The Coven Gig

After Connie Osbourne and Rio Delmonico leave Amnesty for college, Guenevere Goode and Yarra Govinda-Smythe begin the process of finding a new guitarist and drummer for their band, Glamourama.

THE COVEN GIG

Glamour-- the ability to create illusion through spell craft.

glamour-- beauty.

Rama-- an Avatar of Vishnu.

rama-- a forum, showcase or arena.

Glamourama-- a kick-a*s rock band.

Glamourama had been in existence for nearly four years. It featured Guenevere Goode as lead vocalist and acoustic guitar (but sometimes on melody electric guitar or as rhythm guitarist), and also as a back-up for keyboards and piano. Yarra Govinda-Smythe was bassist and backing vocals, while Constance Osbourne was usually lead and rhythm guitarist combined and co-lead and backing vocals. The girls' friends Nautica Chen and Rio Delmonico rounded out Glamourama with Nautica playing drums and Rio on keyboards.

But, at present, Glamourama wasn't so kick-a*s. For after Connie Osbourne had graduated from Amnesty High and had left for college, Guen and Yarra were faced with getting someone to replace her on guitar, so that Glamourama could go on. This would definitely not be an easy task, for Connie was a very innovative and resourceful guitarist.

Guen and Yarra were huge childhood fans of Pink Floyd and their satellites. This included Kate Bush, Radiohead, Porcupine Tree, The Flaming Lips, Tori Amos and Vanessa Carlton. This interest in Floyd stemmed primarily from the girls' parents, and also from their early days when Glamourama was known as Joyce Carol Oates and the girls, interested in "chick music with an edge," discovered that many of their edgy chicks-- Kate Bush, Tori Amos and Vanessa Carlton, among others, were directly or indirectly influenced by Floyd (in truth, Kate Bush's very musical existence depended indirectly on Floyd, and directly on David Gilmour, Floyd's guitarist). Because of their grounding in Floyd and similar risk-taking artists, Guen and Yarra (along with Connie) had always possessed an "anything goes," highly experimental attitude towards the philosophy of music. Guen and Yarra were not only hoping for Connie's replacement to have the same musical interests, but also the same freedom approach to music.

But losing their guitarist, lyricist and co-lead vocalist were not the only problems that Guen and Yarra faced.

"Yeah," Guen said in reaction to a statement made by Yarra concerning Connie's importance to Glamourama. "We're gonna miss Connie, that's for sure. But don't forget, we also need a new drummer, too."

Guenevere Meredith Goode was eighteen years old and a senior at Amnesty High. Amnesty; a small, ancient, predominately Wiccan community, was located in southern New Hampshire, near the city of Nashua and the Massachusetts state line. Guen was a petite, pretty Irish girl with long, straight strawberry blonde hair and freckles. Her best attribute was her bright green eyes, which always got the attention of Amnesty boys. A Wiccan High Priestess with her own coven, Guen was an introspective, highly intelligent, studious girl.

Guen's statement concerning the need for a drummer was all too true. For the girls had lost not only Connie Osbourne to graduation, but their drummer, Rio Delmonico, as well. When original drummer Nautica Chen's parents were forced to relocate because of Nautica's father's work, Rio switched from keyboards to drums, a position that she held throughout her senior year. In truth, the girls did not miss the lack of a keyboard player. Both Guen and Yarra knew enough about the instrument from their JCO days to improvise and fill in when necessary. But not having a drummer was a great loss. And the girls did not want to utilize a drum machine again, like they were forced to do in the days of Joyce Carol Oates.

"Yeah, I know," Yarra nodded. "But we've got a place to start. At least, with guitar."

Yarra Anjali Govinda-Smythe, known as "YAGS" to her closest friends, was a month or so shy of eighteen. She was also a senior at Amnesty High. A very attractive Indian girl with long, black hair and large, alluring dark eyes, Yarra was petite like her best friend Guen, but fuller chested and curvier. Originally from the Bombay area of India, Yarra was adopted by Witch Queen Patience Smythe and her husband Chevy when Yarra's real parents (high school friends of the Smythes) were killed in a plane crash when Yarra was five. Also a Wiccan High Priestess like Guen and in the same coven, Yarra was a practicing Hindu as well. She was a fun-loving, upbeat girl that loved rock music and desired to become a recording studio engineer and session musician, like her adoptive father.

