Andrea's New Boyfriend (Chapter 4)

The day after, Debra took a walk from her house down a few blocks over to Andrea's house. Once she arrived, she took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. She started to think about what would Andrea's reactions be if she told her about the chattering of her boyfriend. After several seconds, the door opened with Andrea poking her head out.
"Hey, Debbie!" she greeted.
"Hey, Andy," Debra greeted back.
"What are you doing here? I didn't know you were coming."
"Oh, this is just a quick stop. I need to talk to you."
"Oh, sure. Come on in."
Debra entered the bright orange house with Andrea closing the door for her. Debra took a few steps into the pink and white lobby and turned around to face Andrea.
"Well, sit down, moza amiga," said Andrea.
"Actually, I want to tell you something before I make myself comfortable as it might make you tense."
"Okay. Then tell me."
"Alright. First, how are you and Enrique Iglesias doing?"
"Ricardo Iglesias."
"Ricardo Iglesias. That's what I meant."
"Well, we're doing fantastic. We do better and better every day. I think I might love him."
"Oh, well, you're going to hate me after this," she smiled nervously.
"Why?"
"Um... don't take this personal. Think about me saying it because I love you."
"What is it?"
"Say you love me back."
"I love you. What is it?"
"Well... me and the girls are happy that you got a boyfriend. Actually, more than happy. Ecstatic! But you have this little habit that we want you to look over."
"Oh, is it the way I talk? I started to notice that my voice gets slightly American-sounding when I talk too long. It's probably because I'm near Americans every day. I'll try to work on it because let me tell you: it's freaking me out, too."
"No, it's not about your accent. It's about Ricardo."
"Oh. Well, that makes sense since you were talking about my relationship."
"Yeah. So about Ricardo -- and like I said, we're ecstatic -- you talk about him too much."
Andrea stared at Debra as if she blacked out. "What do you mean?"
"Well, for example, when we asked you about your day, your answer involved Ricardo."
"Well, yeah. I had a good day because I was talking to Ricardo earlier."
"And that's okay. But when you talk to Ricardo, you end up talking about Ricardo."
"What's wrong with talking about a boyfriend?"
"Nothing. Nothing's wrong. It's just that you talk about him more than you talk about yourself."
"Debbie, I'm not egotistical."
"I know but you act like he's perfect."
"He is perfect."
"Nobody's perfect."
"Just because Hannah Montana sung about that doesn't mean it's true."
"Andy, I love you. Me and the girls love you. But we would really appreciate it if you didn't talk about your boyfriend so much."
"Oh, I see how it is."
"I was afraid this was going to happen."
"You and the girls are just jealous because I am the only one in our group that has a man."
"No, it's not that at all. We're just tired."
"Oh, you're tired of me?"
"Now I didn't say that."
"Yes, you did."
"Well, I didn't mean it that way."
"Ricardo makes me happy and you're convincing me to break up with him."
"No, I'm convincing you to stop talking about him."
"So you're admitting you're trying to convince me?"
"Man, I wish talking to girls were easy."
"I can't believe you came to my house to tell me how to date."
"Zen! Zen!"
Andrea paused. "What is wrong with you?"
"I don't know. I actually thought it would work. I don't know what's wrong with me."
"Debra, if you were my friend, you'd want me to be happy."
"I do want you to be happy. And I am your friend! Weren't you listening?!"
"Hey, what's all the commotion?" Ricardo said, running down the wooden stairs.
"Oh, come on!" said Debra. "He's here?"
"Debra, you will one day find a boy who will love, cherish and appreciate you," said Andrea. "But until you do, you cannot pick on my boyfriend."
"I wasn't picking on your boyfriend!"
"You called him Enrique."
"That's because his last name is Iglesias. I can't confuse a teenage Latino with a Latin singer who used to have a mole?"
"I don't care, Debra. I just don't care."
"Well, care about this. I'm leaving!"
She stomped past Andrea towards the door.
"Good, you came for no reason anyway," Andrea turned around.
"Oh, I come for reasons!" Debra twisted the knob on the door but it did not open. She then unlocked all of the four golden locks on the door. "You got too many locks on your door," she said, opening it and exiting. She slammed it closed.
Ricardo walked over to Andrea who sighed deeply. "Whoa, what was that all about?" he asked, embracing her.
"Debra says that she and my other friends are complaining about me talking about you," she replied.
"What?"
"I know, right?"
"There's nothing wrong with talking about your boyfriend."
"That's what I said! But Debra said that I talk about you too much."
"I don't find anything wrong with that. I'm flattered."
"Good. Plus, don't you talk about me?"
"Hardly."
Andrea frowned. "Oh."
"But it's nothing personal. You know you're special."
"Yeah," she laughed, awkwardly.
"I can't believe that your friends would say that though. You need to stop hanging out with them."
Andrea released from Ricardo's embrace. "What?" she scrunched her face.
"Your friends obviously don't like me. You might as well have friends who do like me, right?"
"R- Right?"
"Yeah, you need friends who are normal and don't dress up like John Lennon."
"Her name is Debra."
"Sure. Look, Andrea, it's you and me in this relationship. Not you, me and your friends. So if you stop hanging out with your nappy friends, we can be together for a long time."
Andrea smiled in feign. "Okay. Well, before I do that, may I ask you a question?"
"Sure, you can ask me anything, baby."
"Okay." She walked into the corner of the lounge towards a long, wooden pot. Sticking out of the pot is a wooden cane which she picks up. She walked back to Ricardo, facing him from a foot away and holding the cane pointing up. "Let me ask you this: have you ever heard of a human popsicle?"

