Sunshine (7 page)

Chapter 7
Covers
"Upon a pebble driveway there sits a house, and it's the loneliest place..."
-Circa Survive

A while back, the principal of Lucky got wind that Boo, Trei, and I were in a band and liked the idea of us playing songs at the school dances. The only one I agreed to was the night before Halloween. Dances are lame, but when there are costumes involved, they can be bearable.

We’re not even playing our own songs. We had to make up a list of covers, and get it approved by the PTA or whoever, who added their own suggestions.
So we’re stuck playing songs off of that list, and about—oh I don’t know—three that we’re actually excited to play. Covers have never been that hard for me. I hear what I want the song to sound like in my head, I feel the lyrics move through me, and the song floats out. Boo bangs the drums like a jazz musician, Trei weaves violin strings through the songs like a pro, and I pound, trickle, and otherwise just make the music happen. Oh, and I sing, but that’s just so the song is complete. If I had a choice, piano would be my voice. My
actual
voice is hard to describe. Boo says it’s like Emilie Autumn, and Trei thinks I sound more like Fiona Apple. I think my voice is deep, scratchy, and nowhere near perfect, but it gets the job done.
The end product, whether it’s a cover or original, is usually awesome, but getting musically
trained
people like Boo and Trei to understand my language is challenging to say the least.
“Boo, I told you. It’s Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller.’ It’s easy.” We’re in my basement, practicing a few hours before the dance and Boo is being a raging perfectionist.
“Uhm. No, it’s not. Do you want to dishonor
the king of pop
?” Boo says.
“Don’t be so dramatic.” Trei’s tuning her violin from the floor.
“Oh c’mon guys,” Boo pouts his lip like a three year old.
“Fine. One more time, then we’re done playing until eight o’clock,” I sigh.
“Okay, okay.”
Personally, I think “Thriller” is an awesome song, especially for a Halloween dance. However, “Billie Jean” will always be my favorite song from him. Next time we play a show, we’re playing that.
“So, what do you want for your birthday?” Boo asks me when we’re finally done practicing.
Oh yeah. My birthday is tomorrow. Halloween. I know I’m abnormal what with the sun thing and all, so I guess me being born on the thirty-first of October should come as no surprise.
“I don’t know,” I answer.
“C’mon! You’re turning nineteen. Don’t you want anything special?” Boo asks.
“No, not really.” I shrug.
“I already got you something,” Trei says as she sits down on the couch next to me.
“Hey. It’s not my fault Pizza Hut doesn't pay me on time,” Boo defends.
“Thanks, you guys,” I try to defuse the situation before they start fighting over something so stupid. “But you know you don’t really have to get me anything.”
“So I wonder what Myles is going to get you,” Boo wiggles his eyebrows.
Just in time to hear Myles knocking on the basement door.
“Come on down!” Boo yells like he’s that guy from
The Price Is Right
.
The door creaks open and closed again as Myles makes his way down the stairs. “Hi,” he says to all of us. He’s been hanging out with us a lot more often. Neither of us told Boo or Trei about him staying over, and the fact that he kept quiet about it has made us achieve a friendly status that I’m not exactly uncomfortable with.
He’s wearing jeans and a dark green sweatshirt with the Lucky High logo on it. The color makes his eyes look even bluer. But that’s no excuse to wear anything supporting our school.
“Why are you wearing that?” I blurt out. I’m not even trying to sound mean; I’m trying to treat him like I would treat Boo or Trei in the same situation.
Myles stretches out the sweatshirt in front of him and studies it like he had no idea what he had put on this morning. “What’s wrong with it?”
“Uhm. It says, ‘Lucky High School, home of the panthers,’” Boo says.
“And that’s bad?” Myles asks.
“Uh, yeah,” Boo answers.
Myles shrugs and flips it over his head to take it off, revealing the shirt he has on underneath.
I wish I hadn’t said anything.
He's wearing this tight, faded blue Ramones T-shirt. It's kind of hard for me not to study his arms. There's nothing there. It’s been a few weeks, sure, but there’s not even the slightest mark. There is no way they could have healed so fast. Had I imagined them worse than they were?
I realize that Myles is now staring at me staring at him.
Crap.
It’s definitely time to change the subject. “So do you guys know what you’re wearing tonight?” I ask.
“I’m going as a geisha,” Boo says.
I laugh because that’s going to be hilarious.
“What about you, Trei?” I ask.
“Alice In Wonderland.” She goes as that every year.
“What are you going as?” Trei asks me.
I’m excited to tell them because it took me
forever
to make the costume and get it just right. “Columbia.”
