The Impossible Miss Blue

Friday, November 14th

I woke up when Amanda called me this morning. She had taken my shift tonight for extra pay because she was saving for a new car. I was happy about that because that meant I could see the boys. They seemed extremely nice—well, over text messages they did. And they were fun when we performed. I think I’m rambling on right now. I’ll shut up.

I crawled out of my bed and shivered a little, missing the warmth of my bed. 12:47 blinked in red on my alarm clock. I walked out of my room and to the kitchen. My brother getting a water bottle. “Hey, sleeping beauty, thought you’d never wake up,” He joked as we walked into the living room. I sprawled out across the couch and grabbed the remote. “What do you have planned today?” 

I turned on Netflix before answering, “Doctor Who, of course.”

He only laughed and said he needed to get to work by 1 but wanted to be there early.

I stayed there until 6, watching the Time Lord in the bowtie and singing the theme song constantly. It was instrumental, though, so it mainly came out as DOO WEE OOH. But once it was 6, I decided to take a shower. So I did. My blue hair had looked like a bird’s nest, but I calmly fixed it by putting it in its usual fishtail braid. Band practice, I had told myself, just go casual. So I put on blue skinny jeans and a red sweater that was only half-sleeved. I thought it was the best sweater ever, by the way. My black converse had sealed the deal at 6:53. That was the right time to leave, I decided. I stared at my mum’s picture on my night stand for a few moments before quickly grabbing my phone and heading out of the room. I didn’t want to think of her right now.

Luke’s house was a small, but two-story house. It had light red bricks and black window panes. It looked nice.

When I got inside, though, was when the chaos started. Four boys were chasing each other throughout the halls, shouting about some game controller. I stood there awkwardly for a moment before seeing a nice, older blonde woman sitting in one of the living room chairs. She was reading Gone With The Wind. “That’s a lovely book,” I informed her. She looked up at me with her blue eyes—Luke’s mum. Right. “Oh, sorry—my name is Alexis Matthews, but feel free to call me Lexi.” She smiled. I think it was to let me know I could be calmer, and it works. I relaxed a bit. “Hello, I’m Luke’s mum, Liz. I didn’t know you were coming. Hold on, uh— boys! Get in here!” She ordered quite loudly. I heard a small thump and a few giggles, then I wondered if they were always like this. The four boys came into the room quite stiffly, thinking that they were in trouble. I laughed a little, getting everyone to look at me.

“Sorry, um… hey guys.” I reddened. The boys laughed this time. Luke gave a small wave before his mother started lecturing him and his friends. I zoned out, though, because I was looking at the previously missing member.

He had light brown curly hair and what looked like hazel-green eyes. When he smile or scrunched up his nose, dimples had appeared. His teeth looked like the ones from those commercials. I wondered what toothpaste he used. He wore a Weekend Warrior tank top and dark denim skinny jeans. Slightly worn out Vans were on his feet. I smiled. He seemed nice. 

“And you boys better behave. I can’t afford another guitar,” She looked back at me. I guess we were having a follow-the-rules conversation. “You’ll keep them stable, right?” She asked, half-joking. I laughed, “I will try my best.”

Four microphones and three guitars were on stands in the small music room. A black, shiny drum kit was in the back. Oh, gosh—it was so beautiful! I went to it and sat in the chair, soaking in all of its glory (well, that’s what it felt like, anyway). I sat there for a few minutes, just examining every part of the kit. When I was done, I looked up to 3 amused boys and the other was confused. “These must be your drums,” I said as I realized. “Sorry, they’re just a lot better than mine at home. I’m Alexis, but call me Lexi, and you must be Ashton.” I said, standing up and walking around the drums to get to him. He smiled cheekily, “Yeah, thanks for filling in for me the other night.”

“Okay, Lexi, this will be your microphone tonight.” Luke told me. Two microphones stood next to each other in the center and he pointed the one on the left. I stood before it. Luke grabbed a guitar off a stand and got next to me. Everyone else started to get in their positions as well. Two medium sized speakers were on either side of us, and a computer sat on a small table next to Luke. “You listened to some of our songs?” He asked and I nodded yes. “What was your favourite?” I pondered for a minute. They had many songs, but one in particular had stuck out. “Beside You.”

Six songs and 3 water bottles later, we decided to finish. I had gotten to play drums in one song, which was Good Girls Are Bad Girls, and Ashton sang instead of me. I liked his voice a lot, but he had said that he didn’t think singing was his area (sadly). We were walking to the kitchen  as I my sim got fired on the game I was playing. “Oh florp ornop!” The sim in the game said loudly, upset about the job loss. Ashton and Michael looked at my phone weirdly and I showed them Sims Free play on the screen.

“So, when did you get blue hair?” Calum asked as he watched Luke order too many pizzas. Were we really going to need 5? I toyed with my braid and stared at its colour. “Well, I did it Tuesday morning and that night I met you guys.” I said, getting up and on to the countertop. “Why did you get it?—If you don’t mind me asking.” Michael questioned. I sighed, pondering over if I should tell them the real reason that I think or not. Friendships need honesty, right? “My mum died two years ago in a car accident, on impact, too. Steering wheel crushed her chest. My brother and I lived and he became my legal guardian, blah, blah,” I had told this story too many times. “I think I did it as an affect of long-term mourning or something. You know how something reminds you of them and you want to change it or get rid of it? Well, my blonde hair was distinctly from my mother and I couldn’t really stand it. I had thought, literally, ‘to hell with it’ and chose blue. It didn’t turn out that bad, luckily.” I explained. We sat in an uncomfortable silence for a minute before Luke spoke, “I would say sorry, but when Ashton’s dad died, Ashton said that apologies can make it worse, so I’m just going to wait for the pizza.”

I looked at Ashton as he looked at me. He had a slightly pained expression but it was gone just as fast as it came. Ashton gave me a understanding smile, which I returned. Michael was about to speak when the doorbell rang. I jumped off the counter, eager to get away from any source of tension in that room. I picked up the 20 that Luke had gotten out for the pizza earlier and ran to the front yelling, “I’ll get it!”

The pizza man that stood before me was obviously shy and socially awkward. I stifled a laugh and grabbed the 5 pizza boxes from him in exchange for the 20. When we were done he quickly scurried to his car. He seemed uncomfortable. I rolled my eyes and went back to the kitchen. The boys were getting soda and cups out and in a semi-deep conversation about me. “She’s really nice, and I do rally like her hair.” I hear Michael say. Luke made a sound similar to a snort. “That’s because it’s exactly what you would do to your hair, stupid.” Silence. “She’s very pretty.” Ashton’s voice spoke. I was glad I wasn’t in there because I would have been as red as a strawberry. I walked in, pretending that I heard nothing as they all ‘seemed’ to be in the middle of collective agreements. It sort of just made me want to go “tehehe” at the thought that I was eavesdropping when they said I was pretty. I knew something that didn’t (evil laugh).

“Guess who’s got the pizza—well, me, obviously.” I scoffed slightly at myself before putting the pizza on the counter. The guys laughed. “You’re a strange girl.” Calum said, taking a slice of cheese pizza. I nodded, my smile widening.