Andrea's New Boyfriend (Chapter 3)

A couple days after, after school, the girls decided to go over Lizzie's house by Andrea driving them all in her jeep to the house. On the car ride to her house, Andrea gabbed about her boyfriend, Ricardo Iglesias, which tired out the girls to their ears. The girls remained looking interested but Andrea kept talking from the car to the house until they finally arrived. After their arrival, the girls settled in the fancy-looking living room and started to help each other with their homework.
"I don't get this question," said Lizzie, tapping her face with her number-two pencil. She then used it to point at the question on her worksheet clipped in her polka-dotted binder. "What is a 'pyramid gore' theorem?"
Madeline, who was sitting behind her on the pale pink sofa, looked over Lizzie's shoulder to read the question on the worksheet. "That says 'Pythagorean Theorem'," she corrected.
"Oh, then that makes so much sense," Lizzie said as she began to write.
"Ricardo is good at math," Andrea noted from a comfy, blue chair. "If you ask him to solve a problem, he will solve it in an instant. I bet he studied geometry as a little kid."
"Well, that's good that you found a guy who is focused on his studies," said Debra, who was sitting on the floor.
"Yeah, he's focused on his studies, sports, family and me. Cute, huh?"
"Yeah, that's adorable," Skye said in deadpan, flipping through her chemistry textbook. "Does any of you know how to solve for a limiting reagent?"
"Ricardo is good at chemistry, also," Andrea added. "He would get a hundred percent on all of his science tests. And he still does. I find that amazing."
"That doesn't answer my question," Skye responded after a pause.
"Go to page two hundred twenty," said Madeline. "There are some notes about that."
Skye flipped through the pages of her textbook backwards to the page.
"Oh, Ricardo is thinking about publishing a textbook when he's older," said Andrea.
"What is he going to publish a textbook about?" Madeline asked.
"Practically everything he knows."
"I don't know how textbooks are made," said Lizzie, "but I don't think you can do that."
"Uh, I think you can because Ricardo can do anything."
"Okay, is there one thing about your boyfriend that you don't like?" Skye asked, frustrated.
"I don't like it when food gets stuck in his teeth," Andrea replied.
"Finally."
"But it doesn't matter because his teeth comes out clean and white by the end of the day."
Skye groaned and buried her face into her textbook.
"What?" Andrea said. "You guys aren't annoyed with me talking about my boyfriend, are you?"
"No, we're pretty fond of it," Madeline smiled, more in a sarcastic way.
"We love it when you talk about your boyfriend for hours and hours and hours and hours..." said Lizzie.
Madeline patted on Lizzie on the shoulder to get her to stop talking.
"Awesome," Andrea responded. She started to pick up her books and dump them into her shiny yellow backpack.
"Why are you putting your books away?" asked Madeline.
"I got to meet up with Ricardo at Starbucks."
"But we practically just got here."
"I know but Ricardo texted me about ten seconds ago."
"You-- You going to drive?" asked Lizzie.
"Uh, yeah."
"But you drove us here," Madeline reminded her.
"I'm sorry but I really got to see him. I haven't seen him in a couple of days."
"It's been twenty minutes," said Skye.
"That's a long time... in some countries. See you tomorrow."
She zipped her backpack closed and stood up, picking it up and carrying it over one shoulder. She walked off out of the living room into the lounge of the house.
"But Andrea, I can't walk home by myself," Madeline shouted.
The girls heard the door close from a distance.
Debra stared at Madeline in a confusing way.
"What?" said Madeline. "It's unsafe to walk by yourself. There are people out there who find girls like me 'too pretty'."
"Uh, narcissist," Skye coughed.
"Please, I rather hear Madeline talk about herself than Andrea talk about her boyfriend," Lizzie confessed.
"You know what?" Skye inquired. "I agree. I am happy that Andrea found a guy that she really likes but come on. I like leather but you don't see me going 'blah-blah-blah' about it."
"Totally," Madeline agreed. "I love Andrea and I just want her to be happy. But if she talks about Ricardo one more time, I'm going to set him on fire."
"That will just make her talk about him more."
"I don't want Andrea to break up with Ricardo," said Lizzie. "But something needs to happen so we don't die from exhaustion."
Madeline turned to her head to look at Debra. "Debra, how about you talk to Andrea?"
"Why me?" Debra asked.
"Because I feel like Andrea would listen to you. Plus, you're calm, cool and you won't tear her eyeballs out."
"I'm flattered. But what do I say?"
"Say that we all love her and we love how she found a man to make her happy. But she talks about Ricardo a little way too much and we would appreciate it if she talked less about him and focused more on other subjects like... food or... animals... or... anything that doesn't involve her boyfriend."
"Okay, I'll try. But just know... that she is Andrea. And Andrea tends to get aggressive sometimes."
"Please, like you're scared of Andrea," said Lizzie.
"I'm not scared. She just needs zen."
"What is zen?"
"A thing you don't know."
"Well, that settles it," said Madeline. "Debra is going to talk to Andrea... tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Debra shouted.
"Zen!" she pointed.
Debra sighed and relaxed her face and shoulders. "Yes, tomorrow."
"Okay, problem solved. Now which one of you is going to hold my hand and walk me home later?"

