Chapter 3

The next day after breakfast at the student cafeteria I headed to New Dawn. Becky again thanked me for asking her about that, as she really had been looking for one for years. I was helping the band that weekend set up their equipment when Kris showed up. And I noticed this time she was wearing a skirt this time.

And it just seemed to fit her. A loose fitting green top that looked a bit like a sweater but was ribbed cotton, and a black skirt that she actually wore with Converse All-Stars, and tube socks. And remembering one of the songs I constantly played with the band I was in back in Idaho once she gave me a hug I had her come with me to the keyboard.

And she actually smiled and jumped up and down and clapped once I finished the opening bars and was playing the song itself. Singing the Wheatus song “Teenage Dirtbag” to her. And while not in Keds like in the song, she almost could have fit in the original video.

If the girl the song was about a Korean girl with brown eyes, and not a blonde haired blue eyed white girl. And I was not at all surprised when I was about to slip into the bad falsetto that I do when she perfectly sang the female lines towards the end. And I guess I should not have been surprised when she gave me another hug, and said she loved that song.

I teased her that if I had known she was going to wearing Converse instead of Keds, I would have played another song. And she grinned again when after a few changes I started to play “All Star”. I saw even Becky was grinning, and when I was done after Kris hugged me again, Becky did also.

“Wow, that was really good George. You must really like that group.”

“Well, yeah I do. It falls within my voice range, and they are fun rocking songs. When we did those a few times, even the adults seemed to like them. Plus they are easy for me to do on a synth as even the rest of the instruments are electric.”

And after doing their version of “I’m a Believer”, Kris made a shooing motion so I stepped aside. And she actually started a very fast version of “Daydream Believer”. By this time the others had stepped away, and it was interesting hearing the song played so fast. I told her she was great when she finished, and she just grinned at me. “I actually lifted that from Shonen Knife. That was how they did their version, kind of like it had been done by The Ramones.” And then she actually started playing and singing “Blitzkrieg Bop”! Wow, this girl could even rock punk also.

Even if that was a group and song older than I was, there was no denying that The Ramones were still an influence even today. And after a few adjustments she started again, just as fast as before. But it was only when she started singing that I recognized “Top of the World”. And as she was playing it fast and hard, it was shorter than the original. And she told me again that was a song that Shonen Knife covered in their own style.

We were taking a break when some of her friends came up, and I was introduced as her “Cousin George”. Which I found I actually did not mind, as she was not only hot, but at least my own age instead of the rest of my cousins by association from Pete.

And they were all cute, and when I moved away to let them talk I made sure I could watch both the band playing as well as the girls. Finally it was close to time for me to leave, and I took a deep breath and decided to go for broke. I went up and pulled Kris aside for a moment, and could see her looking up into my eyes.

And when I hesitantly asked if she would like to see a movie with me the next night, she broke out into a grin that lit up her entire face. “Oh yes George, I would love that! What movie though?”

One thing I learned from my brother that I did appreciate, was his advice on girls. He said to let the girl pick, as it would give you an idea what they had in mind. If it was an action flick, expect just a fun time. If they picked a romantic-comedy, expect at least some kisses afterwards. And he did know girls, because in the last three years I saw that he was indeed right.

When I said whatever she wanted, she actually clapped her hands and grinned. “Can we go to Hollywood? I have been wanting to see ‘Spirited Away’, but it’s not playing near here.” Spirited Away? I did not want to admit I had never heard of it, but said that would be fine. Of course, she then grabbed my hand and took me inside so she could ask her dad.

He looked at me closely, then nodded. “OK, you can take her George. But have her home no later than 10.” I thanked him, and went over and saw Kris with her mom looking through the newspaper at the counter.

“George, it is starting at the ArcLight at 7. Is that good?”

I thought a moment, and figured getting out at around 9, I could have her home in plenty of time. I said that was good, and I would pick her up at 5 so we could have dinner first. She gave me another hug, and said she looked forward to seeing me tomorrow night then headed off to tell her friends.

