There is something special about the Californian beach. People playing volleyball, talks around the sand, surf, and so much more things you can't do anywhere else. It also happened to be where my friend Reggie lived... emphasis on the 'lived' part.
"A bike shack right where my house used to be. Right here." My arms were crossed at the scene. The sign of 'Petals On The Beach' did not feel welcoming to me. This was one of the first places I visited last month, and when I saw that everything changed, I was appalled. In a way, the universe arrived with an eraser on our Californian whiteboard and wiped clean the special memories.
"Yeah, I'm sorry, man," Luke supported as he tapped the dark-haired boy's chest.
"They made the Meyerson's house into a noodle shop. Why couldn't they have made mine like a pizzeria or something?" The guy kept pouting.
"They tore down the whole neighborhood," my brother added.
"I guess my folks are gone," the bassist finally concluded.
Alex shook his head. "No, everyone's gone. Twenty-five years, gone. Friends, family, Bobby, everyone."
I let out a sigh. To be honest, I had completely forgotten about him. I was so focused on the fact that they were back that it hadn't clocked in that he wasn't here with us. "Bobby, that's right."
"I guess that vegetarian lucked out. What do you think happened to him?" Vegetarian? Ha! I wouldn't count three months and a half in 1993 as officially part of the crew.
"He probably just got old like everybody else and moved on," Luke nonchalantly responded.
"Dude, how are you so casual about this? I mean, don't you wanna figure out what happened?"
Luke's eyes squinted. I've noticed he does that when he's close to getting riled up. "Let's be real for a second. It's not like any of us were close to our families. My folks always regretted me buying that guitar. Reggie, your parents were literally a fight away from a divorce."
Reggie's head rolled back in discomfort. I know Patterson's upset, but does he have to be so harsh on us? We just want to understand the sudden change in the era. And why now and with Julie out of all people could see us?
He continued pushing our buttons, not caring if it hurt our feelings or not. "Alex I... your parents were never cool again after you told them you were gay. And Liz, you spend your school after hours doing whatever you could so you wouldn't have to breathe the same air as them."
"Okay, none of us had it great, all right? But at least we had something. You know, what do we have now?" Luke's lips parted, but the anxious blondie attacked. "And before you say cool teleportation skills, just know I'm not entirely okay with that either. All right? It tingles... in weird places."
"I'll tell you what we had. It's what we had since the day we came together." He jumped on a fallen tree used as a bench. "Guys, we have us. Okay? We're the only family we're over gonna need. You know what else we have?"
"I'm gonna guess death breath?" Reggie mentioned.
"Our music, you dork." Luke's smile widened. "We have our music, you guys. People, actual people, can hear us play! They can't see us, fine, but they can hear us. If I had my guitar, I'd play for all these people right now."
"Just like we used to do down the pier?" I suggested. The desperate guitarist nodded. Small victories go a long way with Luke. And, I gotta admit, his stupid enthusiasm is rubbing off on me.
"Just like we used to do down the pier," he winked.
I remember singing and playing there hundreds of times. Although, few people acknowledged our presence. "They can't tip what they can't see," Alex deadpanned.
"It's not about the tips, Alex." The brunette's chains resonated as he got down from the trunk. "It's about playing music, connecting with people, making a difference in their day. I just... I wish I had my guitar."
Suddenly, Luke spun and the brown instrument materialized on his arms. My mouth gaped open. "Woah, that was rad! How'd you do that?" Reggie questioned.
"I don't know. I-I-I mean I wished for it, then it came in my hands."
The dark-haired boy crouched and left a space between his palms. "I-I wish I had a puppy... A hamster? ...Pizza?" When neither of the desired items arrived, he groaned, kicked the sand, and sat down. He really loves his pizza.
"Maybe you need strength or something..." I calmly supported him. Shakily, I zipped my leather backpack and grabbed my tambourine. My fear controlled me less than what we needed: positive vibes. We need this, and having hope is our top priority now. "But, hey, I think I know something that might lift our spirits. Heh, spirits."
I made a strumming signal to Luke. He immediately understood, so upbeat chords began to play. I did a little dance with my shoulders. If this doesn't help, I don't know what will.
Come on, Reginald!
Alex joined in as well. He created the beat by tapping his hands and thighs.
A one, two, three, four
The flannel wearer's face instantly lit up. There's the smile! He sprung from the ground and sang his little heart out.