"Connie's friend," Guen said. "What's her name again?"

"Sylvanie," Yarra said, flipping through her notebook until she had reached the page she wanted.  "Sylvanie Andropopov. A Russian girl. She's in tenth grade." Yarra smiled. "According to Connie, she's supposed to be a huge Floyd and Kate Bush fan. She also likes Radiohead and Porcupine Tree."

"Cool." Guen said, pleased at this. "Well, let's start with her, then." Guen said. "Give her a call. See if she's available for a try-out tomorrow afternoon."

"I'm on it," Yarra said and pulled out her cell phone.

The next day, immediately following the last school bell at three-fifteen, Guen and Yarra rushed straight to Yarra's house. Yarra's father, Chalavera "Chevy" Patel-Smythe, a session musician as well as a manager for several local bands, had designed and built a twenty-four track studio on the second floor of the Smythe residence, which served as the recording, demo and practice studio for his clientele. Of course, Yarra and her friends were free to use the studio space during off-hours. Sylvanie, the prospective new guitarist for Glamourama, was to arrive promptly at five o'clock.

The sound of door chimes.

"There she is!" Guen said.

"I'll get it," Yarra said and ran out of the studio, down the hallway and the winding staircase. Upon her arrival, Yarra unlocked and opened one of the large double doors that comprised the front entrance to the Smythe residence.

Standing before Yarra was a petite, pretty, wholesome looking girl with light brown hair just past her shoulders and dark blue eyes. She wore her hair across the back of her neck and over the front side of one shoulder, much like Guen was known to do these days. Her dimpled cheeks and distinctive features had the look of someone European, not American. The girl was wearing a pair of ripped jeans, sneakers and a Porcupine Tree concert shirt that bared one shoulder. A pair of Ray Bans sat atop her head. Yarra thought her cute, but also sexy at the same time.

"Hi," Yarra said, surveying the young female before her. "Sylvanie?"

"Yes, that's me," Sylvanie said in perfect, but heavily accented English. "And you're Guen?"

"No," Yarra said with a wide smile. "I'm Yarra. Nice to meet you." She held out her hand, which Sylvanie accepted.

"Thank you," Sylvanie said, returning Yarra's smile with one of her own. "You're a great bass player. I've seen you play quite a lot at The Coven. I'm sorry I didn't know your name."

"No, that's cool," Yarra said, flattered. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Sylvanie said. "I look forward to playing in Glamourama with you."

Yarra could only smile at this statement. But she admired Sylvanie's confidence.

"Come on in."

"Sure. Thanks." Sylvanie looked around her as if in awe. "This is a big house. But it's old."

Yarra nodded in reference to the Symthe's Amnesty-style, English Georgian. "Well, the foundation and part of the frame dates back to 1693, the year after Amnesty was founded. It was originally a New England Large House, like Connie's, but it was totally rebuilt in the early 1730's when the Georgian style came in. So was Guen's. So, even though all of our houses were built at the same time, Connie's house never switched from a Large House to a Georgian. That's why her house looks different than Guen's and mine. Connie's house looks today like Guen's and my house originally looked."

"Cool. Oh, how is Connie?"

"She's good," Yarra said with a nod. "She's just starting at Harvard, so she's adjusting. You know."

"She'll do fine," Sylvanie said. "She's really smart."

"Yes, she is," Yarra said. "How do you know Connie?"

"My mom works with Connie's mom at the Mayor's office. She's one of her assistants. You know, Connie used to be her mom's assistant after school, sometimes."

"Yes."

"Right, so, I have a filing job there after school for a few hours, a couple of days a week. I used to work with Connie sometimes."

"Oh, cool," Yarra said.

Pandora Osbourne, Connie's mother, had been the mayor of Amnesty for years.

Yarra led Sylvanie up the winding staircase to the second floor. "So, you're a Floyd and Kate Bush fan?"

"Yes, very much. Floyd, Kate Bush, Radiohead." She pulled at her shirt and smiled. "Porcupine Tree, of course. I love Stephen Wilson."