Andrea's New Boyfriend (Chapter 2)

The next day, the girls had their lunch period at school. They all waited for Andrea as she would usually be at the cafeteria before the other girls would arrive. They sat at their table wondering when she would come for almost five minutes. She later arrived to the cafeteria, walking towards the girls arm-in-arm with a handsome, tan-skinned boy.
"Hey, girls," she greeted.
The girls greeted back in a dazed manner.
"This is my boyfriend, Ricardo Iglesias," she continued.
"I love it when you say my full name," said Ricardo.
"I say it for you, baby."
"Nice to meet you, Ricardo," smiled Madeline.
"Nice to meet you, too--" responded Ricardo before Andrea cut him off politely to introduce her friends.
"That's Madeline." She pointed at the girls individually, "And that's Lizzie, Debra and Skye."
"Well, nice to meet you all," Ricardo said.
"Oh, I think I've seen you before," said Debra. "Aren't you in the school newspaper a lot?"
"Yes, I am," he answered. "I play football."
"He's the team's best player," added Andrea. "His awesome skills get him into the newspaper every time."
"I love how you appreciate my football skills," said Ricardo.
"I love them for you, baby."
Skye stared at the happy couple in a blank expression.
"That is why you look so familiar," said Lizzie. "I like football. I go to the games with Andrea almost every month. That's probably why our team wins every game, right?"
"No, that is always why our team wins every game," Andrea responded for her boyfriend.
Lizzie stopped smiling and made a face to herself.
"So Ricardo, don't you want to sit down with us?" asked Madeline.
"I want to," said Ricardo.
"But he can't," Andrea finished his statement. "He took a bathroom pass to come and see me. Isn't that so sweet?"
"Yeah," responded Lizzie, "but wouldn't you get into trouble?"
"Yeah," Ricardo answered, "but it will be totally worth it. As long as I get to see my baby."
"Aw!" Andrea uttered. "I'm his baby."
She squeezed Ricardo as he kissed her on the cheek.
"Yes, you are," Debra said blandly.
"So Ricardo, since we're going to be friends, can I call you Ricky?" asked Skye.
"No!" Andrea responded.
Skye flinched and scrunched her forehead as Andrea's 'no' startled her.
"Ricardo is a cute name," she continued. "So we shall call him Ricardo."
"Sorry," said Skye. "I was just trying to be casual."
"You can call me Ricky," Ricardo answered for himself. "But I do prefer Ricardo."
"See?" said Andrea. "And Ricardo you shall be called."
"I love it when you talk all fancy."
"I talk like that for you, baby."
Madeline tried to hold in her laughter by covering her mouth.
"Oh, Ricardo and I should go on a double date with you and your boyfriend, Madeline," recommended Andrea.
Madeline put on a serious face. "I don't have a boyfriend."
"Oh, then you should get one."
Madeline made a face towards Andrea but she ignored it.
"I have a friend that I can set you up on a date with," Ricardo recommended. "He's good-looking, kind but he used to have a bit of a drug problem."
Madeline scrunched her eyebrows. "Why would I go out a guy with a drug problem?" she chuckled lightly.
"Used to. He used to have a drug problem."
"Uh, I think I'll pass."
"Maddie, be nice!" Andrea said through her teeth.
Madeline stared at Andrea as if she was a crazy person.
"Well, I enjoyed talking to you guys," said Ricardo, "but I got to go. Using the bathroom for more than fifteen minutes might cause suspicion." He faced Andrea. "So I will see you later."
"Dame un beso," Andrea uttered.
"Por supuesto, cariño."
Ricardo planted a kiss on Andrea's lips while embracing her. The girls stared but not in a surprising way since the two are a couple.
"Bye," she pulled away.
"Bye," he said back. He slowly pulled away from the embrace and walked out of the cafeteria.
Andrea walked around the table and sat down in her spot. "Isn't he a sweetie pie?" she asked with a smile.
"Depending on what kind of pie that would be," said Lizzie, "then yes, he is a sweetie pie."

Andrea's New Boyfriend (Chapter 1)

"I need a new razor," confessed Madeline, taking out a bottle of mineral water from her lunch bag.
"How shocking," said Skye, smiling.
"What's wrong with the one you have now?" asked Lizzie.
"It cuts me," answered Madeline. "A lot."
"Do you shave fast?" asked Debra.
"Sometimes. But that's because I keep getting stumble, stumble, stumble. And boys don't like stumble on ladies."
"Not all boys," Skye joked.
"And now, I have cuts all over my legs," said Madeline. "So until the cuts heal up, I have to wear pants."
"Oh, well, that isn't so bad," said Lizzie.
"But we're in California and my legs sweat."
Skye scrunched her forehead at that comment.
"That's natural?" Lizzie asked.
Debra looked closely at Andrea, who was smiling and gazing at the ceiling with her elbow on the table and her head resting in her hand. Debra could tell that Andrea was barely listening to the girls' conversation.
"Andrea..." she sung.
Andrea continued to look up at the ceiling.
"Andrea," Debra repeated.
Still no response.
"Andrea!" she yelled in a gruff voice.
"What?" Andrea jumped.
Debra giggled as if she never yelled. "What's going on? You're being quiet."
"Oh, I don't have much to say today," Andrea shrugged.
"Well, that's odd," said Madeline, opening her bottle of water. "You usually have something to say. Other than Skye."
"Hey!" Skye called.
"What? It's true."
"Yeah, I know," Skye said in a calmer voice.
"So tell us," Madeline looked at Andrea, "what is up?"
Andrea sighed. "Okay, I have something to say."
"Of course you do. What is it?"
"I... have a boyfriend!"
"What?" Lizzie gasped.
"You have a boyfriend?" Madeline slowly smiled.
"Yeah," Andrea giggled. "Tengo un novio!"
"I'm so happy for you," said Debra.
"Thanks, Debbie."
"Wait a second," said Skye. "That means you've been a dating a boy for a while and didn't tell us."
"Oh, yeah, what is that all about?" Madeline lost her smile.
Andrea's eyes widened. "Well, when I met Ricardo-- that's his name-- I wasn't that interested. But later, I gave him a chance and I started to really like him. So I didn't know how to tell you guys about us since we were moving so fast. Then we settled for a relationship and I have to tell you guys about that."
"Well, we can't get mad at you for dating a guy without telling us," said Lizzie.
"Unless the guy's a serial killer," Debra mentioned. "That's important."
"Well, Ricardo is not a serial killer," said Andrea. "He's sweet and kind and thoughtful."
"Aww..." Lizzie uttered.
"So when do we get to meet your Ricardo?" asked Skye.
"You can meet him whenever," answered Andrea. "He goes to our school."
"He does?" asked Madeline. "I never heard a 'Ricardo'."
"Well, he's in one of my classes. That's how we met."
"It's possible that we've bumped into him before," mentioned Debra. "We just don't know who he would've been."
"I can get him to come to our lunch period," Andrea recommended.
"Won't he get in trouble?" Skye asked.
"Probably but I bet he'll get into trouble for me. He's so favoring. Oh! I can show you a picture if it'll refresh your memory."
"Maybe later," said Madeline.
"Okay, later. Wait, after-school-later or at-my-house-later?"
"Why?" asked Lizzie.
"Because I want to show you today."
"You said we can see him whenever," reminded Debra.
"Well, we can see him today."
"Okay, hold your horses," said Madeline.
"My horses are held!"
"We will see him when we see him. There's no rush."
"You're right. I'm sorry. I just really like Ricardo and I really want to flaunt him."
"We know you do. You flaunt everything."
"What were we talking about earlier?" questioned Lizzie.
"Madeline's leg stumble," replied Skye.
Madeline glared at Skye but playfully.
"If you guys don't want me talking about my leg stumble," she started, "then buy me a razor for Christmas."
"But Christmas is nine months away," Lizzie responded.
"That doesn't mean you can't start shopping."

