[Pg-16] Rise of A High School Garage Band {IC}

[Evil Troy]

“Hello and good evening, this is ’60 Minutes with Fame’, and I’m your hostess, Tina Berry. Tonight we will be meeting with the lead singer of a rather famous band who started off with nothing as a garage band in high school but quickly rose up to the top of the charts where they there became rock legends. We will get to get an inside look up how one man with a dream brought together a group of people, who he knew nothing about, and brought them to the top.”

A middle aged woman, with brunette hair spoke as she sat in a red lavish chair; she wore a dark blue business suit and had her hair up in a bun. All that was in the room with her was a camera man with his camera, filming everything that that the woman said, along with an empty chair, which looked identical to hers, right beside her. Tina Berry was the hostess of ’60 Minutes with Fame’, a rather popular segment of the news, every Tuesday night someone new is featured. Each person telling of how they rose to fame, lived the life of luxury, and then slowly, if not quickly, fell apart.

“Alright now let’s meet the man behind the band, Mark Landon.”

After saying this, a young looking with man who looked to be in his early, if not, mid-twenties stepped into the room and took the seat beside Tina. He had about shoulder-length brown hair that was covered by a cap. He also wore brown leather jacket with a t-shirt underneath and a faded pair of jeans, with holes wearing through the knees.

“Hey Tina, it’s good to be here.” Mark said as the looked that the hostess then the camera.

“It’s good to have you here Mark, and I’m sure just like me, everyone at home that’s watching is excited to hear about the history of the band from its founding member. So tell me Mark, how did it all start?”

“Well Tina it started back in my senior year of high school, which was about 4 or 5 years ago, ha ha I can’t even remember how long ago that was. But anyways, I had always wanted to start a band, and seeing how it was my last year in high school I figured then would have been the last chance I would have had.

5 Years Ago

Mark slowly made his way to his third period class. Even though only a month of his final year in high school has passed Mark realized that his time for fulfilling his dream was starting to come to an end. He dipped his head and let out a groan of annoyance.

“God, it’s my senior year of high school and I still haven’t started a band yet. Damn if I don’t get on the ball my life will be filled with nothing but studying in college. However, there are a lot of parties in college. Plus I could always start a band in college. No! You swore to yourself that you would start a band before you graduated from high school! THAT’S IT! TODAY WILL BE THE DAY I FINALLY START MY BAND!!! Of course I probably shouldn’t be talking to myself like this or yelling out for no reason…”

As Mark said this he could feel his face grow red as he looked around at everyone, which by this point was looking at him as if he was a freak.

“Hmm maybe I should ask Uncle Eddie for help….Damn it! I’m doing it again.”

Ignoring the stares Mark pulled out his phone and sent a text to his uncle which read as follows: “Hey Uncle Eddie! I’m planning on starting a band and was wondering if ya could help me out. Your favorite nephew, Mark.” By this time he had made it to his class. Taking a seat towards the back he saw that William McCallister had already made it to class.

“Hey William, what’s up?”

[mcstringer]

Jason Cerda was one of the many that paused en masse in the hallway when Mark Landon burst forth with fluent self-dialog. He slapped his forehead and shook his head to the sky as if to ask why. He shrugged his Fendor case higher onto his shoulder and left in the opposite direction. He started taking the steps up to the roof. The next class was one he was aceing anyway so he felt he could indulge himself for a little while and be back for next class period.

It wasn't long until he traveled up the four extra floors to the rooftop. Being a Senior, he enjoyed the awesome priveledge of Hallway Rights, meaning people moved out of his way like he was Moses walking through the Red Sea. Before propping himself upon his favorite spot on top of the water tower, he gave a quick scan across the rooftop, especially the shaddy hidden area called Kissing corner. He didn't want to play Free Bird for the millionth time that year. Once his recon misson was successful he climbed to the top of the tower and set himself up comfortably and zoned out and began playing.

[thesouleater]

Adam ignored the senior talking to himself and stormed right past. His Mom had been bitching at him all day about him not getting the right education and wanting him to move schools. She found any way to communicate with him; texts, phoning, leaving messages in his locker, talking to the school principal and so on. He was overly annoyed and decided to skip school the rest of the day.

