Life at Windian High (Part 2)




It was after school in the auditorium. Frank Maynard was currently tuning his favorite guitar, while Brad Terranama and his pixie companion were in the sound room.

Brad was going over the equipment while looking at a cassette tape that he had in his hand. Sonya, on the other hand, was flying all around the room looking at all the equipment.

"Yo Frank..." Brad said into the microphone. "You're planning on singing that song before they get here, right?"

Frank looked up at the sound booth and nodded. With a chuckle, Brad slammed Frank's tape into the player. Sonya flew over to Brad while carrying a blank cassette. Brad thanked the pixie and placed the tape into the recorder.

The Persona User pushed the play button on the tape player, and familiar music to Frank began to flood the auditorium.

Brad raised an eyebrow as Sonya landed on his shoulder.

Dude... what is this song? It sounds awesome!

Frank was sitting onstage, playing his heart out. He then began to sing along to the upbeat music.

Here we go now!

The buzz of electric lamplight
From down on the sidewalk
You struggle, grasp your night-shirt and turn
But the universe doesn't say what you want it to say
When it says what it says

But on the planet Earth,
Spinning around its axis
Revolving around the sun,
Revolving around the center of the Milky Way Galaxy
In a supercluster of galaxies
Will it ever be you and me

Here and now,
Here and now.
Here and now,
Here and now.

Your consoling hands in a gesture
Well placed and throbbing
Throbbing with the buzz of electric lamplight
From down on the sidewalk
But the universe doesn't say what you want it to say
The universe says, just what it says,
When it says what it says

But on the planet Earth,
Spinning around its axis
Revolving around the sun,
Revolving around the center of the Milky Way Galaxy
In a supercluster of galaxies
Will it ever be you and me

Here and now,
Here and now.
Here and now,
Here and now.

The buzz of electric lamplight
From down on the sidewalk
You struggle, grasp your night-shirt and turn
But the universe doesn't say what you want it to say
The universe says, just what it says
When it says what it says

Quanta, mesons, hadrons, photons
Neutrons, electrons, and protons
Combining to form
Atoms and molecules and compounds and cells,
Tissues and organs in a system of a being
On the planet Earth,
Spinning around its axis,
Revolving around the sun,
Revolving around the center of the Milky Way Galaxy
In a supercluster of galaxies
Will it ever be you and me
Here and now.

Here and now,
Here and now.
Here and now,
Here and now.

Frank continued to play the upbeat song until the music on the tape ended. When the Persona User finished playing, he noticed that the rest of his band, along with Kate, were watching him.

"That was a great song Frank... But..." Kate said as she shuffled her feet.

Alex Brandshire just laughed. "I think what Kate is trying to say is that she didn't understand most of the lyrics... Come to think of it, neither did I..." The woren rubbed the back of his neck before turning to Ellen. "Ellie?"

"I understood it... though I think it'd be hard to explain, love." Ellen said with a chuckle.

"Psh..." Nate said as he adjusted his scarf. "Damn simpletons... Frank, I'm not practicing, since I won't be going to the dance."

"Whoa... wait..." Frank said as he stood up. "Nate, we need a drummer... How come..."

"Leave me alone, Maynard..." Nate said in the coldest voice he could muster, before storming out of the auditorium, slamming the doors behind him.

"Whoa..." Alex said as he watched the Persona User leave.

"Dude!!!" Brad said from the sound booth. "What crawled up Richie Rich's ass and died?"

"Um... Frank? What's wrong with Nate?" Kate said after tugging on the sleeve of his uniform jacket. "He's been like this since I've seen him in the park that one day..."

"You've got me Kate... I don't know..." The Persona User looked up to the sound booth. "Brad, you can play the drums, right?"

"Are you kidding? I was born with drumsticks in my hands! Dude... I know what you're about to ask... We're on our way down..." Brad said with a chuckle. He removed both tapes from the player. Brad walked out of the sound booth and down to the stage as Sonya flew around him.

Alex's, Ellen's, and Kate's eyes all went wide when they saw the little pixie.