"He's great," Yarra said, in reference to Porcupine Tree's founder, vocalist and guitarist.

"I also am into Floyd's solo stuff. You know, like David Gilmour and Roger Waters's solo albums. Even Syd Barrett's stuff I like."

"Nice," Yarra said, pleased that Sylvanie shared much of the same musical interests that Guen and she did. "So are we."

When Yarra and Sylvanie reached the studio, Guen could be seen with her light blue Luna acoustic guitar in hand, doodling out a song. She stopped and gave Sylvanie and Yarra her full attention upon their arrival in the mixing room.

"Guen?" Yarra said. "Sylvanie is here."

"Hey," Guen said with a pleasant smile. "Welcome. I'm Guen, by the way."

"Hi, Guen," Sylvanie said and pointed a friendly index finger at her. "You sing, right?"

"Uh, huh," Guen nodded with a surprised look at Yarra, who pursed her lips and nodded in the affirmative.

"I've seen you," Sylvanie said, beaming. "At The Coven, many times. I love your voice."

Guen looked at Yarra, surprised. "Thanks," she said. "I'm flattered."

"You're welcome."

"You're gonna make us choose you before you play a single note, girl!" Yarra said with a laugh.

"Great."

Guen nodded to Yarra. "Connie has more than vouched for you."

"Cool. Thanks, Connie!" Sylvanie said with a laugh.

"So, let's hear something," Yarra said, in an attempt to get everyone back in focus. "Whatdaya got for us?"

"Do you know a song by Radiohead called Hunting Bears?"

"From Amnesiac," Guen said, providing the album title in question. "Of course. Great instrumental with cool guitar. Love it."

"I'll play it for you."

"Sure, go for it." Yarra said. "Do you want to play it naked, or not?"

"Huh?"

Yarra grinned. "With the music, or without?"

"Oh." Sylvanie shrugged indifferently. "Without is fine. It's almost all guitar, anyway."

Yarra nodded.

"Where do you want me?" Sylvanie asked.

"Go into the next room," Yarra said, nodding towards the performance part of the studio. "There's jacks on the floor, so just plug in."

"OK."

Sylvanie did as she was told. When she pulled out a red and white Fender Stratocaster from her guitar case, Yarra and Guen could not help but comment.

"Just like Gilmour," Yarra said into the mike with a thumbs up, in reference to the Pink Floyd guitarist. This comparison to her favorite guitarist visibly pleased the young Russian girl.

"I have a Telecaster, too. But this is mostly my lead and solo guitar."

"Cool."

"OK, Sylvanie, whenever you're ready."

Sylvanie nodded, set herself and launched into a smooth rendition of the brief, minimalist Radiohead piece. When she was done, to her surprise, Sylvanie got a warm round of applause. The girls joined her in the performance room.

"Yay! That was great!"

"Nice."

Sylvanie laughed at all of the attention. When it died down, Guen and Yarra looked at each other, conspiratorial.

"So, can you do that again, this time with us joining in?" Yarra asked with a sly smile.

"Sure."

"Great," Guen said thoughtfully, picking up her red Hondo electric. "So, let's see. You play the main theme, I'll do all the string scratching and tapping and stuff, and Yarra will be on bass. It might not be exactly like the record, because Yarra and I are working from memory here but, so what? Just so we're in the ballpark. Let's see what we end up with."

"OK."

Guen smiled. "I hope you don't mind the fact that we have a tendency to make stuff up."

"But therein lies our artistry," Yarra said with pride, plucking at her white Yamaha bass. "It's our personal stamp upon a song. We make it ours."

Sylvanie grinned. "No, I don't mind. Not at all," she said. "So do I. I know a little music theory from music class at school, but mostly I just picked up a guitar one day and started playing." She shrugged. "It always seems to work, more or less."

This got a laugh and nods of acknowledgment from Guen and Yarra. When it died down, the girls got back to work.

"So, what about the synthesizer part with the wind blowing sound?" Yarra asked Guen.

Guen pursed her lips and shrugged. "Skip it. We don't need it. At least, for now. If we play it at The Coven or something, we'll figure it out then."