The junior continued to storm through the hallways until he got to his locker. He quickly whipped it open, threw his text book in and grabbed his acoustic guitar. He slammed the door shut, ignoring the science teacher walking over to him. He walked straight to the closest door and yanked it open, then slammed it shut just as the teacher was about to go out the door to talk to him. He walked away and headed towards a tree near the field that only he, for some odd reason, could climb.

Once there, Adam shut off his cell phone so that his Mom couldn't contact him without walking up to his face. He then climbed the tree and wedged himself in between two branches. His guitar was out of its case in seconds, the case laying on two branches a little farther down. He tuned the guitar and started playing whatever came to mind.

[Allan-Hatai]

Selene walked to her locker, half-listening to her friend Lyndsay go on and on about this hot boy when some senior started yelling at himself. Something about a band... She shook the thought away and forced the long-ago dream from her mind. No, she didn't want to try for it and not be good enough. She shifted her bag higher on her shoulder and continued past him, somehow unable to keep from eying him. It probably looked like she was checking him out.

[Bravado]

It was far too bright outside for his liking.

Although William appeared to be quite calm, this meant by no means that he was not simultaneously attentive. Leaning back in his chair, he forced a hand above his forehead to serve as a makeshift visor to repel the penetrating light from outside. All the while, he allowed his eyes to wander, which carried a more notable amount of distress than they generally would. His mind juggled three concepts. The first: He was probably bombing the class, and subsequently, his GPA would follow. The second: He would have to find a tactful way to get introduced with the nerds to acquire a passing grade. The third: He wouldn't be able to drum if school intervened. As he leaned, and as well, to mask his own inner discomfort, he began to sing It Makes Me Ill by The Backstreet Boys in a high-pitched and quiet tone.

After a few moments of contemplation had passed, William came-to and acknowledged the fact that he was being spoken to.

"Oh hey, bro! Nothin' much, nothin' much, same old shit. And you?"

[mcstringer]

Jason paused his playing. His ear quested for the faint sound he was hearing somewhere outside. Jason flipped himself about until he was on his belly. The guitar, as if by magic, was in it's soft case again and across his back. He slithered along the water tower until his ears were better able to pin point the sound. He was able to deduce it was coming from the trees, but where in them was another mystery.

"Huh, someone doesn't play so bad in this school. Maybe he is in a band I can hop in. Though I doubt they would like it when I leave. Musical karma is a fickle thing that nobody understands."

[thesouleater]

Adam could have continued to play his guitar forever, but he was starting to get hungry. He was human, but if he could avoid eating and sleeping to play his guitar, he would. But because of the environment at his house, he had to keep his health up, or he probably wouldn't survive. Especially since his mom was smoking a lot more. She even knew it wasn't good for her health, but she didn't care.

Adam carefully placed his guitar back in its case and jumped down to the ground, landing softly on his feet. He slung the guitar over his shoulder and started walking to the nearest Starbucks to get a coffee with the spare change he had in his pocket from working. He turned his phone back on, recieving easily over 20 texts from his mom. He quickly shut it back off. Unfortunately, he had forgotten his I-Pod at home, so he had nothing to listen to.

Once at Starbucks, he ordered a regular coffee and a sandwich, then wondered back to the school to sit under the tree he was in earlier. He sat there for a while, out of view from the school, staring off in to space.

[Allan-Hatai]

Finally, it was her free hour. Selene somehow managed to worm her way through the crowd, losing Lyndsay on purpose like she did everyday.
"Selene! Wait up!" Yeah, right. There was no way she wanted Lyndsay following her where she was going.
Ten minutes later, she was setting up her guitar and amp in a long-forgotten practice room. The music teacher had been more than willing to let her use it in exchange for Selene helping her with grades and paperwork. She didn't care, just as long as she got time to practice in a place no one would hear her. It was her favorite time of day, the time when she got to play whatever came into her head and be herself, not what everyone else saw or wanted to see. She pulled out her ipod and put her headphones in, then turned on Nickelback. Her favorite song to play along to was "Next Contestant", and she even sang harmony with it. She knew it so well, it was what she played first to warm up.