Redwater's Secret

Confusion and Distress

October 30, 1995. Luke's House.

      Luke sat on the porch, watching his dad yell at the neighbors. He sighed, wishing that his dad would just leave everyone alone. The same people that were deemed "dangerous" were the ones being tormented by his father. Looking over at the fence line, Luke could see the band playing their music again.

      "And if you don't stop that racket-" Mr. Gardner continues. "The police will take all of you to jail!"

      "Oh no!" Dante yells, flailing his arms. "Did you hear that, Gio? Jail!"

      Gio laughs. "I can't believe it!" He joins in Dante's dramatics, which only makes Mr. Gardner more furious.

     Hearing Gio's voice catches Luke's attention, and he starts listening. It doesn't hurt to listen, right?

      "Don't worry, Dante, I'll pay your bail!" Gio yells, not letting Mr. Gardner speak. Over on the porch, Luke chuckles.

      "Oh, thank you so much. How will I ever repay you for your generosity?" Dante fake sobs, pretending to wipe his tears away.

      Cherry walks out of Rocco's house. "Uh, guys, we need to practice. The competition is tomorrow, we can't afford to mess it up!" She grabs her guitar, the sun making it shine. "This is the last practice we've got before we have to perform, so let's make it count!"

      Gio nods, looking at Mr. Gardner. "See you later, it was fun chatting with you!" Gio cackles, running into the garage. Dante waves at Mr. Gardner. Smirking, he follows Gio back into the garage.

      Luke watches them go back inside, and runs his hand through his hair. "Competition tomorrow?" He mutters to himself. "I wonder where." His thoughts are cut off by his father stomping up the driveway.

      "I'm going inside." His dad mumbles, the words being aimed at no one in particular. Luke nods anyway, just in case he was being spoken to. With the door slamming shut, Luke flinches but remains outside. He glances over at the neighbor's house.

      "It doesn't hurt to look." He tells himself, walking over to the fence. There, he stands on his tiptoes, looking over at the band in their garage.

      The music blaring away, the garage walls shaking, the band sounding better than ever, Luke's eyes widen in surprise. He didn't expect himself to enjoy this kind of music, after all. He looked over at the kid with gray hair and the one with black hair and watched them jam out. He sighed, wishing he could as well.

      After the song ended, Cherry took a water bottle and chugged it. "We sounded so good! I think that competition is ours for the taking!" When she spun on her heels towards the direction of the fence, Luke ducked down. He didn't want to get caught stalking.

      "By the way," Carmen begins, "where is the competition?" Dante pauses, muttering an 'oh yeah.' Carmen smiles, waiting for the answer.

      "Candale Park, it's near our school." Jackie says, drinking a bottle of water.

      "It starts at seven, so I thought everyone could meet up at school and we could walk over there together." Rocco suggests. Everyone nods in agreement.

      "Not a bad idea, it'll be late. Safety in numbers." Eve said, leaning on Cherry.

      "It's settled, then. Meet at the school, and walk to the park." Gio yells, getting excited.

      Luke, from his place near the fence, hears everything. It doesn't hurt to go, he supposes. He'd just have to convince his parents to let him go. That's the hard part.