Chapter 5 #2
Silence followed. Devon wondered why nothing was going the way he wanted. First Zoey and the band, and now this.
“If you don’t want to practice, fine, but you’re going, Devon. Tamar set this up because you asked her to. To suddenly turn round and back out is disrespectful and rude. Especially when you don’t have a legit reason.”
Devon’s lips tightened.
“You can pout. Get mad. Doesn’t matter. But you are going.”
“Fine!”
“Watch that tone, son. You don’t want to be painting Ms. Marie’s fence and have all your electronics confiscated too.”
Devon knew he’d crossed the line and that his dad wasn’t playing. Painting the fence was the last thing he needed. “Sorry,” he whispered sincerely.
A nod acknowledged the apology. “Go on up to your room and chill. If you change your mind about the tent, let me know.”
“Okay,” he said softly. He picked up his backpack, and rather than stomp off like some bratty kid on a TV show, he exited respectfully. He’d painted the fence once and never wanted to do it again.
As he sat in his room, he tried to come up with a way to back out of the quest. Could he fake being sick?
Probably not, he decided. His parents would call Doc Reg, who’d find nothing wrong unless he drank or ate something that actually made him puke, and he wasn’t desperate enough to do something that dumb.
Maybe he could convince his mom to call Tamar and cancel on his behalf.
That wouldn’t work, either, because his dad already laid down the law and his parents always supported each other’s parenting decisions.
He heard Amari come upstairs and wondered if he could help.
He gave his brother a few minutes to get settled then went to his room and knocked on the open door.
“Hey, Devon.”
“Can I talk to you for a minute?”
He watched Amari evaluate him.
“Sure. What’s going on?”
“I don’t want to go on the Spirit Quest, but Dad says I have to.”
“And?”
“How do I get him to let me stay home?”
“Why don’t you want to go?”
“I just don’t.”
“Wrong answer. Why don’t you want to go?”
Devon looked away for a moment, then told the truth. “I’m scared.”
“Of what?”
“Tamar.”
“Makes sense. I was too.”
Devon’s eyes showed his surprise. “You were?”
“Yeah. Tamar scared me to death when we first moved here. Always knowing everything. Always putting us to work. Always watching us like hawks. She had everybody terrified, and anybody who can terrify Crystal is not to be played with.”
“Was she scary on your quest?”
“In a way, but the quest was how I got to really know her, and now, I’m not scared of her anymore. Do you know she used to go to clubs? When she told me that I was like: What?”
“What kind of clubs?”
“Nightclubs like the ones in the videos where there’s music and drinks and you talk to the honeys.”
“Why would Tamar want to talk to girls? Is she a lesbian?”
Amari stared, confused. “What? No.” Then he paused as if thinking about the question again. “I don’t really know, but who cares. Forget that part. What I’m trying to say is she’s just Tamar. She and I are way closer now, and it’s because of the quest.”
“What kind of things did you do?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s personal and private. You don’t share what happens. Just like Dad and OG didn’t share theirs.”
“Oh.” He’d hoped for some clues.
“But you can learn stuff about yourself and life, and things that make you think. She helps you figure things out along the way. Even though I wound up having to get stitches after that hawk stole my fish, I’m glad I went.”
Devon weighed what he’d heard. “So, you were scared for real before you went?”
“For real, Devon. I wouldn’t lie to you.”
“Okay.” Devon couldn’t think of anything else he wanted to know.
“Do you know what kind of service project you’re going to do?”
“Service project?”
“Yeah. I had to come up with a way to honor the Ancestors as part of my quest. That’s where the idea for the August First parade came from that Brain and I had that year.”
“Nobody told me about that.”
“Maybe you won’t have to do one, but start thinking about it just in case.”
Devon sighed. “Okay.” He didn’t need more stuff to do or think about. He had more than enough already.
“We good?” Amari asked.
Devon nodded.
“One last thing, though. I had to put up a tent, and even after Dad and I practiced, it still kicked my butt. You might want to practice.”
“I know how to put up a tent.”
Amari viewed him skeptically. “Okay.”
Still worried about the quest, but not as much, Devon thanked him and returned to his room.
After dinner he and his mom worked on making the flyer on the laptop in her She Cave. Once they settled on the wording and the design, she printed it out on nice paper. It had the Who, What, When, and Where, and a picture of himself wearing his wig and a big smile. He liked that addition a lot.
