Hard Rock

by Ginger Rue

  Will shoved LaDarius, who laughed.

  “Will’s right, though,” LaDarius continued. “Girls just take it to an extreme. If one girl hates another girl, she’s got to make all her friends hate her too. It must be exhausting.”

  “Pretty much,” said Tig.

  “I guess it’s funny, in a sad way,” said Claire.

  “What?” asked Tig.

  “We finally solve the problem of Kyra and the bass, and now we’ve got a new Kyra problem altogether.”

  The girls nodded. The two boys were no longer listening, though. They had already lost interest in the whole thing and were discussing a video game. Tig couldn’t help but envy them. Boys’ friendships seemed so much easier.

  “How do we solve this one?” Robbie asked.

  “I was hoping,” Tig said, “that you could tell me.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “What gives with your cousin?” Regan asked before algebra started.

  “What do you mean?” said Tig.

  “Don’t play dumb,” Regan said. “You saw her sitting in our part of the gym this morning.”

  “Yeah. So?”

  “So what’s she trying to pull?”

  Tig didn’t know how to respond. She thought back to Robbie’s “It’s. A. Trap!” comment before school. “You should probably ask Kyra that question, not me.”

  “I have to hand it to you,” Regan said. “You’re pretty loyal.”

  Tig looked at her, confused.

  “Just saying, Kyra didn’t seem to have any qualms about throwing you under the bus.”

  “Under what bus? What did she do?”

  “It was all pretty tiresome, really. She came up to Haley and me this morning and said that if we still wanted to take down your band, she’d help us.”

  “What?!” Tig could hardly believe it. Maybe, she thought, she shouldn’t believe it. After all, this information was coming from Regan.

  “Yeah,” said Regan. “She was all, ‘Tig kicked me out of the band and poor, pitiful me’ and ‘Anything you want to know about the band, I can tell you.’”

  “That little sneak!” Tig wished she hadn’t said it out loud. Perhaps this really was a trap and she was walking right into it.

  “That’s pretty much what we all thought too,” Regan said.

  “What did you say to her?”

  “We told her thanks but no thanks,” said Regan.

  “Why?” Exactly what was Regan’s angle here?

  “Because,” said Regan, “just like I told Kyra, destroying your band is so last year. That’s all ancient history now.”

  “Is it?” Tig asked. “How come?”

  “It was all pretty stupid to begin with, don’t you think?” said Regan. “So childish. And besides, y’all were pretty good in that video—that fake ad thing.”

  “The spot we did for the university’s student project,” Tig said.

  “Yeah. It wasn’t half bad.”

  “Thanks,” said Tig. The idea that this was a trap kept rattling around inside Tig’s head, but she couldn’t figure out how Regan’s refusal to help in Kyra’s revenge plot—or Regan’s complimenting the band’s video—could entrap anyone. Maybe Regan was just that good: maybe she’d gone from overt meanness last year to schemes so diabolical that Tig couldn’t even fathom them.

  “What do you think Kyra will do now?” Tig asked.

  “I don’t know,” Regan said. “But you’d think she’d have bigger fish to fry than your band, what with her parents getting a divorce and all.”

  “Kyra told you about that?”

  “Please. She didn’t have to. Everybody in town knows.”

  Tig shook her head. “Kyra’s going to freak.”

  “Well,” Regan said, “it’s really not that bad. Both of my parents have been married a few times. You just learn to roll with it.”

  “It’s kind of a big deal to us,” Tig replied.

  “Hey, if it makes you feel any better, my mom and all her friends think Kyra’s mom is nuts to leave her dad. They think your uncle’s great and also kind of a hottie.”

  Tig didn’t know whether to be grossed out or feel a sense of family pride. “Thanks,” she said. “I appreciate that. I think. And also, I appreciate—you know—the fact that you’re not trying to kill my band anymore.”

  “No problem. As far as I’m concerned, you and I are cool,” Regan said.

  Tig nodded, then turned around in her seat and opened her algebra book.

