[Edge of Great]
Carlos wandered through the kitchen, iPad in hand. He'd downloaded a new ghost detecting app called Ghost Hunt. His iPad beeped as he watched a screen that said 'SEARCHING...'
"You can't hide forever, ghosties," Carlos said as the screen told him 'GHOST ACQUIRED'. "Gotcha!"
His aunt turned on the lights and said, "For the last time, mijo. Ghosts are not real!"
"Typical adult," Reggie and Odette muttered, sharing an amused look.
"Do you remember when we were kids, and they never believed what we said?" Reggie asked.
"Yeah," Alex said. "I'm pretty sure that's just a "you" thing. I was always pretty trustworthy."
Odette smiled sweetly. "I was always trustworthy, too."
Luke frowned. "Shouldn't we be more worried about Julie? Her dad just busted her, okay? He's probably making her quit the band."
"Well, there's not much we can do about that now, but we can still help Carlos," Reggie replied, looking at Carlos and his aunt. "Adults not believing children ends tonight."
Odette nodded as she pointed to Reggie. "Yes. Yes!"
Alex rolled his eyes at Reggie and Odette's immaturity.
"Showtime," Reggie said as he turned off a lamp.
Carlos and his aunt gasped and Carlos glanced to his aunt before saying, "Ghosts aren't real, huh? How do you explain that?"
"Lightbulbs burn out all the time, Carlos," his aunt replied.
"Ooh, wrong answer, tia," Reggie and Odette commented.
"Explain this," Reggie and Odette said as the two started playing with the blinds, opening and closing them. Carlos' aunt gasped.
"Maybe it's my mom!" Carlos cried as his eyes widened. "She knows I haven't been replacing the toilet paper!"
"Your mama would never scare us," Carlos' aunt said. "This is the work of a demon!"
Reggie and Odette stopped with a frown. "Hey, words hurt."
"Wait. I gotta get it on video!" Carlos cried.
"Yeah, you do!" Reggie agreed as he picked up a sheet. "Time for an old classic." He pulled Odette next to him and the two shared an excited smile.
Reggie and Odette went under the sheet and shook, causing Carlos and his aunt to scream.
"Dang, it was on selfie mode!" Carlos complained as the camera turned off. His aunt yelled as she pulled him away.
"Whew!" Reggie breathed as he plopped onto a chair.
Odette fell onto the floor dramatically and laughed. "That was so fun!"
Alex glared at them. "Do you two have any idea what you've both done?"
"Yeah, we do," Reggie replied. "Etty and I defended kids who've never been believed. Some might say we're superheroes. Right, Etty?"
Odette nodded. "Yeah! Real life, or, uh, dead superheroes. You know, we should probably hide before Julie finds out what we did."
Reggie nodded. "She's right."
Reggie and Odette ran off. Luke and Alex exchanged a look regarding their bandmates' idiocy and followed after them.
---
"Julie, we need to talk," Ray said as they stood in front of the house. "So, after skipping school, missing a test, you decided to sneak out even though I told you to go to your room and study?"
"I know," Julie replied. "I'm sorry."
"Yeah, you keep saying that. If you'd just... let me in, I could've been excited about tonight instead of having this conversation we both hate. Why didn't you tell me you were in a band?"
"It all just happened so fast. These last couple of weeks have changed our lives. When I play music, I feel so much closer to Mom."
"And I love that. You know I do. But your tia is right. School needs to come first."
"I know, but without the band, I never would've made it back into the music program. They played with me when I was trying to earn back my spot."
"They did?"
"I think this is my thing, Dad."
"Well... I'd be a jerk of a dad if I took that away from you. On one condition; if you're gonna stay in this band, you need to keep up with school, and you need to keep me in the loop."
"Really?" Julie asked, hugging her father.
He nodded. "Yeah."
"Thanks, Papa."
"Hey, so that lady at your show, she was, like, some sort of manager, right? Could've been a big deal."
Julie sighed. "Who knows? Hopefully she'll get to see me play again. Which, don't worry, I'll tell you about."
"Oh. Yeah, you will. 'Cause if I ever catch you trying to sneak out again, or if your grades slip, I'm gonna pull the plug. Or whatever it is that makes those holograms work. Do I ever get to meet these guys and girl?"
"Probably not, they don't even live here. It's... kind of confusing, but being seen really isn't their thing."
"You kids and technology. It's... definitely beyond me."
"Definitely beyond something."
"Well, whoever, and, uh, whatever they are, they brought my little niña back, so as far as I'm concerned, they're like angels to me."
The front door opened and Julie's aunt ran out.
"Whoa, que pasó?" Ray asked.
"This house is haunted! We have got to go now!" the aunt cried as she panted.
"What happened?" Julie wondered.
Ray said, "Victoria, I know you want us to move, but this is a little extreme. I... I told you we're okay." The two were obviously amused by the current situation.
