Thieves in the Temple: A Prequel to Purple Rain

CH. 31 You've Got a Friend- Carole King

Jesse and Morris looked through the storm window first. They had to decide whether or not to climb in. Kid sat on his bed reading Mona's journal. They looked at each other knowing they had to execute their plan to get Kid back in the band. He never formally quit. He just stopped coming and never returned phone calls. His mother said he was sleeping, he didn't feel well, he needed time. They needed him. Not just because he was the best musician in Mrs. Knable's class, but because they missed his fussing over one or two notes.

They stood at the foot of Kid's bed. He pretended not to see them. "You alright?" Jesse nearly whispered.

"Of course he's alright!" Morris shouted. Kid rolled his eyes at his oldest friend, closed the journal and slipped it under his pillow.

"Look here, Kid, we need your help." Morris said. He continued his story,"Jesse was trying to play some of your parts on this old guitar his uncle gave him." Some of the story was sort of the truth. Jesse did get a guitar from his uncle but he borrowed it to lure Kid back to the band. Kid looked up but still had no response. Had they replaced him in the band or Jesse? It did not make sense for Jesse to be playing the guitar but Kid was curious to know where this was going. Morris ordered Jesse to go outside and get it.

"Look, Man, Jesse sucks at it. I just need you to show him this one part and we'll go," Morris whispered to Kid. "But don't tell him I asked you to help him. I don't want to embarrass the dude too bad."

Kid felt tired and weak, but these were his friends. He did not know for sure if he wanted to go back to the band anyway. He had not played any music in four weeks. Maybe all of his creativity went into the grave with Mona.

Jesse pushed the old guitar through the window. "Look what I learned to do from my uncle," Jesse said his line convincingly. He sat on the edge of the bed and started thumping the guitar like a bass. Kid shook his head. Irritation rose from his chest and threw his shoulders back. "Naw, Man, you gotta stroke at it, not beat it, damn," Kid said.

"Like this?" Jesse said going out of his way to get it wrong.

Kid sighed and explained to Jesse where to put his fingers, how to hold it and how to strum it. Morris said, "That's exactly what I told him at the house."

"You don't know how to play a guitar!" Jesse said.

"But I know how the thing works,Stupid!"

"Shut up, Morris. Let him try again," Kid interjected.

Jesse improved but not much. They went on like that for a while until they finally got Kid annoyed enough to get his own guitar in the bed with him. He showed Jesse how to play a few chords.

Juanita heard it and came down the stairs. She smiled at the boys as tears rimmed her lids. She did not let the tears fall. She just beamed. "Dinner is ready. Would you boys like to come up and have some?"

"Yes, Mame. Thank you," Morris said while Jesse shook his head no.

Juanita was tickled. "Kid put on some clothes and bring your friends up."

Any other time Kid would have worried if the boys knew what to do with the tortillas. He would have worried that his mother might have liquor on her breath and say something embarrassing. He would have worried that Francis would come home in a bad mood. The drinking glasses didn't match and they were out of napkins. But this night, Kid did not worry. He contributed nothing to the stiff conversation his friends had with his mother. He allowed the familiar drone of their voices and the see-sawing of their laughter gently tow him back into consciousness. Having Morris and Jesse there filled him up more than the pulled pork and corn on his plate. Knowing that they did not think he was a punk and they still wanted to be his friend made the air feel lighter. Morris didn't even mention how Kid had elbowed him in the nose.

Some kid on Morris' block interrupted their rehearsal to deliver the gruesome news. "Did you hear about that girl from Hoover who got killed today?" the little boy asked. "What girl?" Morris asked. "She's a eighth grader in my brother's class. Her teacher screwed her and then choked her neck to death!"

"Who?!"

"Her name is Ramona."

Kid rushed over and knocked the boy off his bike. "Liar!"

The boy jumped back on his bike crying, "I'm going tell my big brother on you!"

Sunny came out having just heard the television news report herself. "Kid, you need to come inside, Son."

Kid smiled a little. "It's not true," he shrugged at the other boys staring at him.

Kid respectfully complied, calmly walking inside the house. Sunny should have turned the television off before she came out, but she didn't think of that. She should have called Kid's mother first, but she didn't think of that either.

"Boys, rehearsal is over. You should go home now," Sunny said sternly. She gave Morris an apologetic look that told him it was true.

Kid heard the news report coming from the television before he entered the kitchen. "Mona!" Kid screamed running back into the garage. Morris tried to stop him but Kid elbowed him in the nose and took off down the street.

One day they might laugh about it, but not tonight. Tonight Morris used his respectful table manners and told Juanita about how he taught Sunday school at church. Jesse told Juanita about how his family had moved to Minneapolis from Cleveland. She told them that Francis grew up in Wilberforce, Ohio. " You and Kid might be related," she joked. They made the evening pleasant, extremely pleasant.

Day after day, Kid used the same method as Mrs. Knaeble to teach Jesse to play the guitar. He was not as skilled a teacher as Mrs. Knaeble so he had no choice but to demonstrate for Jesse from time to time. Morris was a good motivator. He had a talent for hearing nuances. He listened to the Wes Montgomery record they were trying to copy. "It waves up more right there, Jesse. Make it wave and you'll have it," Morris said.

Morris brought Kid's classwork to him from school everyday. He only had to teach Kid one time and he got it but he had a hard time getting him to focus. Kid could relate a math equation to a picture on the wall, to a road sign on the street, to a girl in their class or anything. Morris made sure Kid never got all the answers right. He did not want to be accused of cheating. Kid was smarter than he acted. Morris got him to pay attention by not letting him teach Jesse guitar until he finished his assignments. The teacher taught the teacher and after seventeen days straight, they were back in the garage at Morris' house.