DANNY Chapter 46 by Roberta J. Cabot This is a story about Daniel, a guy with a unique talent and an even more unique problem: A great singing voice and the looks of his gorgeous sister. And how he and his family deal with his having breasts. And how he ends up as the female lead singer for a high-school cover band as well as a radio DJ. The famous Ms Katie Hargraves of Rockrgrrl paid Mrs. P a call, and she told her that the band's eligibility was secure. Wow! Katie Hargraves really was that short! Never a dull moment with Batch Fourteen, and Dan & his gang. BTW, watch out for cameos in this one - there's a bunch of em!

  Chapter Forty-Six:  Road Trip

***** (Danny) *****

As we shook hands et cetera with the kids that came over to watch our garage practice, we also accommodated those who proffered pens and pieces of paper, and signed autographs. Actual autographs! Cool. Eventually, the audience started to thin out, a lot of them disappointed to learn that this was the last of our band practice sessions. With the new prices and reservation fees at Mario's, most of the kids couldn't afford to watch us there anymore. So, for most of them, it meant that our garage practice sessions was the only way they could see us play. Gotta find a solution for that.

These things were sidelined for a bit since Danielle, disguised as me, and Tracey arrived.

"What kept you guys?" I said, and gave them hugs.

"Guess who we just had a meeting with," Danielle said, while I gave her a sisterly kiss on the cheek.

"Duh! Mrs. Piper, of course."

"No, no! Not just Mrs. P! Guess who else?"

I shrugged. "I won't even try."

"Dan!" Tracey said, and made a shushing motion. Apparently, it was a secret. And we were outside surrounded by people.

I was about to instinctively reply, so it was a good thing Danielle beat me to responding, and therefore kept our disguise intact: "Right, Trace," Danielle, as "Dan," responded. She led us all in the garage and closed the doors.

It wasn't a totally soundproof structure, to be sure, but at least it gave us enough privacy that no one would be able to overhear.

While we were packing stuff away, putting away Mrs. Kaufman's folding chairs, and snacking on Mrs. Kaufman's generic drinks and chips, Danielle explained about the meeting.

Wow.

Once we were done moving all of our equipment and stuff into Dale's van, we sat around the now-empty garage in various stages of pooped, and continued to discuss the new information from Rockrgrrl.

Danielle explained to us again about the new policies for the contest. Anyway, the long and short of it meant we were in the clear - that our status in the Evolution Concert was safe, and, although there were things we couldn't do, it also meant we were free to do other things.

For example, although we couldn't sign up with any recording company, we could do shows, concerts, TV and other things.

It also meant that Mrs. Piper felt safe to release performance fees, although she was calling them "bonuses" instead of salary or whatever, just so we could get them now instead of having to wait.

After things were talked through, Danielle handed out little five hundred dollar vouchers to Rockrgrrl and PIMA, one apiece to everyone. She handed Fallon a bunch of extra ones, saying it was for the Glee Club and for Mrs. Sparks, their adviser. Fallon promised to pass them on.

"PIMA?" Mikey complained. "What the hell is a PIMA?"

"It's a musician's term, doof," Morgan said. "It's also the name of a chain of high-end music stores that sell upbrand musical instruments and equipment, mostly classical Spanish and acoustic guitars, and string instruments."

"Damn. Musical instruments again…" Mike complained.

"Well, it's from Rockrgrrl, after all."

I gave mine to Nikki, of course, and she gave me a big kiss - which, to be honest, was ninety percent of the reason why I gave her my voucher in the first place.

And we all cheered when Tracey started handing out envelopes to everyone - our "bonuses."

In the envelopes, the guys from the band got a memo letter from the "General Manager of KRPQ Radio" and a check for four thousand dollars each. Morgan also got the same memo, but only for a couple of thousand. In the memo line of his check, it said, "for services rendered as musical director." Danielle also got a letter and two thousand dollars, too, but the letter referred to a "D. Fairchild" instead, and the check was made out to "CASH," with the note in the memo line that said "to D. Fairchild, for marketing services rendered."

I took a peek inside my envelope and, instead of a check, it was a deposit receipt, which showed that ten thousand dollars was deposited in my employee bank account, along with the same memo letter, except I got two - one addressed to "D. Fairchild" and another to "Robin Tibbles." And the receipt was dated two days after the concert. What…

So the ten thousand was a fee for both Dannie and Robin. But even so, even if it's divided into two, the fees would have been five thousand to the band's four. In any case, I thought it prudent not to tell them how much was mine, that I had already been paid whether or not Rockrgrrl confirmed the band's status. I needed to talk to Mrs. P about that.

The others also got memos and checks but only for five hundred dollars each, and made out to "CASH", with a note that said "a small token of appreciation - Melody Piper."

Tracey said that everyone needs to send back copies of their memo letters signed by our folks, except for Mongo, Dale, June and Fallon. They can sign the letters themselves.

"Why are they exempted, Trace," Morgan asked.

"That's coz you guys are still silly little minors, little boy," Dale grinned at him, "and your mommies and daddies need to sign for your allowances, whereas we..."

"Ah, shaddap," Morgan laughed.

Tracey wasn't done yet. She went to Dale and handed him a check for six thousand dollars.

"What's this, Tracey?" he asked. Instead of answering, she handed Dale a handwritten letter on a sheet of memo paper from Mrs. P's desk.

- - - - -

"Hi, everyone," the letter began. "Tracey has told me about your custom of getting a portion out of your income and depositing it in a separate bank account for use in case of a rainy day. That is highly commendable. But since the band wasn't paid as a band, and everyone was paid individually, this may make things a little more complicated than usual. So...

"This amount is equivalent to one sixth of the income everyone's made. Since the amount was an odd number, I rounded it to the nearest thousand. Rounded up, Danielle, so don't give me that look ha-ha-ha!

"This way, you don't have to take out anything from your individual checks. I know this doesn't completely cover what you guys lost, but it's a start to building it back up again.

"Anyway, from Tracey and I, thank you - you made the KRPQ Kick-Off a success, and you more than deserve it.

"With love, Mrs. P."

- - - - -

I looked at my happy and excited friends and wondered what I could do for them. Then I had a thought.

I pulled out my phone and googled the nearest Rockrgrrl and PIMA stores. Oh-oh. I checked Google Maps. It's like a four-hour drive away - maybe three if the traffic was light enough.

Mike peeked over my shoulder.

"What is that," he asked. "A four-hour drive? To where?"

"Guys? I asked "You game for a road trip?"

"What did you have in mind, Danny," Nikki said.

"How do you guys feel about a three- or four-hour drive?" In my mind, memories of our trip to the Evolution Concert contest flashed in my head - with us in my 'stang, Dale's big black van trailing a U-Haul, and Joanne's minivan, and the rollercoaster events of the contest, the trip to Foxtail's and the subsequent trip back (which I barely remembered). I'm sure this little road trip won't be that momentous, but I had hopes.

"Why?" Jerry asked.

"That's where the closest Rockrgrrl and PIMA stores are," I said. "There's actually a PIMA story in DC, which is only a thirty-minute drive away, but there's no Rockrgrrl store there. Still, we can't go there tonight - it's too late already. If we go now, it'll be closed by the time we get there."

