Bad Reputation

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Agreeing to be a co-manager of a band I know next to nothing about probably wasn't one of my best ideas. So far my work has consisted of keeping Nathan and Gwen's rage at a minimum and babysitting the group at school. Giovanni had been right, they were here to stay undetected by the paparazzi. This just means they can't bring to much attention to themselves in public.

Once Elaine and Robert returned from their trip we had to keep our band discussions on the down low. If Elaine were to find out about me managing the band that was currently living under the same roof as her, she would freak out. The worst that could happen is she makes me quit and then 'banish' me to my room. That or she tries to turn it into some sort of publicity stunt to get more attention on herself.

We had all agreed it was in our best interests not to tell her or anyone else in the house. I'd never hear the end of this if Anna were to find out. She'd probably end up telling Elaine too.

---

"Have you come up with a new name for the band?" I asked as we ate lunch on the roof. Today was one of the rare days that Julian didn't bug us in our free time. Class was a whole different matter.

"Do you know how long it took us to come up with the one we have now?" Gwen asked, obviously annoyed that I wouldn't let go of the matter.

"Yeah, yeah," I said in a dismissing tone. "You spent months looking through dictionaries trying to find some interesting words until one day you all stayed up 'till dawn when you all decided on 'Before Dawn' as your band name. It really is a great backstory."

She narrowed her eyes at me, most likely deciding that she hated me even more. "Alright, what name ideas do you have, Ms. Know-It-All?"

I smiled. "Now that you mention it, I do have a few names I came up with throughout the week. Let's see. I've got Bound Idea, Take Caution, Dead End-"

"Hold up," Nathan interrupted. "Why Dead End?"

"I liked how it sounded when Gwen said you guys were a 'dead end band.' Plus, you guys are such dysfunctional people that the name sort of fits the image. Just imagine yourselves yelling to a crowd 'We are Dead End! Thank you for coming out here tonight.' That'd be great. I would definitely like to see that."

"This is stupid," Gwen said, standing up from her spot. "Why are we even trying to come up with new names. It so obvious that this band isn't going to work out."

"Don't say that," Chris said.

"We've got to try at least," Mike said.

"I can't believe I'm saying this," Nathan started, "but I agree with dumb and dumber. We've let Will take control of this band and it tore us apart. We can't let it keep happening, especially because he's the one to blame."

Gwen gaped at him. I'm pretty sure we all were. Nathan had not once agreed with anyone during his stay here. If anything, he would disagree with whatever anyone said for the fun of it. This must be important if Nathan is taking this seriously.

"Admit it," Chris said to Gwen. "You like the sound of Dead End."

She looked down at the ground, hiding her blushing face. "I did kind of come up with it."

"Fifty-fifty credit," I suggested to her.

She took a moment to consider the offer before sticking her hand out for me to shake. "Deal."

This just may be the start of a beautiful new friendship.

---

"Where are we going?" Chris asked for the millionth time. "It's too early in the morning to even leave bed."