Four Boys in a Band

xiii. invitations

"Um, where's our TV?" Louis asked.

It was the day after the Harmony Angel sabotage. Wes, Calvin, and Jacob all stared at the empty spot where their TV had once been. Katrina came into their apartment at that time. "Reggie took it," she explained. "He's really mad at you guys. Why'd you have to go and leave the hotel?"

"We had to record our song," Calvin said.

"Couldn't you have waited? Reggie is taking you to the studio tomorrow." Katrina put a hand on her hip.

The four boys stared at the floor. They couldn't explain to Katrina without giving away Reggie's proposal. After an awkward silence, Jacob said, "We should get going. We're going to be late."

The walk over to L.A. United was chilly and silent. Inside the church, the boys split off from the adults without a word, scampering to the youth room. The place was crowded just like last week. But, new this week, a couple people came up to the band and said things like, "You guys were great in the Battle of the Bands performance last week!" The boys got cheered up to be recognized. Calvin especially enjoyed the attention. However, his expression went from smug to frightened.

"Hide me!" he hissed, ducking behind his friends.

"What? From who?" Jacob asked.

"Hey, boys!" Miranda chirped.

Wes, Louis, and Jacob each offered their own greeting. Miranda had a face full of cakey makeup and was wearing a low-cut shirt. Wes was staring at the ceiling to avoid seeing what he knew he shouldn't.

"Have you seen Cally?" Miranda twirled a lock of impossibly long blonde hair around her finger.

Jacob snorted. "Uh, y-yeah, Cally went o-over to th-the refreshments table."

"Thanks." Miranda breezed past them, pausing by Jacob. "You're cute. We should hang out sometime." Then she was gone.

Calvin straightened up. "Rude! How could she be so unfaithful? We're in a church."

"Bro. You went on one date," Wes said.

Jacob finally let himself burst out laughing. "Cally?"

"You're getting better at lying," Louis noted.

"Not sure that's a good thing." Jacob rubbed his neck.

"Hey, guys!" The band turned around to see Pastor Sam. This week he was wearing a shirt that said "Ignite! Youth Camp." Pastor Sam smiled warmly at each of them. "Glad to have you back this week. I heard about your performance on the Battle of the Bands! Awesome!" He gave them all high-fives. "Hey, listen, every Sunday at five we have youth group here at the church. If you're free, we'd be ecstatic to see you stop by!"

Jacob beamed. "That sounds great! We'll try to come."

"Fantastic! I should go; it's almost time to start." Pastor Sam jogged off toward the stage.

As soon as he was gone, Calvin elbowed Jacob. "Ow!" Jacob rubbed his side. "What was that for?"

"I don't want to go to no youth group!" Calvin growled.

"Neither do I," Louis added.

Wes nodded his agreement.

Jacob sighed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to jump to conclusions. I'll just go alone, then. It'll probably be super fun. You guys will miss out." Pastor Sam called the Sunday School together just then, and Jacob headed off to find a seat, leaving Wes and Louis feeling guilty.