"Eh?"

"Our vouchers, Jerry! So we can use our vouchers!"

"Ohhh… I didn't think of that…" Mike hit Jerry on the head for a change. "Ow! Quit it, Mike!"

"Dumb…" Mike said, so Jerry hit him in retaliation. "Ow! Quit it, Jerry!"

"But, Danny," Mel said, smiling while ignoring the two, "a music store?"

"They sell other good stuff, Mel, not just musical stuff."

"I like it," Nikki smiled and snuggled against me. "Sounds like fun. Let's go tomorrow. How about you, guys?"

"I'm game," Betsy smiled. "I've always wanted to check out the stuff they have at PIMA. I hear they have the newest Stentor models." Just as Mike started to ask, Betsy explained. "They're a brand of violin." Jerry cackled so Mike hit him on the head again.

"I like it," Drew echoed. "Maybe they'll have new adapters for your synthesizer, June. How about you, Morgan?"

He didn't say anything and just nodded and grinned. Nowadays, Morgan would just say yes to anything Drew suggested.

Pretty soon, everyone had agreed, even Mongo.

"But, Danny," Mike said, "it's a four-hour drive."

"You can sleep on the way, as always," Jerry said.

A slap-fest ensued, and none of us bothered to stop the two.

"Mel?" Nikki said and gestured to the two guys.

"Ahhh, they're wusses," Mel said, pooh-pooing the fake fight. "Those two do that all the time."

Nikki grinned and, following Mel's example, ignored them."Where is it exactly," Nikki asked me and leaned in to look into my phone. I was momentarily distracted by the feel and smell of her beautiful hair.

But everyone else leaned in to check the map, too. I had to push them all away. "Dammit!"

"Empire City!" Morgan exclaimed. "Woohoo!"

- - - - -

***** (Danny) *****

It seems the actual drive was a big thing after all, since everyone started wondering about how to get there early enough and still have time to look around. Joanne brought up parking, since parking was close to impossible there. Leaving early in the morning was the answer, of course, but that wasn't an easy proposition given our gang.

Predictably, the girls suggested a sleepover, so we can all be ready together, leave early together, and arrive in the city early enough to avoid traffic and allow us to do some shopping and sightseeing. Betsy offered her place for the sleepover, and all the girls started giggling already.

The guys were all for this, too, but their joining the sleepover was shouted down. The idea of a girls-only sleepover was a big disappointment to the guys.

"Girls only, dude," Fallon said, trying not to grin. Later, she would tell me she was very flattered and happy to be included. It would be her first sleepover. Goth girls, even semi-goth girls like her, never got to be invited to sleepovers, much less be inclined to accept invitations to them. She was very pleased to be included, but only because it was our friends.

But an argument ensued. Initially, it was one of those stupid things that we would usually just laugh off, but it seemed that the guys weren't backing off. I tried to mediate but, surprisingly, the guys weren't willing to be waved down.

"But, guys," I said, "this is a sleepover! It's a girl thing!"

"Fine," Dale said. "We can have our own sleepover." He turned to Joanne. "And you chicks can't come. How about that?"

"Fine!" Joanne said.

"Fine!" Dale responded.

"Come on, girls," Joanne said, "let's plan our sleepover." And she started flouncing out.

I found myself standing in between the guys and the girls, trying to keep the peace.

Nikki went to me. "Danny," she whispered, I "don't want to spend the night with the girls. I want to spend time with you!"

"But what can we do?" I whispered back.

"I don't know…" she looked at me, worried.

I thought about it.

"Will you go to the girls' sleepover?" Nikki asked, whispering. In my little world, such a question was actually a reasonable one.

"Hey!" Joanne suddenly said to Nikki and I, "are you guys are coming with us to the…" and then Joanne realized her snafu.

I had to smile a little sadly at that. "… I mean, are you walking us to the minivan, Danny?" she continued lamely.

"What are you saying," Mike said to Joanne. "Danny's going with us to our sleepover! ... I mean, I mean, well, you know what I mean… That right, Dan?"

I leaned back toward Nikki, and whispered. "I have an idea, Nick. Follow my lead, okay?"

Nikki kissed me on my cheek and nodded.

"I don't think so, Mike," I said, and the girls cheered.

"And I'm not going with you guys, either," I said to the girls.

"What!" Joanne exclaimed.

"This is supposed to be a fun trip, Joanne. Why can't it just be about that?"

"Tell 'em, Danny," Dale said.

I turned to Dale. "But I said I'm not going with you guys, either."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Dale, I said I'm not going with you guys to your sleepover, either."

"Danny, it's just so we can leave early and get there without wasting time."

"Yeah, Danny," Joanne said.

"Guys," I said, "if we can't be civil about this, then I don't…"

"Come on, Danny," Morgan said, "don't be a spoilsport."

I shrugged. "We'll go on the trip tomorrow. But I'm not gonna sleep over with either of you guys. Nikki and I aren't choosing sides. We'll drive to the city by ourselves and just meet you there." I looked at Nikki, "Right?"

She nodded and gave me a kiss.

"That's stupid," Morgan said.

I faced Morgan, I used my eyes to gesture towards Nikki, making sure no one but Morgan could see.

"Oh…" Morgan said under his breath.

"Danny…" Mel whined, but Tracey backed me up.

"It's okay, Mel," Tracey said. She seemed to have caught on. "If Danny and Nikki want to go on their own, then they do." She shrugged. "No big, right?"

Mel looked a little disappointed. "I guess…"

"'Kay," I said. "Seeya. I'll text you guys the address where we can meet in the city."

I turned to Mongo, who was sort of watching things outside.

"Coast clear?" I asked.

Mongo nodded.

"Let's go, Nikki," I said, and we both stepped out of Mongo's garage. "See you all tomorrow."

- - - - -

***** (Joanne) *****

A little abashed, we left Mongo's - Mike, Jerry and Morgan going with Dale in his Ford F150, semi-full with guitars and June's equipment, while the seven of us rode in my van.

"Well…" I said, "that was a little bit of a letdown."

"Yeah," Mel said. "So, are we still having a sleepover?"

"Up to you girls, I suppose. Do you still want to?"

"Well…" Drew said, "betcha Danny and Nikki are still gonna have some fun," she giggled. "And since Morgan's not around, I got nothing happening, so why not…"

"In that case, me, too," June said. "Bets?"

She shrugged.

"Oh, come on, girls!" Fallon said. "Why the Gloomy Guses? Aren't sleepovers supposed to be fun?"

"I guess…" I looked at her. "'Gloomy Guses,' huh?" and giggled.

She grinned at at me, and then turned to the others. "So, how about a smile? C'mon." She reached out and pulled the corners of Betsy's lips up into a cartoony grin.

Betsy slapped Fallon's hands away, giggling.

"Quit it, Fallon!" But she continued to giggle. "… silly…"

"So, do we still have a sleepover?"