Can you, can you hear me?
(Yep, loud and clear)
We gotta get, we gotta get ready
Arms wide open, Reggie hopped to the stump. We followed behind him.
('Cause it's been years)
I hit the tambourine against my hip as usual. I wasn't planning on singing, but I could spice up the tune with the tiny cymbals. We skipped, jumped, and joked around the palm trees and pedestrians.
Whoa ooh, this band is back
Whoa ooh, this band is back
Whoo, whoo
Whoo, whoo
Whoo, whoo
Reggie moved over some silver chairs while the rest of us danced in people's faces.
Can you?
(Yes, we can)
Can you hear me?
(Loud and clear)
We gotta get (wanna get)
We gotta get ready
'Cause it's been years, hey!
Whoa ooh, this band is back
Whoa ooh, this band is back
"You won't find the speaker. It's direct spot audio. I heard about it in a TED talk," one of the Californians said.
Whoo, whoo
Whoo, whoo
I had no idea what a third of those words meant, so I shrugged and continued dancing with the rest of the boys.
Whoo, whoo
Whoo, whoo
Pa-ra-da-da-da-da-da-da
Pat-pat-pat-da-da-da-da-da-da
Alex slung a shoulder over Reggie while Luke and I continued playing. Sometime, very soon, we are gonna really rock this place. I can feel it.
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"This is an invasion of privacy," I scolded. "She's gonna find us and we're over. We barely have her trust."
"Since when are you so uptight? What happened to the cool, outgoing Lizzy we know? I know we are still pretty rad," Luke frowned and messed up my hair. He needs to stop doing it, I haven't found ghost-friendly hair products yet!
I scoffed at the accusation. Me? Uptight? "Oh, please. Without me, you guys would not be the life of the party."
"I don't think that's how it works. We're dead, remember?" Reggie thought out loud. Guess he's right...
The task the boys created— mostly Luke and Reggie, was to snoop over Julie's stuff. This is the worst idea they've had since the time they wanted to do Sunset Curve tables for merchandise. I mean, who in their right mind would buy that?
Snapping back to current events, a girl's things are sacred. If you touch them, you are asking for torture. I would know; I basically lived with these three and Bobby. Eventually, they learned to knock on my door. But it looks like the most basic of manners are stripped off in the afterlife.
The problem is, how can I fight when I know there's no stopping them?
"Oh, I remember all right." I sat on the corner of her bed, observing Alex attempting to hold a picture frame. His hands went easily through the object.
"What are you guys doing in my room?" Julie roared.
"Uh..." All of us stuttered. We weren't expecting her to come home so soon.
"Told ya," I whispered.
"We were looking for the kitchen?" Luke rushed.
Julie put her index finger up like an angry mom. "This... this can't happen. It's creepy. Get off my bed, please." Reggie and I scattered from the comfy crime scene.
"Hey, Julie," Luke said before licking his lips. "What's in the box?"
"That's off limits," she imponed.
"Oh, okay. Girl stuff." I glanced and saw that Julie had the same reaction to his comment: crossed arms and a glare.
"Oh, like butterflies and glitter?" Reggie teased. I just rolled my eyes.
Alex drew his hand out of his pockets. "Oh, come on. I'm sorry about them."
"It's none of your business... And, yes, there might be some glitter."
"There's nothing wrong with some glitter. Glitter's awesome," I spoke, the note being especially targeted to her. Julie, for the first time since we've met, genuinely smiled.
"Hey, I actually picked something up!" my brother cheered. Then, a soft thud cut short the achievement. "I dropped it."
The picture showed a little girl with glasses and a pink shirt next to a woman kissing her cheek. They sat on a field of pink and purple dahlias. "Is that your mom?" Luke asked.
"Yes, and it's my favorite picture of us," she snatched the frame away. "So if you break it, I'll break you."
"Okay, well, sorry, because we're kind of unbreakable at this point."
"I don't get it. You guys can mess up my bed, pick up your instruments, but you can't pick up other stuff?" Julie pondered.
"I know, right? It's hard," I declared.
Luke followed my train of thought. "But for some other reason, our instruments? Easy."
"Yeah, like super easy. Oh, and check what I learned today." Reggie happily stood up and immediately laid down when the red bass pushed him.
