8. Chapter 8
Chapter 8
Sloane
September 1992
T he first four weeks of senior year are off to a decent start, and I am settling into my classes well. Of course, marine bio is my favorite, and I head there with a hop in my step. I sit down next to Billy, who is seated between me and his friend, Dustin. There aren't a lot of kids into country music at our school, and those two seem to talk about Garth Brooks and George Strait like Tyler and I talk about Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana.
Tyler slides into his chair before the bell for once. "Hey, you gotta hear this," he says as he holds up a pair of headphones.
I turn to face him. Wow, he looks dreamy when he's wearing his football jersey on game day. He puts the headphones over my ears, and I hear Kurt Cobain's voice screaming, "Yeah-aaa-aaa-aaa-yeah, yeah-aaa-aaa-aaa-yeah-aaah…" I look up at Tyler and nod, partially slipping the headphones off. "Did I tell you Lithium is one of my favorite Nirvana songs?"
Tyler smiles. "I think so, but that's not the point." He holds up a small square box. "This isn't a tape player. This is on the radio!"
I let the headphones fall to my neck. "What?" I say as I grab the device from him and inspect it. It's just a radio. I look back up with my eyes wide. "Who's playing this?"
"99X," he says with a grin.
"You mean Power 99?" I ask, shocked that the Top 40 station is playing Nirvana.
He shakes his head, still smiling. "They changed formats. It's an alternative station now."
"No way!" I say a little too loud, then lower my voice. "Oh my gosh, this is awesome." I hold the right headphone speaker up to my ear and listen as Tyler watches me with a smile. "It's almost over." I say as I wait for Nirvana's “Lithium” to end and hear what comes on next.
Through the speaker, I hear funny, kitschy music and then, "This is 99X, WNNX Atlanta. 99X, it's where music is going."
"Oh my gosh, I wanna hear what they play next!"
"Me, too!" Tyler scoots his chair right against mine and says, "Let me see those." He motions for the headphones. After I give them to him, he snaps off the right speaker and hands it to me, then holds the left speaker up to his ear.
We huddle together and listen to a few commercials and my pulse races being this close to Tyler Finlay. I look up at him, "I'm glad you got here early for once," I joke as the first bell rings.
He winks at me and gives me that smile. You know the one. I feel myself getting warm as I'm no longer focused on this exciting news. Just then, the soft notes of a guitar sound, and I recognize the band right away. I look up at Tyler, "Pearl Jam."
He nods just as Eddie Vedder's voice sounds, "Black."
"I can't believe this is on the radio!" I say quietly.
"I've been listening most of the day, at least when I can," he says. "It's like they came into my room and took my CD collection."
"I love it," I say just as the final bell rings. I hand him back the right speaker which he presses back into the clip on the headphone band. "My sister is going to be mad, though. She loved Power99, and I had to suffer through it blaring from across the hall."
His smile grows mischievous which makes him every dreamier. "I guess it's payback time, then."
I laugh as I take my notebook out of my backpack. "Totally."
The front door closes, and Coach K announces, "Partner up, we're doing a lab today."
I hadn't noticed silver trays lined up on the large table that spans the back of the room. I look at Tyler. "Will you be my partner and be in charge of cutting things open?"
"Absolutely," he says. "Cutting stuff open is the fun part."
I shudder as Coach says, "We're dissecting sharks today and each of you is going to have to do some of the work."
"I guess you get to join in on the fun, partner," Tyler says as he elbows my left arm and wiggles his eyebrows.
I laugh at him and try to quell the butterflies that awaken in my stomach. If I have to cut open a shark, or anything else for that matter, there's no one I'd rather do it with.