Rock and a Hard Place (6 page)

“
Are you finished with your
work already or do you need detention to help get you back on
track?” Mr. Hursley didn’t mess around.

“
No,” she responded, her
eyes like a deer in the headlights. The heat in her body rose up
her neck to her face, turning it a hot pink. Don’t cry.

Basketball boy and the gossip girls watched,
entertained to witness her embarrassment.

Mr. Hursley leaned forward, took the mouse
and clicked the web page closed. Peter vanished from sight, as if
he’d never existed. The void on the screen hit like a punch to her
gut.

“
Let’s get back on task,
shall we?” He arched an eyebrow.

“
Yes, sir,” she mumbled
wondering how she could go on with anything now that she knew where
to find Peter. Everything about him was so near, only a few
keystrokes away.

“
I don’t want to contact
your parents.” He paused and corrected himself. “I’m sorry, I mean
your aunt.”

Nothing like pity to stay out of
trouble.

The two snotty girls stared at her,
arrogance worn on their over-made faces. “The brainiac is so
strange even her parents don’t want her,” one whispered loudly. The
other giggled.

For once Libby didn’t care about their
comments. Peter was so close. Just a computer screen away. It took
determination not to bring him right back up on the screen. She
couldn’t risk Aunt Marge getting a call. The last thing she wanted
was to deal with an Aunt Marge fit. Libby needed a plan. She had to
find a way to spend time on the computers without interruption or
threat of detention. Just her and Peter alone.

Now she had a mission and the courage to see
it through.

# # #

“
That’s beautiful, Peter.
Something new?” Karen Jamieson eased into the seat across from her
son to enjoy the gentle melody as the bus rolled toward New Mexico.
The other boys played video games in back.

“
Yeah, I can’t stop
thinking about it.” He held the guitar naturally, as if it were an
extension of his body. His talented fingers manipulated the strings
and created a beautiful tune that drifted through the
bus.

“
That’s always a good
sign.” Her son was growing into an amazing young man. Why did time
pass so quickly? It seemed just a moment ago, he had cried for his
first guitar.

Peter possessed an innate talent for song
writing. When inspired, magic flowed and hits were born, but if he
tried to force it, the songs flopped.

“
You were gone a long time
when we stopped in Rockville,” she said.

“
Yeah, great day for a
walk.” He strummed, working out a chord. The music held his
concentration. “Did you know there are amazing rock formations in
there? There’s this trail that goes way back. The temperature is
like twenty degrees cooler and there are ferns and moss growing
everywhere.” He stopped playing. “It’s really cool.”

“
Is it your inspiration for
this new song?” She suspected so and more.

“
Yeah, I guess.” He resumed
playing, a dreamy look on his face.

“
Did your new friend show
it to you?”

His head snapped up. Karen wanted to laugh
at how transparent he was.

“
How’d you
know?”

Her eyebrows rose and head tilted in
suggestion.

“
Adam.” Peter
frowned.

“
He can’t help himself.
He’s just having fun. So tell me about this girl. What’s her
name?”

“
Libby.”

“
And?”

“
And what?” He grinned, not
about to offer more.

Why must boys always be so evasive? Getting
information out of them was like pulling teeth. “Tell me about her.
When my son disappears for two hours with a girl, I get to ask
questions.”

“
Mom, I’ll be eighteen soon
and then you don’t get to ask any more,” he teased.

“
That’s what you think.
Mothers have amazing powers of persuasion.”

“
There’s not much to tell.
She lives in Rockville.”

“
Two hours and that’s all
you got? You want to tell me how you filled the rest of the
time?”

Peter grinned. “Wouldn’t you like to
know.”

“
Young man, I did not raise
you to treat girls like that.” She trusted him, though. Peter
wasn’t the type of kid to act out or rush into anything without
thinking it through.

“
Here’s something juicy for
you. She’s never heard of Jamieson.”

