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Andy looked up from his seat at a long cafeteria table when he saw Barry and me approach. “Dude.” He poked his best friend in the side. “Your girl’s here.”
Collin swiveled around on the bench. The girls on either side of him turned to look at me too.
“Hi, Addy.”
“Hi, Collin.” I ignored the glares from the girls, finding it odd that he didn’t refute Andy’s statement.
Noting Barry, Collin narrowed his eyes slightly and jerked up his chin in greeting. “Evans.”
“Murphy.” Barry gave him the same respectful head lift, but his expression wasn’t exactly friendly. “Heard you need a drummer.”
“Yeah,” Collin said. “You interested?”
“Wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t.” Barry draped his arm around my shoulders, and Collin didn’t look too happy about that. “Addy says you’re pretty good.”
“She likes our chemistry,” Andy said, chiming in. “You a team player?”
“Fuck no.” Barry shook his head. “I look after myself, because when my old man went to jail, he left me on my own. If I don’t look after myself, who the fuck else will, you know? But I can play well with others. Depends on the goal. Why are you guys starting a band?”
“To make music,” Andy said, theduhin his tone unmistakable.
“You can do that alone. Why are you interested in a group?”
“Can’t be a rock band alone,” Collin said dryly.
“Why rock in particular?” Barry kept pushing, relentless in his questioning like I’d been, but his reason for doing so eluded me.
“What other music worth listening to is there?” Collin asked.
Barry nodded. “Right, I agree. What are your musical influences?”
Collin glanced at me. “We went over all this yesterday with Addy.”
“She didn’t mention it,” Barry said, and without him even glancing at me, it seemed to be a dig.
“Heard you two were in the band hall alone for a while.” Collin seemed to be insinuating something as well. He glanced at the brunette beside Andy. She’d come into the band hall right before Barry and I had left. “Didn’t Addy tell you? I thought you two were best friends.”
Barry’s jaw tightened. “We are best friends.”
Wanting to defuse the tension, I waded in. “Collin likes Aerosmith,” I said to recap. “Andy’s into Fleetwood Mac. You know Rachel’s interests are eclectic.”
Barry nodded. “She likes whatever you like.” He passed his gaze through Collin and Andy. “So, now I’m caught up, and I wanna know what kind of band we’re gonna be.”
He was in. I hid my smile.
“Driving rhythms and innovative ballads like Aerosmith,” Andy said. “Like Fleetwood, in that we go wherever our inspiration takes us.” He gestured widely. “But we give a voice to things that matter here in Southside. Hopelessness. Injustice. Prejudice.”
Barry’s dark expression lightened. “I can get behind that.”
“I can too,” Rachel said as she set her tray on the table beside Andy. She tapped the shoulder of the brunette sitting next to him, the spy. “Move over, Clarissa.”
Scowling, Clarissa slid down the bench, and my sister climbed in.
“The rest of you take off,” Rachel said in an authoritative tone I’d heard before. My sister was sweet, but when I’d acted out after our dad left, she used that voice on me.
“Sit here.” Collin patted the seat beside him, left vacant as the rest of the girls scattered.
“Okay.” I climbed in, sitting across from my sister, and Barry claimed the empty spot on the other side of me.
