Alex's New Life: Next Generation Chapter 9
I know it's been a bit of a slow burner but hopefully this chapter will start to steer things in the direction you're probably hoping for. As usual, donate to Nifty to keep on reading these stories https://donate.nifty.org/
Chapter 9
\\\ Nick ///
Walking down into town on a late Sunday morning was by far one of my favourite things to do since coming back to Emberville. All I had with me was my trusty paint splattered guitar and a plan, but I didn't need any more than that. The day before I'd hung out in the music shop with Sammie but it was pretty quiet in there which surprised me. Ok so we were just coming into October, but I really thought more people would be coming in to ask about ordering instruments for Christmas or maybe even a few people coming in for music lessons. I know Christmas is a way off yet but if anyone wanted custom made instruments or even some bigger ones to be delivered on time then they'd need to act soon or miss out. While it was quiet though I was able to play one of the new guitars that came in on Thursday's delivery. Everyone always seemed to like the Fenders or Gibsons but there was something about this Jackson guitar I just loved. As soon as I plugged it in and tuned it up I knew I'd have to get it myself, unfortunately it was going to take me ages to save up for it so I'd just have to hope no one bought it in the meantime.
Throughout the day though I'd noticed there were only a handful of customers coming in and even though Daz had a couple of music lessons on, Adrian just seemed to be spending more time with us than he was actually selling anything. That was where my plan came in. Emberville had a thriving town square with an ornate fountain in the centre and shops, cafes and bars all around the edge, then there were a few side streets that led out of town with more shops along them. Adrian's shop unfortunately was on a side street that just led to the service yards of the main shops, so unless anyone really wanted to go down there it got overlooked a lot. What he needed was some advertising so I had a plan to send a few more people his way. Mum was out on her date with Luke the night before so I used some cardboard from one of our moving boxes and some markers to make up a crude sign, then messaged Ben to see if his dad would let me use one of the A frames they had outside the comic shop to hold it up. Hopefully having me play a few songs in the square would drive customers into the shop and help business to pick up.
Taking my usual route past the park, I noticed Jamie, Noah and Tom over by the outdoor gym equipment and made a quick detour to see them. They didn't look like they'd been training much, even though they were wearing their Fleek Flow hoodies, more like just hanging out than anything else. When I explained my plan to them they decided to help out so I didn't have to keep stopping during a song to tell people where the shop was. When we made it into town I set myself up by the fountain as Noah dashed over to the comic shop to grab the A frame. Once he was back I stuck my sign to it and stood back to inspect my handy work.
"I learned to play at Evans Music Store." Jamie read from the sign. "You think it'll work?"
"I hope so; even if it'll get a few people in there it's better than nothing." I replied.
"Could've done with putting the address on it though, it's kinda hidden away isn't it." Tom said.
"Yeah but that's where we come in, he plays the music and we show them the way." Jamie grinned. "Just one more thing." He took off another of his seemingly endless supply of caps and dropped it at my feet, giving me a little wink as he did.
I sat down on the edge of the fountain and started to play the first song that came into my head which was Good Riddance by Green Day. Probably not the best title to start with when I'm trying to get people into a shop but what the hell, let's go with it. As I started to get into the song I felt the world melt away and nothing else mattered but the music. I went straight into another song and another, hardly noticing what was going on around me but praying my plan was working. After a couple more songs I could feel my voice going hoarse and decided to take a break. After I finished up a rendition of Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah my focus came back and I noticed a crowd of people standing around me, all singing along and then finally applauding when I was done. I felt my face go red as I'd never experienced anything like this before, then my eyes landed on Daz who was just putting his phone away but grinning from ear to ear, and standing nearby was Lucas with a look of awe on his face.
"Wow...you're...incredible." Lucas said, coming over to me as the crowd started to disperse a little.
Oh my god!! Lucas called me incredible!! I didn't know what to say, I just hoped I wasn't blushing. Oh crap!! I could feel my face heating up!!
