Jack Scorpion’s was mostly empty when we got there, save for the pool players in one corner and a couple of guys playing poker in another. We took it in for a moment or two, mostly approvingly, before Jack came out to greet us.

“So here’s the deal. You guys play tonight, and if it’s good reception, you’ve got the month, right?”

I nodded. Nickel went off with Jack to discuss the finer details, and the rest of us headed over to the stage to set up. After we’d stored our stuff safely in the back, we went back to The Bandwagon (my idea) to retrieve Kit’s drums. “No offence,” he said to Jack as we staggered past, “But mine’s the only kit I haven’t broken yet, no matter how much I beat the living tar out of it.”

“Okay, people!” I called, grabbing for the attention of my scattered band- Ethan was flirting with a blushing barmaid, Rain was hustling at poker, Kit spinning around and around on a stool and Nickel reading a manga volume in a beanbag chair. “Sound check!”

Nickel and Zack immediately hooked up their guitars and held a mock duel to entertain whomever might have been listening, Kit launched himself at the drums and battered them as hard as he dared to before the show, Rain followed the guys until one of the strings snapped on her bass and she had to restring it, and I began with some scales. It was hectic in our band, but I loved every minute.

“Hey, guys and girls!” I shouted out to the crowd, which had multiplied exponentially since this afternoon, “We’re Polemic Pandemic and I’m Zephyr, that’s Ethan, he’s Nickel, she’s Rain, and the guy on the drums is Kit!”

They cheered us pretty loudly, which was quite encouraging.

“Alrighty,” Rain said into her mic, “This song is called ‘Dynamite’. Take it away, Kit!”

A couple of guys from the crowd whistled at her, but they were drowned out by the sudden explosion that emanated from the drums. This was always our opening number; between Kit’s ninja-skills as he wailed on the pads and the solid guitar lines that opened up, it was very hard not to get drawn in. In seconds, the pit before us was tumultuous and buzzing like a hornet’s nest.

During Ethan’s solo in the third song we’d played that night, “Rain Man”, I got a good chance to look at our audience. I reckoned there were about thirty or fourty people in all, dancing under the hazy lights that shone from the rafters like beacons. I saw people with a definite ‘first gig’ look about them, others looking like this was a second home. I saw a couple of people reeling around as if they’d had too much to drink. And then I saw her. My heartbeat skipped as she met my gaze, and a shiver ran up my spine. Magic. From that moment, I leapt back into the song with renewed vigour. We played a couple more, and then, when the crowds had settled down again, hopped off the stage to get a drink.

Jack came over, eyes shining with glee. “You guys blew them away! You were fantastic! You’ve got the month!” I didn’t really listen; I was too busy scanning the crowds as I sipped my lemonade, but to no avail.

She was gone.

“Anyone want that?” I said, as I reached for the last slice of pizza.

“I’ll play you for it,” Kit said.

I put on a poker face. “Ready?”

“Three, two, one… go!”

We drew on rock.

“Once more! Three, two, one, go!”

We drew on rock again.

“Argh! I’m gonna beat you!” I cried. “Three, two, on-”

In that second, I looked down, just as Nickel’s hand shot out and grabbed the slice from the box.

“Nickel!” He grinned back, teeth flashing in victory. Just as he was about to put it in his mouth, Ethan swiped it from his hand, and in one clean motion devoured the whole thing. Rain bopped him on the back of the head.

“Ow!”

“You know Kit wanted that!”

I should explain. Rain’s got this whole older-sister complex for Kit, because she never had a kid brother when she was growing up, and there’s something about him that just makes the entire female populace want to hug him.

“Hey, I wanted it too,” I grumbled.

“Yes, but Kit was going to beat you at Rock-Paper-Scissors. He always does,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Damn. I don’t have a comeback for that one.

I turned back to Kit, or where he wasn’t, only to see he’d already wandered off to batter the drums again, pizza totally forgotten.

“Alright, guys,” Rain said, standing up, “I’ll see you later. Zeph, yours tomorrow for practice?”

I nodded.

“See ya,” She called over her shoulder as she exited the bar.

“Rain has left the building,” Ethan snickered to Nickel, before announcing it was time for them to go too.

“Come on, little bother,” he said, as Nickel started to moan. “It’s already midnight, and you know what Mum’s like.”

Nickel ignored him.

“Nicholaides Griffin,” Ethan said, imitating his mother perfectly, “You are going to come home right now!”

Nickel rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, cursing his parents for choosing him such an odd name. However, his stung pride allowed him to get one cheap parting shot.

“Ethan! You suck!” Nickel grumbled, as his older twin half marched him out the door. “See ya, Zeph! Bye, Kit!”