  She was so stunned that her aunt and uncle’s divorce was already news around the school that she could hardly think straight. In fact, she didn’t even realize she was staring at Will from the time he walked in the door until the time he sat down. Somehow, examining his high cheekbones and the symmetry of his eyebrows soothed her frazzled nerves. She couldn’t take her eyes off him.

  “Is there something on my face?” Will said, rubbing his cheek.

  “No,” Tig said, snapping out of her haze. “Sorry. I’ve just got the stares. Lost in thought. There’s nothing on your face.”

  Except lots and lots of good-looking, Tig thought.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Tig wondered where Kyra would sit at lunch that day, since she refused to even speak to any of the Pandora’s Box girls. And, of course, Tig knew from her conversation with Regan that the Bots table wouldn’t be an option. So what would Kyra’s next move be?

  It turned out that Kyra managed to find an empty seat at the Scholars’ Bowl table. If the brainiacs noticed Kyra sitting with them, they didn’t seem to mind. They just kept taking turns asking one another questions from trivia apps.

  “I tried to wave Kyra over here, but she wouldn’t look at me,” Olivia said.

  “Maybe I should go get her,” Claire said, “and ask her to come back to our table.”

  “No,” Tig said. She couldn’t face Kyra right then; she had no idea what to say to her. First of all, Tig had no idea if Kyra knew that everyone in town was talking about the divorce. If she didn’t, Tig didn’t want to be the one to tell her. Plus, there was the whole attempted betrayal of the band to the Bots. Both of these things together were just too much to think about all at once. “Let Kyra sit with the geniuses a few days,” said Tig.

  “You sound mad,” Robbie said. “What did she do now?”

  Tig wondered if she should even say anything. But she wasn’t very good at hiding her feelings, and it was obvious she was mad about something. She couldn’t tell them about the divorce; she’d promised Kyra she wouldn’t say a word about it—even if it was just a matter of time until they heard it from someone else. Tig decided the only way to explain her anger was to tell them about what Kyra had said to Regan that morning. Plus, she decided, when it came down to it, maybe it would be best if the other girls were on guard against any other attacks Kyra might try. “She offered to help the Bots destroy our band.”

  “She what?” Robbie said. “And you know this how?”

  “Because Regan told me all about it in algebra.”

  “Regan,” said Robbie, as though she needed to make sure she’d understood Tig correctly. “And you believe Regan?”

  “Actually, I do,” said Tig. “What would she have to gain by telling me?”

  “I’m not sure,” said Robbie. “But I wouldn’t trust Regan. There must be something to gain. Otherwise she wouldn’t do it. Regan always has an angle.”

  Tig nodded, but she wasn’t sure she agreed. Maybe this time Regan didn’t have an angle. Maybe, like Regan had said, last year’s feud was childish and all behind them. Maybe the two of them really were cool now.

  But just in case, Tig decided she’d remain wary of Regan.

  In the meantime, she still wasn’t sure what to do about Kyra. Maybe, given the family crisis, she should just forget what Kyra had done and try reaching out to her again.

  But the sting of the betrayal was still sharp, and Tig couldn’t just let it go. Not yet, anyway. Tig tossed it around in her mind the rest of
the day until she finally made a decision:

  When Kyra was ready, Kyra would have to come to her.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “I’ve got to hand it to her,” Tig said that Friday morning in the gym. “I didn’t think she could keep it up this long.” Robbie, Claire, Olivia, and Will looked at the Human Google section of the bleachers. While none of the Scholars’ Bowl kids seemed to be actively engaging with Kyra, they were giving her full access to their seating space, rather than crowding her out the way the Bots had.

  “Maybe she’s found her new crowd,” said Will.

  “I can’t believe she hasn’t spoken to us in three whole days,” Claire said. “This is crazy! She won’t even reply to my texts.”

  “I called a couple of times, but she won’t answer,” Olivia said. “I’m worried about her. Tig, did you know there’s a rumor going around . . . I hate to ask, but . . . somebody told my mom yesterday that Mr. and Mrs. Bennett are getting a divorce.”

  “Whoa!” said Robbie. “Is that true, Tig?”

