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Carlos had run off when his dad made his way outside. Before she knew it, Flynn, Julie's best friend, runs toward the studio. Layla slowly makes her way down the steps.
She slowly approaches the studio before she stops. She squints as she sees the three boys peeping into the window of the studio.
"You know, it's not nice to snoop." She says making the boys jump as they turn to her.
"Oh. Hi." Alex says awkwardly
"We were just- um..." Luke starts as Layla furrows her brows, "We heard Julie playing."
"Oh," She nods, "Yeah, I heard it too."
"Did you know she could sing like that ?"
"Of course I did. She's my cousin."
"Why didn't you say anything yesterday ? She said she didn't play."
"Because it's not my place to say." Layla shrugs, "There's a reason she said what she said."
She watches them peep into the studio again before they drop down. The door opens revealing the two girls.
"Hey, Layla." Flynn smiles
"Hey." She smiles
"Oh hey !" Julie says looking toward the boys. Flynn eyes her as her eyes go wide, "Let's hustle !"
Flynn nods as Julie comes toward them. Flynn makes her way up the stairs as Julie turns to try and wave at the boys
"Don't worry ! We weren't listening." Reggie says earning a kick from Luke.
Flynn becomes more confused at Julie's actions, so Layla tries to play along like they were waving off a bug.
"Stupid bug." Layla chuckles as Julie catches on.
She waves her arms around as she giggles awkwardly. "Let's go !"
Layla's eyes widen as she sighs following the two.
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As soon as Layla steps into school, she's greeted by Janet. The girl follows her to her locker keeping small conversation.
Janet continues on as Layla digs through her locker.
"Janet." Layla says
"Yeah ?"
"What if I told you that yesterday I saw ghosts ?"
Janet stops as she turns to her friend, "I'd recommend that you seek some serious help."
"No, seriously. Julie and I were going to clean out my aunt's studio and three random boys showed up out of no where."
"That's concerning."
"I know, but they're not real. We looked them up and they died 25 years ago." Layla says closing her locker
"Layla, you've said a lot of crazy things, but this is probably the most outrageous thing you've said."
Layla sighs, "I know how it sounds, but I'm serious."
Janet wraps her arm around her friend, "I think you're confusing your dreams with reality. Maybe your dream last night seemed so real that you think it's true."
Layla huffs as she lets her friend drag her to their first class.
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Her day went on as normal. It seemed like Janet had completely disregarded what Layla had told her. When Layla made it home, she immediately went up and tossed her things into her room. The last thing she expected was for three boys to be sitting in her room.
"Julie !" Layla yells causing the boys to jump. "What are you doing ?"
"We were looking for the kitchen ?" Luke says with wide eyes
"This..." She points, "This can't happen. It's creepy. Get off my bed, please."
Reggie immediately stands up as Julie walks in. Her eyes were wide as her stands by her cousin.
"This is creepy." Julie says
"I know." Layla mumbles as Luke raises his hand.
"Hey, Layla. What's in the box ?" He points from his spot on a stool.
"That's off-limits."
"Oh. Oh, okay." He chuckles, "Girl stuff."
"Oh, like butterflies and glitter ?" Reggie says
"I'm not 5." Layla counters
"Oh, come on. I'm sorry about them." Alex says
"It's none of your business." Julie says crossing her arms, "And yes, there might be some glitter."
Reggie smiles turning to Layla who rolls her eyes. They watch as Alex picks up a picture. "Hey ! I actually picked something up." It's not long before the picture falls onto the bed, "I dropped it."
"Is that your mom and dad ?" Luke says as the three of them gather around the picture.
"Yes, and it's the only picture I have." Layla says snatching it, "So, if you break it, I'll break you."
"Okay, well, sorry because we're kind of unbreakable at this point." Alex says
"I don't get it." Julie says, "You guys can mess up her bed, pick up your instruments, but you can't pick up other stuff ?"
"I know, right ? It's hard. But for some reason,
our instruments, easy." Luke shrugs
"Yeah, like super easy. Oh, and check out what I learned today." Reggie says as he stands. Out of no where, a guitar appears in his hands sending him back into his seat. "Ah !"
"Yeah, that looked super easy." Layla says sarcastically as he groans.
"It's like I always thought, our instruments are attached to our souls." Luke smiles as Layla squints
"Hey." They hear causing the two girls to turn. Reggie rolls back to his friends as Ray comes into view, "Everything okay ?"
"Yeah. We're fine." Layla says
"Okay." He nods, "Didn't realize Julie was in here. Sounded like you guys were talking to someone else."
"Uh no," Layla shakes her head, " Must've been my laptop... that I just closed."
"Okay." He chuckles lightly, " If you guys need anything..."
The girls nod before he points toward the door "Yeah. Thanks." Layla says before he closes the door behind him. Julie sighs as she rubs her temples.
"Your dad seems like the kind of guy who likes to barbecue." Reggie says as the girls turn to him. "I bet he has a great ribs recipe."
"I don't know, but if you guys wanna talk to us, we have to do it in the studio. He's worried about us enough as it is." Julie says
"He seems chill. You should just tell him about us." Luke says
"You're kidding, right ?" Layla scoffs as Luke's face falls
"This past year, everyone's been watching over us, being super nice, as if they're waiting for us to snap." Julie says "If I tell my dad we met a ghost band, I'll be back to talking to Dr. Turner three days a week."
Luke clicks his tongue, "You probably shouldn't tell him." He turns and makes his way back onto the stool, "Layla..."
"Oh my gosh ! I told you to leave that alone !"
"I know. You just shouldn't have said nothing 'cause now I can't stop thinking about it, so..." He says before he points to the box, "What's in the box, Layla ?"
"It's just my dream box, okay ? My mom gave it to me. Whenever I get a thought, I write it down and get it out of my mind."
"Like lyrics ?" Luke says. Layla shrugs, "You write ?"
"I used to. Now it's just full of stuff that doesn't make me sad. I haven't been in there in years."
"But, I mean, Julie plays. We heard her this morning, remember ?" Alex says
Julie's eyes widen as Layla sighs closing her eyes. "In the garage ?"
Luke steps down and hits Alex's arm.
"So you were there too ?"
"Uh... I don't..."
"Uh... He was, like... We were..."
"Somewhere."
Luke lays down on his stomach as he looks up at Layla, "So, where is your kitchen, by the way ?"
Layla scoffs to herself before bending down, "Okay, we need to set some boundaries. For starters," She says as Luke smiles at her, "stay out of my room !"
Luke immediately jumps up and heads for the door. Reggie and Alex weren't far behind him.
"Mm-hmm. Crystal clear. Let's go." Reggie says
"We're leaving." Alex says
"Yes, ma'am ! We are out of here." Luke says as they walk through the door. Layla sighs as Julie sits on her bed.
"This is the weirdest thing I've ever experienced." Layla says as she runs her fingers through her hair.
"Hey !" The girls turn to see Alex half way through the door. "Um, sorry. I didn't mean to bother you. Did you get back into your music program ?"
Layla turns to Julie who shakes her head, "No. No, I didn't."
"I'm sorry. That really sucks."
"Thanks." Julie nods. The room goes quiet as Alex looks around.
"Is that it ?" Layla asks
"Yeah. Yeah." Alex nods, "This is getting weird." Julie waves at him, "Okay."
The girls watch him disappear through the door again. Layla plops down by Julie before the two fall back onto her bed.
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