"I'll let Carlos explain what happened," the aunt replied. "He refuses to leave, but if movies have taught me anything, when a house is haunted, you run. Ay, Dios Mio." She ran off.
---
Julie walked down the stairs and heard her dad singing Finally Free and saw him, Reggie and Odette in the kitchen.
"Hands up," Reggie and Odette said, raising their hands as Ray continued to sing.
She saw her dad making breakfast and said, "This is new."
"Yeah," her father replied. "I was in the mood for cooking some breakfast."
Reggie giggled. "He thought you were talking to him. Me, Odette and your dad are pals now. Well, Odette and I aren't pals, but you know what I mean."
Odette nodded. "It's a little one-sided, but it works."
Julie's dad said, "Look, after the talk we had the other night, I was thinking that I may have cost you an opportunity with that manager. So, I was thinking-"
Julie cut her father off. "Dad, no. I should've never snuck out."
"Let the man speak," Odette argued.
Reggie nodded. "He's been stress eating all week. Etty and I don't know where he puts it though. It's like... firm."
"Stop being weird, Reg."
Julie's father continued. "I know, but I really want to support your band, so I called in a few favors, and I booked you a local gig."
"Best dad ever!" Reggie and Odette exclaimed.
"What?"
Julie's eyes widened. "Oh my gosh. Where? Did you call your buddy from Drakes?"
"Not quite. I called Flynn, and she's gonna help us throw a party. Here. Tonight."
"Oh! So you booked us a gig at our house?"
"Maybe Odette and I were early with the "Best Dad Ever" award," Reggie said.
Julie's father continued. "All right. Hear me out. You invite some of your friends over, you play with your band, and I'll get some colleagues to put you on film. That way, you have something professional for your YouTube."
Julie chuckled. "You'd do that for me?"
"Yeah."
Odette grinned. "Back to "best dad ever.""
"We'll go tell the guys," Reggie added. "Have a good day at work, Ray. It's cool. You don't have to answer. Just..." Reggie nodded, took Odette's hand, and the two whooshed away.
---
Julie walked to her locker and put stuff in. She closed it and saw Luke.
"Hey," Luke greeted.
Julie gasped before saying, "Normal people don't do that. And ghosts definitely shouldn't. What are you doing here?"
Luke smiled. "I have to talk about what song we're gonna play tonight. I was thinking Great."
Students snickered and a girl said, "Hey, Julie. What's up?"
Julie cleared her throat. "Hold up."
Luke frowned. "You're taking a call while we're talking? You know how rude that is?"
"Hey! Thanks for calling. Otherwise people might think I'm talking to myself."
"Right." He nodded. "Nice!"
"No. But, yeah. I think Great is a great choice."
"Sweet. Well, I mean, that's pretty much all I wanted to talk to you about. So..."
Julie frowned a moment. "Oh! Okay."
"Uh, actually, no, there is one more thing that I wanted to talk to you about. It's... Look, I know I'm not the easiest person to work with, but I..." he scratched the back of his head nervously, "I wanted to tell you that I think you make me a better writer."
Julie smiled. "I think we make each other better."
"You know what? Why don't you just ditch school today. Let's go rehearse."
"What? No. No. I promised Dad, school first."
"Right. You went to school first, and now you're leaving to go rehearse. Come on. I can't do this without you."
"I can't. I..." She sighed. "I told Nick I'd be his dance partner."
"Hey, Julie!" Nick called.
"And he's heading this way. Gotta go. Bye." She hung up the fake phone call.
"Hey!"
"Well, don't you look sharp," Luke teased.
"You ready for our big performance?"
"Oh yeah," Julie replied. "Yeah. We're gonna do great." She chuckled.
"I'm glad you're confident. Even after three classes, I still think I got worse. It's a good thing I got my secret weapon."
Luke said teasingly, "Uh-oh! I think somebody has a crush on Julie."
"Shut up," Julie told Luke before her eyes widened, realizing Nick couldn't see the ghost. "Um... Shut up!" She chuckled awkwardly.
"No, seriously, Molina," Nick said. "I... I... I'm nothing without you."
"Shh. No. No, you're... You're gonna do fine. See you in there?" She tapped his shoulder with the back of her hand and Luke put on a mocking expression.
"Yeah, I'll be the guy trying not to make us look stupid." He chuckled and walked away as Luke continued mocking him.
Luke made his way back to Julie. "Well, he is just too cute!"
Julie frowned. "Boundaries. I'll see you after school."
As Julie walked away, Luke said, "Guess we'll just have to carry you tonight just like we always do!"
Julie sighed and continued walking away, a smile on her face.
"I know you're smiling!" Luke grinned and danced awkwardly before saying, "Kill it on the dance floor." He danced a little.
---
In dance class, the coach said, "Boys, I want you to focus and leave it all out on the field."
"You're losing them, Frank," the dance teacher told him.
"No, I got 'em."
"Breathe in... shake out your nerves. Surrender to the music and to your partner. Here we go."