Sean Bronstein's Garage

The Skye's The Limit (Chapter 5)

"I am so glad you guys came!" smiled Skye, picking her cup of punch up from the dining room table.
"Why wouldn't we?" asked Madeline. "We're your friends and we should support you."
"We started realizing how important this was for you," said Lizzie, "and we didn't want to let you down."
"And even this party isn't much of a big deal," Andrea commented, "it's a big deal to you and we're sorry for even thinking about not coming."
"How insincere the first part sounded," Skye smiled, "but I know you have meaning so thank you."
"Do you forgive us?" asked Debra.
Skye sighed. "Of course I do. You're my girls."
"Oh, let's hug!" Lizzie grinned.
The girls group-hugged, letting the weight lift off their shoulders.
After releasing, Debra commented to Skye, "You sounded so good!"
"Thank you, but I am nothing without my band," said Skye.
"Well, does your band have a fan page on Facebook?" asked Andrea. "Because if they do, I am 'liking' it!"
"I think you will gain plenty of fans after this party," said Madeline.
"We do rock," Skye smiled.
"And you probably have enough money to buy that synthesizer," said Lizzie. "Thanks to me."
"Thanks to you?"
"Yeah, that Phil guy asked for twenty dollars; I gave him twenty-one dollars."
"Oh, Lizzie," Skye smiled but said in deadpan, "that's so sweet of you."
"I know, right?"
"Girls, whether or not my band does buy that synthesizer, I would still have something money can't buy: friends."
"Aw!" uttered Andrea. "That's cheesy, but aw!"
"Oh, Madeline," Lizzie whispered, "Sean is coming."
Madeline turned her head and tilted it back where her eyes were looking at the ceiling. "Aw, geez," she moaned.
Sean walked up to Madeline and rested his guitar by its head on the floor. "Hey, Madeline," he smiled while resting his arm on the top of the guitar.
"Hi, Sean," Madeline greeted.
"Don't you mean, 'Clumsy Idiot'?"
Madeline giggled awkwardly. "I guess so."
"So how-- how did-- how did you like the performance?"
"It was good."
"Yeah, it was because-- because I play guitar."
"I know, Sean."
Skye snickered to herself. Her snickering made the other girls want to laugh.
"Well, I'm going to go," said Sean.
"Okay," Madeline nodded.
"I'm going to leave now."
"Okay. Goodbye, Sean."
"Bye. I love you."
He picked up his guitar and rushed past the girls. He dropped his guitar after the second he ran, but scooped it up clumsily and managed to disappear out of the girls' sight.
Andrea slowly looked at Madeline, who had a confused look on her face. "Looks like somebody has a boyfriend now."
"Skye, go and tell him that I don't like him," said Madeline in a high-pitched voice.
"I would but I don't want to break his heart," Skye giggled. "You should tell him yourself."
"Ugh, I don't like hurting people's feelings."
"Yet you do that all the time," Andrea mentioned.
"Hey, I said I didn't like it. I didn't say it wasn't easy."
Skye laughed. "Don't worry, Maddie. I tell him you don't like him. I was planning to set him up with somebody anyway."   
"Really?" asked Madeline. "With who?"
"Lizzie."
"What?" Lizzie responded loudly.
"I'm kidding, Liz'," Skye laughed. "I was going to set him up with one of my not-so-close friends."
"Well, that's nice, Skye," said Madeline.
"You're so sweet," Lizzie added.
"It smells like throw-up in here," Debra threw out there.

The Skye's The Limit (Chapter 4)

Sean opened the door from inside his house after he heard the ring of the doorbell.
"Oh, hey, Donald," he greeted the boy with blond hair in front of him.
"'Sup, man," said the boy.
"'Sup, man," Sean responded before putting out his hand. "That will be twenty dollars."
Donald dug into the pocket of his jeans and pulled a wad of cash. He counted the dollar bills and handed Sean the twenty.
"Thanks, man," Sean said, placing the money in the pocket of his hoodie.
Donald entered the house. "I hope this party has beer," he pointed at Sean.
"There's one can on the table," Sean closed the door. "Try to fight for it."