"Or maybe, Guen, you could just make blowing sounds, vocally," Sylvanie said. "She smiled. It worked for Floyd on Careful With That Ax, Eugene."

Guen and Yarra looked at each other, pleased.

"I like the way this girl thinks," Yarra said with a wide grin.

Guen nodded. "Yeah, me, too. She's just like us."

This compliment pleased the young girl. "Thanks, guys." She said.

"All right, let's do this," Guen said. "Everyone ready?" Nods all around. "On three. A one, two, three..."

Once again, Sylvanie's playing was more than adequate for Guen and Yarra. The three girls seemed to work and blend well together artistically, which pleased all concerned.

"Way to go, Sylvanie. Welcome to Glamourama." Guen said and gave her new guitarist a hug.

"Yeah," Yarra said with a hug of her own, "way to kick major a*s, girl."

"Thanks," Sylvanie said, blushing.

"Anytime," Guen said.

"Now, if we can just get a drummer," Yarra said. "We would be a band again."

A thoughtful look came upon Sylvanie's face. "I might know someone you can check out."

"Really?" Guen said with an excited look at Yarra. "That's great. Who?"

"A friend of mine, a British girl. She's in my class. Her name is Nonnie." A chuckle. "Actually, Nonnie is short for Metnonymy. Metnonymy Owen."

"Cool name," Yarra said. "She plays drums?"

"Yeah," Sylvanie said, wide-eyed. "I think that she would be good. Also, she's very nice and very pretty, so there's that. And she's a big fan of yours."

"Well, that's good. What kind of music does she like?" Yarra asked.

"Indie stuff, mostly," Sylvanie said. "You know, Death Cab for Cutie, Bright Eyes, The Decemberists, that sort of thing. She also likes girl singers like Michelle Branch and that new girl that just came out, Kate, somebody."

"Kate Voegele," Yarra provided as Sylvanie confirmed with a nod. Kate Voegele is great. Her album Don't Look Away is awesome."

"Yeah, that's good stuff," Guen said, looking at Yarra, who nodded. Both girls liked the fact that the prospective drummer, like themselves, had a fondness for what they would call "chick music." Of course, this brought back fond memories of their Joyce Carol Oates days." OK. Yeah, let's give this girl a chance. We're in."

The next morning. Breakfast at Guen's house, before school.

"She did what?" Guen said in open-mouthed surprise, almost choking on her orange juice. "You're kidding, right?"

Yarra shook her head as she ate another spoonful of Cinnamon Toast Crunch with bananas on top. "I kid you not. We have a gig at The Coven in exactly two weeks from this Friday."

"She does realize that we don't have a drummer yet, doesn't she?"

Yarra hesitated before replying. "She's confident that that will change."

"Terrific."

Guen and Yarra were talking about the fact that Rio Delmonico's mother, Vikki, the owner of The Coven nightclub in town, had booked Glamourama for a Friday evening gig, on the advice of Patience Smythe, Yarra's mother.

"Well, so am I, too," Yarra said. "I'm sure that we'll like Nonnie and she'll work out."

"I hope so." Guen sighed as she attacked her bacon and eggs. "And how are we gonna be ready to go in two weeks? How are we going to get Sylvanie and Nonnie, or whoever we get to play drums, on the same page? How are we going to learn enough songs for a two hour gig?"

Yarra shook her head and smiled. "It doesn't have to be a two hour gig," she said. "Vikki just wants us to play something, so that the Coven crowd doesn't forget us and gets to see our new line-up. She's talking about a half-hour, forty minutes. Five or ten songs. That's all. Just enough to say that we're back. Yarra's face shone. "It will be our Floyd Live 8 reunion concert."

"Yeah, and we all know how far that went."

"Hmmm... well, it seems that since Glamourama has not been playing there, that The Coven has not done as well on teen night. Yarra smiled proudly. "Our fans demand our presence."

Thoughtful chewing in silence.

"C'mon, Guen. It will be fun. Look at it as a challenge. I think we're up for it. I think we're gonna have a bad a*s band again."

"So, when is Sylvanie going to set us up with Nonnie?"

"I was wondering when you would ask that," Yarra said with a mischievous look. "We are to meet Sylvanie at Nonnie's house today at 4:30."