The consensus ended up being a unanimous yes. As I drove, we made plans. The first thing was that everyone wanted to pass by a bank and cash our checks for a little pocket money. Five hundred bucks wasn't a lot, but even a little bit will help when we check out the shops. Tracey said that the bank in the station's office building was open on a Saturday, and there was more than enough time before they close to encash our checks. "Also, Joanne," she said, "keep the gas receipts - I'm sure I can get them reimbursed."

The checks were a little unusual, but we were told Mrs. P didn't have time to make the usual arrangements, or to withdraw enough money to give us cash instead. In fact, Tracey said Mrs. P just wrote the checks in front of her an hour ago. Otherwise, we would have gotten them sometime near the end of next week instead. So I didn't mind, and I'm sure the others didn't as well.

As we got our checks cashed over the counter, everyone called up their folks to arrange things. Their folks wanted to talk to me or Danielle, to confirm things, and that it was just all girls and so forth.

After the bank, I passed by everyone's house so they could give Mrs. Piper's letter to their folks and to allow everyone to get their stuff, and then we went to Betsy's for the sleepover.

About the sleepover - truth be told, I was a little bit worried about Tracey. She seemed to be a nice enough person, but she was TG, and therefore "she" was actually a "he." Though I wasn't sure about the gender labels. And I didn't know how to feel about it. I'm afraid we had a bit of a small-town point of view about these things. But then again, our town was an actual small town.

Some might also say I was being a bit prejudiced, small-minded, even ignorant. But I'm a small-town girl - literally heehee. But, truly, I didn't really understand it as well as I wanted to or should have. So far, I've been taking my lead in how to relate to Tracey from Danny, as we had all been. But Danny wasn't going to be with us tonight. I had no choice but to just continue dealing with Tracey just like we've been dealing with her.

Truth be told, I felt more comfortable with Fallon, and she's a goth. No offense to goths, of course. It's just that I never knew how to act around one. But then, there weren't any goths who liked hanging with the likes of us. But it wasn't too big of an issue. I guess, with fashionistas like Nikki, Drew and Mel in our group (and I suppose me, too), to others we were probably as bad as the cheerleaders. Even so, I knew more about goths than transsexuals.

Will we be okay with Tracey without Danny to keep an eye on him? I mean her?

I felt small for having such thoughts. How can I be a such a hypocrite? I looked at Tracey seated beside me as she chatted animatedly with the girls at the back. And if you didn't know the truth, Tracey looked and behaved just like any girl. She wasn't as pretty as any of us, though. Sorry for sounding too full of it, but in all humility, our group was one of the best-looking little gangs in school, and Tracey, though not that bad-looking, stood out because of that fact.

I returned my attention to the street. In the rearview mirror, I could see three cars trailing us unobtrusively. The only reason I spotted them was because I knew what to look for. These were the bodyguards assigned to Danielle, Fallon and Betsy. Nowadays, we don't really notice them anymore - they were just a part of everyday life now.

Danny, one of our best friends, was actually a guy, and we've accepted him into our ranks. So how can we discriminate against Tracey? I didn't know enough to understand her situation, though. Yep - this hick was a clueless hick.

But, you know, Tracey was Danny's friend. So, Tracey couldn't be anything but a good person. Sounds so incredibly naïve, huh? Maybe. But I didn't care about that.

And, besides, since she was Danny's friend, then Tracey was my friend, too, regardless. (In the back of my mind, I wondered why that was.)

I listened while Tracey explained to her mom over the phone about the sleepover, the trip to the city, and that she was asking permission. She was so excited.

Tracey handed me her phone since Mrs. P asked to speak with me. She actually asked to talk to Danielle first, but since she was on her phone at that moment, Mrs. P looked for me instead.

Mrs. P didn't try to to confirm the details of our sleepover, and didn't even ask who was going to be there, or if there were going to be guys with us (the usual questions moms ask about sleepovers). Instead, she was more concerned about letting us know that Tracey was a good girl, and there wasn't anything to worry about with her. She was so desperate for her child be accepted.

I couldn't help but feel sympathy for Mrs. Piper. In our little burg, like I said, there weren't really a lot of transgender people, let alone transsexuals, so none of us really knew much about them except the basics. On cable, I occasionally saw an episode of that reality TV show about that transgender teen as she went through her transition. But seeing a few episodes of that show was too shallow a basis for understanding transsexuals.

But Tracey was Danny's friend. So that meant Tracey was my friend, too.

"Oh, we know, Mrs. Piper," I answered. "Tracey's been a total angel. I'm sure everything will be fine." I looked at Tracey and gave her a wink.

"Thank you, my dear," Mrs. P said. "Please do take good care of her, and if there's a problem, any problem at all, call me on this number anytime."

"We will, Mrs. Piper. Thanks!"

"Thank you again, my dear," Mrs. Piper said. "Hope you all have fun on your trip. Say hi to everyone!"

"Sure thing, Mrs. Piper. Bye!"

- - - - -

***** (Betsy) *****

Everyone called their folks to ask permission about the overnight thing and the road trip tomorrow, and after the parental units confirmed the details and checked if there would be any boys at the sleepover, they gave permission.

A few asked to talk to either Danielle or Joanne, though, to confirm the details, and they just accepted the girls' word. I guess the two were considered the "responsible ones."

As for me, mother and father agreed without too much protest and offered the guest rooms for our sleepover (which was great since it saved me from asking). I then called Walter and explained what was going to happen, and if he could let the house security people know. He said he'd take care of it and get the Green Room and the adjoining Blue Room ready (they were the two largest guest rooms in the house).

Joanne brought all of the girls to their houses individually so that they could get changes of clothes for tomorrow, as well as sleepover stuff.

Danielle took time to change her look before going into their house. She changed into the jean jeggings and the boots that Danny wore when he was in Robin mode earlier (we had Danny's bag). Except for Fallon and Tracey, we were used to that by now, but the two just kept quiet even though they couldn't stop their eyes from goggling.

As a final touch, Danielle knotted the tails of the loose boy's shirt she was wearing above her tummy, recombed her hair into her usual sexy style and applied some makeup. So it was Danielle that stepped down from the van instead of Danny.

She was fairly quick and came out with a small overnighter, and we drove away waving to Mr. and Mrs. Fairchild.

Danielle said she had also made excuses for Danny as well, saying he was doing something with the guys, and that they were joining us tomorrow for the road trip. At Danielle's suggestion, I brought out my phone and texted Morgan to give them a heads-up (Danielle was busy sorting out her hair).

The last was to June's dorm at the campus, and then we made our way to the house. June noted that her keyboard was back so that meant the boys had been there already and dropped it off.

So by the time we were on our way to the house, it was already about nine and was already dark out.

After Joanne parked in one of the guests' carports, our security people's cars zoomed past to park by the estate's staff house. I guess they can make an early day of it since they wouldn't be needed until tomorrow. It'll depend on Walter's instructions.

I led everyone to the guest rooms that Walter prepared, and I told them to keep all of their stuff in there, and then to congregate in the main living room when they're ready.

I left them for a while to go to my own room, drop off my violin and other things, change into something fresh and more comfortable - a loose blouse and capri-length leggings - and grab my little Fuji MILC camera. I'm gonna get pictures this time!

