Rock Out

She led Archie and me through the door and down several hallways until we reached a door that had ‘Studio 6’ emblazoned across the wood. Archie reached out and turned the knob, opening the door for us. The interior of the room was very comfortable, with sound booth equipment on a raised platform at the back of the room, and cushy chairs and a sofa down on the main level, with a table full of finger food and soda. Facing all of this was a large window, showing a room with amplifiers, a piano, drum set, and several men who were all tuning their instruments. A couple of men at the sound equipment nodded to Archie and Braydie, but it was one man who stood up from one of the armchairs that owned the room. With a pink Aura, he was tall, bald, and had a stubbly beard.

                “Hey, Archie! When I say four o’clock, I mean four o’clock!” He drawled, his accent marking that he was from the ghetto, even though his clothes said different.

                Archie held up his hands. “Sorry, Dennis. There was trouble at Bray’s school. We had to do some damage control before coming over. I tried to call-“

                Dennis interrupted. “You know there’s a reason why rock stars don’t go to public schools.”

                “It’s a private school.” Braydie told him.

                Dennis smiled at her. “I know, honey, but we didn’t have this problem when you were tutored. Archie, baby, just remember the time frame, okay? There’s lots of work to do, and only a few days to do it!”

                He suddenly caught sight of me, and frowned. “Who’s this?”

                “My boyfriend.” Braydie said nonchalantly. I felt the hairs on my arms stand up.

                Dennis’ Aura calmed to a light blue. “Not a player?”

                “No,” Braydie soothed, “Mono is a total sweetheart.”

                “Mono huh?” Dennis laughed. “Well, anybody close to Braydie is a brother to me. Help yourself to the place, kid.”

                And with that, he left through the door we had just entered through. Braydie gave me a slick smile, and then slipped through a padded door that led to the studio floor. Once she was inside, Archie bade me sit down on one of the chairs.

                “The couch is comfy.” He told me. As soon as we were seated, he clasped his hands together. “I’m actually glad you’re here, Flynn. I was waiting for the time when Braydie could be out of earshot for you and I to talk.”

                I swallowed. All of the sudden, Archie seemed to change from his fun-loving self to a seriously concerned Master. I had seen Barrick seriously concerned; I didn’t know if Archie would have the same tendencies.

                “Talk about what?” I asked.

                “You and Braydie.” Archie replied. “I’ve noticed over the last couple of days that you two are getting very close. Closer than Braydie and I have ever been.”

                I nodded silently.

                “Marcus has noticed it, too. We’re both worried about things getting out of hand.” Archie shook his head, “Call us old fashioned, but that just won’t happen. I would never do anything to cause Braydie harm, but…”

                I waited for a moment, and then prompted: “But…?”

                Archie looked me sternly in the eye. “If you take advantage of her in any way, you will pay for it dearly. I have worked too long and too hard to get Braydie to where she is now.”

                I shook my head, “I would never….”

                Archie held up a finger. “How much are you willing to sacrifice for her? As her Master, I sacrificed almost everything to keep her from harm. You have no idea how difficult that is; Marcus did not have to sacrifice anything for you.”

                I opened my mouth to reply, but he cut me off, “I don’t know what Marcus has taught you, but for one thing, if you are going to be around my apprentice, which you must be, you will work on your temper. No more running off and hiding when things do not go your way.”

                I looked down at my hands. “I’m sorry, I just-“

                “Listen,” Archie said, taking a deep breath, “I do this out of necessity. Not because I wish to overstep my authority. But if you and Braydie are linked together, then it is your collective safety that I am responsible for.”

                I blinked, “You’re going to tell me what I want to know?”

                Archie nodded. “For Braydie’s sake. Do you know the story of the Enlightened?”

                “You mean, the Guardians?” I asked.

                “The very one,” Archie confirmed, “It was once thought that one of the Guardians mentioned was a colleague of my Master’s. He was brilliant, talented, and it was well known that at least one of his parents was a Semien. But when he tried to step onto the plane of enlightenment, he...something happened to him. No one really knows what occurred. But when he returned, he had changed. His talents were even stronger than before; but he used them to destroy. He learned how to silence an Aura.”

                I raised my eyebrow. “What’s that mean?”