"You have the address and everything?"

"Of course. She lives down the street from Sylvanie, actually. On Druid Road, in the Catholic Quarter."

The Catholic Quarter was the northwestern section of Amnesty, across town from where Guen and Yarra lived, and where the majority of Catholics lived. (Roman Catholics made up the second largest demographic in Amnesty, behind Wicca.) The Catholic Quarter featured mostly Victorian to early Modernist homes, as opposed to the large, ancient English and Colonial style homes in the Wiccan Quarter, the Goode and Smythe abode.

"OK, then," Guen said with a sigh, but secretly seeing potential in this new twist of events. "I guess we have no choice."

"Don't sound so enthusiastic, Guen," Yarra said, as she attempted to swipe a piece of bacon from her best friend's plate.

"Hey!" Guen snapped as she playfully slapped Yarra's hand, and relented when she made a sad face.

"Oh, alright. Take it."

It was at this time that Guen's mother Charity Goode made her way into the kitchen from the winding staircase. Charity, a witch queen like Yarra's mother Patience, was basically an older carbon copy of her daughter. Like Guen, she had long, straight strawberry blonde hair, luminous eyes and freckles. However, she was much taller than Guen, just under six foot to Guen's few inches over five. Charity had witnessed Guen's slap and, knowing that the best friends were up to their usual banter, decided to have a little fun of her own.

"Guen, let Yarra have a piece of bacon," Charity said in a pseudo vindictive tone. "Don't be such a stinge!"

"Thanks, mom!" Guen said in a loud, facetious voice. "Taken care of, already. We're good, here."

Charity smirked. "Yeah, right? You two good. That's a fantasy waiting to happen." This brought

about silent laughter from Yarra.

"Don't you have to be getting to work, or something?"

"Or something," Charity said as she wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulders and kissed the top of her head. "Going now. See ya tonight."

"Later, mom."

"Oh, Yarra, do you have any messages that you want me to relay to your mother when I get to the store?" Charity asked. Charity and Yarra's mother Patience co-owned a Wiccan/Occult/New Age bookstore in town, known as Pandora's Box. Pandora, referring both to the unfortunate mythological woman and to Connie's mother, Pandora Osbourne, who originally owned the store before selling it to Charity and Patience, after becoming the mayor of Amnesty.

Yarra thought for a second. "Yeah," she said with a sly smile. "Tell her thanks for all her help."

Charity looked back at Yarra with the same ulterior smile. "Don't worry, I will."

"What?" Guen said, with an open-mouthed look of confusion. She obviously had no idea of what her mother and Yarra were talking about.

And what were they talking about? The fact that Yarra not only knew about The Coven gig in two weeks, but that it was originally her idea. Expecting high potential for Glamourama with the new line-up (even despite the fact that no one except Sylvanie had actually seen and heard Nonnie play), Yarra approached her mother Patience on approaching Vikki Delmonico about a possible appearance date.

"Nothing," Charity said in response to Guen's questioning, as she gave Yarra a kiss on the head as well. Another smile at Yarra. "I'll see you tonight, my dutiful daughter."

"And don't you forget it."

When Charity had exited the house, Guen turned to Yarra. "What was that all about? What did your mom help you with? And why does my mom know about it and I don't?"

"Just something I asked her to help me with when your mom was over at my place."

"And where was I?" Guen asked, as she racked her brain to recall the situation, a rare moment when Yarra and she wasn't together somewhere.

"I don't remember," Yarra said with a shrug. "Forget it. It's nothing."

"OK," Guen said as she looked at her friend quizzically. "But I don't believe you!" She sang in a sing-song voice.

"You don't have to!" Yarra sang back. The two girls looked at each other, knowing each other all too well.

Yarra munched on her strip of bacon. "Yummy!" She said, in a little girl voice. "Bacon, yay! Thank

you, Guen." Laughter.

"Uh, huh. Yeah. What-ever. Eat your bacon. We're gonna be late for school."

