Chapter 31 #3
When Caspar and Malek didn’t answer, William leaned forward and fiddled with the radio.
Caspar tried to tell him there was nothing there but static, but he seemed determined.
After a couple seconds of fiddling, a new station broke through—not a new station, Caspar soon realized, but the phone’s music.
“How did you do that?” Caspar asked. “There’s no aux cord to connect the music.”
William shrugged. “The bus is enchanted with magic now. It’s about finding the right combinations to make what you want possible. So show me a good song.”
When Caspar plugged in a song that Malek had told him was about love, William didn’t seem impressed. “Let me see the phone?”
“Um…” Malek shook his head. “There’s a lot of sensitive data on that.”
“Oh. Well. Let’s use mine then. Your songs are all… sappy. No offense. They’re really good technically, but it’s not good driving music.”
“You haven’t heard ‘Locker Wars’ yet,” Caspar said, quickly plugging in the song. William nodded along with the beat, and patted Malek on the back when his rap section came up.
“That’s cool. Really cool. But can I see what else I can find? My phone has a lot of stuff on it that I want to hear again.”
Without waiting for a response, William hooked his phone up to whatever magical connection he had found. As he scrolled through his music, Caspar sent a sympathetic look to Malek.
“Sorry,” he murmured. “Maybe we can listen later.”
“It’s fine. There was only one song left to show you, and we can do that at the hotel. It’s a song that reminds me of us last night.”
“Then I’m looking forward to it even more than my shower.”
Malek laughed. When William’s song echoed through the speakers, even Caspar recognized it. The beginning beats of Queen’s “Under Pressure” made his blood tingle with familiarity and joy.
“Now this is driving music.” William set the phone in a cup holder and wandered to the back of the bus so he could usher Natasha and Katja forward.
When the first verse started, William belted it out in time with David Bowie.
By the chorus, even Caspar was singing along with everyone on the bus.
Katja and Natasha both danced in their seats in between playing air guitar.
The entire song brought them together as a unit, something that hadn’t really happened until that moment; one of them had always compromised or dissented to someone else’s wants or desires.
Right now, everyone wanted to sing and everyone took up a different verse without being told.
Caspar could see the hope in Malek’s eyes as the song came to an end.
“That was amazing,” Natasha said. “Should we do another?”
“I don’t know if I can find another song we all know,” William said. “But I’ll try.”
“We can always write our own. We’ll know all the parts for sure,” Malek said. His voice was so small, like a prayer more than a suggestion. Caspar was sure only he had heard it.
“I do know how to play drums,” William said. “So that’s a possibility.”
“And I know bass,” Natasha said. When Katja and William looked at her skeptically, she just shrugged.
“My parents wanted me to play clarinet, and I learned that too so I could join high school band. But I also met my friend Jessica there, and well, she played bass, and we had some fun in the garage. You know, typical high school rebellion.”
The group chuckled before Katja spoke up. “I know… French horn. Trumpet. Not a lot of instruments, really. But I did sing in a choir.”
“Hey, never underestimate the trumpet,” William said. “And singing is cool too. We obviously know you know how to sing and play guitar, Malek. Which only leaves you, Caspar. What can you play?”
“Oh. Um. I don’t know anything. I’m more someone who appreciates good music than someone who gets involved.”
“But you could learn,” Katja said.
“I suppose so.”
Malek reached out one hand from the steering wheel and put it on Caspar’s thigh. “I can teach you, you know.”
“As a wish? Hah.” Caspar laughed. But when he met Malek’s eyes, his gaze cemented the fact. Malek would teach him guitar. He didn’t even have to ask three times. It was as good as done. “Okay, that sounds good.”
“And Ultima used to play the violin and the piano with her feet,” Katja added. “It was part of her act before jewel heists paid most of the bills. But you know, I’m sure her talents get even better when she uses her hands.”
“Then that settles it,” William said. “We should all be in a band.”
“One adventure at a time,” Malek said. His smile betrayed him. He was excited. “We gotta finish this one first.”
“How much longer?” William asked.
“Less than an hour, and we should be at Ultima’s.”
“So time for another song?” William asked, and soon put on something else by Queen.
It was the safest bet, and though most people sang along, their attention had clearly turned to the next mission.
Even Caspar started to grow excited. Guitar lessons.
Malek. There were so many things to look forward to, by the time they reached Ultima’s, he forgot that he was supposed to be dead and buried in the ground.