Revenge Of A Band Geek Gone Bad (8 page)

He smiled.  "See, I knew you'd like it.  There's nothing like the classics."

I looked around his room.  "So I guess you're really into all this old stuff then?"

He frowned.  "It's not
old
.  It's
classic
. 
Or maybe vintage.
  But there's a reason why it's still popular all these years later. 
Because it's good."

###

After Josh played a few more albums for me (one by The Beatles and one by AC DC), he stood up and motioned at his computer.  "So about Kathy," he began.  "I suppose we ought to get to work."

"Um ... okay," I said.  Truthfully, I was having such a good time just hanging out with him and listening to music that I didn't care if we worked on our "project" or not, but I didn't want to disappoint him.  Not when I was finally getting to be true friends with Josh.

"I've thought about this and I think I came up with another good idea," he said, smiling.  He sat back down on his bed.  "Name everything that Mr. Francis hates."

I thought for a moment.  The guy pretty much hated everything so there was plenty to choose from.  "Getting interrupted ... um, you ... when people play wrong notes, you, when people are late, you..."  I laughed.  "Did I mention
you
?"

Josh stuck out his tongue. 
"Ha
ha
.
  Well, Miss Smart Ass, you forgot one thing.  Remember when that college student came by to guest conduct last year and took the podium?"

"Oh yeah, and Mr. Francis went nuts!"  The poor student didn't know what had happened.  One minute he was all ready to conduct us, which was probably something his school required him to do, and the next Mr. Francis was shrieking, "It's my band, MY band,
get
out of here!"  I shuddered at how sensitive Mr. Francis was about people taking over his class.

"That's right," Josh said.  He smirked.  "Well, we're going to get
Kathy
to conduct the class.  And then we'll have front-row seats to watch ole Francis's head spin around and fly off."

I shook my head.  "Oh come on.  How on earth are we going to get Kathy to do that?  She's such a goody-goody with
teachers,
she'd never do anything that would get her into trouble."

"No, she wouldn't," Josh said slowly, "which is why we have to make her think she's been awarded the opportunity."

I didn't respond.  Frankly, it sounded rather far-fetched.

"Admit it, Mel,
it's
genius!"  Josh said.  He giggled.  "Can you imagine?  Kathy will come to school thinking that she's won some great honor and then the next thing she knows, she's getting kicked out of band.  And then you'll be first
chair
again ... see?  It's perfect."

"I don't know... don't you think she'd try to find out who told her she had this 'honor?'  We could seriously get busted."

"Yeah, we could," Josh admitted, "but that's why we have to be extra sure that we cover our tracks.  You see, I thought we'd write a letter, and then send it from the school."

I crinkled my brow.  "You mean hack into the school system and e-mail it?"

Josh stared at me.  "Are you kidding?  That's almost guaranteed to get us caught.  Besides, when it comes to important stuff, the school still sends snail mail.  So we’re going to write a nice old-fashioned letter, only we'll make sure it's printed on the school's letterhead and sealed in a Sequoia High envelope."

"That's impossible," I said quietly.  I shuddered as I envisioned armed guards leading us off to
juvie
for daring to do this.  "I don't know if I really want to do this anymore," I said.  "I, uh, just don't think I'm really cut out for this whole scheming thing."

"But, Mel, I need you," Josh said.  He stood up and snapped his fingers.  "Tell you what.  I'll take care of all the dirty work, like getting the letter sent, but will you at least help me edit my writing?  I really do need the help," he said, "and I promise that if anything happens, I'll take the blame."

"I don't want you to get sent to
juvie
, either."

Josh burst out laughing.  "Please, you think this will get me sent away? 
Gimme
a break.
  I've done much worse and I'm still a full-time student at the hell hole known as Sequoia High."

###

Josh showed me the draft he'd been working on.  Basically the letter said that Kathy was chosen to be a part of a new program called "Students
For
Students," in which qualified kids would get to teach a class for a day.  Since Kathy was now first chair in wind ensemble, she'd been selected to guest conduct.

"Dear Miss Meadows," it began. "Congratulations on being named first chair.  As an ambassador to our musical department, it's your duty..."  I stopped reading. 
"Ambassador?
 
Duty?
  That doesn't quite sound right.  It sounds like a letter from the Army or something."

Josh nodded.  "I know, right?  I've been working all morning on getting that 'school lingo' down, but I guess not, huh?"

"No, it's pretty good," I told him.  "It just needs a little work. 

Like instead of calling her an 'ambassador,' how about 'student leader?' "

Josh grinned.  "That's perfect!  See, Mel," he said.  "I knew you'd be good at this.  I knew you'd have a knack for writing.  I could just tell."

I smiled, even though I was helping him with something that was probably going to get him —- and maybe even me —- kicked out of school.  A compliment is a compliment.

###

Finally after about an hour of tinkering, we came up with our final draft.  I had to admit, it did sound pretty authentic.

Dear Ms. Meadows,

Congratulations on your recent
achievement in wind ensemble. 
As one of our student leaders at Sequoia High School, you
             
are a role model to your pee
rs.  We'd like to give you the
opportunity to hone your
leadership skills in a public
setting.

We are currently putting tog
ether a new program, "Students
For
Students."  Teens will
guide and mentor their fellow
high
schoolers
.  Those select
ed will assist in a particular
subject; each mentor will rece
ive the opportunity to conduct
a class in a professional environment.

