Chapter Fifteen
Evie
“Say hello to The Rock’n Jocks’ new lead singer,” I announce to Penny and Hannah as we settle down at our lunch table on Wednesday. “Well, co-lead singer. Noah and I are going to lead together.”
They stare at me in utter confusion as I stab my fork into a humongous piece of lettuce.
Today, the school is offering healthy food.
Lots of greens and organic stuff and low fat this and that.
I’m so in the mood for a juicy burger, but I have to settle for a salad.
It’s not that bad actually, but I know my stomach will be eating its walls in an hour.
“Repeat?” Hannah asks as she plays around with a lightly seasoned piece of grilled chicken. “You’re what?”
“The Rock’n Jocks’ new lead singer,” I inform them again.
“And how exactly did that happen?” Penny wants to know.
I spend the next few minutes enlightening my friends about what transpired yesterday. When I’m done, they gape at me like they’re not sure they heard me correctly.
“What?” I say with a chuckle as I bring the massive piece of lettuce to my mouth and take a crunchy bite.
“I just can’t picture it.” Penny studies me. “You in a band? Up on stage in front of everyone?”
“You do have an amazing voice, though,” Hannah says. “It’s awesome you’ll get to share it with the rest of the world.”
“Thanks. The thought of being up on stage in front of lots of people does make me a little queasy. I’m used to hiding in my basement in complete solitude. And considering I’m supposed to be the ‘wow factor’ of the group, I know all eyes will be on me.”
I’ve never been super shy like Sibling One and Sibling Two, just quiet and I like to keep to myself.
And I’ve never sung in public, not counting choirs I was forced to participate in in middle school.
But something about it makes me excited.
Maybe because it’s so different from what I normally do and it’ll be fun to try something new?
“Wait, what about a wow factor?” Penny asks.
“The Rock’n Jocks are getting a lot of negative feedback online because of their last two gigs.
The first one’s on them, and the second one is my fault, apparently.
Anyway, Wyatt said they need something special that would put them on the map.
He thinks having a girl would do that.” I roll my eyes.
“So sexist, right? But I guess that’s how it is. ”
“And you agreed to help them out because why exactly?” Hannah asks.
“I don’t know.” I turn my head to where Noah sits with his friends at the jock table.
He’s smiling—well, a small one because like I said before, the dude barely smiles—and he’s got some light in his eyes.
But there’s still a lot of doubt clouding his face.
I twist back to my friends. “I guess I feel bad. I mean, you should have seen him last week when I picked him up for our date. He sat on his front steps looking so depressed. I think he was reading negative feedback on his performance. You know Noah barely shows any emotions. I can’t remember the last time I saw him so… broken.”
My friends exchange a surprised glance. Then Penny says, “Wow, Evie. Looks like you care about Noah more than you think.”
“Yeah. Who would have guessed?” Hannah adds with a giggle.
“I’m not heartless, guys. Even though Mr. Stick-Up-His-Butt drives me bananas, I don’t want him to fail. So if I’m the key to saving his band, I’m okay with that. Plus, getting some of the cash is an added bonus.”
“We know you’ll kill it,” Hannah says as she reaches over to fist bump me. “With your voice, you’re sure to make millions.”
“Haha,” I say as I fist bump Penny as well. “Let’s see what happens after today’s practice. Maybe Noah and I will bump heads so often that I’ll quit the band faster than you can say, ‘Rock on.’”
As Hannah and Penny take bets on how long I’ll last in the band before my head explodes, I glance at Noah’s table again.
I normally don’t study him because he’s just Noah, but now that I’m actually watching him, I realize that he seems present at the table, nodding to his friends and adding in words here and there, but he’s not really present.
There’s something working nonstop in that brain of his, something that seems to cause him a lot of stress.
Maybe the reason why he doesn’t want to tell his family he’s in a band?
“Are you staring at Noah?” Penny yanks me out of my thoughts.
My head snaps to hers and I blink. “What? No way. Why would I be looking at Noah? That’s like asking me if I’m checking out one of the teachers.” I shiver at the thought. “I’m just wondering why Noah is the way he is.”
“Why does it matter?” Hannah asks with a shrug. “It’s hard enough trying to figure out a guy you’re into. Why break your head trying to figure out a guy that doesn’t matter much to you?”
“Hmm, good point. Thinking about him is wasting too many of my precious brain cells.”
“Exactly. So do you want to hear about the guy I met online?” Penny asks.
