Hearts In Rhythm (4 page)

Chapter Four

“Man, I hope this one rocks it,” Cody said. He was playing a riff on his guitar killing time waiting for the drummer to arrive for the audition.

“Yeah, we’re wasting some valuable time not having somebody,” said Brandon.

      “T minus 3 weeks until our gig. If we don’t have someone in place soon, we’re gonna have to cancel,“ Matt reminded the group.

He was pacing the floor. His nerves always got the best of him. Brandon didn’t know how he managed to do his job as a mental health counselor. He decided that is why his nerves are always shot.

“Thanks for the update, Matt. It’s not like we’re not all aware of that.”

Matt’s living room was filled more with musical instruments than with furniture. It was here the guys had been practicing for the past two years. They met up on Craigslist, when Brandon put out an ad looking for musicians. Both Cody and Matt were very talented.

It wasn’t until the last two years, that they started to get some exposure by playing little gigs like birthday dances and wedding receptions. It had just been the three of them since Stephen, the former drummer’s parents divorced and he moved away with his mom. He claimed he was afraid she’d be lonely, but the other guys knew he was a big momma’s boy. He hadn’t even taken his drums with him. They still sat in the corner of the room covered with a light coating of dust.

The gig they had coming up was the biggest so far. Not necessarily because of the crowd, it was just a Christmas dance for the senior class, but it was rumored that one of the parent chaperones that would be there was an entertainment executive for a record label.

Brandon had a dream, and it was to get signed. He wanted the fame and the fortune. He knew he had what it takes and was willing to do whatever it took to get there.

“Well if worse comes to worst, I guess we could play with just the three of us.”

“Or cancel.”

“No.” Brandon’s voice was loud and clear. “We aren’t cancelling, no matter what.” He stood up from his seat and began giving a pep talk. “Guys, we’re good. I don’t think you realize it. If we want to get to the top, we’ve got to put in the effort. There’s a big world of fame out there, and we’re not going to reach it sitting at home crying because we don’t have a drummer. This next show is the most important of our band career so far.”

* * * *

Sunday night, Allie stood outside the door, holding her drumsticks. She let out an audible sigh and a silent prayer for whatever that was worth and rang the bell.

A small dark-headed guy answered the door.

“Can I help you?” he asked blinking rapidly.

“Hi! I’m Allie. I’m here to audition for drummer,” she said smiling and holding up her sticks as evidence.

“Babe Alert!” She heard someone call from the back of the room.

Before the guy at the door had an opportunity to say anything more, another male pushed him aside and stood before her. She instantly recognized him as the man from the grocery store that she had flipped off. Her heart sank.

      “It’s you? No way!” he said. “You flipped me off!”

      “You nearly broke my ankle,” Allie shouted back.

      “Wait a minute,” he continued raising his hands in a sign of surrender, “You drum?”

      “I’m good too.”

“Brandon, you know her?” Cody asked, walking up to the door.

“You could say we’ve met, but there is no way, I mean
no way
, we’re hiring her.”

“Excuse us a second,” Matt said peeking over Brandon’s shoulder and holding up a finger to Allie. He pulled Brandon out of the doorway, gently closed the door and motioned Brandon and Cody over to the center of the room.

“Brandon, man we’ve got three weeks. In case you haven’t noticed, there’s no one else wanting to audition. You’ve had the signs up for a while now. I don’t know what this chick is to you or whatever, but our band needs somebody bad, and I say you’re going to have to deal with it. We don’t have time for your issues.”

“Yeah dude, I say let her audition,” said Cody. “What’s it gonna hurt to at least hear her.”

Brandon ran his hands through his hair and let out a loud exasperated sigh. “Fine, fine” he said, “Let her drum. I doubt she even has rhythm.”

Cody peeked around the other guys and looked at Allie through the screen door standing on the porch. “Who cares?” said Cody “She’s too good-looking to let her get away. Nobody pays attention to the drums anyway, do they?” he joked.

Brandon rolled his eyes.

Cody did his best to be the ever-present flirt in the room.

“She may be easy on the eyes, but you guys just wait. She’s got a sting that’s gonna make you wish you’d listened to me.”

Matt and Cody fist bumped each other and Matt opened the door to invite Allie in. The porch was empty.

“Dude, she’s gone.”

“No, I’m here!” Allie said rushing back up the steps. “I was thinking about leaving, it doesn’t look like I’m exactly what you’re wanting.” She flashed a smile, “I guess I’ll have to work extra hard, but trust me, I won’t let you down,” she said brushing past Matt to get to the drums.

* * * *

Brandon watched Matt shut the door and stared as Allie settled herself down on the seat behind the drums. She acted like she’d been here a million times. If she had any butterflies, they certainly didn’t show. She had a confidence about her, the kind that he found attractive. Sure she was rude and brash, but she stood up for herself and knew what she wanted.

Matt and Cody had picked up their guitars and were readying themselves by picking little tunes. Allie had her sticks in her hand and was testing the tune of the drums by tapping on each of them. It was a cacophony of noise with the guitars tuning up and the drums beating. This is how it always was before they got ready to play.

