Chapter 4

Excerpt: Louis’s chords were growing louder: “The makeup running down, I waste everything in my head, trying to find, what did I see before? Then what stands before me.”

Chapter 4

Camilla turned the Cd over in her hand as the last track came to a close. 

“ Wow,” she said, once she distantly heard her CD player reel the disc back to the beginning.

Camilla looked the cd over more carefully. She hadn’t ever heard a band quite like Louis and the Leo’s, she noticed such a passion in the lead singer’s voice. Was it this Louis M-.,?  She questioned. Camilla had a sense that he, who ever he was, really loved what he was doing. He could whisper so slow, melancholy, fervently. Sing a love ballad with exquisite tenderness, or with flares of imperiousness. Other times, he wasn’t afraid to shout it out loud, or keep it nice and steady. Such a pity aroused in the sad songs. Yet when the time came, in others he seemed so lighthearted and peppy. 

Camilla was thinking. The tone of Louis’s voice slightly reminded Camilla of the lead singer of the Cascades, remember that grand old band? The instruments, the lyrics. Here and there, she thought they sounded like the Format, other times, a little like the Academy Is... . Thrown in was the seemingly long forgotten joviality of ’60’s bubblegum. 

Camilla was enchanted, and the only thing that she could think of was that just right next door to her grandma and aunt, lived a member of this amazing band.

~

Somewhere throughout the night, in the large world of ours. There were four young people, standing before an audience of fifty or more. It was a pity, they were so small. It was Louis and the Leo’s. Louis’s lips edging closer to the microphone, his dark hair sweeping over his eyes. The sound of his, and Nathen’s guitar reverberated throughout the entire club. Don’s drums, throwing shockwaves. The audience threw their hands and swung their heads as far in the clouds they could go. The clouds of the bands fog machine, anyways.

Louis’s chords were growing louder:

“The makeup running down,

I waste everything in my head,

trying to find,

what did I see before?

Then what stands before me.”

~

The next day the band was up at Nathen, Shrill Thrill and Don’s pad, Rick shared it too. Louis was visiting. He had a wide grin stretched over his face. Rick was yelling over the phone. No one had a clue to who though. Their interests were diverted so far from where they sat. Louis found it amusing, but his interest too, was quickly lost. 

They were sitting inside at a glass table next to the patio door. Louis was the closest to the window. It was probably reeling toward noon by now. The sun was watching them from far above. Louis glanced around at the group, no one was paying attention. Louis stared directly in the sun, he slowly shut his eyes. From somewhere deep within his head a voice erupted:

“ The sunshine in your eyes.

The only tear I saw,

if you scraped your knee,

you’d come running,

and I would hold you tightly.”

Louis opened his eyes. During the time, someone had come by and slid the patio door open. The scent of the salty bay air wafted into Louis’s nose. He turned his head towards it’s source, he whispered to himself. “You see it too, bud?”

No one was talking to anyone. One would have thought their voices had been ripped from them. Rick finally gave up, gave a few last blows to the sufferable at the other end, before storming off into the kitchen.

Louis could still hear Rick yelling. “ He’s got some choice words, eh?” Louis whispered to Shirley with a snicker. 

No one said anything, Shrill-Thrill only bothered to glance at him.

Rick came back into the kitchen, carrying a tray of beers. Even after he had passed them out, the group still remained silent, not even popping the tops. Rick took a seat too, but like everyone else, engulfed in silence, and said nothing.

Louis sat with an interested gaze at Rick. Nathen was slouched so deeply in his chair that only his eyes, and forehead looked to be visible from the other end of the table. Shirley became the first one to open her beer. She dramatically flipped back her  golden locks of hair, and crossed her legs.

Louis twitched his eyebrows at her. “Photo shoot, toots?”

She giggled and turned away from him.  

Don sat motionlessly, his head slouched between his knees, staring at the floor. Louis shifted his gaze over to Don. Louis turned his head slightly towards Don, but before he could say anything, Rick stirred, and everyone snapped awake from their reveries, and bolted upright.

Rick pulled up a large leather portfolio, and began to fumble around in it before he brought out a CD, crisp and shiny, unopened.

“ Well..” Rick said glaring his eyes around to meet each of the band members. He adjusted his glasses. “ They took it. You have a contract.” 

Everyone continued to sit in silence for a moment. Louis bit his lip down, as a smile slowly encroached on his face. He jumped up with a huge “HALOO!” Of cheer. Nathen smiled brightly, Don eyes glittered. Shrill-Thrill batted her eyes with her own flattery. In unison after Louis the band jumped up and each took one another's hands in a big circle.

Louis flipped the hair from his forehead, he began to move his hips singing: 

“ But say hey!

I made it today!

Nothin’ mores going to

stand in my way.

Baby, ah! oh!

Yeah, I made it today!

Hey Yeah I made it to today,

hey yeah,

hey yeah I made it today!

Oh, oh, yeah.

Baby, I made it today!

Made it Today.”

They couldn’t stop laughing, in unison they finished the song. The beer bottles clanging in cheer. Louis and the Leo’s finally had a real CD all their own, they really had Made it to Today.