Chapter 3: New Talent

       "Eleanor? Eleanor, are you awake? Sweetie, don't do this to me..."

       I sat up in bed and blearily looked at the clock on my nightstand. 7:30? Jeez, woman! I'm sleeping! Please, just GO AWA--

       "Eleanor! I need to talk to you!! Please unlock your door!"

       "Stop calling me by that wretched name, will you?" I said, as I stumbled out of bed and yanked open my door. "I've told you a million times already to call me Ellie. Now, what do you want?"

       "Eleanor is a name for a refined woman," Bev sniffed.

       I laughed and cocked an eyebrow. Pointing at my tattered football jeresy I use as a sleep shirt, I asked, "Do I look like a refined woman to you? No, I don't. What. Do. You. Want?"

      "I need to apologize for what--"

      "Tell Ronnie. I couldn't care less. Really. So go away and let me get dressed."

      "B***h."

      "Stupid stilted w***e. Bye, now!" I slammed the door before she could say more. I listened as she shuffled down the hallway, calling out for Ronnie. See, Ronnie? I thought to myself. Told you she'd apologize.

 

      When we got to the Garage, Blake took Ronnie inside and told me that Dorothy's Romeo had gotten there a little early.

      "Well, its 11:30. Its not exactly a crime to be more prepared than necessary. Thanks, Blake."

      "Not a problem. Hey, do you think I could convince you to go with me to that new eatery down the street tonight? I hear the food there is to die for."

      I instantly regretted not going inside when I had the chance. I hate when he asks me out.

      "No, I can't. I need to take care of some things at home tonight, and...well, you know. Sorry." This time I did rush inside. I locked the Garage door behind me. Whatever music that was playing stopped abruptly; I was kind of sad that it did. It sounded good. I turned around and got my first look at Dorothy's Romeo.

     Two guys and a girl. There was a drum set, two guitars, and a microphone. Only the actual instruments were occupied. So where is the singer in this group...?

     I walked toward them and smiled at the drummer. "Hey, you must be Dominic. I'm Ellie. How's it going today?"

     Dominic groaned. "Jerad told you to call me Dominic? Does that idiot ever learn? My name is Kastor James, but you can call me Kass. Dominic is my middle name. My stupid cousin can't stand my real name, or my nickname, so he calls me by my middle name. Please. Please, please, please. Don't follow his example."

      The girl guitarist laughed and shook my hand. "Don't mind him; he's really touchy when it comes to his name. If you get to know him more, maybe he'll tell you why," she laughed again, and winked. "I'm Aimee Grattley. Call me Grady. And this is Brandon James."

      "Bran," replied the bassist. "And Kass is my brother. Our singer seems to be M.I.A right now, but I'll introduce you to him anyways. His name is Quinn Bradshawe, and believe it or not, he actually doesn't go by a nickname."

      I'll have to admit, I was overwhelmed. They were a pretty vibrant bunch, vocalist not included. Aimee, oops, Grady looks like your generic all-American girl, with the exception of her bright red hair and orange tips; she also has a nose piercing. Her eyes are a rich chocolate color. I would've known Kass and Bran were brothers without Bran's little insert. The twins are very striking in their looks, with dirty-blonde hair and eyes such a vibrant green that they rival even the purest jade. Without the instruments, you would only be able to tell them apart by the piercings. Kass sports two double zero guages in his ears, and an eybrow piercing on his left eyebrow; Bran has an industrial and a double zero guage in one ear, with a series of cartilage peircings in the other. All three looked odd, but were all beautiful at the same time. 

      "Well, my name is Eleanor, but call me Ellie," I said with a little wink of my own. I got the expected giggles and smirks from Kass, Bran and Grady; apparently the whole nickname thing is kinda funny to them, too. "I have a few rules that you need to adhere to. Don't worry, they aren't life-altering...I hope. First, and most importantly: no drugs; no alcohol. You can drink on your own time, but absolutely no drugs. My 13 year old sister comes here with me, and the last thing she needs is to be around a bunch of druggies. Beyond that, I've found that depending on the drug, you could end up being extremely unreliable after a time. I need serious performers. Do i have any objections to this?"

     The twins looked a little uneasy, but it was Grady that spoke up. "No, thats fine. But are you including cigarettes in this?"

     "No," was my reply. The twins looked instantly relieved.

     "If you want to smoke cigarettes, thats fine, but please do it outside. And if anyone comes in here smelling like any sort of alcohol or drug, I'll immediately kick you out."

     "Understood, but--hypothetically speaking--if one of us were to come in here smelling of anything and we were to get kicked out, would it be final, or would we have a chance to get back in your good graces?" asked Kass.

     "It depends on the situation. But It's hard to get back on my good graces, so we'll have to tend to that situation if it arises. Hopefully, it won't."

 

     After going over the rest of the rules, we sat down and got to know each other better, while waiting for this Quinn guy to show up. I didn't really mind the wait; as it turns out, this group is really good company.

     Aimee is the youngest of the band, at only sixteen years of age. Her father was in his own band when he was younger, and coached her in both vocals and guitar. She herself said that she was never really good at singing, but she eventually picked up screaming. According to the twins, shes damned amazing at it.

     Kass and Bran have a different story. For the first fourteen years of their lives, they didn't know each other. They knew of each other, but beyond that, neither really thought of the other. They were adopted by two separate families on opposite sides of the country. Then on the boy's fourteenth birthday, the adoptive families decided it was time that they met. To hear them tell it, it was kind of like meeting their soulmate; "No homo," joked Kass. They had both taken music lessons all of their lives, and initially bonded over that. Finding more and more in common, they convinced their adoptive parents to let one of the boys move in with the other family. That twist of fate landed both of them together on the east coast and three years after the day they met, in to the Garage.

     "Quinn!" shouted Bran. "Finally! Where have you been?"

     Quinn? I turned around to greet the latecomer and was met by one of the strongest smells I've ever encountered: weed. It was practically oozing off of this boy in waves.

Reviews

[Jewell Leigh]

I love this story.

[Kathleen]

oooh nice ending :) me likeee mucho...keep writing, im eager for more! :)

[Different Wings]

very good... the paragraph describing the characters and the dialogue before hand is excellent. i do think that Ellie is a little to forward and seem to rule without any trouble in every situation, but that's her character, so I guess she has to adhere to it.

[Ray Frontera]

Still good. Keep taking your time with the chapters as your book has a nice, natural pace.