The Blue Ocean Floor

Chapter One

Chapter One

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"Let's sing the doxology, shall we?" the pastor said as he looked over at Eric. With his cue, Eric strummed his guitar and raised his hands as he conducted the congregation into the traditional song.

♪"Praise God from whom all blessings flow,

Praise him all creatures here below,

Praise Him above ye heavenly host,

Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost,

Amen."♪

"May the grace and peace of God be with you." the pastor said in farewell.

"And also with you." the congregation replied.

After a moment the pastor went back to the mic and, with a big grin on his face, said, "Now, we all know that Mark has left for Texas where he will be serving at another church, so to take his place is Eric Kealoha. Give him a big round of applause, everybody!"

Eric blushed as he stood up on the stage, basking in the cheers of the audience. He almost laughed when he saw his two best friends stand up and dance in the very back. He waved and pointed at them as he smiled, his bright eyes almost disappearing behind his tanned cheeks.

"Have a good day everyone."

*~*~*

"There's my little drummer boy!" someone said as they placed their arm heavily around his shoulders, almost knocking him over.

"The only reason I went up there, Kamuela, is because I was voted on. I wasn't even on the ballet!" Eric cried.

"That's because you'll someday become a star!" Kamuela replied in a mystical voice as he painted a picture in the air.

"Oh, leave him alone, Daniel." another person said, walking up to the two boys.

"Kiana, how many times must I tell you, my name is Kamuela?"

"But it means Daniel." Kiana stated before turning towards Eric, "Congratulations, Eric, if anyone deserves singing up on that stage it's you."

"Thanks Kiana." Eric smiled at his friend.

"And thanks to me, I helped you get that spot." Kamuela butted in.

"No, you didn't actually do that did you?" Kiana demanded.

"Jealous that you didn't break into the office yourself?" Kamuela smirked.

"What are you guys talking about?" Eric questioned and stood in front of the two bickering teens.

"Nothing." they both replied simultaneously.

"What are you guys up to?"

"Um, uh, look, coffee!" Kamuela cried just as Kiana called, "Alana!"

Eric smirked as he pulled out the folded piece of paper out of his pocket and smiled when he saw his name printed on the bottom. He then folded it neatly back up and headed home in the humid summer heat.

*~*~*

♪"Frequencies so low,

Heart on a string,

A string that only plays solos,

Rain made of echoes,

Tidal waves rushing on and on."♪

Eric sighed as his mind drew a blank on how to make up the next stanza. He continued to strum his small ucalaly as he thought until he was interrupted.

"That's sounding really nice, Eric," his mother smiled from the doorway.

"Thanks, I just can't seem to get the next stanza right. I've tried several already and none of them seem to work."

"Well, just keep working on it and it will soon come to you; it always does in the end." his mother encouraged. "Oh, and before I forget, dinner will be ready in about thirty minutes so wash up real quick."

"Sure thing, as soon as I get the next line." Eric joked.

"Hurry up." she laughed and walked back into the kitchen.

Eric smiled and tried once again to think of a line only to strum furiously on his ukalaly in frustration. He sighed in defeat and hesitantly set down the guitar and head towards the bathroom to prepare for dinner.

*~*~*

"So, I hear you got voted to be the lead singer at the church." Eric's father said as they sat down to dinner.

Eric said nothing to this comment and continued to stare down at his food, refusing to look at his father.

"Eric, listen," he tried to reason, "I really wanted to be there, I truly did, but I had to work."

"You couldn't get a day off?" Eric mumbled.

"You know how hard it is for me to get a day off."

"Joel, you've known about this for two weeks now. Did you even try to get a day off?" he questioned. His father sighed and looked down shamefully at his plate for he couldn't think of anything to say. "You knew how much something like this meant to me. Now, if I'll be excused I'm going to bed." he said as he got up, not waiting for a response.

"Joel, go talk to him." Eric's mother said in a scolding tone.

"No, I messed up really bad this time. Nothing I say is going to change anything." he replied and ran his fingers through his greying hair. "I'll talk to him tomorrow, I promise; by then he'll be cooled off and level headed."

"Well, you better or I'll level your head." she threatened as she took her plates into the kitchen.

"I can never get this father thing straight."

*~*~*

♪"Bye, bye Miss American Pie,

Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry,

And all the boys were drinkin' whiskey in Rye,

Singin' this'll be the day that I die,

This'll be the day that I die."♪

Eric sang all the songs he knew until his fingers were raw and his throat was sore. 'How did these people ever know how to write a song?' he thought.

♪"Carry on my wayward son,

There'll be peace when you are done,

Lay your weary head to rest,

Don't you cry no more."♪

He sang, something he always did before he went to bed. He loved that song and he knew every word and every note by heart. He had a poster of Kansas on his ceiling and he would always quote lines from the songs.

"Goodnight Red, goodnight Caspian." he looked over at the fish bowl that rested on his windowsill and saw the two fish slowly swimming in circles. "I myself may not get much sleep either, wish me a goodnight."

----------Hey guys! So, here's the first chapter. I know, it jumps around a lot, but I promise that the next chapter will be more under control. Oh, before I forget, I'm changing the baby's name to Castiel because the other name sounded like owl. Hope you don't mind. *Keep Calm and Carry on Wayward Son*~God Bless----------