The fact that Amnesty was a mere three-fourths of a square mile meant that it was easily accessible on foot. For this reason, the farthest commute for someone walking was no more than fifteen minutes.  And also for this reason, Guen and Yarra, high school seniors, more often than not chose to walk to school than drive. This seemed the case with most inhabitants of Amnesty when staying in town, for most were in love with their town and loved to experience it. And what better way to experience Amnesty but to walk it?

But this inclination to walk was the exception and not the rule when Guen and Yarra traveled across town to meet Metnonymy "Nonnie" Owen and hear her play drums. The girls drove over in the Smythe's dark green Jaguar, because they were also taking along their instruments, in case an impromptu "unplugged" jam session with Nonnie (and Sylvanie, who would also be there) arose.

"There it is," Guen said to Yarra and pointed out the window. Yellow Second Empire Victorian with black, fancy trim and huge porch. Just like Sylvanie said."

"And there's Sylvanie," Yarra said and waved to the Glamourama guitarist, who was standing on the sidewalk in front of the Owen residence. Sylvanie waved back and motioned to Yarra to pull along the curb. She did.

"So, this is it, huh?" Yarra asked Sylvanie when Guen and her got out of the car. "Cute house. Love the porch."

Guen nodded. Desiring to be an Architect and attending the Rhode Island School of Design upon graduation, she intently studied the front elevation of Nonnie's home. "Yeah, I wish I had my sketchbook with me."

The Owen residence, while not as large as the Goode and Smythe homes, was still formidable, in the way all Victorian homes presented themselves as possessing unlimited space. Of course, in some cases, this seemed almost true, in others, it was a carefully crafted illusion. Nonnie's home was somewhere in between these two extremes. The first floor bay and attic galley windows, the oversized porch, the master bedroom balcony and elaborate molding and trim told a beautiful story, if not exactly an entirely truthful one.

Sylvanie nodded. "This is it." She pointed down Druid Street, in the direction from which the girls came up. "Nonnie lives close to me. I live only a block away."

Almost as if on cue, the girls heard a steady beat on snare, bass drum and hi-hat, followed periodically by tom-tom progressions and cymbal crashing.

"Is that her?" Yarra asked Sylvanie.

Sylvanie grinned. "That's her."

"I think she'll do," Yarra said to Guen, who only chuckled.

"Well, let's get in the same building as she is before we start making decisions," she said. "We might even like to meet her, first? Hmmm?"

"True," Yarra said.

"Ready to meet her?" Sylvanie asked with a grin.

Yarra swept the air with her arm. "Lead the way. After you."

Sylvanie led the way up Nonnie's walkway and onto the large porch. She rang the doorbell. In a few seconds, a very pretty young girl of approximately twelve or thirteen answered the door. She smiled a smile of familiarity at Sylvanie.

"Hi, Sylvanie," the girl said pleasantly, in a distinctive British accent. She was petite and thin, with a little more than the hint of breasts and bright, dark brown eyes to match her styled shock of black hair and tanned complexion. It was evident that the girl enjoyed the beach and had frequented it often during the summer months. Dottie wore an oversized pink shirt bearing the inscription "come as you are" in large, white lettering that bared both shoulders and a short, tight denim skirt. Her youthful tan legs ended in a pair of black sneakers with white ankle socks. Guen and Yarra took note of the fact that although the Owen residence was located in what was known in Amnesty as the Catholic Quarter, that Dottie was wearing a Celtic bracelet and pentacle earrings. "Do you want me to go and get Nonnie?"

"No, honey, that will be fine. We'll go up and surprise her." Sylvanie turned to Guen and Yarra. "Guys, this is Nonnie's little sister, Dottie. Dottie, these are my friends, Guen and Yarra."

"Nice to meet you," Dottie said in her pleasant, polite manner. "Come in." The girls thanked her and complied. Dottie sported a sly grin. "Guess what Dottie is short for."

"Let me guess," Yarra said with a mischievous grin of her own, rather fond of the young girl.

"Synecdoche?

Dottie looked surprised. "How did you know?"

Yarra pursed her lips. "Makes sense, doesn't it? If your sister is Metnonymy, then who else would you be?"

Dottie nodded, thoughtful. "True." She grinned. "Our father is an English professor, that's why."

Guen, Yarra and Sylvanie exchanged amused glances.