When we had gotten back to the living room, the first order of business was dinner - we were all hungry by then. I could have asked the kitchen to prepare something but I decided not to suggest it since everyone had decided on a mess of Chinese food, Indian food, pizza, KFC chicken, burgers and other stuff.

My diet wasn't so much into junk food or takeout, but I guess it's okay to indulge once in a while. The girls were all very careful about eating healthy, but it was a tacit agreement that diets were suspended for things like this.

As soon as the deliveries came, Walter's staff took care of them and brought them over to the living room on wheeled serving carts and trays. He had also taken care of paying for them, and the girls appreciated that.

He had also supplemented them with several bottles of soda, juices and bottled water (nothing alcoholic, of course, but the girls didn't seem too disappointed by that), and then, upon some instructions from me, he and his staff left us alone. I mean, I don't think it would be a real sleepover if there was a butler hanging around. He did borrow Joanne's keys before retiring, though - he was instructed by mother to get her van washed and gassed up.

Danielle asked about my folks, and I said they were away again, so that meant we were on our own. That suited the girls just fine, and we settled down for a good nom.

- - - - -

***** (Betsy) *****

"It's too bad Danny's not here," Mel said and giggled. "Remember her first sleepover with us?"

"Wait," Fallon said, "Danny's had a sleepover with you guys?"

"Yeah!" Drew, Mel and Danielle pulled out their cellphones and showed her pictures from that night.

Fallon and Tracey crowded around us and marvelled at the pictures.

"You're pulling my leg," Fallon said. "That can't be Danny. You sure that's not Danielle?"

"Nope!" Mel said, "That's totally Danny." She pointed at Danielle, who was also in the pictures. She also pointed at Danny's pants, and the bulge of her package, I mean his package, could be seen a bit.

Tracey stared at the pictures. "Danny's so gorgeous!" she said.

Danielle nodded. "She is a total babe," she giggled. "My little brother!"

"That's something I can't believe." Fallon said as she got a paper plate, speared a KFC drumstick with a fork and absolutely drenched it with KFC gravy.

"You know, not that I'm saying you guys are lying, but I saw her changing in the show," she said, "and, sorry, but I have doubts that she's really a guy."

"Oh, no," Joanne said. "Danny's a guy."

"Yeah? Then why do you guys keep on calling him a 'her?'"

"Well, duh!" Joanne showed Fallon a picture of a sleeping Danny in a henley-type pajama snuggled with Nikki and Drew, and June and Mel on either side. "Would you call her a 'him?'"

"Besides," Mel said, "it's not intentional - I guess it's involuntary."

"Exactly," Fallon said, "so maybe she's not really a 'he.' If he looks like a girl, then maybe he is a girl. Walks like a duck, talks like a duck, y'know… I mean, have you ever seen his… seen his…"

"You mean, if we've ever seen him in the 'altogether?'" June giggled.

"Exactly!" Fallon said. "In the altogether!" She thought about the word a little bit, and turned to June. "Now, where in hell did you get that?"

June shrugged. "My mom?"

"Well," Fallon said, turning back to Joanne, "have you?"

"Well, no…" Joanne said, "but the boys did."

"The boys!"

Joanne shrugged. "Morgan, Dale and the others. It's a long story."

"You're changing the subject! Have any of you seen his you-know-whats?"

"I seem to recall we were about to at that sleepover," I said. "She was already in her underwear, but she didn't go all the way. And it was obvious from her underwear that she was... pretty, ummm, well-endowed. But we didn't push beyond that. She was feeling humiliated enough."

"Yeah…" Mel said glumly.

Fallon wondered at that. "So no one's seen?"

"Well, there's me and Nikki," Danielle said.

A mischievous gleam was in her eye. "Oooh! Do tell!"

So Danielle told us some stories. Nothing too detailed, of course, but Fallon was convinced eventually.

"I did see her in a thong, though," Fallon said thoughtfully.

It became absolutely silent.

"You did?" I asked in the silence. "Where?"

"At the show. When she was changing into her Robin outfit."

"And?" Drew said impatiently. "Dammit, girl…"

"I didn't actually see much, actually," Fallon replied. "Like I said, she had a thong. But… I did see a big bulge…"

The girls booed her. "That's nothing!" Drew said. "We've seen her like that lots of times!"

"But… is she, you know… built just like it appears she is?" Fallon gestured to her waist, aping a guy's…

Danielle was nodding sagely.

"Ohmigod!" June said. "Really? I mean from what we've seen, it looked like…"

"Have you really seen her?" Drew asked. "In the 'altogether?'" She giggled.

"We're brother and sister," Danielle said. "Of course, I have."

"I mean, not just when you were kids!" June said. "That doesn't count!"

"Nikki's seen, too, of course," Danielle said.

June and Drew giggled. "That little drama of theirs…" Drew said.

"So transparent…" June agreed. "I don't think they really thought we fell for it."

"Well," I said, "I don't think they really meant for us to fall for it. It was just an excuse for them to get together, and to not let their folks know."

I looked at Drew. "Anything wrong, Drew?" I asked.

She looked a little startled. "Huh! Oh, no, Betsy. I'm fine. I was just thinking of Morgan and the guys… Wonder what they're doing now?"

"Oooh!" Joanne went. "Drew's missing Morgan!" Everyone tittered, and Joanne got a throwpillow in the face.

- - - - -

***** (Morgan) *****

I sat up front in Dale's van, with Dale at the wheel, and Mike and Jerry in the back. Mongo stayed back at his house, so it was left to us to bring all of the equipment to the guys' houses. The guitars were not a big deal but June's keyboard and other stuff were at least a two-man job. I suggested to go to June's first.

"Okay. How about a drink after?" Dale said. "There's a little place in the campus called The Juke Joint…"

"At the junior college?"

"No, in Franklin campus, in the next town. How about it?"

I looked at the rear-view and saw Mike and Jerry look at each other. Our little gang wasn't really a drinking kind of gang, but far be it for us to wuss out.

"Sure," I said, and tried to sound casual about it. "But after we drop off the stuff."

I also spotted a car trailing us. It was the bodyguard assigned to Dale. Nothing to worry about.

The first place we went to was to June's apartment. June didn't live at her folks' anymore but had an apartment near the junior college - something her folks didn't like much. We were already known in the building so we didn't have much trouble and we let ourselves into June's tiny apartment with the key June gave me.

We set up June's keyboard in the same spot where we got it, and left. Next was to Fallon's to drop off her guitar. Knowing how much she didn't trust anyone to handle her guitar, I was careful with it when we dropped it off.

Her parents seemed nice and normal enough - something we really didn't expect given Fallon's goth-like style. They walked me over to a little room or apartment attached to the side of the house via a separate entrance.

Mrs. Walsh explained that this was the best arrangement given that Fallon wanted to be on her own. As the executors of her trust, her folks thought this was the best compromise - she gets to live on her own in a way, but it allowed them to be nearby, literally just a door away.

"Trust?" I asked.

"Yes," Mr. Walsh said. "Fallon inherited most of my sister's estate when she died - my sister was quite rich. Fallon was my her favorite, and since my sister didn't have any kids, Fallon inherited most of her estate. We're the court-appointed trustees until Fallon turns eighteen."

