Fly the Rain by Robert Burton Robinson Read Free Book Online

being Cindy’s band. I want what’s best
for the business. We’re gonna be paying a lot of money for that
band. And we’ll be depending on them to develop a following, so we
can sell T-shirts and posters and all kinds of souvenirs.” He took
another sip from his cup. “We’re gonna make a fortune, Boys.”
    **********
    “ Well, I thought you were
gonna just sleep all day,” said Val sarcastically. She was in her
recliner, sipping one last cup of coffee before driving over to
Wal-Mart to work her shift. Her favorite game show, The Price Is Right ,
came on at 10:00 AM, fifteen minutes before she had to leave for
work.
    “ I needed the rest. We’ve
got a long practice session today.”
    “ Where are y’all
practicing?”
    “ Right here in the living
room.”
    “ No, you’re not!”
    “ Why not? We won’t hurt
anything. And we’ll be done before you get home.”
    “ You’ll play too loud, and
make my neighbors mad.”
    “ Val, I promise—we’ll hold
it down.”
    “ And I don’t want any guys
using my bathroom. They pee all over the floor.”
    “ There are no guys , Mother. It’s
an all-girl band.”
    Val knew she would regret what she was about
to say. “Alright. But you’d better take care of my house and my
things.”
    “ I will.”
    “ If anything goes
wrong—“
    “— it won’t.
    **********
    Cindy Banya arrived early, and quickly set
up her drums, and began to warm up.
    E. Z. Bender was next. She unpacked her
guitar, fired up her amp, and began to work on a few riffs.
    Sondra had stepped into the kitchen for a
drink of water when Cindy and E. Z. suddenly went silent. She
popped her head into the living room to find out why.
    Boomer Hertz was standing in the doorway
with her bass amp in one hand and her guitar in the other. Cindy
and E. Z. were just staring at her.
    Cindy was confused. Sondra had said this
would be an all-girl band. Who was this guy in the sleeveless
muscle shirt, with long, frizzy brown hair?
    The 32-year-old had a stocky build. Her arms
bulged, but her chest didn’t. She was clearly not somebody you
wanted to mess with.
    “ Hey, Boomer,” said Sondra.
“Glad you could make it.”
    “ Yeah, well this had better
be worth the trouble,” said Boomer.
    Or what? wondered Cindy. She was afraid of
the answer.
    Boomer sat down her amp, and plugged it into
an outlet. She popped the latches on her guitar case as though she
were a mechanic opening a monster-sized toolbox. Then she whipped
her bass out of its case, and strapped it on like King Arthur’s
Excalibur.
    E. Z. wouldn’t have been surprised to hear
that the she-man had cut a few people down to size with the
thing.
    Sondra picked up her guitar.
“Let’s warm up with Wilson Phillips’ Impulsive .”
    By the end of the song, all four of the
women were smiling inside, and thinking the exact same thing: We’re
gonna blow ‘em away.

    Chapter 8

    “ Looks good, Boys.”
Billy-Eye knew he had been taking a big chance leaving the final
details for his sons to handle. He had not even visited the place
all week. It was Friday, 5:30 PM—thirty minutes before the grand
opening of Billy-Eye’s Arcade and Dance
Barn .
    The arcade room had been
arranged nicely—although not the way Billy-Eye would have done it.
But still, it was good. The two popcorn machines were ready to go.
High school aged workers were ready to hand out bags of the stuff.
The first group in the competition was warming up on the bandstand.
A stand-alone blackboard to the right side of the drums had the
name of the band written across it in white chalk: The Triangulators .
Each band would be responsible for putting their name on that
board.
    “ Glad you like it, Daddy.”
Craig beamed. Finally, he had done something right.
    “ So, what do you think? Will
we have a full house tonight?” said Billy-Eye.
    “ Sure,” said Lenny with a
naïve smile.
    “ Hopefully,” said Craig.
“They get in free, get to hear eleven bands, and get all the free
popcorn