Knowing You're There

Chapter 12

Since I received nearly a perfect score on my take home test, Mom agreed to let Kurt come over for a little while after school on Tuesday.  Somehow he managed to fit his guitar case in the school’s paper-thin lockers, but that was beside the point.  I was still in the midst of my friends barraging me over the fact that I had a boyfriend. 

Even the word itself sounded weird.  It didn’t fit with my whole Lonely Lia ego.  I was no longer single, and it was already bothering me.  I had to think about Kurt, not just myself, which was difficult to get used to. 

“So, this right here is the basement studio,” I said to him. 

I counted the steps in my head, then put my foot safely on the concrete floor at number fourteen.  Star followed behind me, and Kurt behind her.  For some reason the musty smell was stronger than usual. 

“Well, it looks like a basement,” he said.  “I didn’t know that studios were filled with Christmas decorations.” 

I crossed my arms.  “What, you don’t have the same crap in your basement?” 

“No.”  He chuckled.  “I’m Jewish.”

I sighed.  “Just follow me.” 

I held my arms out through the path between all the boxes. Dad always had a slight hoarding problem.  When I reached the drums, I sat down and grabbed the mallets.  I heard his guitar case open after he set it down. 

“Wow.  Old set,” he said. 

“It’s not old, it’s vintage.” 

“Well I don’t mean to be offensive, since it’s your dad’s set and all,” he said, “but vintage or not, you need a new pair of sticks.” 

I turned to him.  “Sticks?” 

“Yeah, the drum sticks.”  His fingers started strumming the acoustic guitar as he tuned. 

“You mean the mallets,” I said. 

“Okay, they’re mallets,” he said.  “But whatever you call them, you really need new ones dude.” 

I rubbed my thumb over the one in my left hand and felt the slippery texture of the duct tape that held it together.  “Let’s just play.” 

“Hang on, I’m not done tuning.”  He paused.  “What should we play, pretty lady?” 

I turned away, trying not to let him see me blushing again.  I thought about all my favorite songs and tried to think of something that wasn’t Rayvn.  How was I even supposed to know what he knew and what he didn’t? 

“Okay,” I said.  “What about something by The Crazy Monkeys?” 

“Oh wow.”  His voice lightened.  “I thought you didn’t like listening to older stuff.” 

“I don’t mind some sixties stuff,” I said.  “Do you know Heartbreaker? Back to Earth? See You Saturday?” 

“Yes, that one!  See You Saturday.”  He walked over and stood close to me.  “It’s extra adorable.  So that’s why we should play it.” 

I gripped my ancient mallets and started playing the drum beat from the beginning of the song.  Kurt joined in with his guitar and then vocals.  My goal was to keep focused through the end.  I really liked Kurt a lot, but he wasn’t exactly the best singer.  There wasn’t much room for my own criticism, seeing as how I was such a bad singer I was taken out of chorus in seventh grade, and it was a mandatory class.