Tiffany stood up and tossed her head.
“For heaven’s sake,” she cried, “why is it that everybody always thinks they know better than I do what’s best for me?’’
She flounced off, leaving Mark sitting by himself.
Chapter Eleven
“No, no, no. It’s one, two, three, four. Not one, two, three, four. Look, let’s go back to where the drum comes in.”
“Steve,” Allegra said gently, “do you think it would help if I held back and didn’t come in until the bass guitar entrance?”
“No, you’re doing great, Allegra. As always.” Talking more loudly, so that the other two members of the band could hear, too, he added, “Look, everybody, the only reason I’m being so picky is that we’re really starting to sound terrific.”
“We should,” Mike, the lead guitarist, called out. “After all, we’re being led by a slave driver!” He played a few frantic chords on his instrument.
“Come on,” Steve returned. “You know I’m just trying to get this band into shape as fast as I can. I really believe we could be terrific. We already sound halfway decent, and we’ve only been a band for a few days!”
Despite the fact that Allegra was not exactly looking forward to singing the same song all over again—for the seventh time in a row—she had to admit that Steve was right. They did sound pretty good. And the more they played, the more strongly she felt that it wouldn’t take all that much more work for them to sound terrific.
This was the third time the group had gotten together to practice. The good news was that her excitement about it made it easier to forget about the tension that had suddenly sprung up between her and Megan. She was really hurt by her friend’s abrupt change in mood, and she was glad to have a distraction.
The bad news was that the only place they could find to rehearse was in a basement storage room underneath the cafeteria. While the acoustics weren’t too bad, it wasn’t exactly inspiring staring at huge cans of soup and five-gallon jars of mustard while she sang her heart out about love and sorrow.
“There. Now that sounds the way it’s supposed to sound.’’ Steve was actually smiling as the group finished up. His green eyes were bright, and his thin face was almost glowing with satisfaction. “We sound amazing. And you, Allegra, are incredible.”
“Yeah, let’s hear it for Allegra,” Jake cried.
“Here, here, Allegra the Great!” Kenny chimed in, twirling his drumsticks in the air.
“Oh, come on, you guys,” Allegra insisted, waving her hands in mock frustration. “Stop teasing me, will you?”
But despite her protests, she had never felt more satisfied. When she first left New York, she had felt as if she were a small plant that had just begun to thrive and was then torn out, roots and all, and tossed somewhere else to try to survive. But thanks to Steve, it hadn’t taken her long to reroot. She was right at home with the band, already a bunch of friends—Mike the lead guitarist, Jake the rhythm guitarist, Kenny the drummer, and of course, Steve on keyboard—as well as a brand-new group whose talent was surpassed only by its enthusiasm.
Then there was Steve himself. She had never met anyone like him. He could play just about any instrument, and he improvised on most of them with mind-boggling ease. He had a natural sense of what was needed to make the music work. He was a terrific leader, always positive and upbeat and so full of ideas and confidence about where the group needed to go musically that the others all felt confident following him.
But his abilities as a musician were only part of it. As reluctant as Allegra was to admit it, even to herself, she was drawn to Steve in a way that went far beyond her respect for his musical abilities and her gratitude for his creation of a rock band that replaced Never Too Young. Sure, it would have been easier developing a crush on somebody with whom her musical future wasn’t linked. But love didn’t have very much to do with logic; that fact she had learned at an early age.
Where it would all lead, she couldn’t say. For one thing, she had yet to receive any signs that Steve felt the same way about her that she felt about him. It was definitely too soon for her to start worrying about how their relationship might affect the band. So far, Allegra and Steve didn’t really have any relationship other than musical partners, no matter how much she had begun wishing otherwise. At any rate, she was happy at this point just to be near him, working side by side with him hour after hour, making music and realizing her dream.
She was convinced that it couldn’t possibly get any better. So she was surprised at her own reaction when she heard Steve say, “Okay. So what do you think? Are we ready to take it on the road?”
“What are you talking about?” asked Kenny, looking up from his drum set.
“How about moving to the lobby of the dorm and seeing if it flies with the crowd in there?”
“You mean you think we should perform?” Allegra gasped.
The other three members of the band were equally caught off guard by Steve’s suggestion. They were quick to voice their protests.
“Wait a second,” Jake cried. “We’ve barely gotten this thing off the ground!’’
“Jake’s right,” Kenny agreed. “We don’t want to try and push this thing too fast, do we?”
“Aw, where’s your sense of adventure?” Steve returned. “We can’t keep playing to an audience of pickles and tuna fish forever. Besides, I think it sounds great, but we could really use a second opinion.”
Allegra thought for a few seconds, then shrugged. “I’m game. Why not? What have we got to lose?”
“Thatta girl, Allegra!”
Once she had accepted Steve’s challenge, the others in the band couldn’t very well refuse. Besides, she could see that underneath their initial reservations, they were just as anxious as she and Steve were to strut their stuff, to show off a little in front of their friends. After all, wasn’t that what performing was all about?