"Yeah, that looked super easy."
"It's like I always thought, our instruments are attached to our souls," Luke beamed.
I kicked the air. "If I knew this would happen, I would've worked harder on my violin lessons. Or taken piano. Anything's cooler than a tambourine," I groaner.
When Alex picked the drums, I was stuck with the violin, because my parents saw it as an 'elegant' and more 'feminine' instrument... I was 5, why would I care about elegance? The most important things should be that whatever I'm playing is not bigger than me and that it's hard to break.
"Hey. Everything okay?" Julie's dad chimed into the room.
In a panic, I held my hands behind my back with a puffed chest and rapid blinking; Reggie backflipped from the seat... and why is Luke clutching my brother's hand? I eyed them eerily. "Yeah. I'm fine," she responded.
"I thought I heard you talking to someone."
"Nope. Must've been the laptop... that I just closed."
Although the laptop was nowhere near, her dad accepted the lie. "Okay, if you need anything..."
"Yeah, thanks." After he left, Julie rubbed her temples, undecisive about what to do next.
Reggie placed his elbow on my shoulder. I didn't need to observe his face to know he was preparing to say something very random. "Your dad seems like the kind of guy who likes to barbecue— I bet he has a great ribs recipe."
"I don't know, but if you guys wanna talk to me, we have to do it in the studio. He's worried about me enough as it is."
"He seems chill. You should just tell him about us."
"You're kidding, right?" Julie angrily replied. I saw how Luke's face immediately dropped. Damn, girl. She sighed. "This past year everyone's been watching over me, being super nice, as if they're waiting for me to snap. If I tell my dad I met a ghost band, I'll be back to talking to Dr. Turner three days a week."
"Yeah, you probably shouldn't tell him," I uncomfortably laughed. Therapists, from my limited experience, are not fun to go to.
"Julie..." the guitarist persisted.
"Oh my gosh, I told you to leave that alone!"
"I know, you just should've said nothing 'cause now I can't stop thinking about it, so..." His eyes were bulging... like, five seconds from coming out of the sockets from the killing anticipation. "What's in the box, Julie?"
"It's just my dream box, okay? Whenever I get a thought or something, I write it down and get it out of my mind", she finally let out.
"Like lyrics?" I suggested. Similar to her, I had a notebook with lyrics and ideas for concerts/merch that I would share with the band. Since it's not in my backpack, I wonder where it is now...
"They would be if I still wrote music like I used to do with my mom. Now it's just full of stuff that doesn't make me sad."
Alex butted in. "But, I mean, you do play. We heard you this morning."
"In the garage?" Luke slapped his arm, so I flicked his head from the other side. I swear he's only smart when it's not convenient. "So you were there, too?"
We tried coming up with a good excuse, but it sound more of a combination of 'um's and incoherent words. McFlirty Patterson over here spread himself over the bed and rested his head on his palm as a distraction. "So where is your kitchen, by the way?"
Julie got down to his level. "Okay, we need to set some boundaries. For starters, stay out of my room!" We quickly rushed to the door, muttering strings of agreements and apologies.
From the corner of my eye, I observed the lower half of Alex's body stay in our side of the room. I chose to stay a little longer, intrigued to hear what he wanted to ask. "Hey! Um, sorry, I didn't mean to bother you. Did you get back into your music program?"
I frowned when she said, "No, no I didn't." I don't know her too well, but I do know how important this was to her and that she deserves the spot.
"I'm sorry, that really sucks," my brother consoled.
"Thanks....... Is that it?" She said after the most awkward pause I've endured in my life.
"Yeah, yeah. This is getting weird."
I pulled his shirt so that I could take his place instead. Alex scoffed, but let me continue. "I'm so sorry about all the mess we've caused. I hope... I hope we can make it up to you somehow. Whatever you need, uh, I'm always nearby. Girl stuff or regular stuff." I grinned and continued walking down the corridor with him.
Poor Julie, I thought.
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Author's note:
Hello party people, how's your day going? Hope it's a good one, and if it's not, that this chapter made your day a little brighter.
I finally managed to do a cover for this book that is decent and that I like (shoutout to Canva hahaha). Do you guys like it?
Oh, and please comment with whom should Liz share more scenes with. I'm thinking she'll have solo conversations with Julie and Reggie, but I'm always open to suggestions.
~ Winter ❅