Always, Huh?

Ten - The Music Always Happens When I'm Not Around

Days after Nate's party, Lily was sitting in the shade of a tree on the field at school, waiting for Jazz, Eleanor and Richard to arrive from their lessons. She was hauling around her acoustic guitar because she had a Music assessment in her next lesson, and it was resting against the tree.

She glanced at the beaten up case every so often, tempted to pull the guitar out of it and practice, but instead she pulled her book out of her backpack and settled down against the tree.

"Hey, Lily! I saw you at your little gig. Man! You can sing, can't you? Do us a song?" A boy from her Geography class perked up, basically pleading as she was sitting a few metres away, outside of his particular circle.

"What? Now?" His whole group nodded in response, some of them brought their phones out of their pockets, "Look, I'm all good for playing but are you guys really going to video it?" They nodded again, "Fine. What song?" They shrugged.

Lily unzipped her guitar case, and brought her well-loved sunburst acoustic out. She tried to think of a song that might be recognisable but not too well known. A folksy-pop song occurred to her and she placed her fingers in the right position for the first chord.

"Damn Lily! The music always happens when I'm not around!" Jazz yelled from almost across the field, Lily smiled, yet responded with nothing more than that and the shaking of her gig bag. It jangled merrily and Jazz ran as soon as she heard it, knowing she'd have an opportunity for the starring role as tambourine.

The chord rang out as Lily played it, and she counted out loud for Jazz, "Lil', which song is it?" She whispered.

"My House."

"Do you need me to sing?"

"For the chorus." Lily played the chords in the right strumming pattern and embellished it occasionally. "Who needs a house up on a hill, When you can have one on four wheels, And take it anywhere the wind might blow?" She tried her hardest to stop her voice from shaking due to the number of small, red, flashing lights in the corner of her eye.

"Water and electric, And a place to drain the septic," The singing grew stronger as Jazz joined for the chorus, throwing an occasional harmony in there for good measure.

Jazz was a skilled singer and knew it, but didn't like to show off about it. So when Lily started singing, she knew Jazz would join in and flaunt her abilities; Something she liked to do when she and Lily 'jammed' alone together. Lily's head was bobbing along to the beat, each hand doing a separate thing, her smile growing wider with each bar. She stayed looking at Jazz, as they reached the last few lines, distracting herself from the blinking red lights, her hand muting the strings but her other still strumming,

"Don't matter where we go, We'll never be alone, Anywhere beside you is a place that I'd call home." Lily and Jazz beamed at each other and the groups watching them quietly applauded.

Richard and Eleanor had arrived towards the end of the song and had been standing on the edge of the group watching, waiting to sit down.

"That was cool guys, you should do that more often!" Eleanor said, practically grinning with pride, they always said she was the mother of the group - Lily, the aunt, Jazz, the teenager and Richard, the oldest child.

"You really should. I had no idea you could sing that well, Jazz!"

"You did some pretty impressive singing the other day though, Rich."

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, come on. You weren't that drunk!" Lily laughed at him, pointing an accusatory finger his way, "Although... You were drunk enough to hit on my brother, so... I'm not sure anymore."