  Tig didn’t know how to respond. She’d promised Kyra, after all, that she wouldn’t tell the other girls. But maybe now that it was the talk of the town, and now that Kyra had cut ties with them all, that promise was nullified.

  “Yeah,” Tig said.

  “Well, that explains a lot,” Robbie said. “Man, why didn’t you tell us? I wouldn’t have insisted we cut her loose at a time like this!”

  “She swore me to secrecy,” Tig said. “She said she was embarrassed. I couldn’t say anything. But that’s why I kept trying to get y’all to give her another chance.”

  “I wish we’d known,” said Claire.

  “Yeah,” said Olivia. “I feel kind of petty, worrying about the band, when Kyra’s whole family is falling apart. Oh, Tig! What can we do? Kyra needs us! And I miss her. Don’t you?”

  “Nah,” Tig said. “It’s no big deal.”

  “Nobody’s buying it, Ripley,” said Robbie. “Of course you miss her. She’s your cousin.”

  “I know she is,” Tig said. “And I do hate it about the divorce. For her and for my uncle Nick. But none of that changes the fact that Kyra betrayed me.”

  “The sad thing is, that’s probably the way Kyra feels about you,” Olivia said. “She thinks you mistreated her, and it hurts even more because you’re family. Not that she isn’t mad at us, too, but she probably expected you to stick up for her more because of what’s happening with her folks right now. I know Kyra’s out of line about the band, but we’ve got to remember she’s going through a lot right now.”

  “You ought to be a shrink,” Robbie said.

  “I’m just trying to give Kyra the benefit of the doubt,” Olivia said. “We need to understand where she’s coming from, cut her some slack.”

  “You’re right. You know, Tig, it is the first Friday of the month,” Robbie said.

  “I’d almost forgotten,” she replied.

  The band had developed kind of a standing monthly slumber party the first Friday night of every month at Tig’s house. They’d practice some, but mostly it was just fun.

  “Are we still on?” Claire asked.

  “Of course,” said Tig.

  “Maybe we could ask Kyra to come,” Olivia said.

  “Or is that salt in the wound?” Robbie asked. “Like, ‘Hey, come to the band slumber party for the band we kicked you out of’?”

  “I think we should try to include her,” Claire said. “If she’ll let us.”

  “You’re right,” said Tig. “I’m still kind of mad about the Bots thing, but in the end, I guess there was no harm done. We could show Kyra that we still care about her even though she tried to stab us in the back.”

  “And maybe we could just skip practice at this one,” Claire said. “Just try to be there for Kyra.”

  “Good idea,” said Tig.

  “Great,” said Robbie. “I’ll let Paris know. I’d mentioned it to her but kind of had her on standby until it was confirmed.”

  “Oh, good,” said Tig. Great, she thought. Now Paris’s spending the night at my house? Wasn’t it enough that she had to put up with her being in the band at all?

  “I’ll call Kyra after school,” Tig said. “If she won’t pick up, I’ll call Uncle Nick and have him tell her she’s invited. She can’t stay mad forever.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  The slumber party started at four that afternoon. Tig had tried to call Kyra, but as predicted, she’d let the call go to voicemail, so Tig had called Uncle Nick. He sounded like a wreck, but he put Tig on hold while he asked Kyra about the sleepover. He’d clicked back over to Tig after only a minute or so and told her that Kyra didn’t feel up to coming to the party.

  Since Kyra would be a no-show, the girls saw no harm in getting in their practice time.

  Robbie was plugging in her amp when Olivia announced, “Paris’s here.” Robbie and Claire went to the door of the studio to greet her. Tig hung back and pretended to fiddle with the tension on her foot pedal.

  “Check it out, ladies,” Paris said when she got inside the studio. She unzipped a black cloth case and revealed a black-and-white bass.

  “It’s like an Oreo cookie,” said Robbie. “Suh-weet!”

  “It’s not entirely black, though,” Paris said. She tilted the instrument back and forth so the light hit it in different ways.

  “Aaah!” Robbie said. “It’s electric blue in the center of the black! I love it!”

