Flicker

Chapter Two

I was sitting at a table, Leda at my side and Skylar across from me. We were at Cafe Ladro, snacking on scones and hot cocoas. Leda had texted about an hour ago, asking Skylar and I if we would meet her so she could pick up her skateboard and drive Skylar home. When we told her that something had happened at the skateboard park, she brought us inside the cafe so we could tell her.

"All right so what happened?" Leda asked, leaning forward.

Skylar chuckled. "It's nothing that big." She took a sip of her hot cocoa. "There were five boys doing some kind of filming for a music video."

"A music video?" 

She nodded. "We weren't supposed to actually skateboard—a guy told us to leave—but one of the boys came over and said we could if we'd be in the background."

"What were their names?" Leda asked.

"Tera said she met a couple of them, but the one that let us through was Jonah," Skylar said, turning her head.

"I met Corbyn and Zach," I said. "They said they're all in a band called Why Don't We."

Leda's eyebrows shot up. "I've heard of them before." She pulled out her phone and shrugged. "I've never heard any of their music, though." Leda typed and turned the screen in our direction. "Is this them?"

I recognized Corbyn, Zach, Jonah, and the boy with blue eyes all in a row with a curly haired boy. "That's them," I said. Leda turned the phone back around, eyes flicking across different parts of the screen.

"So according to the internet, their names are Corbyn Besson, Daniel Seavey, Jonah Marais, Jack Avery, and Zach Herron," she said. Leda tapped on the screen. "You know who Jonah, Corbyn, and Zach are. The boy with the curly hair is Jack and the boy with the blue eyes is Daniel."

I nodded, and threw a piece of raspberry scone into my mouth.

"I'm going to listen to their songs when I get home," Leda said.

"I don't have time tonight," I said, frowning. "Corbyn and Zach really wanted me to, but I have around three to four hours of homework."

After I said that, Leda finished her scone and hot chocolate. "Well, if you have that much homework, then you two better hurry, because it's already seven thirty. You won't be home till eight if we leave in ten minutes."

She had a point. I finished up my hot chocolate and scone and threw the cup and bag away. Skylar finished her scone shortly after and took her hot cocoa to go. I split ways with Leda and Skylar, agreeing to meet up with them at the school steps in the morning.

On the drive home, I found myself humming the tune to the song Zach and Jack had sung when filming at the skateboard park. I shook my head and turned on the radio, grinning as 'Whatever It Takes' played.

I pulled into my driveway about ten minutes later. After locking the car, I made it to the right end of the house and took the stairs up to the small porch so I could enter. "I'm home!"

"It's eight o'clock, Asterin!" My mother shouted from upstairs.

"I know!" I shouted. "Skylar and I had to meet up with Leda so that she could get her skateboard and give Skylar a ride home!" When silence was the only response, I nodded in satisfaction and moved my backpack to the coat room. I took off my shoes and grabbed my folders to begin my homework.

On top of the stove, I saw salmon lying on a cookie sheet. I served myself some, along with a little corn and a glass of water before sitting down and starting my homework.

An hour into it, my mother came down and sat, seeing my empty plate next to me. "Good, I'm glad you grabbed yourself something to eat." I nodded without looking at her. "How much more homework do you have?"