Just as they had expected, there were a dozen or so people in the lobby of Ellis Hall. A few of them were watching television, but most were standing around in groups of three or four, talking or joking around, just relaxing and enjoying one another’s company. The mood was fairly low-key—that is, until the five members of the band started filing in, loaded down with guitars and drums and amplifiers and all their other equipment.
“Hey, what’s going on?” asked Joan.
“We thought this place could use some livening up, that’s all,” Mike replied.
“That’s right,” said Steve. “We’re planning to shake things up a little. After all, a recent scientific experiment has proven that too much Beethoven causes swelling, dry skin, and hair loss.”
“It does?’’ Joan’s eyes were as big and round as two Ping-Pong balls.
But Steve didn’t answer. He was too busy plugging a pair of speakers into the wall.
Five minutes later, the lobby was bursting with sound. The band had set up in one corner and, without any warning, had launched into their best number.
It didn’t take long for the entire building to come alive. Allegra watched in astonishment as within seconds doors were flung open and curious faces leaned out. From doorways and stairways, the students emerged, their eyes bright. The band was like the Pied Piper, she observed, luring people out of hiding. It was almost as if the five of them together possessed some special brand of magic.
By the time they were halfway through their first number, almost two-thirds of the students at Wildwood had come into the lobby. Some of them had started dancing, unable to resist the band’s electrifying beat. But mostly they stood listening, their bodies moving in response to the rhythm, looking on with surprise and appreciation, just having a good time.
When the music stopped, the entire audience broke into spontaneous applause, accompanied by cheers and yells and whoops of admiration. Allegra leaned over to Steve.
Wearing an expression of astonishment, she whispered, “I think they like us.”
“Are you kidding? They love us!”
he whispered back.
And then, always the showman, he turned to his audience and said, “Thank you, thank you. But as the old saying goes, ‘You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.’ We’ve got a few more numbers up our sleeve—that is, if you’ll excuse the fact that we’ve only been playing together for a few days.”
For the next half hour, the band played every number they could think of. Some they had run through once or twice. But many they were trying out for the first time. Thanks to their energy and the encouragement of the crowd, they forged ahead, sounding more polished than they ever would have expected. Of course, with both Allegra’s strong voice and Steve’s confidence as a leader, they were bound to come through with flying colors.
By the end, when they had pretty much exhausted their repertoire, Allegra was completely exhilarated. She felt as if she could fly.
“Want to stop?” Steve asked, coming over to her and placing a friendly hand on her shoulder. “You’re still sounding as fantastic as always, but I figure you must be getting tired. I don’t want to push you too hard.”
She shook her head. “I could go on forever. As long as they want to keep listening, that is.” With her chin, she gestured toward the band’s enthusiastic fans.
“I think they look as if they can handle a little more,” he returned.
Allegra laughed. “I think you’re right. And I think I’ve come up with a name for our little group.”
“Really? What?”
“How about Pied Piper?”
Steve thought for a second or two.
And then, with a grin, he said, “That’s perfect. Well, almost perfect. I do have one small suggestion.”
“What is it?” Allegra asked.
“Well,” Steve said slowly, “I really like the basic idea. But I think we should be billed as, Pied Piper—featuring Allegra Ferrante.”
* * * *
“Oh, Megan! What did you think?’’ Allegra’s dark brown eyes were shining and her cheeks were flushed bright pink as she rushed into her dorm room. She was still excited, and she wanted to share that excitement with someone. So she was especially pleased that she had found Megan there. “Did you hear us?”
“Well, of course I did, Allegra. Everybody on the entire campus heard you.”
Allegra was immediately deflated by her friend’s coolness. She had been hoping that, this one time at least, the frostiness Megan had been displaying recently would warm up, at least for a while.
“Did you think we were too loud?” she asked, trying to figure out what she was really getting at.
“Not really. I was trying to make a joke, that’s all. I guess it didn’t work.”
Allegra waved her hand in the air to indicate that it didn’t matter. “Well, what did you think? Did you like us?” Nervously she added, “Did you think I sounded okay?”
“Of course,” Megan replied, a little too quickly. “You sing very well. Almost as well as you play the violin, in fact.”
Allegra was speechless. She watched in silence as Megan turned her back, pretending to fuss with the cosmetics and barrettes and other trinkets on top of her dresser.
“I guess you’re just one of those lucky people who’s good at everything she tries,” Megan continued. “You don’t even have to work at it very hard, do you? It just comes to you naturally. It’s almost as if you have some kind of fairy godmother or something.”
When she turned around to face Allegra, Megan’s blue eyes were hard. “Gosh, Allegra,” she said icily, “I guess I should consider myself lucky just to know you!” With that, she strode out of the room, firmly closing the door behind her.
Allegra just stood there for a long time, as if she were in shock. So she intended to keep up this terrible distance that had grown up between them so suddenly. It was clear that Megan was mad at her.... Or maybe she was jealous.