No, not the country. The character. You know, from
The
Rocky Horror Picture Show.
The one with the pink hair and the yellow sequin suit.
Yeah, that one.
Trei and Boo’s eyes widen.
I win in the costume war this year.
Myles sits down next to Boo on the opposite couch from me. “Oh, what about you, Myles?” Boo asks him like he’s just gotten here.
He shrugs. “I’ll figure something out.”
“By tonight?” Boo asks.
“Yes.” He smiles.
I know that smile. That’s a lying smile. It’s pretty easy to tell when someone isn’t being truthful. Myles’ face is saying that he has a costume, he just doesn’t want to give it away.
“Is it okay if I bring some friends?” Myles asks.
At normal dances, someone has to be someone else’s date in order to get in, but since this dance is to keep people from getting into trouble on Mischief Night, anyone is allowed to come.
“Sure. The more of us, the more fun we’ll have,” Trei says.
“Okay.” I look at my watch and thus, change the subject. “It’s four thirty. That gives us three and a half hours until we have to be dressed, ready, and set up. Which means we have like, an hour to ourselves.”
So after the car’s all packed, we put on the parts of our costumes that won’t get in the way while we’re hooking up our instruments.
Trei pins her thick black hair skillfully to her head so all she has to do is stretch her long blond wig over it. Boo puts on his wig and make-up, and I dress in everything short of the sequined jacket and hat. I pin my hair back so that it looks shorter than it is, and I glue huge fake eyelashes on and I paint my face white like I even have to. I cover up my eyebrows so I can draw on really thin, really high, pink ones.
By the time I’m done, I barely recognize myself.
This is always awesome.
We get to the school a few minutes before seven. I thought it would be hard to find Stevie and Jade through the small crowd starting to form of PTA people and chaperones, but it isn’t. Jade is dressed like batman, and Stevie is Robin with his mask around his neck.
“Hey guys,” I say. I would give them both hugs, but I have my keyboard hanging on my back in its carrying case and it’s way too heavy to do anything but walk with. The school offered to let us use their piano and drums, but why do that when you know how your own instrument is tuned?
“You ready to rock out?” Stevie says in a mock heavy metal voice.
“Woo!” Boo mimics the same voice back.
It’s getting dark out while we’re unloading the cars, so I don’t have to really wear my coat or sunglasses. Thank God, I’m already sweating and I don’t want my make up to come off until we’re on stage.
It’s a good thing Jade and Stevie have experience with hooking up instruments from when they had a band back in the day, before they decided to get real jobs. I know the basics. Amp wire to amp. Keyboard to amp. Don’t cut the red cord, it’s a bomb.
When that’s finally done, we’re allowed to go backstage to warm up.
I find a quiet spot in a corner to listen to my iPod, and Boo and Trei stay onstage for last minute tuning. I don’t like being perfect with my piano; it makes it more interesting. It’s the one place I don’t have to be perfect. I can just let whatever happens happen. I play a few minutes of each song to refresh my mind as to what they sound like. I turn it off when “Thriller” comes on. I know that one inside and out thanks to Boo.
Someone taps me on the shoulder and I turn around to see that it’s Myles and his two friends.
“Hey.” I take out my headphones.
It takes me half a second to realize that his friends are the same ones he had with him at the bookstore. The girl is wearing one of those shiny white latex nurse costumes, and the guy is dressed in green scrubs with zombie make up on.
“This is Sophie,” Myles says as I’m trying to figure out what he’s dressed as. He’s wearing a black dress shirt and black pants. “Sophie, this is Alex,” he says as he gestures to the nurse with lavender hair. “And Adrienne.” Myles gestures to the blonde zombie.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Alex says.
“You too,” I say as I shake both of their hands from the floor.
I wrap up my iPod, put it in my bag and stand up to put my yellow sequined jacket and hat on.
“Oh my gosh! You’re supposed to be Columbia, aren’t you?” Alex asks.
“Mmhmm,” I say.
I can’t help but notice that the Zombie standing next to her doesn’t seem to want to be here. He’s looking off into space.
“That must have been so hard to find,” she says.
“I made it,” I answer.
“Awesome job.” She looks me up and down in approval.
“What are you supposed to be?” I ask Myles to get off the subject of my costume.
He smiles again, the little dimple appearing at the left corner of his mouth. He spreads his arms apart and I can see six more, stuffed, fake arms in between his body and his arms. “Spider,” he says.
I have to laugh. I haven’t seen a spider costume on anyone over the age of ten. I think that makes it more hilarious. “That’s great,” I say, just so he doesn’t think I’m being mean.
“Thanks.” He gives me a little snicker back, as if to say,
yeah I know but I
had to
buy it
.