"Whoa... Brad..." Alex said as he watched the pixie flit around and land on his shoulder, crossing her legs.

"What is that??? She's pretty!!!" Kate said as she looked at the pixie, her tail waving in delight.

"Brad... do you mind explaining why you've got a pixie with you?" Ellen said with a chuckle.

"All right... all right..." Brad said as he raised his hands in mock defeat. "Guys, this is Sonya... we met after the Snow Queen incident."

"Hi there!!!" Sonya said as she waved a tiny hand. "Nice to meet you! Brad's told me great things about all of you!"

"Hi... I'm Alex... Nice to meet you..." Alex said with a chuckle. He extended a finger, which Sonya took and shook enthusiastically.

Sonya flew off of Brad's shoulder and over to Kate. The pixie flew around Kate's head a few times, eliciting a giggle from the woren, before stopping in front of her and hovering in front of her.

"You must be Kate... I've heard Frank talking about you..." Sonya said with a smile.

"Nice to meet you Sonya." Kate said with a smile as her tail waved in amusement.

"And I'm Ellen... how did..." Ellen asked before clasping her hands in front of her.

"Well..." Sonya said before deciding to take a seat on Kate's shoulder to look at the Persona User. "I met Brad when he was walking home... after the Snow Queen was defeated... he was sad, so we got to talking... and... well... Now I'm always with him!"

Frank chuckled at the story. "Very interesting... Anyhow... we've got a song to practice?"

"You've got anything planned?" Brad said as he pulled a comb out of his pocket and began to fix his hair.

"Actually..." Frank said as he pulled some sheet music from a binder. "This is a song I've been wanting to sing for awhile..." With that, the Persona User passed out the music.

"I'm a Beleiver? Perfect!!!" Ellen said as she tuned her bass guitar. "This song will be great for the dance!!!"

"Dance??? Oh no... I still don't have a date!!! Wait... don't panic... don't panic..." Brad said to himself as he checked over the drum set.

"You'll find someone..." Alex said with a chuckle as he set his keyboard up. "Don't worry about it..."

The Blazing Dragons featuring Brad Terranama were finished setting up and were ready to play. Kate took a seat in one of the various seats near the stage, with Sonya sitting on her shoulder.

"On your cue, Alex..." Frank said to the woren. Alex counted down and began to play, with Frank joining in shortly. Afterward, Ellen and Brad had joined in as well.

I thought love was only true in fairy tales
Meant for someone else but not for me.
Oh, love was out to get me
That's the way it seems
Disappointment haunted all my dreams.

Then I saw her face
Now I'm a believer.
Not a trace
Of doubt in my mind.
I'm in love
(oooooo)
I'm a believer, I couldn't leave her
If I tried

I thought love was more or less a given thing
Seems the more I gave the less I got.
Oh yeah, what's the use of trying
All you get is pain
When I wanted sunshine I got rain

Then I saw her face
Now I'm a believer.
Not a trace
Of doubt in my mind.
I'm in love
(oooooo)
I'm a believer, I couldn't leave her
If I tried

What's the use in trying
All you get is pain
When I wanted Sunshine I got rain

Yes I saw her face,
Now I'm a believer.
No not a trace
Of doubt in my mind.
Said I'm a believer, yeah yeah uh huh uh huh!

I'm a believer
I'm a believer...

Frank faded out as the song came to an end. When he finished, he looked at his friends with a smile on his face.

"What'd you guys think?"

"That's was GREAT!!!" Alex said with a grin.

"Frank knows how to pick them... that's for sure!!!" Brad said as he twirled a drumstick.

"I liked that song..." Kate said before letting a low purr out, much to the amusement of the pixie on her shoulder.

"All right then..." Frank said as he took his guitar off his shoulders. "We'll meet back tomorrow, all right?"

With that, The Blazing Dragons packed up and left the auditorium, ready to face the rest of Monday.

Songs in Order
Here and Now
Performed by The Ernies

I'm a Believer
Performed by The Monkees, and covered by Smash Mouth




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