Cinderblock Garden // Julie and the Phantoms (Luke Patterson)

05

The three ghosts stood on the sand while staring at a bike shack.

"A bike shack right where my house used to be!" Reggie complained, letting out a sigh.

Alex pointed to where another house had been. "Looks like they made the Meyersons' house into a noodle shop."

"Why couldn't they have made mine into a pizzeria or something? I guess our folks are gone."

Alex let out a sad sigh. "No, everyone's gone. Twenty-five years gone!"

"I guess that vegetarian lucked out. What do you think happened to him?"

The ghosts shrugged before Luke said, "He probably just got old and moved in like everyone else."

Alex frowned. "Dude, how are you so casual about this? Don't you want to figure out what happened?"

"Let's be real for a second. It's not like we were that close to our families. Reggie, your parents were a fight away from a divorce! Alex, I - your parents were never cool after you told them you were gay. I ran away from my family."

"None of us had it great! All right? But at least we had something. You know what we have to do now?" Luke opened his mouth to speak.

Alex cut him off. "And before you say cool teleportation skills, just so you know, I'm not entirely okay with that either. All right, it tingles in weird places!"

Luke chuckled softly and got up from the log as he said, "I'll tell you what we've had since the day we came together. Guys, we have us. And we're the only family we're ever gonna need. You know what else we have?"

"I'm gonna guess death breath," Reggie replied.

"Our music, you dork!" Luke chuckled. "We have music, you guys. People can actually hear us play! They can't see us, fine. But they can feel us! If I had my guitar, I'd play for all these people right now. Just like we used to at the pier."

"They can't tip if they can't see," Alex told him.

Luke shook his head. "The money doesn't matter. It's about playing music, connecting with people! Making a difference in their day! I just wish I had my guitar." He turned around and a guitar appeared in his hand.

"Whoa. Rad. How did you do that?" Reggie wondered.

"I don't know," Luke replied. "I mean, I wished for it and then it came into my hands."

Reggie closed his eyes. "I wish I had a puppy. A hamster? Pizza?!"

Luke glanced between them. "Hey, I think I know something that will cheer you up!" He began strumming.

Alex tapped his chest to a beat as Luke said, "Come on, Reginald!"

"A one, two, three, four!" Alex counted.

The three broke into song.

They jumped on a giant piece of driftwood before running off the sand.

All three skipped around as people began dancing to the music.

Reggie stood on a table as they continued singing.

They laughed as they danced and walked up to a man and woman and the man said, "You won't find the speaker. It's direct spot audio. I heard about it in a Ted Talk."

"Yee-haw!" Alex cried.

The three ran down the patch of grass near the beach and scatted as Luke played guitar. They laughed as they began walking.

JULIE'S ROOM

Luke stood on a stool as he looked at a white box. Alex studied a picture of a girl and her mother. He guessed it was of Julie and her mother. As he tried to pick it up, his hand phased through it.

Reggie made blanket sheet angels with a contended smile on Julie's bed.

Julie and Cassandra walked in and the former yelled, "What are you guys doing?"

Alex spoke in a high-pitched voice. "Umm..."

"Umm..." Reggie repeated.

"This. This can't happen. It's creepy. Get off my bed.

Reggie sprung to his feet.

Luke raised his hand. "Hey, Julie. What's in the box?"

"That's off limits," Julie replied.

"Oh, oh, okay, girl stuff."

"Oh, like butterflies and glitter?" Reggie asked.

Julie narrowed her eyes. "It's none of your business, and yes, there might be some glitter."

Cassandra glanced at Julie before turning back to the boys. "I reiterate her question. What are you doing here?"

"Hey!" Alex exclaimed as he picked up the picture. "I actually picked something up!" It fell from his hands onto Julie's bed. "I dropped it."

Luke pointed to the picture. "Is that your mom?"

"Yes, and it's my favorite picture of us. You break it, I'll break you," Julie retorted.

"Okay, well, sorry, 'cause we're kind of unbreakable at this point," Alex said.

Cassandra frowned. "So you guys can pick up guitars and each other but you can't pick up other stuff?"

"Yeah, but for some reason, our instruments? Easy."

Reggie smiled and said, "Check out what I learned today. It's super easy." He fell backwards onto a beanbag with his bass and a grunt.

"Yeah, super easy," Julie and Cassandra said.

"It's like I thought. Our instruments are attached to our souls," Luke explained.

"Hey," Julie's dad greeted. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine," Julie replied.

Her dad nodded. "Okay, I thought I heard you two talking to someone."

"Nope, just my laptop that I just closed."

"If you need anything-"

"Yeah, thanks."

Ray left and Reggie said, "Your dad seems like the type of guy to barbecue. I bet he has a great ribs recipe."

Julie looked between them and said, "I don't know. But if you guys wanna talk to me or Cassie, we have to do it in the studio. He's worried about us enough as it is."

"He seems chill," Luke replied. "You should just tell him about us."

Alex turned as Julie and Cassandra said, "You're kidding, right?" Luke's smile dropped.

Julie turned and sighed before facing the ghosts again. "This past year, everyone's been watching over me, being super nice, as if they're waiting for me to snap. If we tell my dad Cassie and I met a ghost band, I'll be back to talking to Dr. Turner three days a week. And Cassie will probably have to as well."

"Yeah, you two probably shouldn't tell him," Luke agreed, making his way back to the box.