Aunt Peggy looked closely at me, then shook her head. “I have to remind myself sometimes that you are not your brother. But realize this, she is my oldest daughter, but she will always be my little girl. My husband said to have her home by 10, and that does not mean 10:05. Got me?” I said I did, and she smiled when I said I had to go because I was helping Keith that night. Finally, after almost a month here I had a date.

I went home and decided to get into my black jeans and black shirt before heading to Santa Clarita. Turns out I finally found it, and that it was in Castaic, but I guess most just called the entire area out here Santa Clarita. I had gotten there right after they had, and was quickly helping them set up. I was talking with Janice as we were wiring up her keyboards when I told her about my new one.

And wow, was she jealous! She asked if she could use it in two weeks, and I had to think for a moment. And soon we had Keith with us as we talked it over. That time they were doing a 6 hour concert at a park in Sherman Oaks on Sunday. And at the end, we reached an agreement. $100 for me, and I got to play for a half hour during one of their breaks. By that time Crystal had joined us, and she grinned at me when Keith and I shook hands on that.

She asked me what I would play, and remembering what Kris had told me earlier, I said it would be a bit of a mix. “Some Smash Mouth, maybe Wheatus, and some others like that. Faster newer songs, but sound enough like older styles that the old ones would get it.” She laughed and nudged Keith, and Janice threw me a mock scowl.

They were good again that night, and Crystal was in loose black cargo pants and a black tank top. I once again stayed with her at the table they sold shirts and CDs at afterwards as the rest broke everything down. I told her the songs I was planning, and then at the end said I had a few I was still working on.

“Wow, you are a writer also?”

“Naw, just some covers I want to do in a style different than the original. I should have them down by Sunday though.” She nodded, and even gave me a hug before climbing into the truck with Keith and headed off.

And I was pretty sure she was flirting with me also, but it was hard to tell. But she sure looked good, with there being no question she was all girl with how tight her top was. Even the green highlights she had added to the tips of her hair looked good.

The next morning I decided on a nice shirt and slacks, and after asking around for a bit went to get Kris. Thankfully her mom had given me the address, as I barely remembered where their home was. Kris met me at the door, and when I asked her if Norm’s was fine to eat at she grinned.

That was one of the places I remembered eating at as a kid, and normally when I came down with my brother we would stop there also. I admired her choice in clothes, as she was wearing a nice dark brown dress which fell to just over her knees as well as a light matching sweater.

I had the burger as she had chicken, and we talked as we ate, mostly about music. I told her that she had inspired some songs I wanted to make some changes to, and she agreed with the ones I picked. She even added a few others I had not thought of, and I knew I would have to do some work to find the originals as I was not real familiar with them.

What surprised me though that as I was about to get on the freeway, Kris told me to stay on the surface streets. Where after a bit she had me park in a large parking lot still on the Valley side of the mountains. “Oh, never actually drive to Hollywood if you can avoid it, George. Parking can be expensive, if you can even find it down there. Here we just hop on the subway, we get off at the Hollywood and Vine station, just two blocks from the theater.”

And that did make sense, and I was a bit surprised when after I bought our tickets Kris took my hand in hers as we walked to the platform. I smiled at her and she grinned in return, and then I felt a breeze coming from one of the tunnels, and then heard and saw the train arriving. It was quiet, and soon we got on and were going the other way. And it was really fast, not noisy as I would have imagined. And less than ten minutes later they announced our stop and we got out. And it was kind of cool, finally walking in Hollywood.

We walked around and checked out a few shops as we walked to the theater, and the size of it surprised me. It was a massive building, that I realized had 15 screens inside. And when we got to the ticket counter, we actually had to reserve our seats! I let Kris pick, and we went in and walked around. Inside, they actually had real restaurants, and even a bar!

And the inside was impressive also. Kris had selected seats along the back wall in the center, and I was surprised at the seating. This was what I had been wanting to experience, and she said it was called “Stadium Seating”. And the seats! They were not hard and stiff, but had fabric covering them, had high backs, and even rocked a bit. This was really nice!