"I hope enough people came," Skye said to David, playing with a strip of her straight, blonde hair. "I don't want us to throw another party when we're so close to buying that synthesizer."
"And I don't feel like cleaning up another time," David added. "Sean's house is too big."
"Yeah, I don't feel like cleaning up another time, either. I think I saw a girl throw up a couple minutes ago."
"And you didn't do anything?"
"I didn't want to believe it, Dave. I didn't believe it. But if it did happen, I'll clean it."
"Or we can get Kent to clean it."
Skye nodded. "Yeah, we can do that."
"Everybody should be having a good time anyway. There's food, there's punch with hopefully no liquor, and there's going to be entertainment: us!"
"We do rock."
"Yeah, and if everybody has a good time, we'll be able to keep the money... I hope Sean didn't lose."
"He is a klutz. But he's our klutz."
"Let's hope for the best."
"For the best."
David picked up a plastic cup full of fruit punch from the table behind him and sipped it.
"Does the drink taste liquor-y?" asked Skye.
David looked into the cup. "No, but I haven't drank punch in so long, it's hard to tell."
Skye giggled.
"Hey, guys," Sean shouted rushing up to them. "I asked Phillip to watch the door and get the money so we can play. Is that alright?"
"Well, I don't know Phillip," said David.
"Oh, he's a friend of mine."
"Does Phillip steal?" asked Skye.
"No, I asked him," said Sean. "He said no."
"Well, what did his eyes say?" questioned David.
Sean paused. "You know what? Let me go check."
He turned around and walked back.
"'What did his eyes say?'" Skye repeated.
"Yeah, I was just messing with him," smiled David.
Skye grinned and giggled.

Skye turned on the microphone in the garage. "Welcome, ladies and gents to the garage of Sean Bronstein's house," she spoke into it, her voice amplifying from the surrounding speakers.
The people standing in front of the band cheered.
"This seems really indie," Skye continued, "but we are A New Yesterday and we wanted to see if we could gain a few fans. So enjoy as we will be covering Yellowcard's 'Ocean Avenue'."
"And if you don't like us," said David, walking in front of Skye and into the microphone, "we're letting you know that there are no refunds."
Most of the people in the audience groaned.
"Okay, let's do this," said Skye.
David walked back to his position and played the chords of E major, F minor and D on his guitar along with Sean. Kent played his drums into the intro before Skye started singing in her fluent, punk voice:

There's a place off Ocean Avenue
Where I used to sit and talk with you
We were both sixteen and it felt so right
Sleeping all day, staying up all
Night
Staying up all
Night

If I could find you now
Things would get better
We could leave this town
And run forever
Let your waves crash down on me
And take me away, yeah-ee-yeah

The audience cheered and applauded as David played the chord of A5 during the bridge. Him and Sean played their part of the bridge with their required chords as Skye jumped in.

We look up at the same night sky
We keep pretending the sun will not rise
We'll be together for one more night
Somewhere, somehow

If I could find you now
Things would get better
We could leave this town
And run forever
I know somewhere, somehow
We'll be together
Let your waves crash down on me
And take me away-yeah-ee-yeah

David and Sean played the same chords from the beginning to end the song as Kent played the beats to finalize. The crowd cheered and applauded more loudly than they did before.
"Go Skye!" a familiar voice called.
The voice stunned Skye as she tried to gaze into the crowd to find out that voice. She looked for several seconds until she saw her four best friends clapping and cheering from the back. She grinned and giggled responsively at them as she was super giddy to see her friends show up.
   

The Skye's The Limit (Chapter 3)

On a Monday afternoon, it was lunchtime for the girls at school. Madeline arrived in the cafeteria last as she usually does and sat down at the table that the girls sat in every day. The girls greeted her as usual.
"Hello, my sisters," she greeted back.
"Oh, did you and Skye have that 'talk'?" asked Debra.
"Yeah, "Madeline answered, laying her lunch bag down on the table, "and everything's fine."
"And it wasn't a 'talk-talk'," said Skye. "There was no confrontation."
"But you did ignored her calls, Skye," mentioned Debra.
"I was rehearsing," Skye defended herself.
"You didn't call her back," said Lizzie.
"I answered when she called me on Saturday."
"But she called you on Friday," said Andrea. "And I know if you ignored my calls five times on the same day, it would be goin' down."
"I have no idea what that means."
"It means I would beat you like a punching bag."
"It doesn't matter," said Madeline. "I called, we talked, we understood. It's basically something that we don't need to talk about."
"But we're talking about it," Lizzie said quietly.
"Then let's not."
"Okay," said Skye, "since we're pushing the subject aside, I have some news."
The girls lifted their heads up to look at Skye.
"My friend, Sean, is throwing a party at his house. And at his party, A New Yesterday will be performing in the garage."
"Like a little concert?" Debra questioned.
"Yeah. We're doing covers and it will epic. But we need feedback. So will you guys come?"
The girls paused in silence, thinking.
"The party's on Friday," she added.
"But I thought we were going bowling again on Friday," said Lizzie.
"No, I said whatever you guys are doing next Friday, I'll be there," Skye corrected. "But they say it's better sooner than later. And Friday is a perfect day to have a party. So... will you guys come?"
The girls continued to think in silence.
"Gonna leave me hanging again?" she responded.
"It's at Sean's house?" asked Madeline.
"Yeah."
"Sean kind of creeps me out."
"So he has a little crush on you. Big deal."
"Wait, it's a crush?"
"What artists will your band be covering?" asked Andrea.
"Let's see," Skye said to herself. "Boys Like Girls--"
"I don't know who that is."
"Yellowcard--"
"Don't know who that is either."
"Fall Out Boy--"
"Oh, I know who that is."
"Yeah?"
"I'm not into them."
"Come on, guys," Skye put her hands up. "None of you are considering going to my band's party?"
"Sorry, Skye, but I am looking forward doing whatever we were going to do on Friday," said Lizzie.
"What if you guys were going to do nothing on Friday?"
"Then we'd come to your party," said Debra. "But I don't know."
"Come on, guys," Skye whined. "All you have to do is come, bring twenty dollars and--"
"Wait, twenty dollars?" Madeline interrupted.
"For what?" asked Andrea.
"For a synthesizer," answered Skye.
"I don't know, Skye," said Andrea. "I'm on a budget."
"You don't know what that means."
"Well, I don't have money for you!"
"Girls, if you don't want to come to the party, just say no."
"No," all of the girls said in unison.
Skye scrunched her forehead. "Alright. If you guys don't want to come, then don't come."
"Are you mad?" asked Lizzie.
"No, I shouldn't drag you to a place that you don't want to go. If you don't want to come, then don't come."
Debra leaned towards Madeline, who was right beside her. "I think she is mad," she whispered.
"Like a beaver with rabies!" Skye snapped, hearing what Debra had said.

