Chapter 36
"I'm Ron." Zach's friend said, holding out his hand.
I shook it and introduced myself as well. While doing so, I thought about all the Harry Potter jokes Jasper would have cracked if he was there. I tried not to feel guilty about accepting a replacement so quickly and thinking of Jasper while doing so.
Ron was shorter than me, had blond hair and always seemed to have a startled expression on his face. He hadn't played in a band before but had been learning to play the keyboard for a few years.
He got reactions that were similar to mine from the rest of the band. Liam smiled at him, even though it looked like it required a lot of effort. Scarlett was polite and trying not to scare him with her knife, which she wanted to spin in her hand, since it was an nervous habit.
"Shall we get started?" Zach offered, unusually formal.
We told the newest addition to the band about the song we had picked. He told us that he could play it after a few practice runs.
After getting into place, I gripped the microphone stand so hard that my knuckles turned white, and started to sing. In an instant, all my worries seemed to disappear. It didn't matter that we weren't flowing together as well as we should be or that Ron was having difficulty keeping up.
I threw myself into the music like I was a diver jumping into a sea. I didn't come back to the surface until the song was over.
"We need a little more work." Liam admitted.
"It wasn't so bad." Ron tried to make us feel better. "I'm the only one who needs to improve quite a bit."
"We're sure you will be able to."
The next two hours was spent trying to make us sound better. We managed to make a difference although we had a long way to go. Since it was lunch time, we decided to go to the diner.
I called Caleb to tell him to join us. Somewhere along the line we had come to an agreement that he was to be involved in every step leading up to the competition. Plus I was sure that he wouldn't mind the company. Even though he tried to deny it, he didn't really have any friends other than Earl.
We settled down at our usual table and ordered a pizza. Ron looked a little uncomfortable sharing a small booth with people he had just met. However, he adapted to the situation quickly.
Caleb walked up to us and slid into the side where I was sitting. I rolled my eyes at him as he pushed me to make space for himself.
"You could just ask me to move."
"How mundane."
I stepped on his foot and he nearly fell off his seat.
"Children." Scarlett muttered, shaking her head at us, but trying to hide her growing smile.
I introduced Caleb to Ron. They seemed to get along after Ron found out that Caleb worked in the store he frequented.
I remembered that I had to tell the band about the warning my parents had given me. I recounted the events of the last evening to them.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" I was asked. "It's risky performing with us on a public platform, especially since your parents might make you move if they found out. You could just quit. It would be a smart move to make."
"Are you kidding me? I can't wait to see the expression on Raoul's face when he sees that we're so much better than the band he's rooting for." I smiled at the thought of it.
The meal passed without further incident. I noticed that Scarlett did not complain when Liam insisted on paying for all of us. I tried not to worry about how much money she had left.