After she informs us about the amazing cute guy she was chatting to for hours last night, we talk about other topics and then Penny says, “So a certain person’s birthday is coming up.” She playfully knocks her shoulder into mine. “Any plans?”
I lift my shoulders. “A small affair with my family and close friends like every year.”
“That’s it?” Penny asks.
I give her a confused look. “What do you mean?”
“You’re turning eighteen, Evie! You’ll be an adult. That’s a cause for celebration.”
“It’s just a number, Penny. I’ll be one year older than I was last year. No big deal.”
“Hello! An adult.”
“Hannah’s been an adult for two months,” I point out. “And she’s the same. I mean, you’re always mature, Hannah, but you’re still you. Why are you making such a big deal about it, Penny?”
“You need to do something special. Something different.”
I wave my hand. “I’m fine with hanging out with my family and friends.”
Penny’s eyes light up and she snaps her fingers. “I’ve got it! You can throw a huge party and invite the whole school.”
“Why in the world would I do something like that?”
“Because parties are fun?”
I frown. Maybe they can be fun if someone else is the center of attention. But I’ve never liked the spotlight. Penny knows this very well.
“Hannah didn’t do anything special,” I remind her.
“That’s because her parents surprised her with a trip to Europe over winter break.”
Hannah’s face glows. “One of the best trips of my life.”
“And by the time you got back, we were too busy with the new semester.” Penny pins her eyes on me with a look I don’t like. “But now I can plan the perfect party for you.”
I sigh as I play around with the last lettuce leaves on my plate. “I’m not crazy about the idea, Penny. I know you want to have fun, but I won’t enjoy myself with the whole school being there. I barely talk to half of them.”
Penny looks like she wants to argue, maybe convince me how much fun it could be, but she knows me well and sighs. “Okay, fine. But can we invite some more people this time? Just so it could be a bigger celebration?”
Now it’s my turn to sigh. “Okay. As long as you plan the whole thing.”
She beams. “I will!”
***
“Never fear, boys!” I announce as I enter Wyatt and Elliot’s basement. “Your wow factor has arrived.”
“Oh, great,” Noah mutters from where he stands on the stage—the center of the room—tuning his guitar. “If your head gets any bigger, Evie, your body will collapse from the weight.”
“Even with a ginormous head, I would still look mega hot,” I say with a wink.
Noah snorts, returning his attention to his guitar.
“Right on,” Wyatt says as he slaps my hand. “Hot is good. Hot will sell the band.”
“Didn’t we talk about how Evie isn’t here to attract guys?” Noah says with a frown. “And don’t call my wife hot, Wyatt.”
“Because only you can call her hot?” He raises a brow.
“Gross,” he and I say simultaneously.
Then I glare at him. “Did you just call me gross?”
“What? No, I didn’t call you gross. I called the fact that Wyatt thinks I think you’re hot gross.”
I scratch my head. “What?”
He scratches his head, too.
Wyatt chuckles. “You guys make such a cute married couple,” he teases.
Noah slaps his shoulder as Mateo walks in, followed by Elliot who’s holding an armful of snacks.
“That’s what I’m talking about!” I sprint over as he drops the goodies on the table and start sifting through the options. “No way! Gummy worms! It’s like you can read my soul.” I grab the package and tear it open.
“Noah told me they’re your favorite,” Elliot informs me. “So I bought you some.”
My teeth slice a worm in half as I spin around to Noah. “Aw, how sweet of you. My hubby is so thoughtful.”
Noah grits his teeth. “Don’t make such a big deal about it, Evie. Elliot texted me earlier that he was going for a snack run and asked me what’s your favorite. We all deserve to snack on what we love.”
“Except you,” I say as I reach for another gummy worm and tear off its tail. “You don’t have a favorite snack because you’re boring.”
Wyatt and Mateo chuckle.
Noah frowns. “I’m not boring.”
“Uh huh,” I say as I bite into another worm.
“Aren’t you worried that will rot out your teeth?” he says.
I shrug. “Nope. My teeth are made of steel.”
“Sure. If you don’t care for your teeth when you’re young, you’ll run into problems when—”
Elliot claps his hands. “Are we going to stand here listening to the married couple bicker or are we going to play music?”
Noah and I narrow our eyes at each other before he says, “Yeah, let’s practice, guys. Elliot’s working on getting us a gig. We need to be on our A game if we manage to land one.” He reaches for a stack of papers and hands one to each of us. “The song I’ve been working on.”