I stepped into her apartment. It wasn't as messy as I imagined it would be, but it was far from neat. Still, it wasn't bad. No goth posters, at least, but the color pallet was mostly black and white - mostly black.

I put her guitar on the guitar stand by the closet door and turned to leave.

"So. You're a friend of Fallon's?" Mrs. Walsh asked.

"Ummm, yes, ma'am. I work with the band that Fallon's a part of."

"Oh! That's good. We saw that TV show about a month ago. She was good. Ummm, the band was good too." She giggled at her little snafu, and I laughed with her.

"Fallon told us she's staying over at someone's place tonight?"

"I think it's a sleepover over at Betsy's. Ummm, that's Betsy Haley, the violinist from the band?"

"Oh?"

"Betsy's also our class president. Her folks are the Haley's? They own several real estate and housing developments."

"Ahh!" Mr. Walsh said. "I think I know them. They own that new row of houses on Cloverlane."

"Yeah, I think so," I replied.

"Fallon rarely tells us anything anymore. We were a little bit surprised that she bothered telling us about tonight."

"Does that bother you?"

"Well, it does, but what can we do? She petitioned to be emancipated on her sixteenth birthday and she threatened to run away if we didn't allow it. Legally, she doesn't have to answer to us anymore, and can actually leave anytime she wants. Except for the trust fund. So we try not to push much. We might not see her again if we do…"

"Oh." Seems that it wasn't too peaceful in Casa Walsh. I didn't want to pry, though, since this didn't sound like any of my business.

"Are Betsy and Fallon…" Mrs. Walsh asked timidly. Seems they were aware of Fallon's sexual preferences.

"Oh, no, no,no!" I chuckled. "They're just friends! And other girls will be there, too. It's a sleepover, Mrs. Walsh, you know?" I raised a hand, pre-empting her. "And, no, it's all girls."

"Oh." Fallon's folks sighed in relief. "But, you know she's…"

"Yes, we know that, but I think the girls aren't in danger or vice versa." I grinned. "There are seven of them, so…"

"Seven?"

"Yes."

"That's very surprising. Fallon has always been a bit of a loner. It's good to know she has friends now."

I nodded. "Have to go now," I said. "The guys are outside waiting for me…"

"It was a pleasure to meet you Morgan," Mr. Walsh said, and shook my hand.

"It's good to know our Fallon finally has some nice people around her now," Mrs. Walsh said. "We've been so worried about her…"

"My dear," Mr. Walsh said, "we shouldn't bother the boy." He shook my hand again. "It was good to meet one of Fallon's friends. Come by again. Bring your friends."

"Pleasure to meet you, too, Mr. Walsh, Mrs. Walsh."

I walked out to their driveway and got into Dale's van.

"Everything okay?" he said as he pulled away from the curb. "Where to next? Danny's?" Dale waved to his security guy through his window, and the guy flashed his lights to let us know he saw Dale.

"Those poor people," I said. "It's like they haven't seen Fallon in a year. Did you know that she has her own place?"

"What do you mean," Jerry asked from the back seat.

"She has her own apartment. I mean, she has her own room separate from the house. With her own entrance and everything. It's like she's living separately, but in the same house."

"That's unusual," Dale said.

I told them what her folks told me.

"That's a lot of complex shit," Mike said.

"So, where to, now?" Dale said, changing the subject.

"Well, I was thinking of going to the bank," Jerry said. "Cash my check? I could use some money for tomorrow."

"Good thinking," I said. "Tracey said the bank at their building's open 'til five on a Saturday, and she made arrangements so that we can cash our checks there today if we wanted."

"'Kay," Dale said. "Bank and then Danny's to drop off his guitars."

"And then drinks!" Mike said.

"How can I forget," Dale laughed

- - - - -

***** (Morgan) *****

My cellphone beeped and I checked. "Betsy texted to say that Danielle told her folks Danny's gonna be with us tonight and tomorrow," I said.

Dale nodded. "Good to know. We might have said something wrong without the warning."

In a few short minutes, we were at Danny's.

Mike and Jerry helped me to bring down Danny's guitars - his old 3/4-size fake Strat, his jury-rigged bass, his candy-pink Rockrgrrl electric, his white-top Rockrgrrl bass and his mint-green Rockrgrrl acoustic, a mess of wires and his portable Marshall amplifier.

We saw Danny's bag in his room so we knew Danielle's just been there. Mike and Jerry put the guitars on the stands against the wall beside Danny's bed, and I put the amplifier and wires in their usual place beside his desk. I noted this plain, shiny black box, about two feet by two feet by one. It was the first time I noticed it. I wondered what it was. Maybe another more portable amplifier? But we wanted to get out of the house right away to avoid any questions from his folks so I didn't bother with it anymore and followed the others down.

We were lucky enough not to have to talk to Mr. and Mrs. Fairchild except for a quick hi and hello, and were able to escape back into Dale's van without having to answer awkward questions.

We then drove away from the Fairchild's place. "So, what next?"

"I thought we're getting a drink?" Mike said.

I laughed. "Of course. How could I forget." So I made for Franklin State U, which was just at the border between our town and the next. Just a fifteen minute drive via the high street.

Eventually, we turned into University Drive, a long four-lane road lined on both sides with tall trees, their banches hanging overhead and making the drive almost like a tunnel. It would have been very picturesque except that the gathering darkness made it feel a bit foreboding.

We passed a cute girl wearing a leather jacket and riding a fancy Aprilia RS50 Rossi moped going the other way. Too bad - she turned off from University Drive right away, and onto a street called Elm Street. She wasn't wearing her helmet and the little light left glinted off highlights in her hair, making it hard to tell if she were a blonde or a brunette. "Markie!" I faintly heard a girl call out to her, and in the rearview, I saw a pair of tall girls waving at her.

"Hey, Kris, hey, Nancy," the girl, Markie, replied.

But we were past Elm Street very quickly, and I couldn't see or hear anymore. Too bad - all three were lookers, too. Ah, damn.

We passed by a big granite structure that looked somewhat like the Library of Congress in DC, although the Thomas Jefferson Building was two thirds larger.

"That's the college library," Dale said.

I nodded. The imposing building was impressive, but in the half-light, it made me feel a bit... I don't know... apprehensive. In front of the library's steps, there was a beautiful pale blonde girl standing in the otherwise-deserted forecourt, and looking at us as we passed. She was in what looked like a black cocktail dress, and she had a black shawl or scarf covering her shoulders. I shivered. For some reason, she scared me.

Dale turned onto what turned out to be Partridge Road, and then pulled up to a cozy little place with a sign outside that said it was "The Juke Joint." Dale's bodyguard also pulled up and parked a few slots away.

"No one seems to be around," Jerry said, as we stepped down.

"It's Saturday," Dale said. "Most people are probably still recovering from Friday night partying." He waved to his bodyguard.

Mike nodded sagely at Dale's statement, as if he knew that already. The poser. I chuckled and had to stop myself from reflexively hitting him on the head.

As we were walking to the door, two gorgeous blondes - a tall one and a shorter one with big hooters - stepped out. The tall one was holding the shorter one by the wrist.

"Dammit, Bia, we have to go!" she said.