"He's right, that was amazing Nick, well done." Daz said.
"What are you doing out here?" I asked, worrying that he was here because the store was dead, and glad for a reason to take my focus off Lucas.
"Are you kidding? I had to come see what was going on, I've never seen Dad's store so busy. He had to draft Sammie in to help out and even Ben's in there booking people in for music lessons." I suddenly felt something cold tap on my arm and looked over to see Danny holding out a bottle of water for me with a big smile plastered on his face.
"Wow, looks like my plan worked." I replied, and then took a swig from the bottle to help my vocal chords. Soon we were joined by Jamie, Noah and Tom, which made me remember Jamie's hat was still on the floor.
"Holy shit!! Look at all the cash!" Jamie exclaimed as he looked down at my feet. The cap was full of money, and not just coins either, there were a few notes in there as well.
"Fuck working in the music store, you should be busking for a living." Tom said, and then his face went red as he looked over to our teacher. "Sorry Mr Evans."
"Don't worry about it Tom, but you should definitely think about entering the showcase at school this year Nick."
"The what?" I asked.
"Every year before we break up for summer the school has a show for the pupils to perform anything they want to, just as a bit of fun before the holidays. There's no prizes or anything like that, just people having the opportunity to get creative and show off what they can do." Daz replied. Me on stage? I was a little scared at the thought of performing in front of loads of people but maybe I could persuade Adrian to lend me that Jackson guitar I'd fallen in love with.
"We're entering it this year too." Danny said.
"Wait, we are? Since when?" Tom asked.
"Well I haven't told everyone yet but I've had an idea for it so I'm gonna sign us up."
"So who else knows?"
"Well, so far you guys, and Jamie if he's paying attention."
"Huh?" Jamie suddenly looked up from counting the money in his cap but had no idea what they'd been discussing as he'd missed the whole conversation.
I thought about staying to play another few songs but suddenly the idea of playing to loads of people made me really nervous, and besides, my idea had already worked better than I'd ever hoped so there was no need to send any more people to Adrian's. I decided to head over to the comic shop instead to see how my mum was getting on. I hadn't seen her since before she went out on her date so she must've stayed out until after I went to bed and then gone out to work before I got up. Our group started to split up as Daz went back to the music shop to relieve Ben and Sammie while the Fleeks headed off to hang out in the park again. I tried picking up the A frame to take back to Ben's dad but it was too heavy and awkward to carry with the guitar in my other hand so Lucas offered to help me out, easily carrying it in one hand, which surprised me. When I walked into the shop I saw Luke standing behind Mum with his arm around her waist, kissing her on the back of the neck as she giggled like a schoolgirl. I noticed a red haired woman behind the counter who looked like she was about to greet us when Luke looked up and a big smile spread across his face.
"Mini me!!" He called out as Lucas rested the A frame against the wall.
"Hey Luke." Lucas replied with a smile then turned to look at my obviously confused face. "I was named after him and Sammie was named after his brother, so it's become a nickname."
"Summer, this is one of Alex and Josh's kids, Lucas this is Nick's mum." Luke added.
"Nice to meet you Lucas, I remember your dads from school." Mum said and then typically followed it up with the customary embarrassing question. "So are you a freak too?" I rolled my eyes at Mum's attempt at humour but I noticed Lucas, Luke and the lady behind the counter looking absolutely horrified.
"Mum! How many more times? It's Fleek Flow not Freak Show." I whined. "And no, he's not a free runner like the other guys." The others suddenly realised what she meant but there was still an uneasy look on their faces.
"Wow, so this is Nick? Summer you didn't tell me he'd grown into such a handsome young man." The lady behind the counter said as I stood there looking puzzled as to how she knew me; fortunately she could see my confusion and filled me in. "I'm Becky, Ben's mum. Last time I saw you was when you two were in primary school together."
"Oh...uh right..." I didn't really know how to respond but luckily Mum came over and I just had one question burning on my mind. "So what time did you get in last night?" I asked and immediately saw her face go red.
