The Band Boy

Prologue

THE brIGHT LIGHTS WERE THE first thing that caught her eye.

They glowed in a thousand colors, wrapping themselves around a strange word her five-year-old brain couldn’t quite puzzle out.

It was an odd word, one that her teacher had not yet taught the kindergartners of San Mateo Elementary.

She leaned forward in her booster seat, lips moving as she sounded it out.

“Arr…rooo…smmmithh…”

She recognized the “Smith” part—like Connor Smith, her brother’s best friend.

Maybe it was someone’s first and last name. Proud of her deduction, she grinned.

“Arro…smith,” she tried again, louder this time.

From the driver’s seat, her father chuckled. “It’s pronounced Aerosmith, Daisy.”

She looked up. “Who is he, Daddy?”

“Not a he, sweetheart. They’re a band, a very popular one.”

“So, they, like, sing songs and stuff?”

“Yes, that’s exactly it.”

Satisfied, Daisy pressed her forehead against the cool glass, taking in the scene outside.

Crowds of people flowed toward a huge white tent, their voices bubbling over with excitement.

Many wore black leather that shimmered in the lights.

A group of girls with neon-bright hair caught Daisy’s attention, and she giggled, looking down at the sketchpad that seemed to accompany her everywhere. She couldn’t wait to draw them later.

Her father was just about to round the corner, away from the lights and the neon hair, when Daisy noticed one last, unforgettable thing.

It wasn’t something she saw, but something she heard—a sound that poured out of the tent and spilled into the night.

The melody was raw and electric, a heartbeat pulsing through the misty fall air, alive with something she couldn’t yet name.

At that moment, Daisy fell in love for the first time.

That night, she discovered rock ’n’ roll.