  “Yeah, me too,” said Paris. “I figured it would look really cool under stage lights when we play gigs.”

  “Did you rent it from the music store?” Tig asked.

  “No,” said Paris. “Bought it off eBay. Can you believe only ninety bucks for the bass, the amp cord, and the gig bag? And free shipping, too. Total score.”

  “Oh,” said Tig. “So you bought it outright. I thought you were just playing bass for the one song.”

  “I mean, well, I just thought, you know, since Kyra . . . I mean, I thought since we didn’t have a bass player . . .”

  “It’s fine,” Tig said. “Just trying to stay up-to-date on what’s happening with the band. That’s all.”

  “Ripley, it’s okay for Paris to play bass, isn’t it?” asked Robbie.

  “Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?” Tig replied.

  “You tell me,” said Robbie.

  There it was again . . . that tension that had never existed between Tig and Robbie before Paris had come along.

  “I just said it’s fine,” said Tig. “Let’s practice.”

  They ran through “It’s Only Rock ’n Roll” twice before stopping. It was markedly better than they’d ever played it before because they no longer had Kyra flubbing notes on the bass or the rhythm guitar.

  “That was good,” Tig said. “Let’s do it once more.”

  The third time was the best yet. The girls were so absorbed in their instruments that it took a few seconds before they noticed that Claire had stopped singing.

  Then, one by one, each girl stopped playing, and their unexpected audience slowly began clapping.

  “Bravo,” said Kyra. “Bravo.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “What?” Kyra said. “Isn’t anyone going to say anything?”

  “Kyra, we thought you weren’t coming,” Tig said.

  “I changed my mind,” she said.

  “Okay,” Tig said.

  “I guess you decided that kicking me out wasn’t enough, huh?” Kyra said. “Y’all wanted me to come and see how great the band is without me?”

  “Of course not,” Tig said. “You know we wouldn’t do that. We were trying to offer an olive branch. You haven’t spoken to any of us all week.”

  “Oh, that,” said Kyra. “Was that rude of me?” Her tone was sharp. It was obvious that she felt very much in control of whatever this situation was.

  “I don’t know,” Tig said, equally calm. “What do you think?”

  “I think,” said Kyra, “tha
t maybe I was too hasty in deciding not to talk to all of you. I think maybe I have quite a bit to say after all.”

  Olivia didn’t seem aware of any irony or venom from Kyra. She replied, “We know you were hurt, Kyra. It wasn’t our intention to hurt you.”

  “Isn’t that a shame?” Kyra said. “Because I think hurt should always be intentional. Like right now, for instance.”

  “Come on, Kyra,” Robbie said. “We all want to be here for you. We know you’re having a tough time. We’re all really sorry about your folks.”

  Kyra turned sharply to Tig. “You told them?”

  “No,” said Tig. “I mean, yes . . . but—”

  “I knew I couldn’t trust you! First the band and now this!”

  “Kyra,” Robbie said. “You’ve got this all wrong—”

  “Is that so, Miss Chan?” said Kyra. “Because I think you’re the one who’s got a few things wrong. But I’m about to set you straight.”

  “Kyra, what are you trying to do?” said Tig.

  “I just thought that your best friend, Robbie, should know how you feel about her other best friend Paris.”

  “Kyra . . .,”said Tig.

  “Robbie, I’m sure you’ll find it very interesting to learn that Tig hates Paris’s guts.”

  “Kyra!” Tig said. She couldn’t think of anything else to say. She was too shocked.

  “Yes, just being around her sets Tig’s teeth on edge. Furthermore,” Kyra continued, “she thinks that you planned all along for Paris to steal the bass from me. That’s why she kept nagging me to practice. She said it was time someone showed you who’s boss.”

  “That’s not what I said!” Tig said. “You’re twisting my words!”

  “Then just what did you say, Ripley?” asked Robbie.

  “Don’t you see what she’s trying to do? She’s trying to get revenge by turning us against each other!”

  “So far it’s working,” said Robbie.

  “Go ahead and deny it,” said Kyra. “Tell them I’m lying about how you can’t stand Paris.”

  Everyone looked at Tig.