Chapter 14: Nothing’s What it Seems

“What have we here?” Jane asked, coming to a stop in front of our half-dozen pictures.

“Twins,” Muireann said.

“Aha.” She examined our spread. “Did you do the project together?”

“Aye, we tried something different.”

I could hear the hope in Muireann’s voice, that this would be okay by our teacher.

Jane pursed her lips. “Interesting approach.”

“I know there’s only six photos, but we both did take six shots,” I explained. “There’s two exposures on each!”

Jane gave me a small smile. “Yes, Matt, thank you.”

I felt a little sheepish at telling my teacher something she obviously knew better than I did. I tried to joke my way out of it. “Well, we had to do this, since I finally ran out of film.”

“I’m glad you were forced to be more efficient, then.”

“Efficient?” Muireann sniggered, and I rolled my eyes.

“Or not!” Jane quipped, and then studied our work. “I like the idea, and several of these are quite nice. If you do this again, you might consider discussing complementary approaches to how you light your subjects, for example, to get more synergy between the exposures.”

“Oh, we thought maybe not knowing what the other of us was doing would be a more interesting way to do it,” I said.

“Perhaps. You will get lucky sometimes. Again, these two here are quite nice. But eventually you may find that rather than taking pictures and seeing what emerges, that instead you’ll want to make them. As you well know, of course, since I say that at least every other class.”

“Good point,” I admitted.

“We did have some rules,” Muireann explained. “I tried to use more of the left half of the frame, and Matt the right.”

Jane nodded. “Yes, that make sense. I think the net result is good, and I very much like the idea of how you shared exposures. I don’t think anyone has explored that in this class before, and perhaps it can be an interesting way to work. On occasion, though! You’ll certainly want to continue to hone your individual skills. And this picture here, of the overlaid faces. I see you two in there.”

“And Muireann’s brother and my sister too.”

“Yes, it acts almost like a signature to the work, which is neat. As I said, interesting. I like the constraint you put upon yourselves for this. That often leads to new possibilities. Please consider developing this approach some more. Well done.”

We thanked her and she moved on.

“At least we’re not in trouble,” Muireann whispered conspiratorially.

“And she did like a couple of them,” I added, laughing quietly.

“She has a point, about planning the shots better.”

“We should try this again sometime.”

“Aye, I think we might have to!”

After class ended, Muireann and I made our way toward the auditorium. Along the way, she ran straight into another kid who was standing in the hall.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” she squeaked.

“Wake up ... Class is over!” I said, nudging her as we moved on.

“Yes ... But I was still thinking about what Jane said.”

“I know. And she was trying to help. Don’t take it too hard.”

“Oh, it’s not that! I am very grateful for her comments. I was not expecting her to say they were amazing, or anything of the sort.”

“Really? I was kind of hoping she would bust out her checkbook and buy one of them!”

Muireann rolled her eyes at me. “Aye, you would hope that.”

“Hey now!”

“I’m just wondering what we really tried to do with the pictures.”

I sniffed. “I know what you mean. Some of them are a bit random. Like she said, sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don’t.”

She suddenly turned to me, coming to a stop in the middle of the hallway.

“Do you know what one of my favorite photographs is?”

“Um ... I have no idea. I know Jane shows us a lot of cool ones, but I can’t remember most of the names.”

“I didn’t see it in Jane’s class. It’s hanging up in your room.”

I frowned at her. “Huh? You mean the one of Heather on the river?”

“Aye.”

I laughed. “All right. But it’s just, like, a snapshot I took.”

“Maybe so, but I feel like I know her just by looking at that photograph. Her expression, the movement of the fishing line, the blurry waters, hiding the fish ... I wouldn’t be surprised if when she arrives on Saturday, she doesn’t just step out of that frame itself.”

“Hah, if she could actually do that, I’d be the happiest person on earth!” I joked. Then I winced, since my tone was far too enthusiastic and probably implied way more than I thought it would.

Muireann gave me a sidelong look. “I’m sure ... But it’s true, that’s a favorite. It’s certainly a striking picture.”

“Well, I’m glad you like it. It was luck, or whatever, for sure. I probably took twenty of her fishing, and this was the best one.”

“There is no shame in luck.”

“No, especially not for me!”

“Stop it, you take great photos.”

“If you say so. But you should ask to see some more of Shannon’s stuff. She’s really good. Definitely we should check out her multiple exposure photos. I’m sure we could learn a ton more from her.”

“I’d like to see that.”

“And we’ll have time over break next week to practice more.”

“If we can pry you away from Heather,” Muireann joked.

“Come on,” I retorted. “It won’t be that bad. And besides, she’s into photography too, so she’ll be tagging along.”

