Perfection.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Gig

Tuesday

I sit at the cafeteria table waiting for the rest of my group to get here. Keaton sits next to me, setting his tray on the table carefully. I give him a welcoming smile.

"So, today is the gig." He says.

"Yes, it is. Are you sure you don't want to tell the group?" I ask.

"I'm sure." He nods. He's so shy about this, but I don't know why.

"Alright." I shrug.

"Sorry, I'm just not ready for everyone to know yet," He says.

"It's totally fine, don't worry about," I say, "I'm sure they'll be happy and congratulate you when you decide to tell them."

"I hope so." He says and takes a bite of his food. Kate sits on my other side, banging her tray onto the table.

"Phoenix is so full of herself!" Kate exclaims angrily.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"She's just so...ugh." Kate stabs her fork into an under cooked carrot.

"What did she do?" I ask.

"Well it seems she got over her dead friend real fast." Kate snarls. Yikes.

"What did she do?" I ask again. Kate stares at me. Her eyes are full of anger.

"I can't right now." She says and stands back up. She leaves her tray and storms up. I move to get up, but Keaton puts a hand on my arm.

"Just let her go. She's obviously not in the mood." He says. I sigh and sit back down.

"I wonder what Phoenix did." I mutter. Ramian and Logan walk over and sit next to us.

"What's up with Kate?" Logan asks, pushing her tray across the table.

"Phoenix." I shrug.

"Makes sense." Ramian says. Dominic joins us last, sitting acrossed from us. Lilyth and Rachel following behind him.

"What did we miss?" Lilyth asks.

"Nothing." I say. I start to eat my food when I spot familiar red hair. Not Keaton's, but a cousin of his. I put my fork back down and stand up. I walk over to the girl who really upset my best friend. I hear my group of friends calling me. I ignore them.

"Hey there, Phoenix." I say full of venom. I think I liked her a lot better in a perfect world. Even if she was still a b-

"What do you want, Caroline?" She asks, squinting her light grey eyes at me.

"What did you say to Kate?" I ask. She lets out a sharp laugh.

"Why? Did she come crying to you?" Phoenix mocks.

"What. Did. You. Say?" I ask slowly getting annoyed. I haven't seen Kate that pissed since...well since her dad left.

"Oh nothing much." Phoenix shrugs setting her tray down on the table next to her. She seems less scary when she doesn't have Vincent by her side. Now she's alone.

"Tell me." I say. She lets out a breath of air.

"It's really none of your business." She snaps.

"Yes, it is."

"No, it's not." She says getting close. She puts a hand on my shoulder and shoves me back. I stumble, but I don't fall. I step right back up to her and shove really hard. She trips and falls backwards. She gawks up to me before standing up and shoving me into the table behind me. The cold metal rams into my spine. Pain soars up my back. I throw a punch.

A few minutes later I'm sitting in the principal's office with Phoenix in a chair next to me. The principal stares at us. He doesn't seem to know what to say. I've never gotten in trouble and I'm sure no one has ever stood up to Phoenix.

"Mr. Thompson, please, I was just minding my business. This heathen walked up to me and-" Phoenix starts, but the principal cuts her off.

"I don't care miss Kalama. All I know is that you both were in a fight in the cafeteria. I don't care who started it. You both threw punches, you both get punishment. Though, Caroline, I never thought you of all people would get in a fight." Mr. Thompson says.

"I wouldn't, but she upset Kate." I say.

"Upset, ha. She's just a cry baby." Phoenix hisses at me.

"That's enough miss Kalama. I won't tolerate that sort of behavior here. You both have detention on Friday. Since it was nothing terrible and there wasn't much damage, that's all I'll give you. Now get out." Mr. Thompson snaps looking irritated. I stand without another word. Phoenix begins to argue with him, but I leave. I don't really care if I have detention. She deserved my punches.

I continue through the rest of my school day without any fights. Kate, apparently, had left school. I didn't see her for the rest of the day. When school ends I head home and change. Then I head over to Keaton's house to accompany him to his gig. I was going to just meet him there, but I have plenty of time.

"So, how did you get the gig here?" I ask as I help Keaton set up. Neil is testing the mics, Blake is practicing on the drums, and Chara isn't here yet.

"My mom is friends with the owner." He says.

"Oh, neat." I nod as I finish up plugging in one of the mics.

"There we go, all finished." Keaton says. The cafe's door rings as its opened. We all turn to see Chara strive in with a short girl who's hair is cropped and a faded pink.

"Hey, guys," She says, "This is my friend, she goes by Bob."

"Hey, Bob." I say slowly. She nods in my direction. She spins on her converse heel, her plaid shirt wrapped around her waist flows, as she takes a seat on one of the stools.

"Alright, let's give it a test." Chara says.

"Yes, please hurry, it's almost time to open." The owner says, popping her head out from the back. They close around four and open back up around seven.

I sit on a stool next to Bob. We watch as the four of them practice a very well known song. They sound incredible. I wish Keaton had introduced them to me before and I wish he had invited me a long time ago. I've really been missing out. I smile at them as they rock out. Soon they wrap up and the owner flips the closing sign. People should be coming in soon. The cafe turns into more of a bar-like place at night. Luckily, we're allowed to be in here.