Little Boy Blue

TWO

August 2004

ASHLEY

They played through their practice set, and Ashley sang until he thought his heart was going to burst in his chest and that would be all right. Singing was pure pleasure, and he never wanted to stop.

His hands shaped the air as he sang. He could feel energy thrumming through his entire body and fought an urge to dance. His body wanted him to whirl and twirl and throw his arms out, completely letting go of all sense of control, but he still remembered the embarrassment of the first real practice session. The others had all looked at him as though he were insane. Then had come the laughter and the not-quite mean mockery. They hadn't purposely meant to hurt his feelings, but he hadn't let himself go like that again.

"That was perfect!" Quiche almost-shouted when they were done. "It sounded just like it did when it was in my head. Benny never would have gotten it nearly so good."

"Yeah, and if we do it like that on Saturday, we'll be all set," Freddy said.

"Uh, I didn't really want to say anything because I wasn't sure how you'd react, but, well..." Scooby looked halfway scared, yet excited. "I called in a favor owed me and there's gonna be a guy there on Saturday. He works for a record company, and if he likes us..." The rest of what he was saying was drowned out by Quiche and Freddy shouting and yipping and piling on top of him. Ashley just stayed where he was, not really understanding what was happening.

Though he was learning as fast as he could, there was still much he didn't understand about the Mortal Realm and its inhabitants. And it wasn't just the words and phrases they used either. The attitudes and the accepted and unaccepted moors sometimes confused him. There was just too much for him to absorb, and he hadn't been here long enough to have gained a complete understanding. He just didn't know some things yet, like why they would be so happy at Scooby's news.

"What's happening?" he finally asked.

They turned to him, surprised that he didn't know what was so obvious to them.

"If we impress the dude, we could end up with a record deal!" Quiche yelled. He held his two fists upraised, the muscles of his skinny arms flexed tight with emotion.

"And that's good?" Ashley half-asked, cocking his head.

"Of course it's good!" Freddy yelled. "Our band could become fucking legend!"

"Don't yell at him." Scooby raised placating hands. "He's a foreigner and he doesn't know." He looked at Ashley. "Sit down over there." He pointed.

Ashley sat and looked up at Scooby attentively. He was waiting for some ray of light to illuminate his mind, giving their excitement about the news a sudden meaning that would bring him the same pleasure. He wanted to be as happy and hopeful as them. He wanted to possess the same uninhibited joy of the moment, and all he had to do to feel it was to understand.

"If we get a record deal," Scooby said patiently, "they'll record our songs on CDs, then we'll be played on the radio, we'll travel around doing concerts and generally we'll become famous!"

It was still a little confusing and that abbreviated explanation didn't really help, but he figured that if they thought it was good, he would too. Ashley tried a smile. "We will make them happy."

Scooby slapped him on the shoulder. "Exactly. You just sing as good as you did tonight on Saturday and we'll be all set. Our futures will be assured."

Sitting there, not really understanding, Ashley could still smile. Everything would be perfect as long as he could sing. He was a music-maker.