Page 75 of Animal Beats

They punch me, and say various forms of “stupid.” Guess I deserved this.

“Wait,” Bennett says. Looking at Luke, he asks, “Did you say our boy Río was drunk?”

Our manager nods. “Sure did.”

“Hayden not only lost her dignity when she jumped into the water, she also lost the bet.” Bennett says. “Who here had today as the day for Río to fall off the wagon?”

“That would be me!” 007 beams. “I win!”

Wait. The guys put a bet on how long I could go without a drink? “This is fucked up, dudes. You actually bet on me?”

“We bet on everything,” Tris replies. “You know this. You’re the worst offender.”

What can I say? “But this is so⁠—”

Bennett doesn’t let me finish. “I had a side bet with Hayden, which she lost, too. But don’t worry, Darren’s scholarship will be ten grand richer instead of her.”

His words sink in. Hayden’s pissed at me, which I can deal with. The fact she lost out on ten grand hurts me even more. I know she needs the money for Mila. Since she’s already refused to take money from me, this was her way of “earning” it. I ruined this for her. For her little sister. I crumple inward.

This is bad, Río. Real bad.

To put up a brave face for the band, I note, “I’m sure Darren’s scholarship fund will appreciate your hard-earned money, Bennett.”

“The least I can do.”

I need to figure a way out of this mess. I address our manager. “Luke. How should we handle the videos? I can try to do a backstroke behind the drums?”

My half-hearted attempt at humor earns me laughs from my buddies. There is that.

“I’m thinking it should be when you do the call-and-repeat. When Bennett introduces you for that part of the show, I think you two should make a joke about it. I bet all this will blow over faster if you play it that way. Bennett, Río, come with me in the car. The rest of you take the SUV waiting out front to the stadium. We’ll be right behind you.”

Coop approaches, shoving his ever-present sunglasses to the top of his head. “Don’t worry. You’ll get this sorted and everything will be back to normal.”

“Thanks.” I bump his shoulder. “How long did you bet I could stay sober?”

“I’m embarrassed to say, I started the bet. It was all in good fun.” He looks down. “Two weeks.”

“Wow. My best friend created the bet and then lost it. Nice.”

“Hey, I really thought you could stick it out longer. Has to count for something.”

I bang on my leg. “I guess I haven’t given you guys much by way of discipline. Why didn’t you come to me to say my drinking was getting out of hand instead of starting a bet?”

Coop shrugs. “I figured you’d stop when you wanted to. You weren’t like Darren—you weren’t out of control. I have noticed, though, that you’ve been more reliant on alcohol lately and was hoping you’d turn a corner with your new babysitter.”

“I’m going to slow down on the drinking from now on, I promise. I won’t give it up entirely, but I can stop at two.” I extend my hand. “Deal?”

“Sounds like the best deal I’ve heard in a long time.” We shake and I feel as if I managed to mend this fence.

On to dealing with the audience. When we’re in the car, Bennett suggests, “How about I make a joke about the video when I do the hand off?”

“This is solid. But I think we need more,” Luke replies.

“I was kidding about doing a backstroke behind my drum kit earlier. But, how about I mimic swimming when Bennett hands me the mic. He can ask me what I’m doing, and I can say something rude.”

“Better. But you also need to reference the boat and your splash off it,” our manager says.

I better come up with something that will appease everyone. What could that be? I hit imaginary cymbals.