“Does she take a class at her school as well?”

“I think so, but I never really know what she does, honestly!”

Muireann giggled. “You’d think, being her boyfriend...”

“I told you, she’s tricky. Complicated—”

“Hey, are we playing or what?”

We both turned to find Lara and Tommy approaching.

Oops...

“We’re on our way!” I protested.

“By standing in the middle of the hallway? We need to sign in and stuff!”

“Chill, we have time. It’s not like they start five minutes after bell.”

“I know,” Lara chimed. “But let’s get moving, all right?”

“Are we all feeling good?” Tommy asked us, as we started off.

“A bit nervous,” Lara admitted.

“We got this,” I said.

There was a moment of déjà vu as we entered the theatre. A crowd of kids was assembling in the seats and the same table of popular senior girls from the last audition was situated in the center of the main aisle. I spotted Carl and Bruno at the table, signing in.

“You want to get our stuff from the storage room and find Colin?” I asked the others, wanting to avoid any kind of confrontation with my old band mates. “I’ll sign us in.”

“Sounds good,” Lara agreed.

Quelling my nerves, I approached the table.

“What’s up?” I greeted from behind them, trying to keep my voice relaxed. Unfortunately it didn’t carry over the din, and I had to repeat myself more loudly. Bruno heard me and turned, even as Carl kept speaking with the smiling girls.

“Hey, man! Here to watch?”

“No way. To play!”

Bruno’s eyes widened. “Really? Like a solo thing?”

“Nah. Something new, with Colin and the twins. We’re playing a song we wrote.”

“Wow, that’s great man!”

“What are you guys going to play this time?” I asked.

“All—”

“Bruno, come on, don’t give it away!” Carl interrupted as he turned to join us.

I rolled my eyes. “Okay, man, whatever. Like we’re going to learn your song in the next five minutes and play it too?”

“You never know,” Carl said ridiculously.

Bruno shrugged, giving me a helpless look.

“What up, duuudes!” a guy bellowed as he approached, a gig bag strapped to his back.

“Skinner!” Carl called out. “What’s going on, man?”

The new arrival exchanged a few complicated handshakes with Carl and then with Bruno. I got only a brief once-over.

Bruno glanced at me uneasily and gestured toward the guy. “Matt, you know Skinner, right?”

“No,” I replied. “Matt,” I repeated somewhat lamely.

Skinner offered me only a curt nod.

“How’s it going,” I added.

It wasn’t really a question, and he didn’t bother answering.

He turned to Carl. “All right, are we ready? Let’s rock this place!”

“Good luck,” I offered, as they strode away toward the stage. If they heard me, they didn’t show it.

As I stepped up to the table, the girls greeted me with smiles.

“Sign in and then pick a number from the jar!”

I picked up the pen and then cursed when I saw Carl’s rough handwriting.

Bastard!

Admittedly, I hadn’t even considered that they’d keep the name. I scanned the auditorium but they’d already disappeared through a side door. I decided it wasn’t going to be worth the effort. Technically, they were more like the original band than we were, anyway. Even if it was me that had come up with the name.

Unfortunately, that left me in the position of having to name my band on a moment’s notice, yet again. Nothing came to me right away, though, so I put the pen down.

“I’ll be right back,” I grumbled to the girls.

Backstage, I found my band mates moving things into the wings.

“Hey, quick, we need a name!” I called out.

Lara frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“A band name! Carl put down The Nameless already.”

“What the fuck? That’s our name!” she cried.

“I know, but I don’t have time to fight with him right now. He’s already signed in and I don’t feel like going to look for them. Let’s just pick something else. I don’t care. Any quick ideas?”

We all looked at each other for a long moment. There was some murmuring, but no one had instant inspiration.

“Quiet Mile?” Lara finally offered. “I always like that line from the Zep song.”

“Quiet Mile,” I repeated.

“On a day like today I pass the time away, and walk a quiet mile with you... “ she sang.

Tommy grinned. “That sounded just like Plant!”

“Yeah right, I wish.”

“So Quiet Mile?” I asked. “It’s a bit, well ... quiet? But as good as anything else, I guess. We can change it later if we want.”

“I like it,” Muireann offered.

Tommy grunted his approval, so I headed for the table again.

“Where’s Colin anyway?” I yelled.

“Getting his stuff!” Muireann called back.

Once I was faced with the ever-smiling girls again, I drew a number. Shit. Nineteen. I was immediately assured by them that we’d most likely be last, since there were only twenty numbers in the pot and acts had been scarce so far.

Scarce... I liked hearing that word, at least. Makes the odds better.