                “When an Aura is silenced, it dies. And with it, everything that makes a person unique. The body becomes a living husk.” Archie’s own Aura turned puke green, “And for a Controller, that body becomes a vessel of all manner of crimes.”

                I felt my insides drop. “Like a zombie.”

                “Exactly like a zombie. There is no way to save a person whose Aura has been destroyed.” Archie explained, “And unfortunately, that man was Leorahn.”

                I went pale. “Leorahn? The guy who controlled Ms. Foreman?”

                “The same. And apparently he has taken a great interest in you and Braydie; I think I know why.”

                I really didn’t want to know, but I had to. “Why?”

                Archie leaned back in his seat. “Do you remember your parents?”

                I shook my head firmly.

                “Are you sure? You remember nothing about them?” Archie asked, his eyes burning into mine. I fidgeted uncomfortably. In truth, I had the vaguest of memories of something I would tie to my parents, but it wasn’t anything spectacular or revealing. If it had been, I would have tracked them down a long time ago. All I had was that memory; a memory and myself.

                “I’m sure.” I said, though I wasn’t convinced.

                “Not even a name.” He commented.

                I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. “Why do you want to know?”

                He was about to answer when the speakers on the walls came to life, and Braydie’s voice filtered in. She was standing at a microphone with a large guitar strapped to her chest. “Okay, guys. I think we’re going to work on the new song.”

                One of the sound techs on the platform above said, “Ok, ‘Happiness Has No Other Name’ is a go.”

                Braydie nodded to her counterparts, and the drummer began to tap out a sketchy, fast-paced beat that would have set the toes a-tapping if it hadn’t been for the keyboard jutting in with quick bursts of pure noise. Braydie played nothing on her guitar. Instead, she grabbed the microphone and in harmony with the beat said:

                Oh oh oh oh

                No no no no,

                No other name.

                Oh oh oh oh

                No no no no,

                No other name.

 

                After she had done this four times, the beat changed, and a bass guitar started to thump. For several measures there were no lyrics but a constant beat. And then the drums and bass stopped. A split second of silence; and then Braydie slammed the guitar strings with such a force; I thought she had thrown something to the floor. The melody was sharp and angry, cutting into my ears like a knife. She leaned forward to mic again and sang out:

                I saw ya that day

                A sudden connection,

                Correction,

                I felt a satisfaction

                That just got better

                After you’d gone away.

 

                When I see your smile,

                Your eyes, your lips,

                Hear your name,

                It gives me a kick-

                Cuz I know that it was all a game,

                Happiness has no other name

                No, no other name-

                Except Pain.

 

                Being alone,

                It’s the greatest feeling,

                Cuz you’re not here

                To make me cry

                It cuts to the bone

                It sends me reeling,

                I cower in fear

                When I see me through your eyes.

               

                Yeah, those times I see

                You walking down the Street,

                And I know it was all a game,

                I truly feel that

                Happiness has no other name,

                No, no other name

                Oh, no other name

 

                No time,

                Sublime

                In my mind,

                I know I am really mine.

                I don’t wanna belong

                To you anymore,

                When pain was my core,

                And nothing else mattered,

                Happiness was so far away,

                Until I called it by its name:

 

                Cuz Happiness has no other name,

                No other name,

                Oh, oh, oh, oh ohhhh,

                No other name,

                Just Pain.

 

                The music suddenly stopped and silence filled the room. I felt sick to my stomach, but I was drawn to the song at the same time. Braydie took a deep breath and then muttered, “I told you it sucked.”

                Archie stared at her with pity, thought I got the feeling that the window was actually a two-way mirror, because Braydie didn’t react to Archie’s face. It caused me to wonder how she had known what I was feeling.

                “Sorry sugar,” One of the sound techs said, “Label wants it. How about we work on an oldie?”

                For several hours afterward, the group performed several songs I had never heard before, with each giving Braydie a chance to shine even brighter. When she began to sing the song Love in Technicolor, the song I had heard on the internet three days before, her Aura began to flow outward in beams of bright yellow, so bright that her skin flashed white.

                After that, they began to talk about how the stage would affect the show; I suddenly got very sleepy. I lay down on the couch and fell asleep, awakening about an hour later to Archie saying, “It’s time to go. Curfew is in ten minutes.”