Walking on Starlight ✓

Chapter 11

"Cloud Nine...Cloud Nine..."

It's the beginning of winter semester, and I'm still thinking that should be the name of our band. But August has vetoed that as well.

Dating him has been -- well, it's been kind of an adventure, to put it mildly. To be honest, he's incredibly attractive and charismatic, but I don't know if I fully like him yet, even after two or three months of being with him. It's more fun than being at home alone, though. We're always going out on dates, and he always pays, so I'm not complaining. It's like I know the entirety of Curling Blue now, because he's taken me everywhere.

He's also good with the PDA, but he's kept it strictly appropriate, just quick kisses and hand holding. In addition to that, now everybody is saying that Mikey Wheaton's daughter is dating August D. We've become the "it couple" at Curling Blue High over the long winter break. Even though I'm technically not his girlfriend yet -- I'm just the cute girl he takes on dates. I keep waiting for him to make it official.

I've also been waiting for some progress regarding our band. It's now February, and we've been practicing as the Curling Blue Rock Band, and we need something better before Principal Ankrum comes after us again. Dad's come up with a lot of names as well, and we're supposed to have a better name before our next gig. But August won't just freaking come up with something. Amber keeps saying that she'll make us a Myspace (whatever that is), but she needs a name first. So here we are, all going in circles again.

Thankfully August is absent from band today because of his basketball practice. That leaves the rest of us to put into effect Operation Come Up With A Name That August Can't Veto. The four of us sit in a circle. Amber brings her notebook, and we slave away for at least forty five minutes, but nothing.

"Grr," Amber says as she throws the notebook across the room. "Is this his band, or ours?"

I pause. "Is it? I feel like sometimes it just seems like August and the Motley Crew, or whatever. He's been taking center stage and wowing the crowd. Which, I don't mind, it brings all his fangirls to our shows. But he wouldn't be in a band by himself."

"He's not even that great of a singer," J.P. mutters. I realize I've never heard J.P. criticize August like that before. It's like J.P. left and suddenly he feels able to express himself.

I change the subject back. "J.P., what do you think we should call the band?"

He puts his guitar down. "I think it should be something inspirational. Something that fits us. I mean, we're all just high schoolers having fun, right? None of us are gonna go professional with this someday. So the name doesn't really matter that much, although I wish it did."

There's more to this than J.P. is telling us. He's always seemed like the gentle giant of the school, and I've been aware that gentle is probably getting confused with shy, but this just proves it. "Do you want to be famous? J.P., your skill with the guitar is unmatched, even by my standards. You'd make the emo wannabes at Hilliard New Rome run away from you."

He smiles, just a bit. "I don't know yet. I just want to keep playing. Mom and Dad don't mind at all. They're actually really cool with whatever I want to do. We just don't have the money to do a lot, so I end up working for it."

"You have a job?" A part time job on top of football, the band, and classes would be a lot for any high schooler.

"Not really? I mow peoples' lawns and stuff in the summer. That's about it. They're just happy I have friends here at school. We've lived off of Route 105 for years, so we're kind of farm people."

The gears start turning in my head. I turn to Jaewon. "Jaewon, do you think you could get your parents to let you hang out at J.P.'s house at some point? We could try to practice there if we even ran into trouble with the school."

There is a huge smile on J.P.'s face. "My parents would love that. We could use the garage!"

Jaewon looks up from his own list of discarded band names. "I guess they'd be ok with it? I mean, we're on the same football team. As long as you and Amber aren't over at the same time."

"Oh, they don't ever have to see us," I say with a grin. "We can hide in the back until they're gone. I'm not trying to volunteer your space, am I, J.P.?"

The blonde boy shakes his head. "No, not at all. We've had the football team over multiple times for cookouts. I want to have people over more often." I'm starting to think that J.P.'s parents would win Best Parents of the Curling Blue High Rock Band, if such an award did exist. I just don't understand why he lets August get the first word in when it comes to everything. If he's so confident in his own abilities, why does the under-talented August always show him up with his charisma?

"Look, I still think the Cloud Nine idea is the best one," Amber says. "It's simple, it's easy to remember, and it's totally appropriate for a bunch of high schoolers. How about we go with that?"

We all nod in agreement. It's not perfect, but it's better than the Curling Blue High Rock Band.

"No, no, no," August says the next day at practice. "I already told you we're not using that name." He walks away, grabbing his guitar and playing a random, messy chord.

"But Amber already made the Myspace for it," I say. August can't veto the name if Amber already made it official in cyberspace.

Amber says nothing.

"Did you?" August asks, irritated, still holding onto his guitar.

"To be honest, the internet was down all weekend," Amber pouts.

"See? We don't want to be seen as day tripping, hanging by our shoestrings and walking on starlight. We're way more serious than that. This band has to be everything that I want it to be."

And I stand up, because I know that there's more to this than what August knows. I know J.P. sometimes feels left out of the band decisions. I know Jaewon is just using it as an escape from his quite frankly crazy parents. And Amber...well, she's Amber. "Look, August, I like you and all. Of course you know I do. But this isn't just August Davidson's band. It's all of us. I say we take a vote or something, and just leave it at that."

Amber gets up and walks away from us before I can get her to vote. "It's just...none of these names are good enough for us," August says.

"Who says a name has to be good enough for a band? For crying out loud, my dad's band name was The Hatboxes. It doesn't have to be a good name. It just has to be a catchy name." I take his hand and look him straight in the eyes, then I smile. Hopefully this will calm him down. "What matters is the strength of the band. We have that bronze medal that we won at the Battle of the Bands. Who cares that we were called the Curling Blue High Rock Band at the time? That's our band, that's our medal. We could be called The Roses, for any other name would smell just as sweet."

"I..." Thank God, I've got August at least a little where I want him. He really does seem to be listening. I wonder, just for a second, whether or not he's ever going to actually ask me to be his girlfriend. We've been dating a lot, and people keep assuming that, but --

"So, how many votes for Cloud Nine?" Jaewon asks, breaking the silence. He, J.P., and I all raise our hands.

"That settles it, then," I say, reaching out to August again. "Right?"

He sighs, then smiles. "You're right. I mean...I guess I'm just used to doing my own thing. I never thought I'd have four cool cats playing along with me. We are a band. I guess we can be Cloud Nine."

"No we can't." Amber's voice filters back in from the office, where she's apparently been holed up while I've brought August back down to Earth. "Some obscure cover band in Portland, Oregon already has that name."

"Seriously? Ugh, we're back at square one?"

"Nope! I already have our name." Amber motions for us to come into the office, and we follow. She has the office computer hooked up to the Internet, and it's on Myspace. A blank page stares back at us, with the words "Walking On Starlight" at the top.

"What is this?" August asks.

"Our Myspace page." Amber grins. "Walking On Starlight. That's the name of our band."