Just then, some PTA mom pokes her head through the curtain and says, “You’ve got five minutes.”
“You nervous?” Myles asks.
All I feel is extremely happy. Anxious, but not nervous. “Excited,” I decide.
“Well, see you out there,” Myles says.
They follow Myles back to the dance, leaving me to walk on stage to meet my band mates.
The first song we play is “The Monster Mash.” Yeah. It sucks. That’s why I make Boo sing the lyrics. I refuse.
Next, we play a few favorites of the crowd. Some older songs, some new, but we play them our own way: slightly chaotic, but making sense; all around different, but at the same time not losing anyone. We turn the love songs into hate songs, and we make the happy, upbeat songs sound sad. It’s no fun playing covers if you can’t mess with them.
Among these are: Rihanna’s “Umbrella,” making it sound sarcastic and vaguely sexual, which was Boo's idea. Then Britney Spears’ “Hit me baby one more time.” We make it sound like someone is
literally
hitting “me” and we even slow down Kaye West’s “Gold digger” with Boo singing Jamie Fox's parts. Total awesome hilariousness. All edited for school of course.
We have them dancing and shaking and grinding and whatever else people do at dances. I don’t look at the crowd though, I get lost in the songs like I always do. Even if they’re not mine, I make them mine and use them to my own advantage.
And we play “Thriller.” People cheer at the first few
Dunnnnn Dunnnnnn’s
of the opening, and it’s kind of fun playing and singing it, especially with people singing along in the crowd that I don’t even know, who don’t even know me.
Then it’s our turn to have some fun and play what we want.
The Pixies’ “Where is my mind?” and The Smashing Pumpkins’ “Ava Adore.”
It’s Boo’s idea to play acoustic songs after that. He picks up a guitar he must have pulled out of his ass when I wasn’t looking. I hate leaving my piano.
It’s a good thing he chooses two of my favorite songs, or I wouldn’t have agreed.
The Violent Femmes’ “Kiss Off,” where we rely on the crowd to clap when we instruct them to, keeping the beat as Trei trills in random and beautiful violin riffs. Then Neutral Milk Hotel’s “Two Headed Boy.”
It’s funny, most of the people at this school hate me. People hate Sophie, the person. Not Sophie and her band. Not Sophie and the music. It feels good knowing that for whatever reason, these people like our music, even if they don’t personally like us. Music shouldn’t be a popularity contest. It should be a talent contest.
When we’re playing “Two Headed Boy,” a more or less slower song, It’s going well, and my voice gets fuller and I can hold the long notes in a powerful way as I watch random couples I do and do not know. Jade and Stevie slow dancing, Alex and Adrienne’s lips move along with mine. They apparently know this song which is surprising, because most people have never heard it before. And then there’s Myles.
He stands in the middle of everyone who is dancing and talking and making out. He stares at me singing like he’s never seen me before. It’s so uncomfortable I have to shut my eyes and pretend I’m so into the song that I didn’t just see that.
I don’t look at Myles again until it’s done.
There. Easy as cake.
The dance is over and we’re all exhausted.
And we still have to pack up all this crap.
Just as I’m saying to the crowd “Thank you so much…” and blah de blah, I see Adam rushing through the doors, his shock of orange hair is hard to miss.
Something on his face makes me uneasy.The curtain closes, leaving us separated by a wall of red velvet.
I jump off the stage to go find him. Before I can reach him through the crowd of people, Myles stops me. “That was amazing,” he yells over the massive crowd that is now leaving. He’s smiling, but when he sees my face he becomes serious. “What’s wrong?”
“I just saw Adam, I think something’s up,” I yell back.
“C’mon.” To my shock, the kid tries to grab my hand. I pull back before he can snatch it.
“Sorry,” he says for some reason.
I’m pissed and preoccupied; I’m not worried about trying to be nice to him. “Don’t be sorry, just don’t do it,” I snap before walking past him.
We finally reach Adam near the door to the auditorium standing with Stevie and Jade. Boo and Trei aren’t far behind me. Adam’s copper hair is messy, and his designer shirt is wrinkled. He never looks like this.
“What’s going on?” I ask before Adam can say anything.
“You better get home,” he says.
“Why?” Adam looks like he could cry. “It’s bad, isn’t it?” I say.
“I can’t stay. Leena’s in the car.”
I feel my eyes widen hearing him say that. Adam’s run away himself plenty of times, but he wouldn’t take Leena with him unless it’s something really serious.
A million things are crashing through my head. Alex and Adrienne are now standing behind Myles wanting to know what’s going on.
“We have to go. Now,” I say to Boo and Trei.