Simple As A Song (School of Rock)

eleven - let go

WE'RE SHORT. THE MONEY Riley and I made at the lemonade stand isn't enough to cover the Battle of the Bands fee. Disappointment floods through my veins, making me feel sick to my stomach. I stare at the woman in front of me, and she's wearing a bored look on her face. Riley nudges me, but I don't look away from the lady. 

"If you don't have enough money . . ." she says slowly, almost like she's talking to little children. My disappointment quickly turns into anger, and I ball my fists up beside me. ". . . then you need to get out of here." 

"How much more do we need?" Riley asks, sounding so professional. I give her a small glance, watching as she pulls her wallet out of her backpack. I'm not sure how much more money she has on her, but I don't think it'll be enough. "Because I can see if I can cover the cost."

The woman rattles off a number, but I'm not paying attention anymore. Maybe this is a sign that I shouldn't be in a band anymore. The thing is, this is the one thing I was relatively excited about. Looking back on my life, I have never been this excited before, and suddenly, my future is spread out in front of me. A door has opened into my music journey, and it's only because of Riley and being in Mr. Finn's class. And now the door is slowly shutting. 

I'm probably overreacting here. There are other ways I can get into the music scene, but this is the closest and easiest way to do so. Who knows if I'd even get discovered here, or anywhere for that matter? 

The bell above the door sounds, so I glance over my shoulder. For some reason, Mom followed us into the Battle of the Bands place. She looks a little out of her comfort zone, pulling her purse strap tighter. Her school uniform looks out of place here, and I bet the other people are thinking the same thing for Riley and me. Mom locks her eyes on me and rushes forward, placing a hand on my shoulder. Immediately, my anger and disappointment dissolved into little embers. 

"What's going on here?" Mom whispers to me, her grip tight around my shoulder. "Are you two performing in the Battle of the Bands?"

"Um, yeah," I say before I could think about it. I'm not sure if Riley wants my mom to know that we're in a band, but she now knows that we're participating in the Battle of the Bands. "Riley and I created a duo, and we're going to perform here."

Mom smiles at me, which is a different response than what I thought she'd have. I don't know why I thought she wasn't going to be happy with me being in a band, but I thought that way. "That sounds awesome, Harlow."

"Thanks, Mom," I say, sighing. She gives me a confused look. "But we're short the money. We won't be able to participate because we didn't raise enough money at the lemonade stand."

"Ah, so that's why you two had a lemonade stand." She chuckles, shaking her head. And then she's digging through her purse. I start to shake my head, but she already has her wallet out and is walking toward Riley. I slowly follow her, biting my lip. "How much to cover the cost of the fee?"

The woman looks between Riley and me, and then she looks up at my mom. She gives her the total of the rest of the fee, and I frown. Mom pulls out dollar bills and hands them to the woman, who looks surprised that we actually did have enough money to pay for the fee. Our place is secured in the Battle of the Bands, all thanks to my mom. I don't think I could ever repay her for this. 

Mom slides her arm through mine and Riley's, guiding us toward the front door. "Thank you so much, Miss Velasco!" Riley gushes. "Oh, my gosh, I can't believe this is happening!"

Hearing the happiness in Riley's voice makes me smile. However, my smile falls off of my face when I hear Mr. Finn saying, "Okay, everybody, stay calm. I'm kinda a big deal in the Austin music scene, so don't be surprised if I get mobbed."

My eyes widen, and I pull my mom to a stop, hiding the three of us behind a stack of amps. Mom looks at me like I'm crazy, but Riley is peering around the stack of amps, sighing. "I should have known that School of Rock was going to be here," she whispers, sitting back on her knees. "Zack was telling me about how they were going to pay the fee this morning, but I didn't think they'd do it right now."

"Well, we're going to be late to school," Mom says, looking at her watch. I give her a look, and she raises an eyebrow. "Are they not supposed to know about your band? Also, what's your band name?"

"Ri/Low," I say quickly. Standing up, I look over the top of the amps, nearly laughing out loud because the security guard is sitting on Mr. Finn. Dropping back down, I shake my head. "No one knows about our band because they didn't tell me about theirs."

"What was that noise?"

"The security guard tackled Mr. Finn."

"So, he's not a big deal in the Austin music scene?"

I stifle my laughter behind a hand. "No, he's not," I say, rolling my eyes. "How do we get out of here?"

"Keep our heads low and hurry?" Mom says, sounding more invested in this than what I thought she would be. Glancing at her, I see an excited look on her face. She's been struggling recently, I could tell. She doesn't like that we're living at her sister's house and that I'm on a scholarship to go to this school. I'm glad she's having fun now. "Is the door close to them?"

Riley looks around the corner again, her backpack slinging off of her shoulder. "They're further in the building now. Though, Zack is somewhere on the other side of the room, talking to a random weird, very cute dude."

"What?" I ask, scooting over so that I can see what she's seeing. Zack is talking to a guy in a leather jacket, and from the side I can see of the guy, I think he's pretty cute. "What is he doing?"

"He's easily manipulated, that's what."

"Do you think that guy is trying to recruit him?"

"I mean, I did hear a guitar riff a moment ago," she says, giving me a look. "Did you hear it?"

"No."

"Weird."

Mom tugs on my backpack strap, and I look back at her. She's pointing to the other side of the amps, and there's a nervous look on her face. "We really need to go," she says, motioning toward the door. "School is going to start in a few minutes, and I can't be late."

"Got it."

I pull Riley toward the other side of the amps. Mom peers around them this time, and then she's standing up and walking away. Riley and I share a look and then we're standing up, keeping our heads low. We hurry toward the door, and I allow my hair to hang in my face. Hopefully, no one sees the three of us weird people exit the music place. This morning has been a mess of emotions, but the one emotion at the forefront of my mind is happiness. This is the closest to my new dream, and I'm excited to start achieving it.