Casey Barnes Eponymous - By E.A. Rigg Page 0,58
at her, and left. Casey turned back to Leigh.
“You guys sounded like a real band,” Leigh said.
“You think?”
“Oh my god yes.”
“You really can’t go to boarding school now that your best friend’s a rock star,” Casey said, “You’d be a fool to give up such a social opportunity.”
Leigh smiled. “You know how you never used to play music in front of people and then one day, and granted it was because of AD--”
“Not anymore.”
“The point is that you needed time to not play in front of people to be ready to play in front of people. At least that’s how I see it.”
“I still don’t think you should go to boarding school.”
“I know you don’t. But I need time away now, from everyone, to process what I found out this week,” she paused, “Get it?”
Casey sighed. “Possibly. But if you leave I’m not gonna have any friends.”
Leigh motioned with her head towards the other end of the hall where Ben was talking to Sukh. “I’m not so sure about that.”
Casey looked at Ben.
So.
The other thing that happened before Pop Wire took the stage that helped bolster Casey’s confidence was this:
When she finished talking to Alex and went back inside, Ben was standing just inside the door, as if he had been waiting to walk out. And the door was open a crack.
“Did you hear what I just said to him?” Casey asked. Ben only offered a mysterious smile and told her eavesdropping was not his game. But there was something in that smile that told her he heard every word.
Ben looked back at her. She blushed and turned her eyes to Leigh.
“I saw that,” Leigh said.
“Whatever.”
Leigh hugged Casey. “I’m outta here.”
Casey made a face but Leigh stepped away and walked down the hall. The last act of the show finished, there was applause from the auditorium, and the back hall began to flood with people. Clayton Gould and Tricia came backstage and over to Casey.
“Clayton Gould,” Casey said, “I had no idea you were in the audience.”
“Well I did get the text you sent threatening water boarding if I didn’t make it.”
“Oh that.”
“You did a very good job, Casey,” Tricia said, “I was impressed.”
“Thanks ma. Does that mean I’m not grounded anymore?”
“No.” Tricia leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “But I am proud of you. Now if you’ll excuse me, Jim and I are going to dinner. Enjoy your last night of freedom for a month.”
“Bon appétit, madre.”
Tricia walked away.
“I should be going as well,” Clayton Gould said, “I have an online chess match in an hour and I assume you want to be left to your post-rock debauchery.”
“Thanks for coming Clayton Gould.”
“It was a treat. And I mean that. You kicked some serious rear-end tonight.” He turned and started to walk away.
“Hey Clayton Gould.”
He stopped.
“You know that thing you said, a few weeks back, about how I was the one who had to make it happen, not the rock star boyfriend?”
“I remember.”
“You might have had a point there.”
“Of course I did.” He left.
Casey looked around. Ben was still down at the other end of the hall, with Kate now. Casey started to walk towards them.
Ben looked taller. He wasn’t hunching over like he usually did. That piece of hair was sticking up, as always. And his glasses were misaligned. She was beginning to think she liked them, though. In fact she was beginning to think that, in a disheveled, insolent boyfriend who introduces you to Le Loup kind of way, Ben was rather cute. Even it there hadn’t really been a Samantha.
She wondered what kind of reaction he would have when she told him, later, whom she now thought about when she played the Alex Deal song. She hoped the reaction wouldn’t be snappy or sarcastic. He looked at her again and she relaxed. She had a feeling it wouldn’t.
She listened to “Chiquitita” by Abba after school and before talent show. It was her secret weapon when in need of a good jolt song. She hummed the first few bars as she walked towards Ben. Suddenly, a weird sensation came into her head. Goddamn. She felt happy.
The word had always bothered her. It was overplayed, such a simple two beats for something that in reality was so elusive. There was a quick kind of happiness from people like Alex Deal, pop songs, new shirts and chocolate bars. But that kind of happiness didn’t always stick around. Then there was another kind of happiness.
When she reached Ben she stopped. Another song came into her head. And just like that, she experienced an epic rock moment. Now more epic rock moments had, perhaps, happened to other epic rockers. But this one was big, and strange because it had never happened to her before. What happened was this:
She placed a hand on Ben’s arm. He smiled.
She realized the song that came into her head was her own.
Many thanks to the following fine people who contributed to a 2013 Kickstarter campaign to support Casey Barnes Eponymous.
Jane Alexander, Dana Austin, Bryan Bilgore, Jonathan Bloom, Ami Boghani,Anna Booth, Cristin Bullen, Scott Byrd, Andy Carpenter, Jennifer Chalfant, Federico Chiesa, Ian Creighton, Lana Dai, Paul DeGooyer, Geoff Earle, Tonieh Ellis, Gema De Las Heras, Marjorie Feinstein, Heather Fell, Erin Forson, Dave Fowler, Amy Freundlich, Mike Freundlich, Celina Garcia, Mike Goodman, Nick Griffin, Pat Guiney, Anne Hamilton, Hayli Harper, Tiffany Harris, Annie & Sebastian Kaplan, Meredith Lerner, Dina Marro, Kelly Masley, Julie McDermott, Jennifer & Nick Meagher, Svend Mejdal, Emily Mellor, Victoria Moss, Diane Murray, Paige Murray, Sasha Orr, Simon Orr, Darren Owens, Ann Peck, Hardeep Phull, David Reisen, Jo Rigg, Nick Rigg, Barney Roper, Michael Russotti, Nina Sander, Elva Shkreli, Bjorn Schroeder, Carol Skillman, Judy Skillman, Richard & Sally Skillman, Ted Skillman, Caterina Turroni, Nick Weber