"But I don't wanna go yet, Cassie!" the shorter one said.

They got into an SUV and we couldn't hear them arguing anymore. "Wow, this campus is sure full of hot babes," I thought.

Stepping into the place, it was hard not to notice that it was pretty empty. So we decided to get one of the tables away from the main door and near the picture window that faced into the road. Through it, we could just see Dale's van, and his security guy standing outside, innocuously smoking and leaning against his car.

A tall waitress came over.

"So you found your own seats fine, I see," she smiled. "Hi, I'm Jenna What can I get you?"

"Can you get us four beers?" Dale said.

She gave Dale a look.

"Dude," she said, "I don't even need to card you, you know."

We looked at each other.

"Cokes all around, then," I said. "And nachos."

Jerry and Mike looked at me sourly. I shrugged.

"Hey," Dale said. "You're the singer, right? I recognize you. You and a bunch of other girls sing here."

She grinned. "Hey, thanks for recognizing! You a fan?"

"A little bit. I have some classes over in the Arts and Sciences building. Pre-req classes. I caught some of your songs. You sing good."

"Yeah?" She grinned. "Thanks!" She wrote our order on her pad. "Too bad the KRPQ guys didn't think so."

Oh-oh… "What do you mean?" I asked. I had a bad feeling about this. I think I know what she was referring to.

"Someone from KRPQ - you know, the new radio station with that Nighthawk babe on Saturday mornings? Anyway, someone from that station called and said they might want us to sing for their station launch show - the one from last month?"

She sighed. "Turned out they picked another group. The band they picked was okay. But I think me and my girls could have done better."

Mike and Jerry started laughing.

Jenna faced them, hands on hips. "What's so funny?"

Mike pointed at Dale and continued to laugh.

"What!"

"Ummm," I said, "you know that band you were talking about? Guess who their bass player is?"

She looked at Dale. "You're kidding…"

"Nope," I grinned.

"No! Shut up… No…"

Dale shrugged. "I'm afraid so."

"Listen, I'm sorry for that crack I made. I think you guys are incredible! Really! … Ummm, excuse me, I'll get your drinks and your nachos right away."

She went to the back and disappeared behind some swinging doors.

We all chuckled. Dale was still looking to the back, apparently waiting for the girl.

"Hmmm… I think you like that girl," Mike said, grinning. "She's no Danny, you know, but…"

"Shaddap!" Dale growled.

"Here you go, guys," Jenna said and brought our cokes, a big plate of nachos, and four glasses full of ice. "Sorry, we don't provide straws. Restaurant policy."

"Hey, Jenna?" Dale said.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry that the TV gig fell through. The boss really did want us in the show, but there was a problem, so she wanted to look for possible replacement performers, just in case."

"But the problem was fixed, I take it."

"Yes. I'm sorry."

She leaned down and gave Dale a kiss. "It's all right," she said. "It was no one's fault. We were told that it was just a possibility. We shouldn't have gotten our expectations up."

"Ummm… you sing here all the time?" Dale changed the topic, blushing furiously.

"I sing here Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, from eight to ten PM. The rest of the time, I'm one one of the weeknight waitresses."

"Sounds like weeknights are pretty jam-packed for you."

She shrugged. "I'm studying full-time here, and my student loans barely cover my tuition. I need the work."

"How about your friends?"

"Oh, they don't sing with me regularly. They only do it for fun. We sing together only a few times - maybe once or twice a month. They're all students here as well. Scarlett and Vivienne are in pre-med, and MacKenzie is studying literature and art. Mac's also my roommate. Hold on…"

She reached into a pocket of her skort and brought out her phone.

"Take a look at this." She showed us a picture of her and three other girls wearing costumes.

"I know that costume!" Jerry said. "You're wearing plugsuits from that anime, Neon Genesis!"

Jenna giggled. "Yep!"

"Cosplay?"

"We were hired to sing in that cosplay event for MTV81 last year. Naturally, we had to be in costume, too."

We passed the phone around. Jenna looked pretty hot in her tight, red costume. Her friends were pretty hot as well.

"I know that anime con!" Jerry said. "My family even had tickets for it. But a storm shut everything down and we couldn't go."

"I know - we were trapped there for a couple of days coz of the weather. There were no planes. Eventually, we were able to get home via bus. Even so, it was a lot of fun."

At that time, another bunch of kids came in. "Customers," she said. "Excuse me. Just let me know if you want something else."

"'Kay," Dale said. "Seeya later." Which caused another round of teasing.

After we teased Dale a bit more, we enjoyed the big plate of nachos that Jenna brought. Dale was right - they had pretty good nachos here.

It was great to be hanging with Dale. We got to know him more, and in that way, we got to know Mongo, June and Janet as well, and I suppose, he got to know our own gang in the same way. Despite the many months since we first met each other and became friends, we haven't really hung around each other without Danny. And, you know what? He's okay. If I had an older brother, I think I'd like him to be like Dale.

But he IS a couple of years older, and he's already in college. … well, junior college, anyway… I don't know if our worlds are exactly the same anymore. I thought it'd be like how it was with June - with June, she fit our little group to a 'T' despite the age difference. Maybe it's a girl thing, or maybe her friendship with Drew made the difference. Or maybe it's June herself that made the difference.

As for Mongo, he wasn't really around much and was a mystery to most of us.

In any case, it was great to have Dale around.

We talked about all sorts of stuff while we enjoyed the nachos.

"Hey," Dale said, "I've always wanted to ask - about the concert..."

"Yeah?" I replied.

"You know that part where Danielle subbed for Danny?"

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering - why didn't Danielle just lip sync her songs instead of actually singing? Seems to me a big risk given Danielle doesn't really sing."

"Why didn't you bring it up?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I guesss I was just following Danny's lead, just like everyone."

"Have you heard of Milli Vanilli?"

"Ummm... is it a new ice cream flavor?"

I laughed. "No! it's a singing duo. They had a string of hits in the late eighties, but, people found out that they were lip syncing their songs 'coz the music they were lip-syncing to at a concert started to skip."

"Wow. That's embarassing."

"Yeah. And someone came forward and said they were actually the ones who wrote and sang all their songs. And Milli Vanilli never came out with another song again. They even had to return a Grammy that they won. It was a big scandal then."

"Ahhh."

"Well... Ah! Do you remember that scandal with with Marriah Carey during the Dick Clark new year's show a couple of years ago?"

"When she was caught lip syncing and ad libbing to a couple of her songs? Yeah! God, that was real bad."

"Well, Dan and I thought that, yeah, it was a risk to have Danielle sing, but it was a bigger risk if she flubs the lip syncing, and it would be the end for UB and all of us. Imagine the scandal! Imagine the kind or scrutiny that we'd get! But! If Danielle just sang badly, then it's just bad singing. You know? And when Danny took over, she'd probably be able to help gloss that over."

Dale thought about it. Slowly, he nodded. "You guys were right."

"Besides, we drilled Danielle to death, you know, and we picked the easiest songs for her. And she can do a crazy-good Stevie Nicks, too. You know?"

Dale nodded. "She did crazy-good, actually. But, hey, just in case we need to do that again, maybe we can look for more songs for Danielle. Expand her repertoire."