"Um...I didn't." She replied sheepishly. I quickly turned to Luke and gave him my sternest look.
"Didn't I say you were meant to have her home by ten? And no funny business?" I said, shaking my finger at Luke and he suddenly started squirming.
"Um...well you see...she...we..." He could barely string any words together but then I couldn't hold it anymore and burst out laughing. "You little bastard!!" Luke yelled with a smile as I suddenly looked at my mum horrified.
"Did you hear what he called me? I can't believe you want to go out with this guy." I said, changing from horrified to amused. "So what did you guys get up to last night?" Before she could answer Luke jumped in first.
"Oh you know the usual...dinner...movie...the first five chapters of the Kama Sutra..." Mum suddenly whacked him in the chest and looked embarrassed as I tried to keep my breakfast down.
"Luke please, there's children here." Becky chastised him as she pointed to us, and Lucas seemed to know exactly what they were talking about as he looked as horrified as I felt. Luke on the other hand looked rather pleased with himself as he'd got me back.
"So what've you been doing today then? Becky said something about you needing a sign outside." Luke asked. I quickly told them about my busking by the fountain and showed them how much money I'd made. "Sounds like you've really helped them out, I know Adrian's been struggling to get people in as he doesn't do much advertising."
"Yeah, I enjoyed it too."
"And Mr Evans said he should enter the showcase too cos he was amazing out there." Holy crap!! Lucas said I was amazing this time!! Don't go red, don't go red, don't go red. I suddenly felt my face heat up again. DAMNIT!!! It was at that moment I decided to go home to save myself any further blushes so I said my goodbyes and left the shop. As I hurried across the square to go home I suddenly heard footsteps coming up behind me.
"Hey, wait up!" CRAP!!! Lucas had decided to follow me. I thought about ignoring him but he was soon by my side so that was out of the question. "I was serious before, you were amazing. I mean, Sammie said you were good but you just made it look so...effortless."
"Uh...thanks..." I really didn't know what else to say so I just carried on walking with him by my side. All the while my insides were in turmoil, I mean, I'd hated him for years. He knew I'd hated him for years and now it was like trying to flick a switch and be ok with each other. The problem was, that was what I wanted, so why was I holding back so much? After a few minutes of silence I guess Lucas couldn't take it anymore and suddenly stopped me by the park, grabbing my shoulder and turning me to face him.
"Can I ask you something? I need to know...do you still have a problem with me?"
"I don't know...I don't think I should but I don't really know you." That sounded so lame but it was the truth.
"You didn't know Ben when you came back here either, but you two seem to be getting on now that you've stopped hating him." Ouch, that kinda hurt.
"But it's different with Ben." I protested.
"Why?" Lucas asked. I couldn't really tell him it was because I didn't want to rip Ben's clothes off.
"I dunno, maybe cos I got to know him through his friends you know, so it wasn't just the two of us trying to make awkward conversation." Oh shit, that was totally the wrong thing to say but Lucas didn't look offended, he just seemed to be thinking for a minute.
"Ok, so how about this; you hang out with me at school this week, none of Ben's crew or Sammie, just you, me and my friends. If everything goes ok you can come over to my place next weekend and hang out away from school, deal?"
"Alright, but I get to ask your friends anything I want about you." I replied with a smile and watched as his face sank.
"Ok fine, I can always hide if it gets too embarrassing. Meet me at the dance studio after school tomorrow."
"Dance studio?"
"Yeah you know, the big room with all the mirrors in the performing arts building. You'll get to see the real me in there." With a quick wink and a smile he turned around and headed in the other direction as I carried on home.
All the way I kept thinking about how things would go at school the next day. Would his friends be there? And would I even like them? Should I chicken out just go home instead? I could always say I forgot and hope he didn't mind. By the time I got home I was starting to panic about all the ways I could screw things up, even trying to play my guitar just made me think about how he called me amazing earlier so I gave up and just lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling. I bet Lucas wouldn't be acting like such a loser.