Boring Girls(71)

Now all we had to do was get the damn thing manufactured. Which was going to be costly. Edgar’s parents loaned us the money, which we assured them we would pay back as quickly as we could. We decided to only get two hundred printed up, which seemed like a small amount, but of course no one even knew who we were, so who knew if it would end up being too many?

xXx

Fern called me one evening towards the end of the summer. “So I just got off the phone with Socks,” she said excitedly. “Check it out. Ken has some friends in a band, they’re metal. They’re called Torn Bowel, apparently nice guys. They’re from Port Claim.”

“Okay,” I said.

“Well, they’re going on a tour the week before school starts. Just a short thing, four shows around the province. They were going to go with some other band, but one of those guys broke his leg so they had to cancel.”

“Okay?”

“So I guess Ken recommended us to them. And they’d like us to go on the tour.”

“Shit, really? A tour?”

“Well, only four shows,” Fern said, but I could hear the excitement in her voice too.

The four of us met the next afternoon at the tea shop. Socks told us the details. He figured we could take the van with the gear and all of us share a hotel room each night. We could sell some of our CDs, hopefully, and make a bit of money to pay for gas and the hotels. We weren’t going to be paid to do the shows, but that was okay because apparently Torn Bowel was getting pretty popular, so it would be good exposure for us.

“They’re not a big band, but I guess people are starting to like them,” he said. “I think it would be a good idea to go with them. Ken says they’re nice guys too, so it should be fun.”

“Do you guys feel like we’re ready to play four shows in a row?” Edgar asked. I figured he was probably reminiscing about the only other show we’d done and how badly it had gone.

“I feel like we can definitely do it,” Fern said confidently.

“We just have to remember to keep the energy up,” I added. “I feel like all of us probably learned from last time. I know I totally did.”

“All right then. You guys talk to your parents tonight and make sure they’re cool with it,” Socks said. “Once you find out, call me, and I’ll call these guys and let them know we’re in.”

xXx

“You are too young to go on a tour,” my father said with a tone of finality in his voice. “You are still in high school. This whole thing is ridiculous.”

“I’m not a little kid,” I whined lamely, hating the sound of my voice. Melissa kept her eyes on her dinner plate.

“You can’t be serious about this. Do you know what happens on rock tours?”

“Dad, it isn’t like that. It’s just four shows, everyone’s nice, nobody does drugs, nothing like that. It’s just a chance to play our music for people. Everyone’s going to be super careful and it’s less than a week anyways!”

“The answer is an absolute no,” Dad said and started eating again.

“I think it would be fun,” Melissa offered. “I think she should go.”

“Well, you are not in charge of making decisions in this family,” Dad said. “Mom and I are. And that is our decision.”

We lapsed into silence, and I seethed with anger. I knew everyone else’s parents would be fine with it. Why did I have to have the stupid parents? I was going to be the one to ruin it for the band. I was going to have to disappoint everyone. But my parents wouldn’t care about any of that. I had to think of an approach that they would understand. I tried to calm myself down.

“The thing is,” I began, steadying my voice, “I only have one year of high school left, and then college. I’ll have to give up the band. We all will. I just think this is probably going to be the only chance I will ever have to do something like this. Even though it really is on such a small scale.”

My mother looked up at me. “So you are thinking about college?”

“Of course,” I said earnestly. “I know this whole music thing is temporary. I have to grow up. I just wish that I could do this one thing, just to have some fun and play some shows before I really buckle down and think about my future.”

My mother and father looked at each other across the table. “What have you thought about taking in college?” Mom asked.