The Arts

3 - All Around Me Are Familiar Faces

ANDI

          Oh shoot. Wow. Wow wow wow. Robbie and Matt from The Flaming Wolves are walking toward our table. Play it cool, Andi.

          A million thoughts ran through Andi's head as she watched the tall, lanky redhead and the short percussionist with shiny black hair stride over to her and Kiara. It took everything in her to avoid looking like a total dork.

          Andi was well aware that it was not at all normal to be freaking out about some kids from her old school, but they weren't just anyone. They were a band. She'd never admit it out loud, but something about a guy being in a rock band made him a bajillion times more attractive. Bonus points if he was the bad boy of the group. Which was why, ever since the sixth grade, Andi had secretly harbored a painfully embarrassing crush on Tyler Miller.

          Speaking of which, where was Tyler? Didn't the trio do everything together? How could it be that Robbie and Matt ended up at The Arts without their third member?

          Andi didn't have a lot of time to think about it, because before she and Kiara knew it, Matt and Robbie were at their table and starting a conversation with them.

          "Hey! Um, Kiara and Andi, right?"

          For a second, Andi didn't say or do anything in response. It was like her body was afraid of moving the wrong way or making the wrong sound and absolutely botching her chances of finally getting to be friends with a band and maybe even date Tyler. Kiara picked up on this immediately, because she did all the talking.

          Thank God for socially apt best friends.

         "Yep, that's us!"

          "Cool. Uh, I'm Robbie," Robbie started tentatively. Andi sensed nervousness in his voice and it caught her off-guard. Robbie was a super-talented musical genius. How could he ever be nervous about anything?

          "And I'm Matt. We had choir together last year." Matt was significantly calmer. "It's crazy how all of us from Hillside got into The Arts, huh?"

          "I know, right? But how could you guys not get in? Your band placed in the eighth grade talent show, after all," Kiara pointed out.

          "Speaking of which, where's Tyler?" was the first thing that left Andi's mouth, and as soon as she had said it she wanted to launch herself into the sun. She hoped with everything in her that it sounded like a perfectly normal question rather than an obvious reveal of her feelings.

          "Well, that's actually what we wanted to talk to you guys about," Matt started. Then he looked over at Robbie, expecting him to explain whatever they were here for.

          "Yes. Right. So the thing is, Tyler quit the band. And we are in the market for some new band members." Robbie talked like he was put completely on the spot, with long pauses in between his phrases, like he needed to think really hard about that to say next.

          "Holy crap, what happened?" Andi couldn't help but ask. The Flaming Wolves had split up over the summer? And Tyler was the one who had left?

          "It's kind of a long story," Robbie said quickly, his face shifting to something angrier. "But, anyway, we know you guys can like, kind of do music since you did choir. So...can you play any instruments?"