The Skye's The Limit (Chapter 2)

On a Friday afternoon, after school, Skye angled the microphone towards her mouth in the garage of her friend, Sean's, home.
"You should have bought me a microphone stand that was my height," noted Skye to her friend, David.
"Sorry, I don't know how tall you are," said David, tightening the string of his red electric guitar.
"I would tell you but I can't," Skye joked. "It's top secret."
"Why would somebody's height be top secret?" Sean asked himself, playing a soft chord on his blue electric guitar.
"Can't wait to get that new synthesizer," Skye's friend, Kent, from behind the drum set, mentioned.
"Me, neither," agreed Skye. "All we need is five hundred dollars and it's ours."
"But that means we have to invite twenty-five people to our party," said Sean, "and I told my mom it would just be a small social gathering."
"Then, we'll tell all the people we invite that if they destroy anything in your house, it's another five dollars."
"You can't buy a vase with five dollars," said David.
"You can at Walmart," replied Skye.
"And I think you can buy a vase for just a dollar at the Dollar store," said Sean.
"Good to know," whispered David.
"Once I get my hands on that synthesizer, our music is going to liven up the generation of rock," Skye groaned in excitement.
"Calm down, it's just an instrument," said David. "Not a magical wand."
"Do you guys even know ten people?" asked Kent.
The guys disagreed, shaking their heads and stating the amount of people that they know.
"So we're just going to invite people that we don't know?" asked David.
"We can invite our cousins and charge them," Skye recommended.
David looked up at the ceiling. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."
"My cousin owes me money anyway," said Sean.
"Great, now we have a plan," Skye slapped her hands together. "Let's rehearse, shall we?"
Suddenly, a cellphone started ringing.
"Skye, I think your phone is ringing," said Kent, pointing a phone on a folding chair with one of his drumsticks.
Skye walked towards the chair and picked up the phone. She read the name on the phone's screen, which said "Maddie", and pressed the "Ignore" button. She laid the phone back on the chair and walked back to the microphone stand.
"Who was that?" asked David.
"My friend, Maddie," answered Skye.
"And you just ignored her?"
"We're about to rehearse."
"Madeline's pretty," noted Sean. "She has a nickname for me."
"What's the nickname," asked Kent.
"Clumsy Idiot."
"Okay, let's get started," said Skye.
The cellphone rang again. Skye walked back to the chair and picked up the phone. After reading the name "Maddie" on the phone, she pressed the "Ignore" button on the screen like she did earlier. She put the phone down on the chair and walked back to the microphone stand.
"What are you, mad at her?" asked David.
"No," Skye answered without hesitating.
"Then why aren't you answering the phone?"
"Isn't it rude to answer the phone while your band is rehearsing?"
"We barely started."
"Then I'll call her back."
"It's okay, It's too late anyway."
"Too late?"
"Yeah, if you send the same person to voicemail more than once, they won't want to hear from you afterwards."
"Then I'll call Maddie when we're done. She won't get mad."
"Oh, I don't know," said Sean. "Madeline would get pretty aggressive towards me when I would screw up an experiment in Chemistry. But that just means she loves me."
Skye stared at Sean awkwardly. "Okay, let's just start, shall we?" she snapped out of it.
"We're doing 'Sugar, We're Goin' Down', right?" asked Kent.
"Yep," responded Skye, turning on her microphone, "the short version. Ready?"
Sean stood up from his chair as Kent played the drums for the intro. The other boys jumped in, playing the keys of D, G, Bm and G on their guitars: David playing lead and Sean playing rhythm.
After they repeated their chords, to play their next ones, Skye sang their timed part into the microphone:

Am I more than you bargained for yet?
I've been dying to tell you anything that you want to hear
'Cause that's just who I am this week
Lie in the grass next to the mausoleum
I'm just a notch in your bedpost but you're just a line in a song

Drop a heart
Break a name
We're always sleeping here and we're sleeping for the wrong team

We're going down, down, in an earlier round
And sugar, we're going down swinging
I'll be your number one with a bullet
A loaded gun complex, cock it and pull it

Down, down in an earlier round
And sugar, we're going down swinging
I'll be your number one with a bullet
A loaded gun complex, cock it and pull it

We're going down, down
Down, down
We're going down, down
A loaded gun complex, cock it and pull it
  
We're going down, down, in an earlier round
And sugar, we're going down swinging
I'll be your number one with a bullet
A loaded gun complex, cock it and pull it

The boys ended the song with David and Sean playing the last chords and Kent doing a short drum roll as Skye applauded to their good performance.

