Opportunity Knoxville Written January 2004

By Kara

"They've signed us."

"What?" Greg's voice, incredulous, unbelieving, spouted out the word like a leaky faucet. The glass of milk, poised to drink at his lips, almost ended up on the teen's lap, a sight that made his younger sister giggle from her seat next to Greg's.

"Glory Records. They signed us onto their label, man. We're signed, can you even believe it?" Theo didn't wait for an invitation. He sat himself down in between Greg and Jill, oblivious to the open-mouthed stares of Greg's parents.

Greg could hardly believe what he was hearing. A record label actually wanted them to sign... 8 months of searching was finally paying off for Greg and his friends, who made up the garage punk rock band calling themselves Buccaneer. And Glory Records was no small prize, they were well known in and around Knoxville for recruiting some of the best local bands and introducing them to mainstream success. Buccaneer had the potential to finally go somewhere.

"You're kidding." Greg asked, still incredulous, though he knew by now that Theo wasn't joking. Not to be taken the wrong way - Theo was a constant joker - but 16 years of friendship and 4 years of playing together enabled Greg to tell when Theo was being serious and Theo was definitely 100% serious.

"Would I kid?" Theo asked his friend. Greg gave him a dubious look. "OK, would I kid about this?"

Greg stared wide-eyed at his plate of pot roast and green beans, fork still poised over the last potato. Theo had just confirmed what had, to Greg, always seemed impossible. Kids played all the time in high school, formed little bands of hopeful hormone-enhanced aspirants convinced they were the next big thing to happen to rock and roll, but of all the garage bands Greg had known to attend Knoxville Public High School, not many of them had signed on to a real record label, at least not while they were still in high school. This was big.

"Well-well, what does that mean?"

"It means we're first in line to start at the Led Zeppelin reunion tour." Theo drawled sarcastically. "What do you think it means, man? It means we go to New York at the start of the summer, get a manager and make our first multi-platinum album." Theo pulled Greg's plate over in front of him and picked at the meat with his fingers. After a moment he plucked Greg's fork out of his hand as well, correcting his 'manners.' "Oh, and some point along the way," he began with a mouthful of beef, "we meet dozens of chicks and blow a couple million dollars on cars and booze-" Jill giggled at her parents' expressions, and Theo corrected himself, "Um, or Pepsi."

"This is. that's just amazing." Greg said. "I can't believe it."

"So what do you say, man?"

"This summer?" Greg winced at his father's stern address. He'd been neglecting his parents up until then, and it suddenly occurred to him that they might have something to say...

"Greg, you still haven't heard back from the colleges you applied to. I thought you were planning on attending in the fall. What happened to that?"

Greg faltered, then found his voice, "You guys knew we'd been looking at Glory Records. You knew we'd been trying to get signed for three years. Did you just not think that we'd actually make it?" His voice carried a hint of offense, and Greg was very aware, now, of Theo and Jill's silent eyes on the tense scene before them.

"Not at all, dear," Greg's mother assured. "We know how you love playing. We just. assumed that you would make the logical choice and continue your education."

"The logical choice? What about my choice? Do you care about what I want?"

"Gregory, don't be ridiculous," his father began. "Of course we care, that's why we think you should go to college instead of pursuing this. far- fetched dream of yours. Nothing's certain in that industry, Greg. You might not make enough to get by-"

"Or maybe I will." There was no mistaking the resentment in Greg's voice now. "You don't know that we won't make it. And neither will I, until I actually try. You won't know what will come of anything unless you take some chances."

"But think about this, Gregory," his father said sternly. "You're eighteen years old. This is a big chance you're taking with your future at an early age. It may be easy to get into a college now, with your grades, but try getting in two-three years from now with no work experience or education in between. This is serious business. You don't want to mess with your future like this."

Greg's mother set her napkin down and looked at her son, in a look that suggested condescension and superiority, "Maybe you should take some time to think about this, honey-"

In other words, Greg thought, 'Maybe you should just do what we say because we naturally know what's best for you.

"Yeah, maybe I should think about it." Greg pushed his chair back from the table, grabbed his coat from a nearby chair and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" His father called out.

"Greg, come back," his mother pleaded. "Gregory-!" But her son was already out the door.

Theo looked down at his friend's plate for an eternity of tense minutes and set the fork down quietly, avoiding the two parents' exasperated looks. He stood up quickly. "Excuse me. I'll. be right back." He muttered, taking his quick exit.