I closed my eyes and listened to Kit drumming away in the back. He always put his heart and soul into every play, tore into those drums like it was his last chance ever. I supposed it was cathartic, in a way; he may act like a goof on the outside, but he was vulnerable on the inside. I guess that’s part of the reason all the girls wanted to look after him; he needed it. Kit’d grown up in a war zone- his parents were always fighting, his mum drank, his dad drank, and his brother had killed himself on the road when Kit was six. We’d met shortly after that, and he ‘adopted’ me as a surrogate. After his parents had split up, he’d had to live with his mum. She’d turned nasty, and eventually he was emancipated at fifteen. He’d immediately moved in with me (by that time, I’d already got my own apartment), and we’d formed the band, along with our friends, a few weeks later. Kit had really come into his own with his drumming. He’d told me it was the best feeling he’d ever had, where he could just forget about everything and rock out in his own little world.

I snapped back to reality, noticing that the drumming had stopped. The question formed on my tongue, but I never had to say it. I looked over and saw that Kit had fallen asleep, still clutching the sticks tightly to him.

“Sorry, hobbit,” I said, nudging him awake, “But we’ve gotta get you back.”

Between us, we got the drums back into The Bandwagon, and Kit slumped onto the backseat.

Things were starting to come together for us, I realized. We’d played a proper gig and been invited back for a whole month. Our dream had finally begun to take flight. And then there was that girl…

“Hey, Rain, what’s that you’re playing?”
She looked up. “Oh, nothing.”

A spark lit in Ethan’s eye, and he began to improvise. Kit jumped in at the back and then Nickel as well.

“My turn, I guess,” I said. “Hmm…”

The others began to loop the tune and verses alternately. I began to hum along until the humming evolved into words.

“We’ll do everything in our power

We’ll make this our finest hour

The night sky all around us all is black

We lost the city and now- it’s time to take it back!

You came and you invaded
Set up your defenses
Told us that there’s no way we can win

You underestimated
relaxed and dulled your senses
And now it is our time, so let’s begin

We’ll do everything in our power

We’ll make this our finest hour

The night sky all around us all is black

We lost the city and now- it’s time to take it back!

While you have been sleeping

We’ve secretly been scheming

We gave the slip to your all-seeing eye

Tonight we’ve been a-creeping

While you were in bed dreaming

Your time is up and our return is nigh

We’ll do everything in our power

We’ll make this our finest hour

The night sky all around us all is black

We lost the city and now- it’s time to take it back!”

We spent the whole day hanging out and jamming together, laughing and messing around like we were kids again. It was fantastic. We even went out to see a movie together, completely on impulse. Just like old times, I thought, as we lay in the park, watching the clouds amble lazily across the sky and the sun dancing on the lake, as if it hadn’t a care in the world.

Kit climbed a tree and was surprised when it rustled, barked, and dropped a small dog onto his head. We bought ice creams and ended up lobbing them at each other. We sang loudly and played air guitar as one of our favourite bands played on a nearby radio, to the chagrin of our fellow patrons, and when we got booted out we ran all the way back to my place as the sunset blazed gloriously over the city.

It almost hurt to say goodbye to the others when they finally left, even though I knew I’d be seeing them soon. We usually got together on Thursdays, when we all had an evening off, which we usually used to practice, and then on Friday would be our second gig for Jack.

“Hey, everybody! It’s us again!” I greeted the crowd, which had at least doubled since last time.

The final chords of Dynamite rang out before I spoke out again.

“A little change to our line-up tonight; this song is called ‘Take it Back’! We wrote it last week, so, enjoy!” I nodded to Rain and she began to play. I’d thought the song was good back in my practice room, but the live setting and huge stacks managed to accentuate it even more. It totally blew them away.

Tumultuous applause welcomed the next song in, and it was Ethan’s time to shine. He’d written ‘Mr Wild’ almost entirely himself, with a little of Nickel’s input, and it had to be said, his ferocious playing style made for some fantastic solos.

With the addition of a couple of extra songs that we hadn’t played last time, we decided to put a brief intermission into our gig, so we could all get a drink and rest our achings for a few minutes. I decided to use mine to hunt down the mysterious girl I’d seen earlier. That same shiver ran up my spine as I looked into her smoky eyes, took a deep breath, and introduced myself.

“Hey,” I said, “I’m Zephyr.”

“Hi,” she said, “I’m Tanya.”

We started chatting for a bit, until I fanned the flames of my courage.

“Listen,” I said, “Are you doing anything tomorrow night?”

“No, and I’d love to go out with you.”
I grinned giddily. “Okay, well, I’ve gotta go. I’ll maybe catch you after, hmm?”
“Sure, I’ll stick around, unless my friend drags me off.”