The Skye's The Limit (Chapter 1)

Madeline unzipped her pink lunch bag and opened it, exposing a neatly organized lunch for her.
"You always pack so neat," Debra commented.
"I know," giggled Madeline, taking out a shiny red apple from her bag. "It keeps my vision straight."
"Your vision?" Andrea inquired.
"Yeah, if everything was thrown in my bag, my eyes would go idle. But if everything is organized, my eyes become less busy. Nobody wants their eyes to hurt."
"But my eyes don't hurt when I look at the disorganization of something."
"Well, everybody's eyes are different and I'm one of them."
"But if your eyes hurt, take medication," said Lizzie.
"Or wear glasses," added Debra.
"Please, glasses are not fabulous," said Madeline.
"Oh, they can be," said Lizzie. "They come in different colors and designs. You'll see when you get your eyes checked."
"I'm not going to get my eyes checked. My eyes are fine."
"But you said your eyes hurt," said Andrea.
"When I look at a disorganized lunch! Don't make me have word vomit."
"Just saying. Trying to help a friend."
"Thank you but I'm not blind."
"So moving on," Lizzie smiled, "everybody still available to go bowling this Friday?"
All of the girls agreed except for Skye.
"Oh, I can't," Skye replied. "I have band practice with the guys."
"You're in the marching band?" asked Lizzie.
"No, I'm talking about my rock band, A New Yesterday."
"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot you were in a band," Madeline pointed.
"I talk about it, like, all the time," said Skye.
"You really don't," mumbled Debra.
"Okay, maybe not all the time but enough. I still rehearse with them when I can."
"Well, it's a bummer that you can't go bowling with us," said Lizzie.
"I promise next time."
"Why would we go bowling again next time?" asked Andrea.
"I meant as in whatever you guys are doing next week, I'll be there."
"I trust your promise," noted Madeline. "So what are the guys' names again? I swear I knew them."
"David, Sean and Kent."
"Oh, yeah. Sean is in my chemistry class. He breaks everything."
"He is a little clumsy. But it looks more rock and roll when there's a guitar in his hands."
"Does he have a spare guitar in case the one he has breaks?" asked Debra.
Skye paused to think. "No."
"Budget issues," Lizzie sang.
"Whatever," Skye shook her head. "We're trying to raise money anyway. We plan on getting a synthesizer."
"Isn't that a sedative that reduces anxiety?" asked Lizzie.
Skye stared at Lizzie. "That's a tranquilizer."
"My bad."
"A synthesizer is like a keyboard but it produces a wide range of sounds," Madeline told Lizzie.
"Exactly," Skye agreed. "And since I can play the piano and keyboard, I think I can master the ol' synthesizer."
"What kind of music do your band play anyway?" asked Andrea.
Skye answered, "Alternative rock, pop punk and power pop."
"Wow, don't know what those words mean," admitted Lizzie.
"Alternative rock is a genre that most rock bands go for. Pop punk is punk rock with pop influences. And power pop is a louder version of pop rock, which we also do."
"Whoa, vocabulary of the day," noted Madeline.
"If you're going to do the genre, you got to know the genre."
"Have your band written any songs?" Debra asked.
"Plenty," Skye answered, "but we do covers most of the time. They are like a memory game to us because the songs that we know have complicated structures and lyrics. Doing other people's songs help us come up with our songs."
"So you're stealing songs?" Andrea inquired.
"'So you're stealing songs?'" mocked Skye. "No, they're used as inspiration."
Andrea glared at Skye for a second.
"I like Bono," said Skye. "And I want to think Bono. But to think Bono, you got to know Bono. He is my ruler and I shall write similar to him."
"Who's Bono?" asked Lizzie.
"Who's Bono?" Skye snapped.
"Don't do it, Doll," whispered Madeline. "Don't do it."
"Please don't go on a rant, Skye," said Debra in her naturally calm way. "Lizzie will eventually know who Bono is."
"Yeah, I love to hear your band," Andrea said to Skye. "But let's talk about something else, such as whether to get Madeline a walking dog."
"Yeah, and some black glasses," giggled Skye.
The girls, except for Madeline, laughed.
"I am not blind!" Madeline yelled.

The Heart Fountain

Hearts At The Fountain (Chapter 5)

A few days later, on a cloudy afternoon, the girls waited for Andrea to enter the cafeteria as she was not as early as usual. When she did enter, she approached the girls, sporting a big bandage stuck on the side of her forehead.
"Hey, Andy," greeted Lizzie, once Andrea sat down in her spot of the table. "How's your head?"
"It's doing well," sighed Andrea. "I get a few headaches here and there. But I'm dynamite."
"You exploded on that stage like dynamite," said Skye.
Lizzie and Debra snickered.
"Well, you girls know I have a bit of a... anger issue," said Andrea, quietly.
"Then see a counselor," Madeline remarked.
"Madeline, I am so sorry for the way I acted," Andrea apologized. "I just didn't want my boyfriend to fall in love with you."
"But I told you: I don't want your boyfriend."
"I know. And I'm sorry. I should have never tried to ruin the play like that and embarrass you."
"You didn't just embarrass her," mumbled Lizzie. "You embarrassed the whole directory."
"Thank you, Liz'," Andrea said, sarcastically. "I'll remember to include that in the letter I'll be writing in detention."
"You got detention?" asked Debra.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I? I jumped on the stage unannounced and attempted to fight two guys."
"Then it makes sense."
"Are you truly sorry, Andrea?" Madeline questioned.
"Truly," Andrea responded.
"Then apology accepted."
"Aw!" Debra uttered. "You guys made up. Now we can move on."
"So what happened with Nicky?" asked Madeline.
"I told him we should stay friends," Andrea said. "The way I acted, I didn't think he would have wanted to stay with me for a long time. Plus, he wasn't caramel enough."
"I thought you said that 'caramelo' means 'candy'," Skye jumped in.
"Don't tell me how to speak English, either!"
"Maybe he was more caramel-flavored," Lizzie said.
"That's right."
"You guys are so weird," Skye muttered.
"It's kind of weird that you broke up with Nicky instead of the other way around," said Madeline. "Like he didn't say how he felt about the 'play-crashing'?"
"Yeah, he did," answered Andrea. "He said it was embarrassing, it was uncalled for, and a bit of idiotic. But it showed that I cared about him and I'm really attractive when I'm crazy."
"So he didn't like the act but liked the act at the same time?" Lizzie asked.
"Pretty much."
"Then you should've kept him," said Skye.
"Don't worry, Andy," said Madeline. "You'll find your dream guy one day. Y él será un dulce mirar."
"Mi propio pedazo de caramelo," Andrea responded.
Andrea and Madeline laughed together while the other girls looked at them with confused expressions, not comprehending a word they were saying.
"But seriously," Madeline stopped laughing, "see a counselor."

