Teenage Dirtbag

Chapter 2

Two weeks later, Marlene had worn out the Lovers Club artist page on Spotify. It was practically all she had been listening to during the process of preparing to move from New York City to Derry, Maine. Packing up the car and preparing to hit the road for the 7 hour drive, she put her earbuds in and pressed play again. She smiled at the first song to play, a cover of Watskys 'Welcome to the family'. She slid into the front seat and smiled weakly at her dad, who shut the door and waved at her. He had to stay behind to pay the last months rent for their apartment, and he was going to fly to meet them in a couple days. He had already driven Marlenes car to their new house, to take some of their stuff and finalize the purchase. Marlene leaned against the window, shutting her eyes and preparing for the next 7 hours on the road.
"Well, kiddo, we're almost there," Marlene heard. She blinked. She had slept almost the entire drive, and she looked around, disoriented, at the street signs they were passing by.
"Hey, Mom, can you drop me off at Mike's?" Marley's mother, Shannon, had called Mike's grandparents when they crossed the Maine border, letting them know they were safe and nearly home. The Hanlons were expecting them, but Marlene saw the sign indicating the farm was approaching and quickly decided she didn't want to go straight home.
"Are you sure? Don't you want to go home and rest some?"
"Mom, I've been asleep for hours. I want to go see Mike. Get some stability, you know." Shannon sighed, merging into a turning lane.
"Yeah. That makes sense. You two should catch up. Gramma and Grandpa know where the house is, so talk to them when you leave or call me, okay?" Marley nodded. She had been to the Hanlon farm once in her life, when she was very little, for Mike's parents funeral. She didn't remember it well. She did remember the front of the house, though, and it hadn't changed a bit. Mike was sitting on the front steps when they pulled up. He ran to the car, hardly waiting for Marley to step out onto the dirt of the driveway before pulling her into a tight hug.
"I'm glad you're here," he told her as they parted.
"Me too." Mike waved through the windshield ar Marlenes mom.
"Hey Shannon."
"Hey Mike," she called back, as she leaned over to shut the passenger door. She waved as she backed the car down the driveway.
"Lucky for you, the bands about to practice. Wanna join?" Marlene nodded eagerly, holding up her phone to show Mike what she had been listening to. "No way. That's where all our listens have been coming from." Marlene shook her head as Mike threw his arm tightly around her shoulders. "Look who just showed up on our doorstep," Mike called as he dragged Marley through the house.
"Marpene Harper," Mike's grandmother said affectionately, standing from the kitchen table and holding out her arms. Marlene stepped into the hug with a warm smile on her face. Mike and Marley had the same great grandparents, but she always called Mike's grandparents Gramma and Grandpaw anyways, just like her mom had, even though they were really her aunt and uncle. "I don't know where Grandpa is. Mike, are you headed to the barn?" Mike nodded. "Go find that girl a jacket first. It's too cold." Marlene laughed.
"Its colder in New York right now, Gramma. I'm wearing a long shirt and pants, I'm fine." She heard Gramma mumble something else, but they were already on the back porch. "Shes a mess," Marlene giggled as they stepped of the stairs. Mike nodded.
"So where's the new house?"
"No idea. Mom said Gramma and Grandpa have the address."
"Nowhere near here, that's for sure. We're on the very outskirts of Derry right now." Marlene could hear music coming from the smallest barn on the property. Mike pushed the door completely open to reveal the rehearsal space to Marley.
"Nice," she commented sarcastically, kicking at the straw on the ground.
"Hey guys!" Mike shouted. Everyone looked up from what they were doing. Marlene recognized all the faces in the barn from the videos of the bands performances. "This is my cousin Marley. She just moved from New York." Everyone waved. "Marley, that's Stan, Bev, Bill, and Richie." Mike pointed out everyone in turn. Richie was the drummer. "I'm gonna go warm up," he gestured at his Bass guitar, on a stand in the corner of the room. "Go make friends." Marley rolled her eyes, but headed straight for the elevated wooden floor area at the back of the barn that was acting as a stage.
"Hey," she said casually, hands in her back pockets. Richie looked back up from his drums and grinned at the girl in front of him.
"Hey. I'm Richie." He tossed his drumstick into his right hand and stuck out his left.
"Marley." She shook his hand eagerly.
"So your Mike's cousin?" She nodded. "He mentioned you, I think. Not exactly what I expected."
"What, you didn't expect me to be white?" Richie shrugged.
"Basically."
"Yeah. We get that a lot. We are related though, swear."
"I believe you." Richie started to turn back to his drums.
"So, I'm a big fan of you guys music. Listened to your stuff the whole drive out."
"You drove here? How long is that ride, like 8 hours?"
"About 7 and a half, yeah. So, uh, thanks for keeping me entertained, I guess." Richie laughed.
"You play?" He asked, nodding towards his drums.
"Definitely not. I sing though. I actually did theater at home."
"So I guess music runs in your family."
"Basically. Our other cousin sings too."
"You do any sports?" Bill, the guitar player, asked from where he sat on the edge of the stage, practicing a song she didn't recognize. "Or is that just a Mike thing?"
"That's just Mike," Marlene said with a laugh. "I bake."
"Wow, are we suddenly in high school musical?" Bev said, turning around. Richie and Bill raised their eyebrows at her, confused. "Sports? Singing? Baking?" Both boys faces were still blank. "You're useless," she said with a laugh. Marlene hopped off the stage and approached Bev at the keyboard.
"Someday, I hope to make the perfect creme brulee," she whispered in Bevs ear. Bev turned back around.
"I like you already. I'm Bev." She stuck out her hand. Marlene pulled her phone out of her pocket and pointed at her screen, which still had her music pulled up.
"I know. You're my favorite." Bev laughed and pulled Marlene in for a friendly side hug.
"So what do you bake?" She leaned casually against the keyboard.
"Cake. I mostly decorate them actually. Although sometimes I stress bake and those are the best brownies and red velvet cupcakes you'll ever have."
"I sure hope you get stressed easy, because those both sound amazing." Both girls laughed. "Oh, and this is Stan." Bev gestured to the boy playing the keyboard next to her.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"So what are you guys practicing right now?"
"We've actually got a show in here tonight. So we're just sort of warming up."
"Oh that's awesome."
"Stan and I were trying to set up some harmonies for Barracuda that he can plug in," she gestured again at the keyboard. "Its not going well." Bev playfully smacked the back of his head.
"I can help. I'm pretty good at matching harmonies."
"That would be fantastic." When Marlene started singing, Richie looked up from the drums. She wasn't as annoying as he thought she would be when Mike mentioned his 'little cousin'. She was pretty, and definitely had something that other girls in Derry didn't. He wouldn't mind her sticking around.