Julie and the Phantoms: The Untold Chapter

Prologue: Unfinished Business?

Bobby's forehead glistened with sweat as he anxiously paced the floors of his pristine white kitchen, a brash lump building up in the back of his throat. Seeing Luke, Reggie, and Alex the night before had left him feeling as if he was trapped in a fever dream — unable to tell reality apart from the nightmares that had been plaguing his dreams for the past 25 years.

"Dad! Have you seen my pink glitter pom poms? I've been—" a glass cup shattered on the floor. Bobby hovered over the broken glass, his eyes dark and wild.

"Sweetie," Bobby stood up, shakily wrapping his limp arms around Carrie. "This can't be real. They aren't here. They can't be."

"Who? Dad, what's going on?"

"The band. Julie's band. My band," Bobby shuttered. "They were my band mates. We were called Sunset Curve. But they died."

Carrie's jaw dropped in disbelief. "You... you know those guys who play with Julie? The holograms?" Carrie's expression turned from one of shock to pleasure within a matter of seconds.

"After they died, I had nothing. My folks were gone, I had no job. But I had their songs... Luke's songs. So I..." Bobby's face fell grim once more.

"You stole their songs? So that means..." Carrie's face turned to stone.

"But Carrie, sweetie, hear me out—"

"Hear you out? Hear you out after you've been hiding this from me for my entire life? What is there to hear?" Carrie gasped, choking on tears. "Y-You're a thief!"

Bobby grabbed Carrie's wrist. "I'm not a thief! Look at you! Look at what we have. Look at where we live. For God's sake Carrie look at your clothes! Without what I did we'd be nothing. You'd be nothing!"

Carrie opened her mouth to speak, but halted incredulously. Her mouth gaped open, a wave of panic striking her in a swift gush of cold air conditioning.

"Are we..." Carrie gulped. "Are you going to call the police?"

"I can't. What if the band turns me in? Baby, you just don't understand. I stole their songs!"

The room fell silent. Carrie joined her father in pacing around the kitchen. But after a second more of pacing, something dawned on Carrie.

"Wait a minute. They're holograms."

Bobbie sighed impatiently. "So what if they're holograms? It doesn't change the fact that they're alive."

"Something about this seems fishy." Carrie took in a sharp breath. "She's hiding something."