She eyed him, doubtful. Everyone knew about
Jamieson; unless they lived under a rock.

“
I’m not gonna lie, I
didn’t think it possible either, but she had no idea. It’s pretty
nice really. When I told her about the band, she figured we play
weddings and school dances.”

“
I see why you like her,”
Karen said. Peter was attracted to things that were low-key and
simple, which explained how he could write such powerful lyrics.
They came from the heart.

“
She’s nice.” He offered
nothing more and began to play again.

She worried about the boys growing up in a
business where girls constantly adored them. It was not an
atmosphere conducive to meeting the right kind of girls or making
real friends. Dating was another challenge. Unless they boys found
someone inside the industry, which didn’t seem likely, she didn’t
know how they would meet anyone special. They needed to be with
young people their own age on an equal playing field.

“
You know, on Saturday
we’ll be going back though that area.” She watched him and waited
for his reaction.

“
Really? Do you think we
can stop? I’d love to check out that area some more.”

“
I bet you would,” she
said.

“
What?” He feigned
innocence.

Karen almost laughed at his nonchalance. “I
was just agreeing with you.” She tried to control the smirk on her
face. “But, yes, I think we can stop.”

Her cell phone rang. She stood to go answer
it. “By the way, what’s the name of your new song?”

“
Angel Kisses.”

She hid a smile and left Peter to his
music.

# # #

Libby knocked on Miss Orman’s open door,
desperate to get her help.

“
Hey, Libby, I haven’t seen
you for a while. How are you doing?” A half sandwich, a container
of yogurt and an apple sat on the desk near her
keyboard.

“
Good, thanks.” Libby
scanned the cramped office, as she tried to get up the nerve to
ask.

Miss Orman smiled at her knowingly. “Is
there something in particular I can help you with?”

“
Actually yes.” She eyed
Miss Orman’s PC, and twisted the pendant she always wore. “I need
to use a computer.”

“
Why don’t you use the
computer lab after school?”

“
I can’t do it before or
after school, I ride the bus. And there’s a class in the computer
lab during my lunch.” Libby offered her best pathetic, begging
look.

Miss Orman seemed to consider her decision.
“I take it this is very important to you?”

Libby nodded and held her breath. She needed
to get back on the internet and check out some of the Peter
Jamieson sites.

“
Well I suppose I could
actually go to the lounge and eat lunch for a change, instead of
making a mess out of my office.” She glanced sideways at Libby.
“Would right now be a good time?”

Libby nodded again, bringing a smile to Miss
Orman’s face.

“
Tell you what, I’ll make
you a deal. You sell tickets for the Friday football game fan bus
tomorrow during lunch and I’ll clear out right now.”

“
Done,” she blurted. Even
though she hated the idea of sitting alone at a table in the
commons all through lunch, she’d agree to anything to get on Miss
Orman’s computer.

“
Alright, let me log off.
We can’t let the secret inner workings of the school leak out,” she
teased as her fingers clicked on the keyboard to save and close
files.

Libby’s toe tapped as she anticipated
computer time alone with Peter. Miss Orman grinned at her as she
tidied the area around her keyboard and picked up her lunch
items.

“
I should be able to give
you a good thirty minutes. Will that work?”

“
Thank you, I can’t tell
you how much this means to me.” Libby wanted to hug her, but wished
she’d hurry up.

“
No problem, have fun.” She
moved past Libby to the door then turned back. “By the way, no porn
sites.”

“
Okay, if you insist.”
Libby said with a smile.

Once Miss Orman left, Libby nudged the door
partly closed to discourage anyone from dropping in. She eased into
the counselor’s chair, enjoying the comfort.

This time she didn’t hesitate. She brought
up the search engine, typed Peter’s name and hit enter. Bingo! The
sight of his face on the screen filled her with so much joy she
could barely contain herself.

“
Yes, yes, yes.” She
squealed and stamped her feet.