Unfortunately for me, that seemed to be the case, because I couldn’t see Tanya anywhere after the set. But she had slipped me her number, so I called her up when Kit and I got home.

“Hey, Zephyr. I’m sorry I couldn’t stick around, but Jules needed to get home. She said something about a huge project for Monday, and she was my ride home, so I couldn’t not go with. Sorry,” she said, and sounded it.

“So where shall we go on Saturday, then?”
“Shall we go to the cinema? I’ve heard there’s a new thriller out. I LOVE horror films,” she said, and laughed, a silver tinkling that rang appealingly in my ears.

“Okay, well, gotta go. See ya.”

Click.

“Oh, hey, Zephyr?”

“Hello?” I said, groggily, as the last vestiges of sleep released their grip.

“I’m so sorry, but my mum’s not well and I’ve gotta look after her.”

“Ouch. Do you know what’s wrong?”

“No, but she looks and feels terrible.”

I drew in my breath sharply. “I’m so sorry!”

“Not your problem; although, obviously, we’ll have to reschedule.”

“Alright. I’ll call you soon.”

I slumped, defeat heavy on my head like a ton of bricks. She had said ‘reschedule’, however, rather than cancel, so there was hope yet. She called me later to reschedule for Tuesday evening, and my spirits lifted.

Tuesday came, and I went to the cinema at eight, like Tanya had said to do. I waited for her... and waited... and waited. Time passed. The movie started. I stayed outside in the cold until I felt a buzzing against my leg. I took out my mobile, flipped it open as it pulsed in my hand, and read the text.

Srry x

Cnt make it 2nite x

Nt well xxx

Xx Tanya xx

I went home to find Kit had found the secret stash of Cheetos and was feeding them sneakily to Rain’s cat, whom he adored, while Rain’s back was turned, and Rain herself was picking a movie from the cupboard.

“Hey,” I said as I walked in.

“I hope you don’t mind, Zeph, I just came over because Kit said he wanted somebody to talk to whilst you were out.”

“No problem,” I said, and trudged to my bedroom, sank heavily into the mattress, and wallowed in self-pity.

“What’s all that about?” Rain said.

“Some girl,” Kit whispered back.

“Who?”

“He didn’t say.”

Friday, and no other word from Tanya, but I was still hoping she’d be at the gig. And she was! Dancing away, her face occasionally swam into view before the living, swaying mass of arms, legs, crazy hair and booze swallowed it whole.

I lost track of her as I sang, but decided to find her during the break. When the break rolled over, I hopped down and passed through the seething crowds of people chatting and drinking until I stumbled across her, locking lips with another guy. My blood boiled and I left before she saw me. Or maybe she did; at any rate, she hadn’t cared.

I felt used. She’d strung me along, wasted my time. Well, no more. Pushing all thought of Tanya from my mind, I rejoined the band on the stage and we began the second set. That’s what it was all about; the music, not the girls.

After the crowd dispersed, I sunk into a beanbag chair, flipped open my phone and sent a text to Tanya.

You’ll be great lyrics.

And then, for some reason, at that moment the whole weight of the situation crashed down on my head. My anger faded and became sadness. And that’s when Rain found me. In seconds, she had the whole situation out in the open.

“It’s okay, Zeph. The music’s what matters. Besides, there are plenty more girls out there, just dying for your attention.”

That cheered me up a great deal. “Thanks,” I whispered, hugging her briefly before going off to sort out my stuff and get another lemonade.

Ironically, it seemed that now I didn’t want to see Tanya, I suddenly saw a lot more of her and the other guy. In the supermarket, in the park, at Jack’s, everywhere I went, she was there. I’d tell this all to Rain, who’d calmly reply that I should ignore her, and that there were plenty more girls out there, plenty more fish in the sea; and this would keep me going. At least, until the next time.

Before the third gig we played at Jack’s, Tanya arrived early and came to talk to me.

“Zephyr, I owe you a huge apology,” she said. “I’ve been evil and heartless, and I reckon that I should at least explain why. You see, there was this bet that I could-”

How was this supposed to make it better?

“Save it,” I growled. “I don’t give a damn anymore.”

As she left, Rain came up behind me, bass guitar in hand. She put her free hand on my shoulder and said, “Forget her, Zeph. She’s caused you too much trouble. Besides, there are plenty more fish in the sea.”

I looked at her then. I mean, really looked at her.

“You know what?” I said, “You’re right.”

“Zeph, I-”

“We’ll talk after we’re done here, I promise. But for now, I need you as a bassist and a friend onstage.”

I turned to the others.

“Come on guys,” I said, smiling, “We’ve got a show to do.”