Beat the Band (37 page)
Authors: Don Calame
“Okay, then.” I throw my hands up. “It’s on.” I reach down and grab some snow. Matt starts running. He’s too far away by the time I’ve got my snowball formed.
So, I turn and hurl it at Sean, whaling him in the shoulder.
“Hey!” Sean shouts. “What the hell?”
“Oops,” I say. “Friendly fire.”
I tear off toward the goalpost — the only cover available — and the snowball fight begins.
It doesn’t take long before a stray throw hits Valerie. And another clips Helen. Before you know it, everyone’s involved. Racing around the football field, laughing, and dodging snowballs. The winter air filling our lungs. The lights from the parking lot casting a faint glow, catching the flurries that drift down around us.
And I have to say, it’s the perfect cap to this insane semester, which was, as I predicted, epic.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book had to be steered through some rocky and treacherous waters along the way and could not have been guided home without the help of some wonderfully patient and dedicated people.
For that — and all the love and support I received for
Swim the Fly
— I would like to offer my heartfelt gratitude to:
Kaylan Adair, my amazing editor, who co-captained and righted this sometimes-canting ship with me, and whose ideas, suggestions, encouragement, cheerleading, and overall fabulousness were much appreciated.
Liz Bicknell, for offering the all-important “other perspective” on the book.
Jodi Reamer, my stalwart literary agent, for her conviction and support.
Caren Bohrman, my film agent, for her enthusiasm and constant good humor.
Karen Lotz, Tracy Miracle, Elise Supovitz, Jeanne Emanuel, Nicole Deming, Jennifer Roberts, Jenny Choy, Sharon Hancock, Andrea Tompa, Chris Paul, Hilary Van Dusen, Nicola Makoway, and everyone else at Candlewick Press and Random House Canada (I hope I’m not forgetting anyone but I’m sure I am and I’m sorry) who have helped get the word out and who have been so incredibly kind to me on this journey.
Caroline Lawrence, for her persistence and effort in creating an awesome cover, and James Weinberg and Sherry Fatla for their kick-ass work on the interiors.
Maggie Deslaurier and Sarah Chaffee Paris, for catching all my mistakes.
Ken Freeman and James Fant, for reading and re-reading and re-re-reading the many drafts of this novel.
Greg, Paul, Dean, and Rich, the original Spiroketes.
Chris “The Doctor” Conroy, for making me laugh and regaling me with his Battle of the Bands war stories.
Ron Harner, for his friendship and honesty.
Will, David, and Emily, for their continual inspiration.
My wife, for being my rock, my muse, and the greatest thing that ever happened to me.
And everyone who wrote to tell me (or told me in person) how much you enjoyed
Swim the Fly
. Your words kept me going through all the drafts of this book.
DON CALAME
is the author of the young adult novel
Swim the Fly.
He is also an accomplished screenwriter who has worked with Marvel Studios, the Disney Channel, Lionsgate, Universal Studios, and Paramount Pictures. Over the years, he has been a bike mechanic, a supermarket cashier, a newspaper delivery boy, an ice-cream scooper, a wedding videographer, a musical-instrument salesman, and an elementary-school teacher. But not necessarily in that order.
About
Beat the Band,
he says, “It was hard saying good-bye to the characters in
Swim the Fly.
And then I realized I didn’t have to. I just needed to find a way to get them back into trouble again. That’s when I remembered the time in high school when my decidedly unmusical friends and I decided we should enter the Battle of the Bands. Once I had the idea for the book, it was all smooth sailing from there. (And by smooth sailing I mean many months of torture, hair pulling, tears, and sleepless nights.) In the end it was all worth it, though, because I am really pleased with how Coop’s story turned out.”
Don Calame was born in New York and now lives in British Columbia with his wife, stepson, and their two dogs.
Table of Contents
Chapter Four - Rock and Roll Band
Chapter Six - Caught Up in You
Chapter Seven - Something to Talk About
Chapter Eight - Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag
Chapter Nine - I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
Chapter Eleven - Paranoid Android
Chapter Thirteen - What I’ve Done
Chapter Fourteen - Mr. Brightside
Chapter Fifteen - We Can Work It Out
Chapter Seventeen - Classical Gas
Chapter Eighteen - Smells Like Teen Spirit
Chapter Nineteen - Blowin’ in the Wind
Chapter Twenty-One - Two of Us
Chapter Twenty-Two - Hound Dog
Chapter Twenty-Three - You Can’t Always Get What You Want
Chapter Twenty-Five - Rock and Roll All Nite
Chapter Twenty-Six - Try a Little Tenderness
Chapter Twenty-Seven - I Gotta Feeling
Chapter Twenty-Eight - Steady, As She Goes
Chapter Twenty-Nine - The Pretender
Chapter Thirty - Won’t Get Fooled Again
Chapter Thirty-One - American Idiot
Chapter Thirty-Two - Keep the Car Running
Chapter Thirty-Three - Go Your Own Way
Chapter Thirty-Four - Sultans of Swing
Chapter Thirty-Five - Revolution
Chapter Thirty-Seven - (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
Chapter Thirty-Eight - I Heard It Through the Grapevine
Chapter Thirty-Nine - I Want You Back
Chapter Forty - Strawberry Fields Forever
Chapter Forty-Two - Fluorescent Adolescent
Chapter Forty-Three - Werewolves of London
Chapter Forty-Four - I Want to Hold Your Hand
Chapter Forty-Five - Please Mister Postman
Chapter Forty-Six - What’s Going On
Chapter Forty-Seven - Crazy Train
Chapter Forty-Eight - Smoke on the Water
Chapter Forty-Nine - Burning Down the House
Chapter Fifty-One - Where Have all the Good Times Gone!
Chapter Fifty-Two - Stand by Me
Chapter Fifty-Three - Scar Tissue
Chapter Fifty-Four - Brand New Day
Chapter Fifty-Five - You Shook Me All Night Long
Chapter Fifty-Six - Tonight’s the Night
Chapter Fifty-Seven - Crumblin’ Down
Chapter Fifty-Eight - Landslide
Chapter Fifty-Nine - I Shot the Sheriff
Chapter Sixty - Carry on Wayward Son
Chapter Sixty-One - Redemption Song