We settled into the wings as the early performers took their turn. Since both Green Space and The Nameless had drawn lower numbers than us, they were instructed to set up their gear on each half of the stage area behind the curtain. Indeed, my old band mates started taking their places as the first act did their thing in front of the drape.

“Who’s that guy, then?” Lara asked.

“The new singer for The Nameless.”

“And the new guitarist too,” she harrumphed. “Where’d they dig him up from?”

“No idea.”

“He’s not nervous, that’s for sure,” Muireann observed.

“Doesn’t look it,” Lara agreed. “I feel like I’ve seen him before, though.”

Wearing a flannel shirt and ripped jeans, Skinner was grinning and pretending to play crazy guitar licks as he stalked in the area in front of Carl’s drums, full of confident energy. The folded strip of a bandana rode above his sunglasses, and his charisma was even getting a grin out of Pete.

“Kind of hate to say it, but he reminds me of Elaine’s brother,” I muttered.

“I was just about to say the same thing,” Lara said.

“Who’s Elaine’s brother?” Tommy asked.

“At the last talent show, this guy did a lip-sync to Hot for Teacher, and it was pretty awesome,” I explained.

“Let’s hope he’s not auditioning again,” Lara added.

“And let’s hope this Skinner guy isn’t that good,” I added.

“Wait, Skinner?” Lara said. “No way! Is that Johnny Skinner?”

I looked at her. “Huh?”

“Yeah, I think that’s him!” she confirmed. “He used to go to our school. He moved, maybe in fourth grade or something. He was a year above us.”

I vaguely remembered the name, but couldn’t place him. People changed a lot in six years, at any rate.

“I don’t know, Lara.”

There was some light applause for whatever act had gone first, and then the curtain slowly opened. Amplifiers were turned up and the band did a very brief sound check.

“What’s up!” Skinner called out through the microphone. That got a little rise out of the audience. “We are The Nameless! If you like what you hear, make some noise, all right?”

Now the crowd did give a large cheer. I rolled my eyes, still miffed at the name theft and all the more so to hear some annoying stranger claiming it for his own.

After checking that the others were ready, Skinner turned to the mic once more. “This is a song written by the great Jimi Hendrix ... Kick it!”

Pete promptly launched into a chordal intro. The sound was snappy and tight, as Carl and Bruno punctuated the measures with hits.

Tommy leaned into me after a moment. “This is a Dylan song!”

I grunted as I kept watching, my arms folded in front of me. Skinner launched into the introductory solo, having wandered toward the front of the stage. He strutted around, gyrating his guitar as he bent notes around. It was admittedly compelling and groovy playing, even if his antics were over the top. But unlike Elaine’s brother, the guy clearly had been practicing the music itself and not just the moves.

I was proud of my friends, because they sounded tight. It was an odd feeling though, to hear them play and not be out there with them, so the feeling soon passed.

With perfect timing, Skinner returned to the mic to deliver the first verse. “There must be some kind of way out of here!“

I looked at Lara, catching her eye. We shared a moment of slight despair, both of us knowing that unless their song ended with Carl flipping the bird at the judges, the guys were going to be playing at the talent show. Skinner had a strong voice, and it all sounded good ... very good.

And to be honest, their performance only got better. Skinner was no slouch on the guitar. He could make it sing. No amount of talking myself down could stop the mix of admiration and jealousy that flared up in me. Yeah, Skinner was the replacement for me and Lara, and he more than covered for both of us.

The crowd was eating it up, as we could hear the cheers and screams even over the thick sound the guys were putting out. After the last vocal lines were sung, the jam extended for some time as Skinner rode out the repeats of the final four-chord progression with a wild solo. Carl pounded his drums, adding more and more snare fills as Bruno improvised on his bass. Only Pete kept it restrained, strumming his guitar consistently. It was the needed glue, and it got them to the end of the song, just on the edge of control.

The audience was decidedly enthusiastic when the final chord was choked off. That’s going to be impossible for the judges to ignore...

“Thank you!” Skinner called, his fist in the air.

I clapped in spite of myself.

“Oh, so you liked it now?” Tommy said, grinning, his own hands stuffed in his pockets as he leaned casually against a support beam.

“Well, he’s not quite Hendrix, but...”

“Aye, he’s good.”

“No doubt,” I agreed. “Good thing there’s more than one slot.”

“We’ll surely need them, lad,” Tommy agreed.

The time seemed to pass slowly. Green Space went on a few acts later and performed their usual groovy rock. It was as good as always, and I started wondering if there was going to be room for three bands at the talent show. Half the acts... ?

Colin and Shannon joined us side stage after Green Space finished.

“Nice job, man,” I offered.

