Open Floor

OF - Chapter 10

The club is supposed to be a dance club so we were planning on inviting members only in our original crew, The Split Beats. Thankfully, all of us are enrolled in the same school except for Kennedy.

Kennedy is also a Senior but he got kicked out of this school back when we were still in our freshmen year. So currently, we have Frank, Nate, Liz, and Mark from the Senior level, Mitch and Mickey from the Junior level, and Troy from the Sophomore level.

"We'll be having auditions." I hit the brakes hard while parking in my driveway sending us jolting forward. At least it was the break and not the gas pedal I hit.

"Ms. Grimes is requiring auditions for it to be an official club," April raised her voice and the look on her face marks her innocence.

"I don't want auditions," Leroy muttered in the back.

"I don't too," I added.

"We'll talk about this inside. Right now, I think you should park first, Telly." April grabbed her bag from her feet and got out as soon as the car was parked.

I opened the front door and they entered.

"Cool place you've got here," Glenn commented.

April was making herself feel at home on the sofa while Leroy was lifting the lid of one of the waist high glass jars mom have collected when dad appeared from the hallway.

"Hey there, Telly's friends who never seem to hang out in their own home," dad greeted with a wave. Leroy suddenly dropped the lidand the glass broke. And I thought his clumsiness was gone for good.

Dad's presence was a surprise because normally, at this time of day, he's supposed to be at work. Mom appeared behind him, eyes widening when she saw the shattered glass on the floor. She's supposed to be working too.

"I-I can fix that!" Leroy crouched down on the floor and started gathering the glass with his hands.

"Leroy, honey, that's not a good idea. You might cut yourself." This is what I love about my mom. Inspite of Leroy dropping the hundred year old lid, she worries more about the guy himself.

"I just need- OW!" Leroy dropped all the pieces that he picked up which made the damage a lot worse, plus blood started to ooze from his right palm.

"Told you. Come and let me treat it."

"No alcohol?" Leroy had a hopeful look on his face.

"Maybe," mom answered and guided him towards the dining room.

"Oh, what are we going to do with that boy." Dad had a hand on his face and he shook his head.

"Hey, dad, this is Glenn Ward, he's a transferee from our grade," I introduced.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir." Glenn stepped forward to shake his hand and dad responded with a warm smile and a nod.

"Please, call me Doctor Carter." He likes being called doctor. It makes him feel a lot more important.

"Doctor Carter" Glenn nodded once before they let go of each other's grip.

"Now why don't you rub some of your finesse to Leroy over there? He's running low on stock." Dad joked gesturing an eyebrow towards the dining room.

"I heard that." Leroy's flat voice called.

We laughed at them for a while before dad started to explain why they were home early. They're having a dental mission all the way to the other side of the country for three days and they will be leaving in an hour. He invited April, Leroy, and Glenn to stay over until they return to keep Troy and me company - which wasn't really necessary since I already stepped into adulthood a few weeks ago.