the cadence of part time poets

Chapter 11: Hear the Angels Sing

God gave rock and roll to you, gave rock and roll to you,
Put it in the soul of everyone;
God gave rock and roll to you, gave rock and roll to you,
Save rock and roll for everyone...

- "God Gave Rock and Roll to You" Argent, 1973

It was long past curfew by time they had the AV cart rolling across the school grounds. They took the long way, twisting in between buildings to avoid the yellow street lamps that shone over the campus's main roads.

"Hey James," Remus grunted as he and Sirius lifted the cart up over a curb outside the church, "what are the odds that Benjy will let you talk more about Arsenal's chances at the FE Cup instead of giving us detention?"

"You mean the 'FA' Cup?"

"Er—yeah."

James shook his head hopelessly. "Best to try the back door first, mate."

"Who cares? Benjy can't keep us from church," Sirius beamed, wiping the sweat from his brow. He'd pushed the cart the entire way from the Design and Technologies building despite its substantial weight and rusty wheels, only letting James, Peter, and Remus trade off with one another.

"Some of us have lives beyond the Almighty," James said.

"And Halloween's this week," Peter moaned. "I told Moira I'd be the one to smash her pumpkin."

"Was that a dirty euphemism, Pettigrew?" Sirius asked. Both he and James burst into laughter, Remus too.

"No! I meant after Dorset's pumpkin carving—ugh—your mind, I swear."

The boys managed to staunch their laughter as they rolled the cart toward the church's front doors, parking it at the foot of the steps as Sirius skipped up to the door.

"Shit," he said, after jiggling the handle, "It's locked."

Remus' jaw dropped. "You mean we lugged this crap halfway across campus and you don't even have a way in?"

"Voice down, Lupin," Sirius hissed, before giving the door a little frustrated kick. "The church is normally open all hours, in case anyone feels like a midnight confessional."

"It's Halloween week," James said ruefully. "No way they're going to leave the doors open for anyone to walk in and cause trouble."

"Good thinking too," Remus said sarcastically, glancing at the cart of audio equipment.

"Well we're not just anyone," Sirius snapped, turning back to the door.

Peter leaned over the front entrance railing to peer through one of the stained glass windows. "I bet this means that no one will be waiting around to catch us, though."

"I wonder if I can..." Sirius began jiggling the doors of the church like the lock might magically open for him. "James, you grab the other handle." Standing back, Remus watched as both Sirius and James began to tug on the door handles, setting their feet against the church walls to get better leverage.

"I can't believe this was part of your brilliant plan."

Sirius dropped back from the door with an irritated huff. "Well you bloody do something then, Lupin, if you're so astute."

"Fine."

Advancing to the top of the steps, Remus plucked the pin from Sirius' dark fringe and pried it apart until it broke in two pieces. He normally found bent paper clips to be more springy and easier to work with, but the hairpin would have to do.

Ushering all three of them aside to give himself some space, Remus bent down in front of the church's lock and set to work, fussing with it the way Doss had taught him. He'd only ever fiddled with cheap things before, like the front door of Tomny's flat and the occasional fence lock to some poor sod's private property, but the church doors were old and therefore, not really up to snuff. It took some time, but eventually the lock clicked open, and when Remus stood up he found three gaping mouths, each of them staring back at him like he'd just won the Grand National.