"Uh... I-I don't remember anything about surrendering," Nick said.
"You'll be fine, Luke," Julie reassured.
"It... It's Nick, actually."
"Right! Nick. Sorry. My mind wandered from me, but it wandered back. Let's kill this thing."
The music began playing.
"Five, six, seven, eight," the teacher said.
All was normal for Julie until she turned. Everyone disappeared and a boy stepped from a mirror.
"What?" Julie asked, seeing Luke smiling at her.
The two danced together in her daydream in a perfect harmony.
When the dance finished, Nick said, "Wow. We nailed that. Thanks, partner."
Julie stared at him and said, "I gotta get going." She tucked her hair behind her ear and walked out.
---
The ghosts sat in the garage on the couch trying to write songs.
Luke said, "Look, we add the echoes in during the chorus, then when Julie comes in with the melody, it's gonna sound perfect."
They heard a thud and saw Willie.
"Again?" Reggie said. "What's that all about?"
"I don't know," Alex replied.
Alex rushed outside and Odette and Reggie exchanged a frown before following.
"What's your problem?" Alex demanded, confronting Willie. "It's like you're tracking me down just so you can keep running away."
"I wish I could explain, man, but I can't," Willie told him.
"Well, that's not good enough. I mean, you've been acting weird ever since Caleb's club. You know, I thought we were having fun together."
"We never should've met."
"Wow, that hurts."
"Hey, I'm sorry, Alex. I really am. You're a great guy." He sighed. "I gotta go." He whooshed away.
Odette narrowed her eyes. "I'm gonna kill him!"
"He's already dead," Reggie reminded her.
"Don't care. He hurt Alex, now I hurt him."
Alex smiled slightly. "Thanks, Odette. But I'll be okay. You don't have to do that."
"All right, but if you ever want me to kick a ghost's butt, just let me know."
Alex chuckled softly. "I will. Thanks."
---
Julie sat in the music room playing Perfect Harmony.
Flynn walked up to her friend. "There you are. I've been looking all over for you. Why'd you run out of dance class so fast?"
"Sorry, I just needed some air," Julie replied. "It was a little intense in there."
"Oh, I noticed. Dancing with the guy you've had a crush on for forever will do that to a girl."
"Yeah. But the whole time we were dancing, I was thinking about Luke."
"Seriously? First of all, called it. Second, I know you always want what you can't have, but Luke is next level."
"Believe me; I know. And now now I think Nick likes me. Nick!"
"He totally does."
"But me and Luke... Something about when we write. We're drawing from the same pain. And he's so-"
"Not real. You can make all the music you want with Luke, but... he'll always be a phantom. So... here's what we're gonna do." She grabbed Julie's phone. "You will send Nick a little friendly text, asking him to come to the party tonight."
Julie frowned. "Um, I don't use that many smiley faces."
"You do now. I'm not gonna let you get your heart broken. And trust me, tonight you're performing with Luke, so the key is avoiding those big, beautiful, dead... eyes."
"You're very pushy today."
"You're welcome."
---
Odette picked up her microphone and twirled it in her hands and they began practicing. Alex was hitting the drum off rhythm and Reggie and Odette looked at Alex with a sour expression, remembering what Willie had said.
"Alex, you all right?" Luke asked, confused by his friends' change in mood.
"Yeah, I'm good," Alex replied. "Why?"
"I know it's tough, man," Reggie said. "People say you never forget your first ghost. Maybe that's true!"
Odette nodded. "There will be others, Alex."
"Yeah, thanks," Alex stated.
"And Alex, you're a great drummer, and a great guy, okay?" Luke told his friend. "I wouldn't let that stuff get in between you and what you love."
"I don't know, man. Sometimes a little fire can make things better on stage," Reggie said, smiling at Odette. "Like you and Julie. And me and Etty."
Luke frowned. "Um, what is that supposed to mean?"
Odette clapped her hands together. "Come on! Everyone can see the way you look at her when you sing! It's the same way Reggie and I look at each other; on and off stage."
Reggie nodded, smiling at Odette's words. "You guys ooze chemistry."
"You should never say "ooze" again," Alex told the bassist as he stood, "but yeah, I agree."
"Okay, no. I have chemistry with everybody that I sing with," Luke said, causing everyone to look at him. "Seriously, watch. Uh-"
Luke began singing Edge of Great and grabbed Reggie by the back of the neck.
"Wow," Alex commented. "I see chemistry."
Odette nodded slowly. "Yeah, but me and Reggie have a ton more chemistry."
Alex pointed to the brunette. "She's not wrong."
"That was pretty hot," Reggie admitted as Luke kissed two fingers and pressed them to Reggie's lips. "Um, girls, am I right? Odette, am I right?"
"No," Alex said.
"Yeah," Luke stated quietly.
"No to girls, yes to Reggie," Odette replied.
Alex tapped his drumsticks together. "Three, four."