I nodded, thinking that over. "You know, I'm scared that you might be right. We need to talk that over with the twins soon."

'Course, we didn't talk shop the whole night. We didn't have any major show lined up.

From time to time, Dale would order something from Jenna or just chat her up. After a while, he had ordered most of the items in the Juke Joint's appetizer menu, and our table was getting crowded. Clearly, he was attracted to the girl. I never thought someone like Jenna was Dale's type. She was attractive enough but a lot of drop-dead gorgeous girls have been throwing themselves at the band. I would have thought Dale would have gone for one of those.

I don't know, maybe it's that she was closer to Dale's age instead of the teeny-boppers that have been UB's main demographic.

For her part, Jenna didn't turn his advances down like you'd expect, and chatted with us (but mostly Dale) about the band, about singing and about school. By that time we were now up to a couple of personal-sized pizzas and buffalo wings.

In hindsight, it wasn't surprising. After all, both of them were in bands, had regular gigs, and were taking the same kind of college courses. Jenna was surprised that Dale wasn't studying full-time. Dale explained that he couldn't take a "real" course as well as the required class load given the band's schedule.

"We're trying to establish ourselves," Dale said. "We gave ourselves a year. If things don't change, I guess I'm gonna go for a 'real' school."

"Sounds reasonable," Jenna said. She saw some girls come in and waved them over. "Hey, guys!"

The three came over and gave Jenna hugs.

"Hey, kid," the one in the lead said and gave Jenna another casual hug. She was wearing a hipster kind of outfit - a long-sleeved tartan shirt with the sleeves rolled up and the shirt-tails knotted at her midriff, short-short denims and combat boots. Still, she was extremely cute.

The other two who followed wore very expensive-looking ruffle-shirt dresses and heels similar to each other's. Not only that - these two were identical twins. Very cute identical twins that dressed alike. Among the four, Jenna was the most-plain looking one, but all of them together made for a very attractive group.

"Girls," Jenna said, "I'd like to introduce you to Dale, Morgan, Mike and Jerry. Guys, these are my best friends, the ones I was telling you about. This is MacKenzie, and those are Vivienne and Scarlett. Or Scarlett and Vivienne. It's hard to tell, you know, since they're twins." Jenna giggled.

We could tell Mike was about to give them his standard "what's a girl like you" line and Jerry gave him a hit on the head.

"Don't even try it," Jerry said.

"What?!"

"Dale's the bass player for Unlimited Bandwidth," Jenna explained. "You know that band from that radio thing on TV last month?"

Their eyes went wide at that. Clearly they were impressed, but MacKenzie played it cool.

"Oh, yeah," she goes, practically yawning, and they continued on into the restaurant. Jenna followed and looked back to us shrugging apologetically.

"Hmmm…" I said.

Dale shrugged and we went back to talking. Or rather we tried to. We were more than a little bothered by that. Although we saw from the corner of our eye Jenna having an earnest whispered discussion with her friends as she delivered their drinks to them. It looked like the beginning of an argument.

"Well…" Dale said, clearly feeling a bit awkward. "How about let's blow this popsicle stand?" he quoted.

Dale waved to Jenna and asked for our check, and if she could doggy bag our food. We started bringing out wallets but Dale waved them away saying it was his treat.

Jenna came back with our check and a huge doggy bag, and Dale handed her some bills.

"Guys, I'm real sorry," she said. "Mac can be a bit of a bitch, you know. But that's just her trying to be cool. You shouldn't let it bother you."

"No big, Jenna," Dale said.

"Well, it was great meeting you. I hope you come by again. Bring your friends."

"We will. Maybe we can catch you on the stage some time."

"That'll be cool."

"Well. Seeya." And we all stepped out of the place.

"Now what?" Mike said when we were all in the van. We pulled out, and Dale's bodyguard trailed us.

"I don't know," Dale said. "We can go to my place if you guys want to hang."

"Maybe we can call Mongo?" I said. "He might want to join us."

"Probably not," Dale answered. "You don't know his mom."

"Huh?"

"His mom, Morgan. Ever since his dad died, it's just been the two of them. And Mongo's been very protective of her. He rarely leaves the house now."

"Oh," I said. "Well… no harm in asking, you know."

"I guess." He handed me his phone. "You're welcome to try. Mongo's phone is in my directory."

"Well… Okay." I clicked the directory, scrolled down until I found "Mongo" and dialed his number. I turned the speakerphone on.

"Hello," a female voice answered.

"Oh! Good evening, Mrs. Kaufman"

"Hi, Mrs. M." Jerry and Mike called out, with "M" for Mongo, presumably.

"This is Morgan," I said. "Is, ummm, Julius around?"

"Hi, Morgan! Hi, kids! Good to hear you. You can call him Mongo, though, it's all right," Mrs. Kaufman chuckled. "He's just taking care of some of the last customers in the stationery shop and then closing down for the day."

"Oh. I'll call again later."

"Oh, no need. He should be done in about a minute. So. Julius, I mean 'Mongo,'" she chuckled, "told me you guys are going on a little trip tomorrow?"

"Yes, ma'am. The KRPQ guys gave us some vouchers, so Danny suggested a road trip tomorrow so we can use them."

"That girl," she sighed. "I so like that girl. And her sister, too. So pretty and nice and talented."

"Ummm, we were hoping to see if Mongo wanted to go out with us tonight and have a bite?"

"Oh! Absolutely. Let me get him."

The phone clunked down on the table and she went to fetch him.

"Julius!" we heard her tinnily as she hollered to him. "It's Morgan on the phone!"

"Just closing up, mama!" he called back.

The three of us had to chuckle hearing the two yelling.

"They're asking if you want to go out tonight!" she hollered. "I think you should go!"

"But ma…"

"Honey, I'll be fine! You need to go out and be with your friends. I'll be fine."

We heard a door open and then close. Mongo had obviously entered the room.

They weren't yelling anymore but they were obviously standing over the phone because we could still hear them.

"Ma," we heard Mongo say, "It's okay. Besides, I'll just be a downer for them."

"Nonsense!" she said. "They're your friends, honey. Don't say no."

"But ma…"

"I'll be fine, dear."

"Ma…"

We heard his mom sigh.

"Well," she said, "if you don't want to go out tonight, how about you invite your friends here?"

"We don't have the room, ma."

"Well, how about you use the garage? Ever since we sold your dad's car, it's been empty, except when you and your friends use it for your rehearsals. Good that it gets used. You can bring out the sleeping bags - use your's and your dad's sleeping bags, and we have that inflatable mattress, too. You can plug in dad's little fridge there and maybe even put in the old TV. You can also ask them to stay overnight, and you can start on your road trip from here!"

"Well…"

"Let me tell them."

His mom picked up the phone. "Hello? Are you boys still there?"

"We're still here, Mrs. Kaufman." I answered.

"Well, as usual, Mongo doesn't want to leave me alone in the house. So, how would you boys like hanging out here? And you can sleep over and start your road trip tomorrow from here!"

"Mrs. Kaufman…"

"It's just you boys, right? I won't stand for it if you have the girls with you."

