It was Saturday. School was normally closed, but Mrs. Jarvis had gotten permission to have the school open for a couple hours so that auditions could take place.
The car rolled along the highway, with Alexis up front and Isaac, ever the gentleman, in the back. Plus it was Alexis's mom's car, so she got to sit up front according to the unwritten rules. They both knew that he'd have let her sit up front no matter what, though.
They were dressed in plain clothes with no makeup. All of their metal paraphernalia was in their backpacks. If Alexis's parents found out she'd shredded perfectly good clothes to make their metal outfits, she'd be in big trouble, and even worse if they found out about the cutoff top. It gave Isaac shivers just thinking about her father's sinister gaze.
"This is it, this is it!" Alexis insisted, tapping frantically on the passenger window. "Pull over."
With Alexis things were never simple. You couldn't, she'd explained, just go pulling up to the school for a metal audition in your mother's car. "What am I? A lame-o?"
Only as lame as people who say lame-o, Isaac very carefully did not say, since he didn't want to face another slap attack.
The car pulled over with the familiar ringing of wearing brakes. Expecting to get right out, Alexis pulled the door handle and smacked her face into the window. "Ow!" When she turned, ready to fuss about the door being locked, her mother was sitting in the driver's seat looking pointedly at her. Alexis stifled the complaint.
"I'll pick you up in two hours," Mom said. "At the school." Her tone allowed for no hope of compromise.
"Yeah, yeah," Alexis agreed both hastily and carelessly. "Definitely, I'll be there."
Miss Alice turned in her seat and looked at Isaac who for his part was still buckled until permitted otherwise. "Two hours. At the school." There was a subtext there: I know you'll be there, but make sure my daughter is.
"Yes, ma'am. With bells on." Not that he knew where that expression came from, but adults seemed to appreciate it.
With a smile of confidence, Miss Alice turned forward in her seat again. The doors unlocked with a mechanical click. Alexis's door flew open, feet hitting the pavement, while Isaac methodically unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the door.
"Come on, slow-poke! We're never gonna make it."
They watched Miss Alice drive off.
"Can you believe she wanted to drop us off? That wouldn't've been metal at all."
"More of a ceramic," Isaac agreed.
A quick wit, Alexis decided, doesn't necessarily mean a good wit. "You're trying to embarrass me with your bad jokes." The air fairly sizzled under her glower.
Isaac gave her a grin. "You must get that look from your dad."
As they walked along toward the school—they'd been dropped off maybe half a mile from—Isaac wanted to say something, but was struggling to come up with a delicate way to put it. Alexis might not be chosen as the band's new drummer, and if that happened she would be devastated. It didn't matter that it already wasn't likely, that she'd only been practicing for one month. She'd consider not being selected as a "loss," a "failure," and spiral into a temporary depression. She always did. The only reason she still played tennis is because she didn't think of it as something she was trying to be good at; it was just something she did. Isaac was glad, too, because that short skirt she wore when playing was a sight to behold, falling just above those toned thighs. He couldn't remember when he'd started noticing.
"You know," he preambled, his tone clearly thoughtful with unfinished phrasing, "there are going to be a lot of drummers there. Probably some of them have been doing it for a long time, right?"
"That's right," Alexis replied excitedly, "and I have a secret weapon."
Don't let her distract you from the point, Isaac told himself. "I—a secret weapon?" Well, that hadn't been much of an effort.
"I'm a girl!"
"Are you telling me you're a girl, or are you saying that it's your secret weapon?"
"Whoever heard of a girl drummer, Isaac? Think about it."
"You've never heard of an all-girl band? You think they use a drum-machine or something?"
"I mean a normal band."
"Hmm. I admit I can't think of many bands like that, but it's not completely unheard of. I saw one on the internet the other day, I remember."
"What was the name of it?" Alexis challenged.
Isaac thought for a moment, but finally had to admit he didn't recall.
"See? Anyway, just think about how I'll look when we're dressed up."
"You look good." He meant it. Maybe Alexis picked up on that. Maybe that's why she got defensive.
"You're trying to embarrass me, aren't you?" She was skeptical. Of course he didn't like her, of course he didn't think she looked that good. He was just being nice. Or making fun of her.
"No, I mean it. What's your obsession with being embarrassed, anyway? Always worried that you'll be embarrassed." Isaac hadn't really thought about it before, but now that he had, it was obvious. Was the worst thing possible for her to be embarrassed?
Alexis looked straight ahead. The school was in sight now. "No reason."
Isaac wasn't buying it. "Yeah, right. Out with it."
"I just don't want to draw attention to myself, is all."
"You know we're about to put on makeup and wear tattered clothes while you drum for a room full of people, right?"
"Besides now. You know what I mean!"
"I think you should reconsider. I think you're, y'know. . . ." Was this it? Would he tell her he liked her?
"I'm what? A goof? A dope? Boring? Plain? Worthless?"
"Worthless?" he chastised. Alexis shrugged.
"No." Isaac stopped walking.
Alexis took another step before she stopped too, and turned to look at him. Why did he look so serious all of a sudden? She felt herself beginning to blush. Here thoughts were instantly chaotic. Could he? No. No way! But could he?
"You're, uh, well." Why was this so difficult? Just say it. Lovely. Vibrant. Brilliant. Wonderful. "Interesting," he sputtered.
Alexis blew a derisive puff of air, instantly dismissing thoughts of romance. "Pft! That's the last thing I am." Pulling from her backpack the drumsticks they'd painted yesterday evening, she grinned. The skeletons grinned, too. "Not today, though. I'm going to be totally unique."
"You're already totally unique," Isaac insisted.
"Is that an insult? Are you insulting me?"
"No, it's a compliment. I swear!"
"Don't make me use these skull drumsticks on you!"