Edge of Great // Julie and the Phantoms (Reggie Peters)

04

[Bright]

Alex stepped forward to hug Julie and Reyna, but Luke pulled him back and teleported out of the garage.

The blond boy frowned. "Dude, why'd you stop me? Julie and Reyna need a hug!"

Luke faced him. "Bro, a ghost hug isn't the feel-good moment that you think it is. All right? Trust me. What Julie and Reyna need right now is a little bit of privacy."

"I think you poofed us out because you can't handle when other people cry. I should know. I cried in a room for twenty-five years and I didn't get a single hug from either of you."

Reggie moved to hug Alex. "All right. Bring it in-"

"Don't touch me!"

"This is why no one hugs you."

"Okay, I think the first thing we should do is get the courage to ask Julie why she lied about playing the piano and why Reyna didn't say she could sing and play the piano," Luke said.

"Yeah, you know, maybe tell them how amazing they are."

"Yeah, 'course, bro."

"Okay."

Reggie held up his arm. "They're legit! I got ghost bumps."

Flynn walked past, crying, and Alex asked, "Oh my gosh, was she crying, too?"

"Yes!" Luke exclaimed. "And the only thing scarier than two girls crying is three girls crying!"

"He's right."

"Guys, we definitely can't go in there."

"But we can listen," Reggie said and they stood outside the garage and listened.

"Carlos told me you'd both be out here," Flynn said. "We need to talk."

"Are you okay?" Julie and Reyna asked.

"No, I'm not okay! You two just got kicked out of music school! I've been up all night thinking about what I was gonna say. Might have drank seven sodas, but I need to get this out..."

"Wait, Rey and I have something to tell you-" Julie was cut off.

"No, it's my turn to talk. You two can't give up music! Both your music is like a gift and it would be a tragedy! You're both basically cancelling Christmas and I love Christmas-"

"Flynn-" Julie and Reyna began.

"Uh-uh! When we were six, we promised to be in a band together! Triple Trouble!"

Reyna chuckled. "We could only get double on the shirts. I still remember wanting to hit that employee. At least we scribbled out double and wrote triple."

"We had to hold you back and bribe you with ice cream to get you to calm down. I never agreed to that name. Not like Rey did," Julie said.

"A hot fudge sundae with extra sprinkles," the blonde remembered with a fond smile.

"That's not the point," Flynn told her. "Jules, Rey, if you two leave the music program, we'll be apart forever. That's just what happens. Sure we'll see each other in the hall sometime, but... we'll have different lives, make new friends."

"That's not true," Julie and Reyna told her.

"You're both right. I won't be making any new friends. And the only time we'll contact each other is when we'll be liking each other's posts on Instagram. Every time I'll be hitting that little heart, my heart will be breaking because my best friends left me, and... Oh!" She put a hand to her head. "Do either of you have any soda? My head hurts."