Finch: A Julie and The Phantoms Season Two

Episode Six - Molotov Cocktails

Episode Six

Molotov Cocktails

"Julie?" Luke called out, blinking into the dark Barleys parking lot. Surrounding him were at least a dozen cars, probably those of the people waiting inside for Julie and the Phantoms to play their set, some with their back lights on. Luke noticed the only other person outside was Ray under the dim streetlights, and that seemed like the next best thing to Julie, so he walked over.

"Hey, man," Luke said. No reply, of course, "Are you waiting for Julie? I am too," He started to speak. He realized talking to someone who can't hear him nor know he was there was quite silly, but it seemed like Julie was a much more thorough searcher than Luke was. Go figure.

"That yellow suits you," Luke praised, gesturing to Ray's sweater, "Where did you get it?" He said, waiting for a reply fully knowing he wasn't getting one. Luke looked down, pausing for a second before he spoke again.

"Well wherever you got it, you've got to hook me up, man," He said. The two sat there on the bench in silence, the only sound coming from the noisy couples and distorted pop music inside of Barley's. Luke turned around on the bench, arm on the back rest, to look through the window. Through the window, he could only see that the stage was empty, which made Luke frown because he knew he was supposed to be up there. "I'm gonna kick their asses..." Luke sighed, turning back around to slump down into the bench.

"Did you know your daughter is really fucking talented?" Luke paused, covering his mouth, "I mean freaking, sir," Ray just hung his head back, looking up at the few stars you could see in LA due to all the light pollution. Luke just patted Ray on the back, his hand sinking through his mustard colored sweater to the splintery wood where it sat for another minute.

"Being a ghost sucks, y'know?" Luke sighed.

"Show starts in ten minutes, show starts in ten minutes!" Luke heard a feminine voice call from inside Barley's, followed by an explosion of cheers from the crowd inside.

Luke watched as Ray sat up, a little concerned that Julie and the band weren't here yet at the announcement she was supposed to be on in ten minutes. Luke noticed this, sitting up in his seat as well. "Don't worry about it, Ray," He said, "Julie will be back soon, I'm sure. Well, I'm not 100% sure but..." He trailed off.

"You know what, let's just enjoy the night together, huh Ray?" Luke said, trying to poke at Ray but his hand sank through him again, "I don't have any money though, so, drinks are on you," He said, emptying his pockets out onto the bench. A gum wrapper, a couple of guitar picks, and some cigarette butts spilled onto the bench. Luke let them sit on the ground for a moment, until he felt bad for littering so he picked some of the trash back up.

"Did you know you can't ruin your lungs if you don't have any?" Luke said, plucking one of the crumpled cigarette butts off the bench, "Pretty gnarly, right?" He chuckled, throwing the cigarette back on to the ground where it originally resided, smashing it with his foot. After a couple of seconds, Luke got up from the bench, kicked the gum wrapper out of his way, and walked inside of Barley's.

The place was absolutely packed, and the whole place smelled like chips and salsa. Luke wanted so badly to jump onto that stage and sing his woes about Lisa, Bobby, and the band all away, but it wasn't the same without his friends. He walked past the stage, took a shot of someone's drink while they weren't looking from their table, and walked through the backstage door.

"How come the band isn't here yet? I thought you said these guys were professional?" A manager yelled at a teenage boy with a headset on, flecks of spit flying from his mouth.