Couldn't you have just walked home? I asked myself a few minutes later. It wasn't that George was a terrible driver, it was just that my heart was in my throat the entire time. I reminded myself to always, always walk from now on.
"Aunt Janice?" I called as I unlocked the door and stepped inside. Silence. She wasn't home yet. Well, I was early, and she usually didn't get home until after I did, anyway. She must have been home for lunch, though, because the day's mail was laying on the kitchen counter. I flipped through it, and there was actually a letter for me! I had a little time on my hands, so I opened it to read.
Dear Janice,
Hey there! So how is England? Are you loving it or yearning for your familiar stomping grounds and the sunshine of LA? Let me know soon, because Jesse and I have a little bit riding on this...
I'll assume that you know that Alex isn't around, but I don't want to know whether or not you even know. You wouldn't believe what kind of pressure there is here. His parents went crazy when they finally started believing that the army guys who stop by every so often weren't kidding. How could they think they were kidding in the first place? Anyway, they interrogated Jesse and I for about an hour each before they finally believed that we didn't know anything. Alex must have had an idea of what might happen. If you do see or talk to him, would you tell him that we said hi? Don't tell him about all the drama here. I don't want him to have to carry that.
Oh, remember how my cousin was trying to get into music? Well, he went in for an audition yesterday. He thinks it went well, but he's not sure. There's a lot of competition out here. I think at least a third of the young people in Southern California must be trying to break into the recording business. Of course, who can blame them? I think he's going to make it, though. I've just got that feeling.
Well, I'm leaving in six weeks for the frigid North. Yes, I finally decided on Stanford over the University of San Diego. What about you? You must have sent in your letter already, right? Where are you going?
Write back soon!
Sarah
I put the letter back in the envelope, slightly shaken. It was easy here to forget that I had left things behind. I worried about Alex, I realized my parents must be worried about me, and I wondered what to do about it all. I needed to write Sarah back, and I would write to my parents. I couldn't be sure that a phone call would catch them at home.
I glanced at the clock and decided that I still had time, so I got out some paper and a pen and started to write. Parents first, of course.
Dear Mom and Dad,
First off, thank you so much for this trip. It's been amazing. It's so strange, it's as if, even though I've never been to England before, I'm finally home. I haven't been to the beach all summer, yet I'm still happy! In fact, I--
I was interrupted by the ringing of the telephone. Grumbling under my breath, I walked over and picked up the receiver.
"Hello?"
"Janice, honey? Is that you?"
"Dad? Wow, you've got great timing. I was just writing a letter--"
"I've been trying to get ahold of you all day. I've great news, honey!"
"Yeah?" Another promotion, perhaps? "I've got some pretty great news, too, you won't believe it!"
I had the feeling that I was speaking to a brick wall. "I checked into your admittance at these colleges, and I guess your acceptance letter to Irvine was lost in the mail or something. As luck would have it, the deadline is past by several days, and the dean there was very rigid. But I managed to talk to the dean at Cal State Fullerton, and he said that you can attend there. Then, of course, you can transfer to Irvine after two years."
My interjections of "but dad--" and "I didn't--" finally must have had an impact, because he stopped talking. I took advantage of that and jumped into the conversation. "Dad, I've got a job here! I'm working full time at an office not too far away, and I was writing to you to tell you that I'm staying here, at least for another year or so. I need a break from school, and it made sense to me that since I've got a job and all--" That was as far as I got.
"Unheard of!" He said, shocked. "You will continue your education without interruption. You're not ready for the real world yet! Look at yourself, you're still a child! We understand that you've been a little slower to mature than your peers, but I'm sure that four more years of undergraduate school and then medical school will prepare you very well."
"Dad, listen to me! I'm not a child! I have a full-time job right now. Even if I do go back to school, I won't go to UC Irvine, I won't go to medical school, and I won't be a doctor. That is not what life has in store for me."
"Don't be ridiculous! You'll come back as scheduled. The semester starts on the first Monday in September, and you can register for your classes the previous Monday."
I could feel the tears threatening to rise, but I didn't allow them to affect my voice. "Dad, are you listening?"
"Of course I am, honey."
"But you're not hearing. I have a job. I'm staying."
"You, my dear, will not be eighteen until November, and you are coming back home."
There was a moment of silence, which I ended by saying icily, "I'll come back in time to register. On my own schedule. I will stay until the end of the summer, and work until the last moment. When I go to Fullerton, I will choose my own classes with no prompting from outside sources." As soon as I had finished speaking, I dropped the phone back into the receiver.
I needed to get to Phillip's, so I quickly changed into jeans, picked up my guitar, and left, ignoring the ringing of the telephone as I closed and locked the door.
"There you are!" Phillip said when he opened the door a few minutes later. "You were late, and I tried to call--"
"The phone was ringing as I closed the door. I figured it would probably be you," I said. I had decided not to tell him yet about my new plans. He would inevitably tell Craig and John, and Craig would probably insist on replacing me immediately. I wanted to stick around for a little while.