After the credits started I felt Kris take my hand in hers, and I squeezed and grinned at her as we watched the trailers. There were not many in the theater, and when I commented on that she told me it was likely because the movie was made in Japan.

“Oh, Hayao Miyazaki is amazing, but not many here know of his work. But there already speculation that this will be nominated for an Oscar. And might even win.” And I had to admit, that did impress me. Then the movie started. And I groaned inside when it opened with the Disney logo. Holy hell, she took me to a Disney movie? There goes any plans of kisses at the end of the night!

But when it started, I soon realized this was not Lion King or Mulan. The style was very good, and the story amazingly adult. Even I could feel the tension at sequences, and this was unlike anything by the House of Mouse than I had ever seen before.

I then discovered another feature of the seats. As part way though Kris raised the arm between us and moved in closer. Wow, arm rests that moved out of the way, cool! I released her hand and wrapped it around her shoulder, and she snuggled in against me and grabbed my other hand and kept a tight hold of it.

And even I was affected by the end. It was like no animated movie I had ever seen before, and I had even got a lot of the references. After all, not only had I almost grown up seeing the works of my brother, I had even played most of them. As we left Kris asked how much of it I understood, and I actually grinned at her.

“Honestly, most of it.” That seemed to take her aback, until I mentioned the Torii Gates, the fact that most of those in it were obviously Kami. Even that it was set in an onsen.

“Oh, I forgot you are Uncle Pete’s brother. And he actually used to live in Japan.” I agreed, and said that he and his wife still went there once every year or two. And that I had played his Shipwreck adventure many times, and much of that covered the same areas as the movie did. She squeezed my hand again, and said she was glad it was me she was with. “I mean, if it had been most other guys I know, they would have been completely lost. You are one of the few I know that is not Asian that caught most of that and understood it.”

The train was mostly full going back, so we stood holding the rails but still holding hands. And it was just after 9 when we walked up to the surface and my car. It was mostly dark when we walked to my car. And when I opened the door for her to get in Kris turned around and moved into my arms, giving me a big hug. She thanked me again, and I pulled back a bit so I could look into her eyes and said she was more than welcome, I was glad to have taken her.

And it just seemed natural, as I saw her eyes close and her face tilt up. So I closed mine and tilted down, and we shared a long kiss. Which we broke after about thirty seconds, then started another one. I moved my hands to her hips and lightly held Kris as her arms wrapped around my neck. I think we spent about fifteen minutes like that, kissing as we stood in the parking lot. But finally I knew it must be getting late, and after sharing another tight hug I checked my watch. Shit, 9:45!

I hopped on the freeway, and thankfully traffic was light. And it was 9:55 when we pulled up in front of her house. I got out and after walking her to the door, she hugged me again and said softly that she had a great time. And hoped we could do it again soon. Then after another softer kiss she slipped inside.

As I drove back to the dorm, I was both glad I had not tried to grab her ass like I had wanted to, but also wishing that I had. It had looked really tight in that dress, and I bet it would have felt fantastic. But I had a sense that if I was to have a chance with Kris, I would have to take things slowly.

The next day after class I hopped onto Limewire. And after some digging had about a dozen MP3 files downloading. And the first one to finish was “Song Sung Blue”. This was actually one of the suggestions by Kris, as Neil Diamond had written several of the songs The Monkees performed. And as I listened to it I was playing along with it on the XV-88. And once I listened to it a few times, I loaded it up into Cool Edit, sped it up, and lowered the octave a bit. I made some adjustments, until I finally had about what I wanted.

And after playing through it a few times, I started to add more and more touches. After about a half hour it was kind of like how it would sound if Smash Mouth was performing it, with Save Ferris backing them up. I kept at it for another hour, and when Chet came in I played it for him. He actually grinned and said that was one of his grandmother’s favorite songs. “But I never imagined she would hear it played like that!” We both laughed, and I put on my headphones and started on the next one.