Love Made Music

LMM 5: Rock 'n Roll

The next day, Adam and Steve picked me up around one in the afternoon and brought me over to Cassie's place. Since we hadn't been able to resolve our harmonizing issue the day before, Cassie and I agreed that we needed more time to figure things out. Cassie offered to talk to her parents and see if we could practice over there. Once we had her parents approval, I arranged to get a ride (since my van was still in time-out) and found myself standing awkwardly in front of her front door debating whether to knock or ring the doorbell.

"Good luck, dude!" I heard Adam shout before backing out Cassie's driveway. I nodded in his general direction and then turned my attention back to the door. Who knew something as simple as a girl's front door could be so intimidating? Was Steph's house this nerve-wrecking? I couldn't remember.

All of a sudden the door flung open and I was staring wide-eyed into the eyes of a twelve-year-old.

"What do ya want, creep?" the boy spat at me.

I frowned. "Why 'creep'?" I replied defensively, crossing my arms in front of me.

The boy puffed up his chest in response, much like a bird does when they're trying to look intimidating, and glared up at me. We stared at each other for a minute before he said, "Cause you've been standin' in front of my door like an idiot for ten minutes without knocking or anything. Suspencious don't you think?"

"I think you mean 'suspicious' Simon. 'Suspencious' isn't a word." I heard a familiar voice say from behind the door. The boy apparently named Simon turned to look over his shoulder at an approaching Cassie. "What's 'suspicious'?" he asked her.

Cassie pointed at me. "What that guy is," she replied. "Now go away. I got this."

Simon shrugged. "If you say so." He whipped around and jabbed me in the stomach. "Don't even think about touchin' my sister or you'll answer to me. Got it?"

For a kid, the little punk was strong. I rubbed my sore belly before nodding my acknowledgment. "Got it."

"Good."

Simon turned on his heel and ran up the stares. Cassie and I followed him with our eyes until his figure disappeared behind a wall. When we were sure he wasn't going to return for a second round, she turned around and looked at me.

"Sorry about him. He's a little excitable."

I raised an eyebrow and stole a glance back at the stairs in which he had fled. "A little?" I questioned.

Cassie nodded and motioned for me to come inside. I awkwardly stepped through the thresh hold. Once inside, I kicked off my shoes and followed Cassie into the basement. Two microphones had been set up and were connected to something that looked like a recording box.

"What's with that thing?" I asked. Cassie gave me a look that said "What thing?" and I motioned to the large box dominating one section of the room. "I don't remember that being here last time."

"That's cause it wasn't." She stated flatly. "I had my dad set it up before you got here. This way we can record our voices and listen to it on playback. Hopefully it will help us figure out what we're doing wrong."

"Hmmm...."

Cassie frowned at me. "What's wrong? Was that not okay to do?"

I jumped slightly, startled by her defensive tone. My eyebrows scrunched together and my mouth formed a tight line. "No, it's fine. I don't mind."

Cassie raised an eyebrow at me. "Then why does your face say otherwise?"

Scowling at her, I shot back, "My face doesn't say anything!" I crossed my arms in front of my chest. "You're imagining things."