Musica Anima Mea Est

Chapter Five-Batty

Owen, true to himself, not only ate the pizza rolls, but he ate two and a half servings. For the entire evening, I was busy playing dolls and racing Owen's pet turtles not giving a single thought to anything else. I put Nicole and Owen to bed at 8:30, with only one minor incident involving toothpaste and a very bubbly bubble bath, and sat downstairs reading my book and working on the phrasing of a few lyrics for a song until Rosy and Tommy came home. 

"Hey Batty. Are they asleep?"

"Yeah. We had fun." I stood up and stretched. "Am I all set to go?"

"Yes, and I owe you one." Tommy said and gave me a quick hug before walking upstairs, presumably to check on the twins. I gave Rosalind a hug and left. Inside my car, I took a deep breath. I loved my niece and nephew, but they could be draining. The bathroom took a full hour to clean, and my back still hurt a bit from playing pony, then playing camel, and then playing airplane and launching Owen, gently, to the living room floor. They sure knew how to wear a person out! I jumped when my phone rang, and picked it up, glancing at the caller I.D. It was Liam.

"Hey Liam. What's up?" I said as I pulled out of the driveway.

"Could you stop by my place? Jeffery called a last-minute band meeting. Apparently he had accepted a gig a few weeks ago but forgot to tell anyone, and also forgot to put it down on the calendar." I took a deep breath, growing slightly annoyed at Jeffery.

"Okay. When is it?"

"In three days."

"Three days!" I yelped, pressing down on the gas pedal a little harder. Jeffery would always be special to me and my family, but it was hard to not be exasperated with him sometimes.

I arrived at Liam's house later than I would have liked to, but I couldn't be picky. I went through a mental checklist of everything I would need to do. The van wasn't yet back from the mechanics- something had gone wrong with the engine- and I needed to pick it up. Or maybe I could ask Josh to do it...

I opened the door and walked inside, setting down my bag and keys on the bench in the front entryway. I glanced at the clock. 8:48. Way too late for a band meeting. I could hear the sound of singers and instrumentalists alike warming up. I should have done that on the way here, at least a little bit. I walked into the dining room, giving a wave to Jeffery, Josh, Liam, and Camilla as I passed through the living room. Penny and Owen were messing around with the harmony a bit, laughing, and occasionally snacking on the cookies sitting on the counter. I grabbed one and took a bite.

"Hey, guys. That sounds good." Penny looked me up and down.

"You looked drained." She told me plainly. 

"I just came here from babysitting my niece and nephew. You could say I'm a little drained."

"That's rough," Owen said, glancing down at the sheet music I had wordlessly handed them. "Wait, you changed part of it."

"Something felt off. I just changed the phrasing and a few notes of the melody. You guys don't have to worry about the harmony." The two nodded slowly. 

"You're drained, and upset about something," Penny said. "Aren't you?"

"No, just drained."

"You only mess around with the notes if you're upset. What's wrong?" I shook my head at them.

"We don't have time for that. Can we just get to work?" Penny wrapped me in a hug, and Owen joined.

"Absolutely." She smiled and picked up the sheet music. "But you will tell me what is wrong eventually." I smiled at my friend, and nodded.

"Eventually. Now let's sing." Owen counted us off, and we began to sing.

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Authors Note

I'M BACK!!! You have no idea how hard it was to not go on here and write. My parents said that I could write for ten minutes today, and I was supposed to be done writing 15 minutes ago. Don't tell.

I'm still not allowed to write a ton since concussions still exist, but I'll try to update every few days.

Comment, vote, and tell me what you think

Lots of love,

Sammie K