-*-*-

Greg left the house in a hurry, letting the door slam behind him. He stalked down the driveway, pulling his jacket on and stumbling in part due to his anger, his bruised pride, and the pervading darkness that was closing in around him as evening settled. He took long strides down the sidewalk, not paying attention to where he was heading, but sensing he would know when he got there.

Five minutes later he was standing in front of a large tree in the park down the block from his house. Finally letting the events of the last twenty minutes soak through him, Greg sat down tiredly on the grass, leaning against the trunk of the tree, legs extended before him.

He picked at the blades of grass, plucking them out of the ground one at a time, well aware when he was joined by a familiar presence beside him, but not looking up or acknowledging his friend in any way.

Theo sat down beside his friend, also leaning against the giant oak's trunk. He joined Greg in defacing the lawn, and after a few minutes of comfortable silence, he spoke. "Remember when we always used to come here as kids and we'd climb the trees and hide in the bushes, then we'd throw acorns at the dog walkers and the joggers and our sisters?"

"We were vagrant miscreants." Greg answered dully.

"Indeed. And remember then how we'd always get bored real quick and run all over the block harassing our neighbors or playing street hockey because there was nothing else to do in this town?"

"Yes." Greg began, pulling out several blades of grass at once.

"And when we got older, how we'd always hang out on the weekends and debate for hours about what we could do and then we'd end up just hanging out playing Playstation in your basement because the nearest movie theater or skate park or mall was six miles away?"

Greg sighed. "What's your point, Theo?"

"My point is that I can't wait to get out of the God-forsaken town, and I know you can't either." Theo concluded, and Greg silently agreed.

"You'll get out of here, too." He assured.

"No, I won't." Theo said solemnly. "You'll get out of here. College or the band, either way you'll go places, Greggo. Me? I'm stuck here. I don't get a 4.0 like you, or play sports or have any skills other than writing and playing music. That's my only ticket out of here, and I'd be a fool to turn it down... but you've known me too long, Greg, and I hope you know me well enough to realize that I am the biggest fool you'll ever meet in your life. Gregory, I would give up being in the band in an instant and take that clerk job down at Video One if it meant I could see you do something productive with your life. I would never expect you to give up an opportunity like college and an engineering career for me. I wouldn't want you to if I knew it was what you truly wanted. I want to get out of Knoxville as much as the next guy, and I want to continue making music-and who knows, maybe we can find a new bass player before June should you board that other train out of town-but if you feel you have to leave the band, I want you to know that I'll understand, and I won't think any less of you for it because I'll still be your best friend." Greg suppressed his emotions and remained silent. "But you gotta decide, man."

Greg felt Theo get up next to him and leave, but he couldn't find the words to respond, and he didn't suppose that Theo expected any at that moment. When his friend was gone and Greg was once again left alone, he looked up at the now navy blue sky, dotted with pinpricked, yellow stars.

Ordinarily, when seniors graduated from high school, their hardest choices were which college to attend. It was either attend school, or don't and get a job around Knoxville until you determine what you want to do with your life. Greg's decision was here now, staring him in the face, and he knew it wouldn't go away. Very few young people were confronted with such an opportunity right away, and he knew he was lucky, but now it meant he had a decision to make, and fast.

His parents wanted him to go to college. It made sense. It was the smart thing to do. And Greg himself wasn't entirely sure it wasn't something he wanted himself. Do the logical thing, go to college, become an engineer, secure your future and have fun doing it. They would support him if he went the other way too, but he knew they would never advocate it.

On the other hand, there was the band. Despite Theo's debilitating self-image, Greg knew that they could find another bass player in time. It wouldn't be the same, he knew - having a replacement - but it would work out in the end. They would go on without him, Greg was positive. So then it all came down to his own decision.

What would be his choice? What did he want to do? Greg wasn't even sure he knew anymore. He'd never really thought about it, because it had never really occurred to him that Buccaneer might actually get signed. But they had, and the unexpected prospects demanded judgment that would affect the rest of his life. How was he ever expected to reach an easy resolution?

Greg, blades of grass peeking through his fingers, stood in his place and stared up at the sky once more. His parents were probably wondering where he was right now, and they would want to talk to him. I should probably get home, Greg realized. But he wasn't ready - he hadn't made his decision yet. He knew whatever it would be, everyone else would eventually accept it, but could he?

Greg looked toward the direction of his house, then turned his head to the opposite direction - the road to Theo's house - and his eyes rested on the Knoxville water tower, a permanent fixture in his childhood memories of home. He could go either way, or stay out here on his own - the choice was his.

So Greg walked on.