He viewed the finished project. “This is great, Mom.”
“I agree. How many do you think you’ll need?”
He shrugged. “What do you think?”
“Ten, maybe, for now. If we need more, we can always print more.”
He nodded. “When can we put them up?”
“Whenever you’d like. If you want to post some in Franklin, your dad or I can drive you over.”
“I definitely want to put one up on the community events board at the library.”
“That’s a good idea.”
Taking in his smiling face on the flyer, he thought about how awesome it looked and the other places he might want to post it, like the events board at school. He couldn’t wait to see Zoey’s reaction when she found out she might not have the only band in town. “Thank you, Mom.”
“You’re very welcome. Do you need anything else?”
“No.”
“Okay.”
He took the ten flyers up to his room and set them on his desk. He was finally on his way to starting his own band. Later, when he got into bed and turned out his light, he was still smiling.
BIKING TO SCHOOL the next morning, he told his friends, “I have something I want to show you when we get to school.”
Zoey asked, “What is it?”
“You’ll have to wait. It’s a surprise.”
She shrugged. “Okay.”
He wasn’t happy with her lack of further interest. He thought she and the others would be bugging him nonstop to tell them what it was about.
Instead, they talked about the fun they’d had singing background on Zoey’s demo.
Because he hadn’t been there, he had nothing to contribute so he kept pedaling, knowing they’d have plenty to say to him once they got to school.
Once they arrived, he had them all follow him to the events board in the lobby. He very carefully removed the flyer he’d placed inside a large Ziploc from his backpack. “Close your eyes.”
He could tell they didn’t want to, but they all did as he asked. He quickly put the flyer up and said, “Open your eyes!”
They complied.
“Check me out,” he said, with a smile that matched the one on the flyer.
“The surprise is that you’re starting a band?” Zoey asked skeptically.
“Yes. Awesome, right?”
“If you say so.” She turned to Maria and Jasmine. “Let’s go.” And they left for their lockers.
It was not the reaction he’d imagined, but he chalked it up to her being jealous or mad or both. Wyatt, Alfonso, and Lucas stuck around.
Wyatt asked, “Do you have a name for it yet?”
Finally, some interest. “Not yet.”
“Do you know how to start a band?” Alfonso asked.
“Not really, but Zoey didn’t, either, when we started Exodusters.”
“True,” Wyatt said.
“Good luck,” Lucas told him. “Hope you get a bunch of people at the audition.”
“Thanks.”
They headed to their lockers, and he was left standing alone while the rest of the arriving student body flowed around him.
At lunch the conversation turned to the demo again, and Devon swore if he heard one more word he’d scream.
Zoey looked his way and said nonchalantly, “Somebody drew a mustache on your flyer.”
Stunned, he froze, then ran to the lobby with laughter trailing his exit.
Sure enough, someone had used a black marker to draw a large mustache with curled-up ends across his lips.
They’d also added a beard. Angry, he snatched it down, balled it up, and threw it into the first wastebasket he passed on his way back to the lunchroom.
Returning to the table, he asked Zoey, “Do you know who did it?”
“No, and it wasn’t me.”
He turned accusatory eyes on the rest of his cohort.
Lucas said, “We’re your friends, Dev. We wouldn’t diss you like that.”
All offered silent shows of reassurance.
“Just put up another one,” Jasmine told him.
“So they can do it again? No.” He was embarrassed and hurt. The perpetrator made him look stupid, and he wasn’t setting himself up to be played a second time.
“Have you put them up any anywhere else?” Wyatt asked.
“No, but I wanted to after school.” Now he wasn’t so sure.
“Just put them up,” Zoey said. “Either you’re a boss or you’re not.”
“She’s right,” Maria added in agreement. “Don’t let the haters win.”
Their support made him feel better, even if he wasn’t convinced they were all innocent.
“And if you want to come back to the band, just say so.”
He stared at Zoey.
“What?” she asked. “We’re family, Devon. Sometimes you’re a dumbass, and you quitting the band is one of those times, but you’re still my brother.”
Even though all types of emotions filled him, he wasn’t giving her the satisfaction of his surrender. “Thanks, but I’m not coming back,” he said firmly.
She shook her head as if she still found him too dumbass for words.
The bell signaled the end of lunch. They gathered up their things and joined the exodus back to their classrooms. Devon made a quick detour and tacked up another flyer. The haters could skate.