULED OUR GEAR TO the Bug Jar in Butt's van.
Just like a real band,
I thought.
This is what it will be like when we tour. The four of us together, all cranked up, ready for the stage, hungry for the almighty noise.
Only when we got big, we'd have roadies and the places would be huge.
The Bug Jar holds maybe a hundred people. In the front room, a gigantic fly rotates from the ceiling above the bar. There's
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