"Okay guys, Sarah Beth Will be here any minute."
Cal sighed. "You've said that four times now."
"Yeah." Paige said. "I'm sure we'll hear someone being run over when she gets here."
"Very funny..." I narrowed my eyes. "Anyway, let's get back to the song. We're going to try it a bit faster this time. Take it to the you are. Cal, give us the beat."
The foot pedal on Cal's synthesizer began to speak, and Paige gave us the first chords on the piano. Jeff and I responded by playing the song's intro. Jeff's bass and Cal's synth mingled perfectly as my guitar's notes fluttered from the speakers. I nodded to Jeff, cuing him to begin the first verse.
"The lights go out and I can't be saved." He sang. "Tides that I tried to swim against, have brought me down upon my knees. Oh I beg, I beg and plead singing..."
The verse switched over to me as the rest of the guys sang "Ooh..." behind me.
"Come out of things unsaid. Shoot an apple off my head. And a trouble that can't be named. Tigers waiting to be tamed singing..."
Jeff and I both sang in harmony. "You are... you are..." We both trailed off with the instruments and we smiled.
"Nailed it!" Jeff said. "That last part's a killer."
Then, the doorbell rang.
"It's open!" Cal yelled after pressing a button on his wall. Sarah Beth ran in, gushing with excitement.
"Ashley! I-" she stopped dead in her tracks, staring at Jeff. "You!"
"You?" Jeff said.
"You're the creep that hit on me!"
"You're the chick I hit on!"
I flared. "You hit on my girlfriend?"
"Well, I didn't hit on her. I flirted, and that's all."
Sarah Beth narrowed her eyes. "Guys like you probably never get girlfriends... Ashley, punch him out like the other guy!"
Paige intervened. "You must understand- oh, I'm Paige. Nice to meet you. You must understand that he didn't know."
"Yeah." Cal said. "Jeff's black book is basically a black phone book with the names of every female from 18 to 40 in the entire United Kingdom."
"He can't help it, Sarah Beth." I said.
"So I'm off the hook-"
"No." I said. "Apologize to her."
Jeff sighed. "Fine... I'm sorry. You are quite pretty, and I went overboard."
"You... really mean it?" Sarah Beth asked.
"Really." Jeff said.
"Okay!" Sarah Beth turned around, and I saw Jeff pretend to cut his wrists with an invisible knife. "i heard you guys playing! You are so great! So this is Technical-"
"Technical Success!" Cal interrupted proudly. He nodded to Paige, who pulled out a piece of paper, stood up, and began to read it..
"The next great, legendary band! It is a flourished mixture of genres and a perfect mosaic collage of harmonies and rhythms! A band which shall surely go down in history! We four: the Paladin, Mage, Rogue, and Hunter of Music shall go down in history with the greats before us! We shall strike down the terrible beasts of conformity that threaten to poison the magic that the art of song creates! We, who rise up from the ashes of this troubled era, give our talents and hope to those who seek it! We are Technical Success! We fight for the sake of all that is good!"
"Huzzah!" Jeff said, and then he smiled smugly. "I'm the Hunter."
Sarah Beth smiled. "That was great! You wrote that, Paige?"
"Yeah." Paige blushed.
"You're such a good writer! And you..."
"Oh, Calcifer. Cal for short" Cal introduced himself.
"That thing!"
"The percussion synthesizer."
"It looks so complex!"
Jeff laughed. "Well, Cal invented the Internet."
"I wish!" Cal said as soon as he saw the girl's amazed expression. "I just run a website."
"And he's successful! Look, he's married." Jeff said.
"That's nice." Sarah Beth said. "Where's your wife?"
"Maylene went to a dinner with her tennis friends."
"Oh! I forgot! I can't stay long, Ashley! I have somewhere to go."
"I'll take you." I offered.
"No!" she cried. "Er, I don't want to cut practice short."
"It's fine."
"No. I want you all to practice! You'll sound even better! Like that song you did before! Did you write that?"
"Oh no." I smiled. "That's Clocks. Coldplay?"
"Oh."
"It was a cover."
"I see," she bit her lip. "But do you have any original songs? I'd love to hear it."
I smiled sincerely. "Okay. 'Catching Eyes,' everyone. Sit right there." She sat on a stool in front of the big practice mirror on the wall.
I began with a soft intro that was joined by and Cal. Paige sounded the F chord, and I waited a measure to sing.
"Take be back..." I sang. "To the start. Where the ocean meets the sky."
Paige joined me with his unique high baritone as the music crescendoed. "Because I'll end up where I am today. But on my way, I'll be catching eyes." Jeff's bass played a riff throughout while my guitar accompanied it.
We all four sang. "But if my pockets are not deep enough..." We all played a resounding chord. I walked up and leaned my back to the wall next to Sarah Beth while beginning to play a soft solo. "And I have to compromise..." Her lips grew into an even more delighted grin. The percussion kicked in. "I pray it's you so I can look forever... At you, babe... and your catching eyes." I wrapped up my solo with a strong finish and the whole band played through as I walked back.
"Catching eyes..." Jeff and I sang as a duet. "Catching eyes..." Finally, Cal's synth played crashing cymbals. Paige played a complex tune on the piano while Cal and Jeff played alongside him. I closed my eyes until they finished.
Opening my eyes, I saw Sarah Beth gleaming. She applauded. "That was awesome!"
"Yeah," Jeff said. "We're still touching up on the second verse. But the bridge is what I'm looking forward to."
"I can't wait to hear the finished product." Sarah Beth said. "She looked at the clock on Cal's wall and sighed. "I have to go now. Bye, Ashley!" She kissed my cheek and headed for the door. "Bye, Cal! Bye, Paige! Bye, Jeff!"
"See you." they said. We listened to her car leave, accompanied by a curious "BUMP!" in the streets below.
"She seems normal enough." Cal said thoughtfully.
"Not to me!" Jeff said. "She apparently does not listen to Coldplay! Coldplay!"
Paige laughed. "Aliens?"
"Oh, come off it, Paige." I laughed with him.
"Just joking," he replied. "Anyway, let's have another go with that one."
"Alright." I agreed. "Ready?"
They all nodded, and I began to play, once again, the intro for "Catching Eyes."