"Are you Wiccan?" Yarra asked.

"Yes," Dottie nodded with a smile and gave a hand signal, which Guen and Yarra answered. Sylvanie, a Russian Orthodox Catholic, looked on, fascinated. "I'm in a coven with some of my friends from school." Dottie beamed with pride. "My family has ties to Stonehenge and the ancient Druids."

"Ours, too," Guen said.

"Smashing," the young girl said, beaming. "Maybe we're related."

"Could be," Yarra said with a grin at Guen. "And, you're a Nirvana fan, as well."

"How did you--" Dottie began, then remembered, as she looked down at her shirt. "Oh, yeah. Yes, I am. They're wonderful." She said with a big smile.

"I like this girl," Yarra said with a laugh that Guen and Sylvanie also joined in.

After a few seconds silence, Sylvanie saw an opportunity. "Well, we'll go up," She said to Dottie.

Dottie nodded and sighed. "Nonne's still banging away up there. She's giving me a bloody headache!"

This brought a laugh from Guen, Yarra and Sylvanie.

"Later, Dottie," Sylvanie said.

"Cheers," the young girl said to the three visitors. "Nice meeting you," she said to Guen and Yarra, and gave a parting Wiccan hand signal, before heading off to the Owen's living room.

"You, too," Guen and Yarra took turns saying, giving the girl the appropriate signal in response.

"Cute girl," Yarra said when Dottie left the room.

"Uh, huh," Sylvanie said slowly. "When she's sleeping."

This got a shared laugh out of Guen and Yarra.

"Aren't we all," Guen said to no one in particular.

The interior of the Owen residence was classic Victorian, with period style furniture and bright red walls with white molding and trim. The large staircase leading upstairs was the central focal point of the house, several feet from the front door entrance and dividing the first floor into two sections. On the left hand side of the staircase was a wide hallway in which the left covering wall and banister of the staircase served as one side of the hallway, while the other side was another wall that ran the length of the home and contained entrances to the eat-in kitchen and adjacent dining room. The bathroom was contained in the space underneath the staircase.

From where the girls stood, if they were to continue down the hallway to the end, they would have reached the backdoor of the house. On their right, underneath the steps and near the bathroom door, would be an archway cut out of a wall. This archway would lead them into the Owen living room. On their left would be the kitchen entrance.

In front of the staircase and to its right was another wall that originated from the entrance of the house and ran flush with the right side of the staircase. Of course, this was the same wall that contained the archway and bathroom underneath the steps. But it also contained another large archway in front of the steps; another entrance into the Owen living room.

If Guen was able to explore the downstairs area of the Owen home, she most likely would have reached the conclusion that it was very similar in set-up to her own home, although smaller. The differences would be: the absence of a downstairs hallway in the Goode home, the backdoor of the Goode home being in the kitchen, the Goode's very large living room, (almost twice the size of Nonnie's), the Goode's wrap around balcony in the upstairs library that was visible from the living room and the winding staircase of the Goode residence, as opposed to the large traditional style staircase of the Owen residence. It should be noted that the Owen staircase, being the main visual feature of the home, was much larger than the winding staircase of the Goode home, which was dwarfed in proportion to the living room in which it sat. But concerning the placement of the various first floor rooms, they were in the exact same positions in both homes.

"Let's go on up," Sylvanie said and led Guen and Yarra up the staircase.

The upstairs portion of the Owen residence, in relation to Guen's house, unlike the downstairs, really had nothing in common. Once one reached the top of the stairs, he or she could only go into a bathroom directly in front, or turn left down a small hallway leading back towards the front of the home and ending at Nonnie's parents' master bedroom. There was a door in the wall to the right of the bathroom, however, which was the entrance to an attic that ran atop the entire length of the living room.* Guen and Yarra, drawn to this lonely, strange door, looked at each other. Yarra put her hand on the knob and held it there for a few seconds, her head bent down intently towards the door, as if trying to both feel and listen for something, before slowly nodding to Guen. As can be imagined, Sylvanie was rather confused but, to the silent perusal of Guen and Yarra, she also seemed to be fearful at the same time.

