I shook my head and headed toward the double set of doors. “Why? That’s a pointless goal.”
She walked ahead of me and shoved the door open. “Don’t you ever get tired of being such a priss?”
“Whatever that means.” I hadn’t told Naomi the truth yet. Her words kept spinning in my head. The only one I trust.
Justin leaned against the trunk of his car, eyeing the ground. Kari did most of the talking, using animated hand gestures that resembled sign language. Casey paced behind them with a cell phone glued to her ear.
“Drama-queen alert.” Naomi tugged me along. “Let’s go spy.”
I followed her. At least we wouldn’t be in Kari’s line of vision that way. We slouched over and crept behind a pickup truck next to Justin’s BMW.
“You didn’t strike me as a coward,” Kari said.
“I didn’t know what to say—it was awkward.”
“Only because you made it that way.”
Naomi let out a snort and covered her laugh.
I elbowed her in the side.
Justin shoved his hands into his pockets. “I told you, Kari. It’s not you.”
“Are you gay?”
“I just don’t want to hook up with anyone right now.”
“Is that why you and Drea are attached at the hip?”
“We’re friends.”
“Right. You should hear the way she salivates over you in the locker room. Good luck with that.” She shook her head and walked off with Casey.
I really wanted that blanket.
Naomi jumped up. “For the record, we merely admire you—our salivary glands aren’t involved.”
I followed her, keeping my eyes on Justin’s tires. Looking at him would be too intense. Too embarrassing.
“Good to know,” he answered. “We recording?”
“I’m game. Did you mic my drums yet, Drea?”
“Yep.” We’d finally moved her drum kit over yesterday, but she’d played for only five minutes before Grandma had major issues. No drums after sunset, she said. I guess she feared they would attract vampires or something.
“Sweet! I can’t stay for long, though. My dad is taking me out to dinner tonight,” she said.
“That’s good, right?” I asked.
She shrugged. “As long as he shows up.”
I insisted on riding in the back today. The thought of being so close to Justin made me nervous. If he didn’t know how I felt before, he certainly did now. Kari sucked. And so did Naomi for teasing me so much in the locker room.
“So, did you totally shoot Kari down, or what?” Naomi asked as we turned onto Holly Street.
“She made a move on me, and I told her I wasn’t interested. Took her home.”
“Let me guess. She either gave you a shoulder rub or just leaned in and kissed you. I’m guessing the first one—she uses that on the good boys.”
I peeked at Justin in the rearview mirror, and his eyes met mine. I hadn’t told Naomi about him.
“Neither,” he said. “Anyway, she took it personally and wouldn’t let it drop. So I’ve been avoiding her.”
“Sounds like Kari.” Naomi tapped her knuckles against the window. “Be forewarned—that girl can hold quite the grudge.”
“I’m not losing sleep over it.”
I tried to hold back a smile but failed.
“You don’t think she’s hot at all?” Naomi asked. “Because everything else with a dick does.”
“Sure, but she’s not my type.”
“You prefer brainy redheads with music addictions, right?”
I kicked the back of her chair.
“Ow, hi. Base of my spine here.” Naomi shifted in her seat.
“As long as it’s good music,” he said, glancing at me in the rearview mirror again. His lips twitched with a smile.
I stared out the window for the rest of the car ride.
I deconstructed Naomi’s face with my HI-8 video camera, moving from her full lips to the crinkle in her brow. The beauty and the flaws—every unique freckle. This was how I saw people.
“She smiles with grace, but no one recalls her face.” Naomi swayed in front of the microphone, shoe tapping the floor. “Invisible. Carved between the walls. She can scream your name, but you don’t hear her at all.”
I moved the frame to the right. Justin’s fingers hammered their way into the chorus. His eyelashes fluttered against his pale cheeks and his shoulders gently swayed. Black or white—he owned every key.
I loved watching them create their magic. That’s what it was to me, really. I could hear everything wrong with a mix, produce a vocal to death, and create a billion different sounds, but I couldn’t play a melody that made me shiver.
Naomi tilted her head back. Her face contorted with each word. “She knows her place in this world. She can tear down its walls, and still nobody knows her name. Yeah, she knows her place. But she’s not going down… without a fight.”
Too bad today was just practice. I was getting some great shots.
She tore the headphones off and hooted. “Okay, that rocked.”
I turned back to the computer and made sure the vocal track recorded properly. “You really nailed this take, Naomi. I think I can pretty much use the whole thing.”
“Pretty much?” Justin asked. “Use it all—in its entirety. The flaws make the emotion come through even more.”
I double clicked on the track. “Yeah, but—”
“Yeah, but nothing,” he broke in. “Put your ’verb and delay on it—just don’t chop it up.”
Naomi squealed. “I can’t wait to hear the whole thing! I like the bass line you did, Drea.” She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and kissed my cheek. “It’s groovy.”
“Thanks,” I said, wiping the wet spot she left behind.
She plopped in Justin’s lap and sighed. “You, sir, are a piano god.”
He winced as she gave him a juicy kiss on the forehead. “Are you on something again, Naomi?”
“I’m high on music. Lighten up, Dad.” She stood up and did some kind of dramatic pose.
“I think she’s happy about seeing her dad tonight,” I said.
“No, no,” she said. “It’s the music. Hey, we should play ‘Dawn’ for Justin. I want to record that next.”
“You up for it?” I asked him.
“I play by ear. No preparations needed.” He smiled.
I grabbed my green acoustic and sat with it in my lap. “It’s a little slower in tempo, but more upbeat.” I told him.
This song called for fifths in the verse. Two power chords played twice each with a muted pick rhythm in between.
Naomi grabbed the mic, nodding her head to my strums. “Sweet little Jane was caught in a rut. She went too far and never paid up. And the street corner won’t give a dime to Daddy’s little girl with the misty eyes.”
I glanced over at Justin. He stared back with the hint of a smile on his face. My fingers slipped. “Oops.”
She launched into the bridge, a spoken-word part repeated twice. “There’s no God fear and no sky to reach. Are my words silent shadows or just obsolete?”
I avoided Justin’s gaze as I shifted into the chorus. It wasn’t punchy like the verse, calling for more of a dramatic riff.
“She waits for the dawn… with her lace gloves on. She said revolution. Cleanse the streets, unveil the mask of sweet pollution. Yeah, she waits for the dawn. Her time will come.”
Justin played three high notes on the piano and colored them in with two bass chords. It gave the song a little more elegance. He kept it simple, as if he knew too much sugar would ruin the mix. I really liked that about him.
“What time is it?” Naomi asked suddenly.
“It’s just after five,” Justin said.
And from the sour odor wafting down the stairs, dinner would come too soon.
“I gotta go.” She snatched her backpack. “You going to put ‘Invisible’ up tonight?”
“Planning on it. I just have to do a little mixing and mastering,” I said. What I really wanted to say was, Don’t leave me alone with Justin. I can’t even look at him right now.