Suzie’s House 287 : Gene and Kate Practice

There was all this sound and motion, but Gene found practicing with Kate kind of peaceful. It shouldn’t have been. The girl was almost as twitchy as her singer friend, and her drum playing drowned him out most of the time. Maybe it was because he really didn’t care.

She fumbled and dropped a drum stick, but he kept playing. She’d catch up when she was ready.

“Sorry. Sorry,” she said. She tried to catch up and ended up tripping over her sticks.

When she tried it again, she came in half a beat too late, rushed it, then stopped. It looked like she was going to cry.

“Want to try a different song?” Gene thought it was a good idea. She’d played so much better before. Even when the whole group played together and sounded bad, she hadn’t been like this.

“No. I don’t think that would help. I’m sorry, I’m just so excited. You and Tracy are like my idols.”

“Pff hah, hah. Idols? You’re kidding.”

“No. Really. I mean it. Everyone in school knows about the two of you. You’re like movie stars.”

Gene went over to the ratty couch set up in her basement along with her drum kit. He sat down heavy enough to make it creak. His guitar bounced up and hit him in the chest, almost got his chin, but nothing really got hurt.

“Idols,” he muttered, unable to believe it. He knew people watched him, but he thought it was just because they were afraid of him. Maybe things were a little different this year. He thought it was because of Tracy. Tracy made him look not so scary.

“Would it help if we called Tracy? I bet she wouldn’t mind hanging out with us. Except if we do, she’ll probably bring her bass and want to play. Or maybe not. You never know with Tracy.”

“Um… ah… no.” Kate looked to the side like she was thinking. Or maybe like there was something she didn’t want to say. “I’ll be ok.” She bounced her seat, and the big drum boomed. “From the beginning?”

“Sure. Only, can we do something to make the drums quieter or me louder? I can’t hear myself at all.”

“Oh! Oh, yeah. I have a better amp somewhere.” All eager, she jumped up and started running around. It seemed to make her all happy. “I can’t wait to tell everyone that you were over at my house. Just the two of us alone.”

“What? Wait. Why would you say that to anyone?” Gene didn’t like the sound of this.

“Oh. No. I don’t mean EVERYONE everyone. Just all my friends.”

“Wait. I still don’t get it.” That bad feeling was getting bigger. “Why would anyone care that we had a practice session?”

“Because you’re you of course. They’ll all be jealous of me. Can’t you see it? You should get your vision checked because in our school you’re famous. Practicing with just you is better than an autograph.” She came up with a big amp and a huge grin.

Tracy would know what to do about this. If Tracy was here, it would be all right. Right? ‘Cause then Kate couldn’t start rumors of them being alone together.

“Can I use your phone? I need to call Tracy.”

If you enjoy Suzie’s House and would like to see more, please leave a comment. Suzie’s House is powered by its readers.