Immediately immersed in a world of Peter and
the group called Jamieson, she went from one site to another
soaking up every word and photo. Jamieson was huge. They’d
performed everywhere including major sporting events, talk shows
and award shows. Peter must think she lived under a rock, which was
sort of true.

The time flew by so fast, she couldn’t
believe how soon Miss Orman returned. Libby’s face must have shown
disappointment, as she held the mouse about to click on a site with
Jamieson’s newest release.

“
I guess I came back too
soon.”

“
Has it really been a half
hour?” She felt desperate to hear his voice again.

“
It’s been forty minutes.
Didn’t you hear the bell ring?”

“
Oh my gosh, no.” Her head
jerked up to check the wall clock, confirming the late time. “I
guess I better get going.” She hated to do it, but she clicked the
window closed, so Miss Orman wouldn’t see what she’d been looking
at--the official Jamieson site, with loads of pictures, music
downloads, tour dates, blogs and scheduled appearances. She could
spend a day on it and never grow tired. How could she have not
taken the time to hear their music?

“
Did you find what you were
looking for?”

Libby beamed as she stood and picked up her
books. “Yeah, thanks, I did. It was great.” She felt a mix of
euphoria of pouring over the details of Peter’s life and regret at
having to quit.

“
Glad to help. You let me
know if you need to get on again.”

“
I definitely will,
thanks.”

“
Libby?”

“
Yeah?” She turned
back.

“
Don’t you think it would
help if I gave you a late pass?”

“
Oh yeah.” Libby took the
pink slip of paper and wandered out of the office toward her next
class. All the photos of Peter and his brothers filled her head. He
smiled brightly in each photo. Some taken on stage, some from photo
shoots, others greeting fans. Those were interesting. Lots of girls
surrounded the three brothers with huge smiles, but she bet they
never spent time alone with Peter just hanging out.

She needed to figure out how to get more of
him. She needed his CD, and now, but she didn’t have any money.
This could take some creativity.

Chapter 5

Peter waited backstage with his brothers.
His mind wandered to his afternoon with Libby. He loved the time
they spent together at Parfrey’s Glen and hoped she’d be there
Saturday. He didn’t know why he felt this way; maybe because she
didn’t care who he was. But, she didn’t really know who he was
either. The thought made him smile. It also might be that Libby was
his friend and no one else’s. She had nothing to do with the band,
the CD or the tour.

“
Hello, earth to Peter.”
Garrett interrupted his thoughts. “You want to get your head in the
game here?”

“
What?” Peter
scowled.

“
You might want your
earpiece.”

Peter reached for his sound pack, and found
it absent. “Aw, man. I’ll be right back.” He rushed off stage to
get it and was met half way by a panicked sound tech who quickly
hooked him up.

“
You’ve got it bad, man!”
Garrett yelled after him. “Real bad!”

Once back in place and ready, Peter waited
for their intro. The crowd in the arena went wild. The combined
energy built to epic levels. Garrett waited stage left, guitar in
hand. Adam mirrored him on stage right with Peter anchored the
center. His blood rushed in anticipation as their moment grew near.
God he loved this.

The music built in a huge crescendo,
spotlights roamed the arena and fog rolled onto the stage. The trio
of brothers nodded to each other, in sync and ready to rock.
Garrett went first, a spotlight illuminated him; he hit the opening
chord on his bass guitar and the crowd cheered. Moments later Adam
appeared, guitar in hand. His young grin sent the audience into a
frenzy as he joined Garrett in musical power. Finally Peter stepped
into the lights and the crowd went ballistic.

Peter loved this part of the night. After a
long afternoon of rehearsal, sound checks, and final warm ups, it
was time for the payoff. This was nirvana. He gave his signature
welcome to the audience nodding in several directions, each time
eliciting more cheers. He stepped up to his mic stand and held it
in anticipation. His body pulsed to the beat as he waited for his
entrance. He gazed out over the vast crowd, filled with confidence
and power.