"Oh, no, Mrs. Kaufman! It's just us guys."

"Ah, good! It's settled then. We'll be expecting you boys soon."

"Ummm, we just have to pass by our houses and get some clothes and…"

"Take your time, my dear. No need to bring towels and such, okay? You can have a shower here."

"Yes, ma'am."

"All right. We'll see you soon."

I hung up, and looked at the guys in amazement.

"Wow," I said. "Mongo's mom is like a force of nature."

"Yeah," Dale agreed. "I never knew myself. You know, I've always thought it was his mom that keeps him at home. I guess it's the other way around."

"I can understand it," Mike said. "My cousin used to pal around with us a lot. But when his dad died, he sort of disappeared from our group. I think he felt a little guilty for not being around when his dad died, and he decided to be the one to take care of his mom from then on."

We thought of that a bit. I was surprised by that - we usually never hear Mike being that insightful. We never give him much credit, I'm afraid.

"'K," Dale said. "I'm going to make a quick pass at everyone's houses, and you guys grab a change of clothes, okay? Who's first?"

So we decided to go by who was closest: my house first, then Mike's, then Jerry's and then to Dale's apartment, where he dropped off his bass. We then passed by M&N's Pizza, one of our favorites, and got a couple of our favorite pizzas, and an order of their popular Greek Salad for Mongo's mom, and we went over to Mongo's.

When we got there, the bodyguard assigned to Mongo was there and waved us to the side of the garage, and made us drive over Mongo's yard (he said it was okay with the Kaufmans). With the shoulder-high hedge, Dale's van was fairly camouflaged, especially since the sun had already gone down and Dale's van had a dark blue paint job.

We got out and Dale had a chat with Mongo's bodyguard and his.

"Hey, guys," Dale said, and shook the two bodyguards' hands. "How's it going tonight?"

"Hey, Dale," one of them said. "Seems to be quiet tonight. No one seems to be out here. Anyway, Jim and I will be out here to make sure no one bothers you guys."

"Appreciate it, man. Hey, we got you guys a pizza and some sodas."

"Thanks, kid," the other security guy, Jim, said, "but Mrs. Kaufman has us set up for the night." He held up a six-pack and a cooler full of some nice munchies, I'm sure.

"Well, I'm sure a pizza will go down well with the brews." Dale handed the top pizza box over, and we went on to Mongo's garage.

"Thanks, guys!" the two called out.

I knocked and Mongo opened the garage's side door.

"Hey, guys," Mongo said, and let us in.

"Dude," I said, and we high-fived. "We got some munchies." I held up our huuuge doggy bag, and Jerry brought in the pizza and sodas.

"Nice," Mongo said, got the food and put them on a folding table he'd put in the corner, "but ma also got us some snacks." He pointed to the table on the opposite side, and it had a bunch of McDonald's takeout.

"Your mom didn't have to," I said, knowing how tight money was for them. "Where is she, by the way?"

"She's just inside. I think that's her now."

"Hello, boys," she said, coming over.

"Hi, Mrs. Kaufman," I said, and gave her a hug and a buss on the cheek. "Thanks so much for tonight."

"Oh, it was nothing, Morgan," she said. "Thank you for being such good friends to my Julius. I mean, 'Mongo.'" She giggled.

"We got you something," I said and handed her what we got from M&N.

"Oh! Thank you so much! Well, I got you something as well." She handed us two six-packs of Bud. "I know you boys must have been looking for some of this." She grinned. "But you have a trip tomorrow, so not too many."

She turned on Dale. "Dale, take it easy on the suds, all right? You'll be driving tomorrow."

Dale grinned and nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Will the girls be going with you on the trip tomorrow?"

"They'll be making their way there on their own - I think Joanne will be driving them in her van - and we'll be meeting them there."

"Ah, I see." She turned to leave us alone. "Good night then, and if I don't see you tomorrow, I'll just assume you've gone on your way."

But before she stepped back into the house, she turned back.

"I'm so happy that Julius has such good friends, and so talented, too. Especially those twins!"

"You mean June and Drew, Mrs. Kaufman?" Jerry asked.

"Ah, no, my dear," she said. "Those two aren't twins, although they look pretty similar, especially with the…" and she gestured to indicate large breasts. We all laughed.

"No, I'm talking about Dannie and Danielle. Such pretty girls. Though I don't understand what their folks were thinking, giving them almost the same name. And Dannie's such a tomboy. But I'm sure she'll settle down when she finds a boyfriend."

"Oh-oh," I thought. "Has she seen through us?"

"And you've helped our little business, too," she continued. "Since that show last month, we've been getting lots of walk-in customers in our little paper shop. And they all want to meet Julius, too!"

We all went, "oooh!" and Dale playfully elbowed Mongo in the ribs.

Mrs. Kaufman chuckled. "But, you know, more than that, you kids are all good kids. God bless you all, even that new one with the, ummm, unusual dress style..."

I grinned. "You mean Fallon?"

She nodded. "Yes. Fallon. But I haven't seen Janet for a while…"

We looked at each other. "Ummm, I'm afraid…"

"She wigged out," Mike blurted. Jerry elbowed him pretty sharply, and he went, "ooof!"

"Ummm," Dale said, "Janet's been having some personal problems, Mrs. Kaufman. So she's taken some time off from the band. And time off from everyone, too, I guess."

"That's too bad. But, you know, though Janet was mostly all right, I was a bit worried about that one. I know she's your friend, but mothers have a sense about these things. How is she?"

We looked at each other. Mongo answered for us. "Actually, ma, we haven't talked to her in over a month. We're worried, actually."

"That's too bad. I hope she gets herself straightened out soon."

She clapped her hands. "Okay! I'll leave you boys to your sleepover now. Bathroom's the first door after the kitchen, and towels and things are in the cabinet just outside the bathroom. Good night, then."

We said good night to Mongo's mom, and got settled in.

"Mongo?" I asked, "did you tell her about Janet?"

"No, actually," he answered. "I haven't mentioned her ever since she… wigged out. That's all her."

"Your mom's pretty sharp."

"Yep. Scary smart, actually."

And that turned the talk to something other than Janet. And we ended up having a good time chatting, telling jokes and learning about each other. Even the arguments weren't bad since, in the end, we were cool with each other. And even if we only got a couple of hours of sleep before we had to get ready, I had fun.

Some time in the night, I took it upon myself to text Joanne.

"Hey, Joanne" I texted her, "I'm really sorry about tonight. It was a stupid argument. The guys are sorry, too. Please tell the girls. Friends?"

Joanne answered a minute later. "You beat me to it," she said and followed it with a laughing emoji. "I wanted to apologize as well. The girls feel bad, too. Of course - friends forever."

"That's a relief," I replied. "Seeya tomorrow morning, then."

"Empire City!" she texted back. "Whooo!!!"

I laughed and showed the guys our texts.

Our target was to leave by five or six AM so we can get there by nine or ten. Dale and I set our phones' alarms to four-thirty, and I told him that I can spell him if he ever got tired while driving.

I don't know - even if we ended up not going on our road trip, I wouldn't mind: this guys' sleepover was cool.

to be continued...

 

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