For my mom who would totally have done this if she had been in a band as a teenager
Chapter One The guitar sings and Shawna sings along with it She feels her heart beating to the rhythm Cass is banging out There are lights there are people there’s a microphone in her hand that didn’t come from a thrift store She’s on a stage a real stage singing Rev’s lyrics about running away Well it’s sort of a real stage It was erected last night a bunch of crates with a fancy top And only some of the people are listening Most of them are milling about the other attractions of the fair And the lights were only turned on because it was starting to get dark 5
Shawna can’t say that she’s disappointed It’s an improvement over her garage They have actual expo sure here Anyone might be listening Who knows who had shown up at the fair today expecting to just be contributing to the fight against breast cancer Never Forget Nina Clarke only to be blown away by the magnificence of the Beauty School Dropouts As Shawna sings her mind wanders to what rec ognition might get her and her band Fame Money Fans Everything a teenager could ever want She knows what Rev is going to say It’s not realistic Shawna Stop daydreaming up impossible scenarios You’re only setting yourself up for disappointment Well phooey to that Rev said that when Shawna suggested the idea for a band too and look at them now Rev didn’t even know how to play guitar back then Without Shawna’s help Rev wouldn’t be up here right now and her songs would still just be poems and tunes she hummed softly to herself so Shawna will set herself up for as much disappointment as she pleases It keeps her working keeps her wanting to achieve a 6
goal Imagining that things are impossible only makes her feel like she’s already been defeated She finishes the song to a smattering of applause and the band leaves the stage They’re set to do a few more songs later but they’ve earned a dinner break Free food That was the best they were going to get for a charity gig but Shawna doesn’t mind Neither does Cass Free food always tastes better in their books Rev usually says that it’s all in their heads Cass usu ally takes that time to make some kind of rude hand gesture at her I think they like us Shawna says patting her dark kinky hair to make sure everything is still where it’s supposed to be and taking a long drink of water Hardly anyone was really listening Rev says tossing a can of soda between her hands Who cares Cass says taking a bite out of a pow dered-sugar-coated funnel cake At least we got out of that stupid garage Hey Respect the garage Shawna says pointing at Cass with her water bottle A lot of really famous 7