Of course, I hadn't decided yet what to tell George. The truth seemed the best plan, but it would take me a few days at least to just say it without crying or having to stop in the middle from sheer anger. I was angry at my father, but he really did want the best for me, and I could understand where he was coming from.
Of course, I was still mad as hell.
"That's okay," Phillip said, leading me into the living room. "Craig isn't here yet, either."
"But John is? Don't they always travel in packs?"
"As a general rule, yes," I heard from the kitchen.
"Hi, John!"
He appeared in the doorway with a bottle of beer in hand. "Rickenbacker, I see," he said as soon as he saw the guitar case.
"Yep!" I said, beaming.
"Craig probably won't be here for another hour or so. I imagine he's busy sulking. Janice, I told him that he was being rude to you and to lay off, so he took it as a personal affront. I don't know if it'll be better from here on in or worse, but I was getting kind of sick of it. He's usually not like that at all."
I was a bit taken aback, but managed to respond. "You didn't have to. I can put up with a lot. But thank you anyway. I do appreciate it."
He flashed me a wonderful smile, and looked about to continue, but Phillip then said, "Okay, he'll miss out on the initial celebration."
"Celebration for what?"
"We've got an audition!"
"When?"
"Well, the owner of the club said that he can see us either tomorrow or Thursday at three. I think we've got a good chance!"
Oh, dear... "Um, do you mind if I use your phone?"
"Sure, go right ahead," Phillip said, looking a little confused.
There was a phone in that room, but I knew there was another one in the kitchen. I went to that one, and dialed, hoping the number I was remembering was the right one.
"Hello?"
"George?" I said quietly. "This is Janice."
"Oh, hello, I was just going to call you in a little bit."
"Yeah? Why? What's up?"
"Well, Pattie wants to go on holiday, and some of the guys are saying they need a vacation, so we're just going to have a brief session on Thursday morning, and then take off until next Wednesday."
"Really?" I said happily.
"Really. What was it you needed?"
"Oh, that... well, I was just going to ask for Thursday afternoon off. Phillip arranged for an audition, and the only time we can go in is either tomorrow or Thursday at three."
"Terrific! Well, that works out very well then. Good luck!" He paused, and I sensed he was going to say something else. "Is something else wrong?"
I was a bit taken aback that he had picked up. That was weird. "I, ah, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" I didn't want to tie it up here, and besides, the silence from the living room was beginning to be suspicious.
"Alright, then. Tomorrow. I'll see you then!"
"Of course! Bye!" I heard the click of George hanging up, then another click which confirmed my suspicions.
"Okay," I said as I walked back into the living room. "Just this once, I'll pretend that the conversation was private and that it will actually be news to you. I have Thursday afternoon off, so that would probably be the best time to audition." Phillip and John looked as innocent as they could, which didn't look all that innocent. "In the meantime, how about rehearsing as much as we can?"
"Okay," John said. "I've got something new here." He picked a few notes, and I went to pick up my acoustic to strum a little.
He finished, and I said, "Okay, during the bridge there, did you want that an F sharp or B minor? I wasn't sure."
"F sharp. You picked up on that pretty well!"
I blushed a little, but I was quite pleased with myself. "Thanks."
"Now, what can you do with it on an electric?"
"Well, I guess we can find out, can't we?" I took the guitar out of the case and plugged it into the amp that was there. After messing with it for a minute or so, I played what I could remember. This time, though, I picked some notes on it, and built some patterns around the chords. John sang his lyrics, and made a few adjustments on what he was playing.
"Yea!" Phillip said as we finished. "Okay, let's go again." He sat down at his kit and raised his drumsticks.
"Okay," John said. "This time, Janice, you start with that first riff, and I'll come in after about a measure and a half. And let's see how it sounds with harmony, okay?"
"No sooner said than done," I said, beginning the riff. And if I do say so myself, I managed to throw in a pretty decent harmony, too.
The last chord died down, and then suddenly, there was applause from the entryway. We looked over to see Craig standing there.
For once, he didn't try to bring me down a notch right away. He just picked up his bass and said, "One more time!"
Of course, this time, the song really started to sound like it was coming together. As much as I didn't like him, I had to admit that Craig was a really good bass player.
We played various songs until about eleven, by which time I was ready to drop. Looking around the room, I saw that the others were in pretty much the same condition. As one, we all turned our instruments off and set them down, and packed up to leave. It was technically still early, but I knew that I was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted from the day.
But as soon as I snapped my case shut, the entire day came rushing back at me. I knew that as far as my parents were concerned, I was still a child until I turned twenty-one, regardless of the law. But legally, there was only one semester during which they could still make me go to college. I imagined, though, that I would probably take a full year. At least that would make me look a little more responsible to them. Who knew, I might even end up liking it and going for all four years.
Phillip said that I could leave my new guitar there, if I wanted. Rehearsal again tomorrow, brushing up and polishing, figuring what we would play to audition.
So, with my thoughts going in what seemed like thousands of different directions, I picked up my bag and headed for the apartment.