I'm uploading two chapters at once becasue they're pretty short so you can consider them one chapter if you want.
The song 'Count On Me' can stand for Jamie trying to convince Sandraline to stick by him and it can also represent the bond that the Quartet had.
Either way I just really wanted to use a Whitney song and having Cece in it just made it that much better.
Enjoy the back story on Sandraline and Stacey. There will be more on the rest of the Quartet members somewhere down the line.
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I land hard and roll with it. Thankfully the floor doesn't give way. I glance around. The old tree house hadn't changed at all, not counting the thick layer of dust that has accumulated. The last time I had been here was to say good bye to the others. We'd agreed to honor Arnel's memory and not raise old ghosts. So they'd moved away and I'd filled out an application for the Wallflower Club Presidency.
There was a couch because Mark had liked to stretch out, a beanie chair because Grace hated rigid chairs, a love seat because that's what Arnel always played video games in, and lastly a blow up chair, because my Barbie doll had one and I had wanted one too. The walls are covered in old posters. There's a bookcase full of childhood books. The middle of the wooden floor is covered by a large throw rug we'd all bought at a flea market.
I sit down on the rug. If I close my eyes I can almost hear Mark and Arnel arguing over whatever game just came out and Grace complaining about how immature boys are. I reach under Mark's couch and pull out a shoe box. It too is covered in dust. I blow off the dust, squeezing my eyes shut, before prying off the cover. It's full of newspaper clippings.
"The Perfect Crime?", one headline asks. "Three injured, One dead.", screams another. "Mystery Mugging.", yet another paper informs me. Our town is pretty small. Us getting 'mugged' and Arnel dying was big news. I shuffle through them until I find the one I want.
"The Quartet does it again!", the article title reads. "Sandraline Raymond, Arnold Smith, Grace Donaldson, and Mark Jones bring home another gold medal that puts this small town on the map. The famous quartet has won yet another state acappella competition. There is just no stopping these four! I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see what they do next!"
I smile, remembering, we'd gotten such a kick out of these articles. We'd sung an acappella version of Carry On by FUN for this win. It had been great. I dig out the medal from the bottom of the box. It's part of a set of four. This one has Arnold Smith engraved on the back. Mine is in my room on the wall. My smile fades. This had been our last competition together.
A month later we'd all been attacked walking home from the park. There had been two guys, both had guns. We'd all taken bullets, but then Arnel had jumped in front of one meant for me. He'd taken the shot in the stomach. Three of us survived. A shot to the leg and arm for Grace, one shot through the upper right side for Mark and two bullets in the arm and a graze on my right side for me. Arnel didn't make it. He'd bled out on the sidewalk before the ambulance arrived. The rest of us only made it because we played dead, then actually passed out. They say someone happened by and called 911.
At the time we couldn't figure out why we'd been attacked. We were four kids walking home. We obviously had no money or valuables. It hadn't been a mugging gone wrong as the police had filed it. It had been a deliberate attack.
A week into our stay at the hospital Stacey stopped by our rooms. She'd been wearing a big grin. "I told you to watch out, but miss blabbermouth couldn't keep her trap shut." She'd glared at Grace. "You all got what you deserved. Although it's too bad about the other boy. He was collateral damage. Only you two were supposed to get hurt." She beams at Grace and I, then flounces out. And that's when it had clicked.