Hearts At The Fountain (Chapter 4)

"Y entonces el hombre dijo: '¿Me taco a mí?'" Madeline told in a perfect Spanish accent to a group of actors backstage.
The actors chuckled and clamored in Spanish, their main language.
Seconds after, Skye ran up behind Madeline in excitement. "Hey, Maddie," she captured Madeline's attention. "Are you ready to go out and perform again?"
"I was born ready," Madeline turned around. "I've done plays before but not in high school. So maybe this could be my breakthrough."
"Maddie, it's school, not Broadway."
"But it's practice. I mean the excessive lines, the costume changes, the emotions: it is hard work. Plus, I can be known as the girl who played Ashley from Hearts at the Fountain better than the other past girls who played her. That means so much to me."
"Well, if it means so much to you, then I am happy for you. Plus, the first three scenes you did were spectacular."
"Aw, thank you."
"If only Sunstreet gave me permission to change the music up a bit, I would have added some sparkle on you."
"Oh, well. Maybe next time. No matter what play is next, I'm getting a role in it and you will add sparkle on me."
"Cool. And can you do me a favor?" Skye turned around and pointed towards her hair. "Can you tell me if my bun is messed up?"
"Girl, you're the pianist. Nobody was looking at your hair."
Skye turned back around. "Gee, thanks," she said, sarcastically. "Well, I better go. We have less than a minute left. Go get 'em."
"Thanks."
Skye walked away to go down the stage steps back to the piano.

The audience applauded as the curtains opened up to start the fourth scene of the play, exposing Madeline and Nicky in their positions. Skye played the keys on the grand piano perfectly, forming a light, sentimental tune.
"Thanks for the book, Lee," Madeline said in a creamy voice, wagging the red book in her right hand.
"No problem," said Nicky, in a more gentle voice. "You will enjoy it."
"You know, I've never met a guy like you. You're different."
"Everybody's different."
"I know. But you're... special. As if you were some sort of god."
"Why thank you."
The audience chuckled.
Madeline stood up. "I mean it. It's like you were sent to me."
"Maybe you were sent to me."
The two walked slowly closer and closer to each other. Right when their faces were going to touch, they parted as they heard a call:
"Hey, guys!" Andrea grinned, walking towards the two; her thick heels making loud, dull sounds in every step on the stage.
The portrayed couple stared at Andrea in confusion.
"Hanging out by the fountain?" she asked, rolling her arms towards the cardboard fountain behind them.
Madeline walked closer to Andrea. "Andrea, what the heck are you doing here?" she whispered with clenched teeth.
"Oh, my name is not Andrea," she said loudly as her voice became more deadpan. "I'm Susie Palace and I'm new around here."
"Susie Palace?" Madeline continued to whisper. "Really?"
"Uh, welcome to Indio, Susie," Nicky played along. "How do you like it so far?"
"Oh, it's fantastic here," Andrea responded. "What is not fantastic is that you have been avoiding me for a long time before I came here."
"Okay, what?"
"I used to be Lee's girlfriend," Andrea faced Madeline. "Actually, I am technically his girlfriend since we didn't really break it off."
"Then break it off," Madeline responded.
"No. He should give me a 'hello kiss' before we even talk about us."
"Okay, I'm going to break character," Madeline shook her head, "because this is ridiculous. Why are you up here, Andrea?"
"You think you can take my man, Made-leen?"
"What?"
"Don't take my man away, Made-leen, just because you can!"
"What are you talking about? Why are you calling me that?"
"Calling you what?"
"Made-leen. You keep calling me 'Made-leen'."
"Oh, well, I was blacking out a bit. But you still can't take my man!"
"Andrea, I don't want your man."
"Andrea, I like you," Nicky jumped in, "but you have to leave."
"I'm not going to leave if she's going to plant one on you," Andrea shook her head.
"I have to, Andrea," said Madeline. "It's a play."
"Then play people who don't kiss!"
As Andrea continued to ramble on about her relationship with Nicky, two strong-looking men in black collared shirts walked on the stage towards her.
"Alright, miss, it's time for you to go," said one of the guards, grabbing Andrea's arm.
"Don't touch me," Andrea uttered as she pushed away the guard. Her push was so forceful that the guard backed up unsteadily and bumped into the cardboard fountain, knocking it down.
The other guard managed to grab both of Andrea's arms and hold them behind her back. But Andrea struggled so much that she and the guard walked idly and unsteadily on the stage, causing them to back up into the white bench that was in front of the fountain and trip over it.
Nicky and Madeline stared at the conflict with wide eyes and gaped mouths. Madeline looked at the audience, who were shocked as well.
She stuttered and walked frontwards a bit on the stage. "What's with crazy people, am I right?" she chuckled nervously.
A man in a black turtleneck and black glasses stood up from one of the seats in the front row of the auditorium and yelled, "Intermission!"
The audience witnessed the curtains closing in, soon covering the mess made by Andrea and the two guards along with the two lead characters.
"This would have seemed less awkward if there was some rock music," muttered Skye.