Then without warning, Matt began to play the beginning of a familiar song. Cody recognized it and began to play the bass guitar right along. It didn’t take Allie any time at all to begin playing. There was no apprehension or timidity in her playing. She played loud and hard and could feel the music, even when she wasn’t familiar with the song. Lastly, Brandon added the vocals.

After four songs, Brandon had heard enough.

“All right,” he said addressing Allie, “I think that’s enough.”

Allie stood beside the drums and smoothed her hands down her jeans.

“Ok. So did I get the job?”

Cody was bent over placing his guitar in the stand, and made a nervous cough.

Matt and Brandon exchanged glances. She was good, that was a given, but talent wasn’t all they needed. They had to have harmony between all the band members. Anyone who knew music knew that bands break up all the time as the result of dissension. The fact that she was a chick bothered Brandon. He couldn’t quite put a finger on why. Perhaps it was because she was a hot chick. She could be a distraction. Women have been distracting men for hundreds of years, and he needed his guys to focus. Honestly, he needed himself focused.

“You know what?” he said addressing Allie, “we’ll let you know.”

“Ok. You have my number right?” She looked at Matt, “May I use your bathroom before I leave?” she asked.

Matt pointed down the hall and Allie turned in the direction he was pointing. She had to cross the room to get to the hallway. She walked toward it and became very conscious of her rear end, imagining three sets of eyes watching her walk off. She was wearing a pair of jeans that some might consider too tight and a Rolling Stones t-shirt. Not that she had planned on using her body to get anywhere; she knew she was talented enough that it wouldn’t be necessary. It was simply what she was wearing when she left the hospital. But if it helped get the job, she wouldn’t complain. She decided to add a little extra swing in her step.

She walked into the bathroom and there standing against the wall under the window, next to the commode was a glass cage. Allie walked over and peered into the glass looking for a turtle or a lizard but instead she saw something she wasn’t expecting. She covered her mouth with her hand to keep the shriek from escaping. There curled against the glass, lying amidst rocks and sticks was the biggest python she’d ever seen. It was yellow and white and bigger around than her arm. She couldn’t tell how long it was as its body was wound into a tight coil. A shiver ran down her spine.

A snake. Only serial killer’s kept pet snakes right?

She quickly used the toilet but skipped washing her hands and hurried out. She walked back into the living area where she found the three guys sitting around discussing music from the 1970’s.

“You could have warned me that there is a huge yellow snake in your bathroom!” she shouted.

“Oh, it’s just Bell.” Cody answered.

“Bell?”

“Yeah, short for Beelzebub. She’s sweet as she can be.”

“I hope you made it to the toilet in time and didn’t pee down your leg,” said Brandon with a laugh.

“Do you need me to hold you?” Cody asked putting his arm around Allie.

Laughter erupted.

 She quickly brushed him off.

She was truly irritated with these guys. Why did they think it necessary to make light of such a scary situation for her? The idea of playing music with them might prove to be more challenging than she expected. But she needed the money, and in order to help Samuel, she would put up with a lot more than these guys could dish.

She said good-bye and walked to her car feeling good about the audition. She knew every song they did and had nailed them all. Even though Brandon didn’t want to hire her, it was obvious the other two guys were pulling for her. If only she hadn’t flipped him off. That was probably the deal breaker. What luck. How was she to know the guy she was extremely offensive to, would be the same guy she’d be practically begging for a job three days later?

She’d left with the promise from the band that they’d be calling her in the next couple of days. She checked her phone for the time. It read 9:20. She needed to get back to the hospital to relieve her mom. She’d already been gone longer than she said she would.

* * * *

Brandon finished his three-mile run around ten-thirty and headed home. He needed to clear his mind from all that had happened in the last few days. He hadn’t yet talked to Simone. He knew she would be fuming by now.

He stepped out of the shower and toweled himself off. He put on a pair of boxers and walked to the kitchen. He poured himself a tall glass of milk. He grabbed three cookies that he had bought in Westport while he and Destiny had been out shopping. He decided he better do some damage control so he picked up his phone and sent Simone a text.

Hey babe. I’m sorry I snuck out on you like I did, but I needed to do take care of some business. I’m only trying to protect you. You know I love you more than the stars and moon, and I’ll come by tomorrow after work. Let’s go out for supper. Your choice.

He pushed send. He knew she was already asleep and wouldn’t get the message until morning. He made a mental note to call the flower shop in the morning and have three-dozen roses delivered. That would help. Simone loved to be pampered.

After he finished his milk and cookies, he crawled into bed. After tossing and turning for a good forty-five minutes, he determined it was to be one of those sleepless nights. He had some tough decisions to make. His band was in trouble if they didn’t find a drummer quick. But this girl, Allie, he just couldn’t see her being the right fit. Yeah, she could play. She played better than anyone he’d ever met. But she was rude, number one. She was cocky, too. He needed a band that could get along, not one that was bickering all the time. He had expressed his feelings to the guys.