“Thanks! But I’m ready to play our stuff now.”

“Me too,” I agreed.

“Feeling good, Matty?” Shannon asked.

I shrugged. “We’ll find out!”

A slight bit of hope flared within me as I kept an eye and ear on the other acts. Nothing impressed me much, so perhaps there would be a chance to sneak into the chosen lineup.

“I think we sound better than either of those bands,” Tommy whispered to me.

“I hope so.”

“That fella in your old group is good, but it’s kind of the same old stuff everyone does.”

“I know,” I agreed. “But people around here love their classic rock.”

“Aye, but it’s time to move into the future,” he quipped.

“Totally.”

The stage was clear of both other bands’ equipment now, so we spent some time setting up our gear. Surprisingly, yet another band was auditioning so we were restricted to half of the stage. It was a group of three girls who I was fairly certain were juniors at our school.

The theatre tech crew rearranged the cables and monitors for us as we plugged in. We tuned and warmed up quietly as a female singer belted out a musical number in front of the curtain. She was quite good, one of the better entrants on the day, and the applause was almost shrill in its excitement. She clearly had a lot of friends.

The girl band was set to perform before us, so we exited the stage again when it was their turn. I held my breath as the drummer counted off the song, but fortunately for us they were underwhelming. Something was wrong with the singer’s microphone, and the guitar player ... Well, ‘player’ was probably not quite the word I’d use. They played a punk song of sorts, which probably allowed them a little leeway to get away with the sloppiness they definitely displayed ... In the end, they made it to the end solely on the skills of the drummer keeping good time and glaring at her friends when they needed help getting back on.

Another act came and went in front of the curtain, and at last it was our turn.

“Sunglasses on?” Tommy said, and we all grinned as we dropped the shades into place. Well, his were already there, of course.

As I walked out to my spot, the curtain opened to reveal the auditorium. I was a bit disheartened to see that the crowd had diminished significantly. Or maybe it’s for the best...

We checked our volumes. Muireann was playing into a microphone that had been set up on a straight stand. It looked awkward, as she had to lean in to get close to it, but the kid who had helped set it up was nowhere to be seen. The volume on her line also seemed low, but Muireann didn’t complain so I didn’t say anything.

“Hey everyone,” Lara greeted, her voice calm and cool. “We’re Quiet Mile, and this is a song we wrote.”

A smattering of applause rippled through the hall, over the low hum of people chatting. Before I could give the count off, someone yelled out from the audience. I looked out, unable to find the heckler. However, one of the smiling girls was walking down the aisle, presumably to silence the offender.

I started the count, but again was interrupted by a voice.

“Hey, stop, stop!”

It was one of the smiling girls herself, I realized, though she wasn’t smiling now. My heart rate sped up even more as this grim vision approached.

This can’t be good...

“Colin, you played with Green Space already!” she said, as she hopped up onto the front of the stage.

“So?” he replied, his eyes widening.

“You can’t audition in more than one act!” she explained.

Oh shit...

There was a long moment of tense silence, as the news of this unknown rule sunk in.

“I d-d—I didn’t know,” Colin stammered. “No one said anything!”

“It wouldn’t be fair,” the girl declared.

“What do we do?” Lara asked.

“I don’t know. But you can’t audition again, Colin.”

He looked at me, a desperate and apologetic look on his face.

“You either have to withdraw, or play without him,” the girl suggested to us.

“Play without Colin?” I repeated. “But he’s part of the band!”

“I’m sorry, but it’s the rules. Someone else wanted to audition in two acts, and we didn’t let them do it either.”

As this unexpected nightmare unfolded, Tommy shuffled nearer to me.

“I can play bass,” he suggested quietly.

“No, you have to play guitar. That’s the main thing!”

“Should we try Four Days instead?”

I tried to calm my whirling mind, but there was no controlling it. Maybe we should just withdraw. We’re not going to get in now anyway...

“What do you guys want to do?” the girl asked.

“Can we think about it while the next group goes?” Lara asked.

“You’re the last act.”

“Fuck,” I muttered.

“You have to do it without me,” Colin urged, his voice unsteady. “I’m sorry, I really didn’t know.”

“If we get in and Green Space does too, can Colin play in the show at least?” I asked.

The girl shrugged. “I—I guess. I don’t know. That’s probably fine, maybe. He can’t audition, though.”

Colin set his bass down and came close to me.

“Dude, if we both get in, we’ll figure it out,” he whispered. “Fuck, I mean, I’ll drop out of Green Space if I have to.”

I shook my head, feeling unsteady. “You can’t do that. But I guess we’ll try this without you, just for today. We’ll figure out the rest later.”