"What is it?" She asked. "What are you--"

Yarra nonchalantly pursed her lips and looked at Guen. "Nothing." She said. She took her hand off of the knob. "Cute door, that's all. It's there, all by its lonesome."

"It's the attic," Sylvanie said in a nervous tone.

"You've been inside?" Guen asked.

Seeming to know something she wasn't telling, Sylvanie shook her head and made a face. "No. I don't like attics. They're creepy."

"Yeah, especially in Amnesty," Guen said, in a low voice.

"Huh?"

"Nothing."

To the left of the bathroom was a small closet. And then, down the small hallway, three rooms.

Originally, they were three bedrooms. Now, two served as Nonnie's and Dottie's bedrooms; the third, closest to the master bedroom at the end of the hallway, was where Nonnie practiced drums.

Sylvanie led Guen and Yarra down the hallway to this third room, the obvious source of Nonnie's drumming. The door was closed (a perpetual edict instituted by Nonnie's parents). Sylvanie knocked when a quiet opportunity presented itself.

"Come in," a pleasant female voice with a British accent said.

Sylvanie opened the door and went in, as Guen and Yarra followed close behind.

In truth, Metnonomy Owen was the beauty in which her younger sister Synecdoche would one day become. The older Owen daughter was also thin, but with pleasant curves. She certainly was not flat-chested, but was not buxom, either. Nonnie was taller than Guen, Yarra and Sylvanie by a few inches. She sported long, straight brown hair, as opposed to her sister's shoulder length, shocked styling. But what riveted someone to Nonnie was her beautiful face and infectious smile.

Nonnie was perpetually smiling. And this was never more so than when engaged in her favorite activity, playing drums. In truth, Nonnie's smile, when paired with her high cheekbones and truly amazing hazel eyes, made her a force to be reckoned with when in the presence of the Amnesty opposite sex. But Nonnie was not just another pretty face. She was also "ultra nice," as Guen and Yarra would say of her. The girls liked Nonnie immediately. And, as Yarra once said to a local fan of the band, "Nonnie is the 'glamour' in Glamourama."

"I love your music," Nonnie was saying to Guen and Yarra concerning Glamourama. "Especially your original stuff."

"Cool," Yarra said. "Can we hear something?"

"I think I can do that," Nonnie said with one of her patented smiles. "How 'bout Karma?"

Guen and Yarra looked at each other. "You mean our song Karma?"

Nonnie smiled and nodded.

"See? I told you," Sylvanie said to Guen and Yarra in support of her friend, "she's a real fan of Glamourama."

"Yeah, we can see that," Yarra said to Sylvanie with a grin, as excited as Guen to hear someone cover their own song. She turned back to Nonnie. "Definitely. Go for it, girl."

Nonnie smiled back and got back into her seat of command behind her drum set.

Karma, a Glamourama original, featured lyrics written by Connie. More or less a Wiccan song of praise, it was a favorite of The Coven regulars and got many requests.

The girls watched with intent pride as Nonnie perfectly and smoothly executed all of the parts of the song, flashing her sincere, unpretentious smile the whole time. In truth, both Guen and Yarra were of the same mind-set, that it would be extremely difficult not to choose a drummer who had just played their own song for her try-out. And played it beautifully.

When the song was done, Yarra turned to Guen, conspiratorial.

"So, Nonnie," Yarra said, "do you think that you could do that again, but this time with all of the members of Glamourama joining you?"

Nonnie looked at the two. "So, I'm in?"

"You're in, girl! You're definitely in. Welcome to Glamourama."

"Thanks!" Nonnie said, excited, as she slapped Sylvanie a high five. Guen and Yarra came over to congratulate their new drummer.

Once again, Glamourama would be a band to be reckoned with.

And this time, better than ever.

--THE END--

*This attic contained a stairway that led to two mysterious rooms on the third floor of the house (that, for some unknown reason, could only be accessed by the set of steps in the attic), of which, no one knew their exact purpose. A black cat haunted the area, which was heard by Nonnie and actually seen by Dottie.

Author's Note

This is the follow-up story to The Voice, posted earlier. Both stories are part of a collection entitled Amnesty Tales, based on characters in my second novel, Girls in White Dresses, which is currently in progress.