The Daughters Take the Stage by Joanna Philbin

Author:Joanna Philbin
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: JUV013000
ISBN: 9780316125802
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2011-05-09T21:00:00+00:00

I love the way you talk to me on the line

I love the way you tell me that you’re mine

Before she knew it she was singing it the way she had the day she’d written it, slowly and passionately and smokily, letting her voice wrap around each syllable.

And then Ben started to play his bass—thump a thump a thump a thump—setting the perfect rhythm. He was good. She could tell right away.

Then Gordie started on drums, nothing too hard or distracting, just following Ben’s lead.

Then, at the bridge, Logan blasted his sax, making Hudson jump. It was way too loud, and all over the place, like a manic foghorn.

When she was done, she sat and faced the keys for a moment, letting herself settle. Finishing a song was always a little like coming out of a trance—time would jump forward again and she’d suddenly become aware of her surroundings. The room was eerily quiet. That usually meant one of two things: People either loved the song or they hated it.

She turned around. Gordie sat with one hand still touching a cymbal, faintly smiling. Ben rested his bass on the floor and was blinking busily behind his glasses, his Adam’s apple jumping up and down. Even Logan looked semi-impressed as he cradled his sax. Carina and Lizzie sat on the couch, clutching each other’s hands. Even Hillary, standing against the wall, seemed to be moved.

“Did you really write that?” Ben finally asked.

“She totally did,” Carina asserted from her spot on the couch.

“Wow,” Ben said. “Can you give us a minute?” He glanced at his bandmates.

“Sure.” Hudson practically leaped to her feet. “We’ll just go upstairs.”

Hudson took the stairs two at a time, with Hillary, Lizzie, and Carina behind her. “I knew it!” Hillary said when they got upstairs. “You blew them away!”

“Really?” Hudson asked.

“You crushed it!” Carina said, hugging Hudson.

“That was incredible,” Lizzie said. “I got chills.”

“They’re totally going to want you,” Hillary said.

“You think so?” Hudson asked.

Hillary nodded.

For the first time, Hudson realized that she didn’t just want to be the lead singer of the Stone Cold Freaks. She needed to be.

Just then she heard the creak of Ben’s feet on the stairs. “Hudson?” he called out. “Can you come down here?”

Hudson and Hillary exchanged a worried look. “Just go,” Hillary said, swatting her on the arm.

Hudson walked back down the stairs. The Stone Cold Freaks had assembled themselves on the plaid couch. Gordie was smiling, but Logan’s eyes were on the muted TV.

“So,” Ben began, grinning, “can you come up for rehearsal on Wednesday? Around four thirty?”

“Really?” she cried, hopping up and down. “Yes, I definitely can!”

“Okay then,” Ben said. He stood up and held out his hand. “Welcome to the Stone Cold Freaks.”

She shook his hand, said good-bye, and then walked back up to the kitchen, not even feeling the stairs underneath her feet. She’d sung that song in front of total strangers, and they’d loved it. They’d loved it so much they’d asked her—for real, this time—to front their band.

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