Bear Market by Michele Bossley

Author:Michele Bossley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book, JUV000000
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Published: 2010-03-01T05:00:00+00:00

chapter eight

It was only eleven o’clock on Saturday morning, but the throb of drums pounded outside the nightclub.

“Are you sure it’s okay to be here?” Robyn looked around nervously.

“Willow said to meet her right here.” I looked up and down the street. “Good thing you had her number,” I said to Nick.

“Well, I thought it would come in handy. You know, if we had questions or whatever.”

“Uh-huh,” Robyn said, grinning. “You were all business at the music festival.”

“I was! She’s a lot older,” Nick defended himself, trying not to blush. “Why would she want to go out with me?”

“She wouldn’t,” Robyn said. “But that doesn’t change the fact that you like her.”

“Whatever.” Nick glanced up and down the sidewalk. Willow rounded the corner and waved, hurrying up to us.

“Hi,” she said breathlessly. “Sorry I’m late. What’s going on?”

“Well, Nick pretty much told you on the phone,” I said. “We wanted to talk to Simon, Bo and the other guy. What’s his name?”

“John O’Dowd. But we call him Dude,” Willow said.

“We figured you might know where to find them,” I finished.

“Sure I do!” Willow gave me a sly smile. “Follow me.” She turned and pushed open the door to the nightclub.

The three of us hesitated. The nightclub was closed. Why was Willow going in there?

“Come on,” she urged, holding open the door. “It’s okay. We won’t stay long.”

The entrance was dark with walls painted in a muddy color. We followed Willow into the main area, which smelled stale and dusty. The sound of the drums was much louder inside. An electric guitar wailed, played by a master. The song wound to a crashing finish. Nick and I stood dumbfounded while Robyn strode forward with Willow.

Simon was onstage, a microphone in his hand. Dude held the guitar. Bo stood up from the drums, sweat running down his face. They were dressed in grungy jeans and muscle shirts. Dude’s stringy hair was held back by a strip of leather, and Simon wore a necklace of wood beads featuring a dark, curved piece in the center.

“Willow!” Dude cried. His face lit up. “You came to hear us practice. We open tonight.”

“I know, but I can’t really stay.” Willow smiled. “These guys just needed to talk to you.” She motioned to us.

In that moment, I realized what a stupid move we had made. You don’t just walk up to someone—especially not guys like these— and accuse them of poaching bears. And we couldn’t ask questions about bear poaching either. It would be obvious what we were leading up to, which would likely result in a punch in the nose. I stood there with my mouth open, but Nick came to my rescue.

“You guys are in an actual band?” he gasped.

Simon raised his eyebrows. “Yeah.”

“That is so cool!” Nick enthused.

Bo recognized me. “Hey, you’re the little dude who played at the festival. Are you interested in playing pro gigs, man?”

“Oh yeah!” I said.

“You’ve got the right moves,” Bo said. “You were okay.”

“Really?” I felt highly flattered. “So what it’s like, being in a real band?” “It’s awesome, dude,” said Dude.

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