Ms. Meadows, you have be
en selected to teach your wind
ensemble class on October
3.  If you wish to participate,
please return this form to
Mrs. Sanders' mailbox at least
two days before your schedu
led date.  All student teachers
must come to class that
day with a lesson plan and must
begin class promptly.

We look forward to working with you.

Sequoia High School Administrative Department

Once we finished, Josh designed the page so it looked exactly like something that would be sent from the school.  Thanks to the pile of letters he'd been given over the years, he had plenty of things to model it after.  "It looks awesome," Josh crowed as he put the final touches on it.  "Now I just need to find a way to send it from the school and we're all set."

I sighed.  "I'm still worried about this.  The school is going to go into lockdown until they find out who did it."

"So let them," Josh said as he printed out the letter.  He kept gloves on the entire time, "so my DNA won't be on it," he explained, and then promptly erased the original.  "Yeah, chances are they probably will try to find out who it was, but the trick is to make sure it's not traceable.  Besides," he laughed, "do you really think they're going to get their panties in a bunch over a letter that's basically complimentary?  It's not a bomb threat or anything ... we're saying that Kathy's so talented, she should teach a class!  The school needs more students to encourage each other, right?"

"Um, right," I answered.  Because what could be more encouraging than inevitably having a baton broken over your head?

###

For the rest of the afternoon, we continued to hang out and talk.  Lily invited me to stay for dinner (homemade lasagna sounded way better than the health food my mom makes me eat, so how could I refuse?) so we waited for the food to be ready.

"Can I ask you something?"  Josh said.  "Why are you always so quiet in school, Mel?  You're obviously very interesting and have a lot to say, but you say almost nothing at school unless you're spoken to."

"Oh, I..."  I felt myself blush.  On the one hand, it was nice that he called me "interesting," but he also seemed to think that I was socially warped.  "I guess it's because not too many people care about what I have to say," I explained.  "They think I'm weird.  And a lot of people make fun of me so it's just easier to keep quiet and stay out of their way."

"So tell them to fuck off," he replied.  "Don't let them walk all over you."

"You don't understand," I said.  "You're popular.  You can say anything and people will think it's cool just because you're
you
."

He blinked.  "That's such bullshit, Mel."

I stared back.  "Is it?"

"Yeah.
  For one thing, I'm really not popular."

"Let's see —- you have a million friends, you always get invited to parties..."

Josh put up his hand to stop me.  "I actually don't have that many friends," he admitted.  "In fact, you're one of the few people I can have a normal conversation with.  And the one reason I get invited to parties is because people hope I'll do something interesting, like pull a prank.  I'm kind of like their ... their mascot or something."

I nodded.  Josh was turning out to be a very different person than I'd thought.

Lily called us for dinner.  We stood up so we could go eat, but before we left I turned to face Josh.  "I'm just wondering about something, too," I said.  "Your mom said you told her all about me.  What exactly did you say?"

He looked me in the eyes.  "I told her that you're a great musician, but don't give yourself enough credit, that I was helping you with a music-related problem.  And," he finished, "that you're the only person I know who can keep up with me."
             
"Oh," was all I could think of to say.

CHAPTER 7

On Monday morning, I found Josh waiting for me by my locker. He was wearing a leather jacket and gloves and looked like a biker; definitely hot.  My knees became all wobbly when he nodded hello and I had to grip my locker to keep myself from toppling over.  I wondered if he'd had as good a time when we were hanging out at his place as I had, but he had other things on his mind. 

"I have it right here in my bag," he whispered.  "So we're good.  I just have to find a way into the administrative office so I can mail it from there.  But don't worry, I'm prepared," he said, wiggling his gloved hands.  "I'm doing everything I can to make sure we're not caught."

I laughed, though I was a little let down that he hadn't mentioned our weekend.  "How are you planning to get into the office in the first place?" I asked.  "I don't think they'll just let you waltz in and send a letter."

"I know.  That's why I'll have to be creative."  Just then Principal Muller strove past us.  "Okay, watch this," Josh said.  He suddenly whirled around. 
"Hey, Muller!"
  He called out loudly enough so that the people on the other side of the school could probably hear him. 
"
Muller
fucker
."

The principal immediately stopped walking and stood opposite Josh.  My mouth fell open and I could hear a few other kids gasp.  Surely he was about to get his ass kicked, especially by Principal Muller, who's this no-nonsense guy.  He rarely yells like Mr. Francis does, but has this subtle-but-firm way of burning right into your soul with his dark eyes.  Not that I've ever been called to the principal's office, but I've been there when he's lectured other people.  Even then, I was intimidated.

Principal Muller stopped dead in his tracks and cleared his throat.  Josh braced, ready to get what was coming to him.  To everyone’s surprise, the principal’s lips curled into a grin and he shook his head.  "Very clever, Mr. Kowalski,” he said, rolling his eyes.  “That’s definitely a new one and I’m in a good mood today so I’m going to pretend that I didn’t hear that.  But you say it again and you're going straight to detention."

I thought it was cool that Muller had such a great sense of humor.  How many principals would let someone get away with a remark like
that
?  But Josh apparently wasn't satisfied to escape by the skin of his teeth.  Oh, no.

He got
got
a gleam in his eyes and grinned back at our principal.  "Yeah, like I’m scared of detention,
Scotty
," he sneered.  “I can say whatever I want.  Free country.”