Suzie’s House 332 : Chasing Toms

Justin adjusted his snare drum, then looked up in time to see Kate chasing down a tom as it rolled off the tiny platform that The Warehouse considered a stage. She was two for two, now. Two drums lost while setting up for two performances.

Part of him felt superior, but part reminded him she probably wouldn’t lose any of her kit if she didn’t have to fit hers around his. It was always when her tom bumped into his that she lost it.

He reached behind him for his floor tom. The case was right behind him, but no drum inside. The next two cases were also empty. A bad word slipped out under his breath, riding a sense of panic.

“What’s wrong?” Tracy already had her bass guitar strapped on, and strummed a couple of cords. Her amp was fine, and she was in tune.

“Some of my drums are missing.” He got off his throne to look around.

First he glanced through Kate’s kit to make sure she hadn’t grabbed any of his by mistake. Her drums were all bright red. His were blond wood. No mistakes there. Then he flipped the cases open again in case he’d had some strange hallucination or something. Of course he hadn’t. But where else was there to look?

He only had three drums to work with. That wasn’t enough to cover the parts he was supposed to play, and Kate wasn’t flexible enough to change the way she played right before a show. Not when she was so nervous he could see her hands shaking while she jammed her escaping drum on its stand. His options were limited.

“Could they have been left in the van?” Tracy put her bass on a little stand for it, and came to help.

“No way. I made sure nothing was there right before Bruce’s uncle took off.”

“But where else could it be?”

“Back in the practice room?” Justin bet that was exactly what happened. Their pack job had been a bit aggressive.

“We don’t have time to deal with it now.” Tracy went through the same cases he’d gone through. She kept glancing at the dance floor, her tension heightening his. “We need to do something fast, though, cause I get the feeling they’ll kick us out if we don’t start up right away.”

“Yeah. I’m not at all sure about this gig of Bruce’s. I mean, a bar? What business do we have in a bar?”

“It’s pretty big for a bar, and I know they do music all the time. I mean, did you see that stage on the other end of the room? I wish they’d let us set up there.”

“Hey. What’s wrong?” Gene finished messing with his guitar and came over.

“Justin is missing some drums.”

“Well, can you substitute something?”

“Like what?”

“Maybe there are some pots and pans in the grill? Or that little kitchen in back?”

They went to the back and found a clean garbage can. Justin gave it a thump or two. It wasn’t too bad.

“All right. I’ll use this.”

It even mounted it on one of his stands. Not quite as good as a real drum, but it was kind of fun to use something different, and it got him to thinking. Maybe it wasn’t really two drummers the band needed. Maybe it was a kit drummer, and a percussionist. Justin smiled. If the others didn’t mind, he could do a Blue Man kind of thing. Now THAT would be cool.

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