That second possibility was even more hurtful than the first. They were supposed to be friends, and she would have expected Megan to be happy for her. The fact that she couldn’t see past her own feelings to support Allegra in what was obviously a very happy and important moment for her saddened her so much that her glee over her musical triumph faded considerably.
Sure, she had gained a rock group, she was thinking as she stared at the closed door and listened to the silence that now filled the room. But from the looks of things, she had also lost her best friend.
That night, as Allegra joined the other students piling into the bus to go over to the concert at the Wildwood Performing Arts Center, she chose a seat in the back. She was still upset about Megan’s strange behavior, and what she really craved was the chance to be alone to try to think things through.
When she felt somebody slide into the seat next to her, she was annoyed. But she glanced over her shoulder and saw that it was Steve.
“I’ve got some great news, Allegra. At least I think it’s great news.”
Allegra made a face. “Good. The way I’m feeling right now, I could use some good news.”
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Steve sounded concerned.
“Oh, it’s nothing. Or at least it’s not anything I feel like talking about right now. But tell me. What’s your great news?”
Steve took a deep breath. “How do you feel about Pied Piper—featuring the one and only Allegra Ferrante— auditioning to play at a local club?”
Allegra’s mouth dropped open. “What?” she squealed. “Are you serious?”
“Of course I’m serious. Have you ever known me not to be serious?” Steve made a ridiculous face, and Allegra couldn’t help laughing.
“You really mean it, don’t you?”
“Yes, I really mean it.” He leaned forward, so that his face was so close to hers that their noses were almost touching. “There’s a little club in town called the Ace of Clubs. The owner likes to feature local musicians. From what I understand, he’s looking for some new talent. In fact, he’s been auditioning groups for the past few weeks, trying to find somebody to feature on Saturday nights, the club’s big night.
“Now you know as well as I do that Pied Piper has got loads of talent—and we’re certainly new. Hey, I know we just got started. But I also know we don’t have much time to see if we can really make this work.
“So what I think we should do is try to set up an audition as soon as we can. It’s our big opportunity to find out how good we really are. Not to mention the chance to experience the thrill of performing as if we were really pros. Imagine, getting listened to by an audience full of strangers, instead of our friends. Imagine getting paid for doing what we love to do most.... I’m telling you, this would be the real thing, Allegra.”
“Wow. I’ve never sung for an audience of strangers,” Allegra mused.
“Then it’s time you got your feet wet. All I need is your go-ahead.”
“Well ...” Allegra was pretending to give this matter great consideration, but in truth she already knew what her answer would be. “Why not?”
In a funny voice, Steve said, “Baby, I’m gonna make you a star!’’
He put his arms around her shoulders and gave her a big squeeze. It was meant to be nothing more than a joke, but Allegra immediately stiffened. It wasn’t that she didn’t like the feeling of him touching her; on the contrary, she liked it very much. What really bothered her was that she didn’t know if Steve was being sincere or if he was simply being nice to her because they were part of the same rock band.
She wondered if perhaps it was time to find out.
“Hey, Steve?” she said in a strange husky voice. He had already put his arm down, but they were sitting so close that their shoulders were touching.
“Yes?” he replied casually.
“How about sitting outside on the lawn during tonight’s concert? It can be much more fun than sitting on those hard, uncomfortable seats inside the amphitheater.”
It was a lovely image, the idea of sitting on the grass with Steve, being lulled into a nearly hypnotic state by the romantic music of B
rahms and Debussy, all under a dark sky illuminated by winking stars and a glowing moon.
Steve, however, didn’t appear to share her vision.
“I don’t know, Allegra,” he said, shifting into a different position so that they were no longer touching. “I’ve really been looking forward to tonight’s concert, and, well, I’d kind of like to sit as close as I can.’’
“Sure, I understand,” Allegra replied quickly.
But her eyes were stinging. It was all she could do to keep from crying. When you came right down to it, she felt as if she just didn’t understand Steve Sebastian. Sometimes he acted as if he thought she was the most wonderful, special person in the whole world. And other times ... It just didn’t add up. She knew how she felt about him. But she couldn’t tell at all what his true feelings for her were.
She wanted to say something, to let him know how much she liked him. She wanted so desperately to open up to him and to ask him to open up to her, that it was almost painful. But it was dangerous. She and Steve had to work together, after all. She didn’t want to endanger the group, to make him or herself uncomfortable. She felt stuck, and she didn’t know whether to let things be or confront him with her true feelings.
But before she had a chance to decide, he stood up.
“Hey, there’s Kenny,” he said. “I’m going to go tell him the good news. Hey, Kenny!”
And he was gone.
Allegra turned her face toward the window. She couldn’t remember having ever felt this confused before in her life. So much was happening for her musically; being a part of Pied Piper was so exciting that it made her heart pound just to think about it. And the idea of performing in a real club for a real audience was the ultimate. She felt as if she were going to burst out of her skin.
Yet being so close to the success she had yearned for for so long was turning out to have a real price tag on it. It was affecting her friendship with Megan, and it was getting in the way of her relationship with Steve.
Going Solo Page 13
