Outcast

After Amanda had helped Scott, Jamie, Jasper and Ebony pack up their instruments and the rest of the set-up, they had all gathered in and around Jamie’s old van, otherwise known as ‘the tour bus’.

Jamie and Ebony were in the front of the van having a philosophical discussion about whether the drums or guitar were more indispensible in a band, and Scott, Jasper and Amanda were sitting in the side doorway talking.

Amanda had just finished telling the boys about why she had moved to Hamilton, and was just getting to the part of her story where she’d only been in town a day and forgot to watch where she was going…

“…and now I’m lost.” Amanda finished, a little sheepishly.

Jasper laughed as she finished, but went on thoughtfully.

“Well, do you know the address of your new place?” he asked.

“Umm… it’s either six or nine, on Camden Place, I think…”

“Hey, that’s not that far from my place,” Jasper grinned suddenly. “I could take you back once Jamie drops me off at home.”

“Oh, would you? That would be awesome,” Amanda grinned back, relieved.

“…You’re not heading back just yet, though, are you?” she added, her good spirits falling immediately as he thought of having to go back to her new ‘home’ already.

“Nope,” Scott said, giving Jasper a conspiratorial look, then grinning at Amanda. “We always hang out at one of our places after a gig – this time around it’s my turn, so basically we’re going to order pizza and hang in my basement for a few hours.”

“And,” Jasper continued for him, “since you don’t really have any choice to go home yet, I guess you’re coming with us.”

He rolled his eyes as he said the last part, faking sufferance at having to have Amanda with them, but a playful smile belied his words.

“You guys seriously don’t mind me tagging along?” Amanda asked worriedly, wondering if she would be overstepping her newly formed friendship.

Scott shook his head emphatically and started to answer, but before he could say anything, Jamie turned around from the front seat where he and Ebony had just reached an ‘agree-to-disagree’ situation.

“Why would we?” he said, smiling lazily. “Usually people we meet either want to beat us up or run away; so far, you haven’t done either, so I think you’re alright.”

Amanda raised an eyebrow at the blunt logic, as Jamie turned back to the front and started the van, but agreed anyway; figuring that – as weird as it sounded – Jamie’s reasoning was probably right.

“Well,” Jamie went on, once everyone had found seats on the just slightly illegal beanbags in the back of the van. “Now that’s decided, are we all ready to go?”

There was a chorus of yeses, and the van and trailer pulled out of the parking lot with the engine coughing thick blue smoke.

“So…” Amanda said to the two boys in the back, once they were underway. “How long have you guys all lived here for?”

“Uh, well me and Ebony have been here all our lives,” Scott started, frowning as he thought hard, “And we met Jasper in, what, fifth grade? So that would’ve been something like… six, seven years ago?”

He directed the last statement questioningly at Jasper, who nodded.

“Something like that,” he said aloud, “and then Jamie came to town about… four years ago.”

Scott nodded in agreement, then grinned and gestured to Jamie as he drove.

“Jamie got lost when he first moved in, too.” he said, emphasising the word ‘lost’ so that the sarcasm was more than evident.

“At least,” Jasper went on, smirking as he displayed a twin-like habit of finishing Scott’s sentences, “That’s what he told the principal when he didn’t show up to school on the first few days.”

“And the best part is, I got away with it too!” Jamie interjected from the front, with a mischievous grin.

Amanda just looked around at the motley group of friends, thinking that they were probably the most interesting people she had met for years, and smiled to herself contentedly.

“Hey, guys?” Ebony called back after a moment of silence, “I’m gonna put some music on – what do you want to listen to?”

Scott looked blankly at Jasper, who shrugged and looked at Amanda.

“You can pick,” Jasper said simply, settling back into his beanbag.

“Oh, okay,” Amanda looked around, thinking quickly to try and find something she hoped everyone would like. “Uh, do you have any Bullet for my Valentine?” she said presently, biting at her lip distractedly as she waited for an answer.

“Shit yeah!” Ebony grinned, scrolling through her iPod to find the band she was looking for. “I’ve only got, like, their entire discography,” she went on wryly, starting the music.

Amanda relaxed as the song played, feeling like she’d just gained some points with the other girl, who she had noticed already seemed to be the most reserved of the four teenagers.

This slight acceptance was more evident when Ebony turned around in her seat a few minutes later, with a friendly tone in her voice, though her face remained as serious as ever.

“So, you never told us where you’re from, Amanda.” she said, leaning over and turning the music down just a little.

“New Orleans, actually.” Amanda stated, wrinkling her nose as she remembered the dreary place she had grown up in.

“Wow,” Ebony raised her eyebrows in surprise, “That’s a long way from here,”

“Yup, but… parents, y’know?” Amanda shrugged, deliberately turning her attention to the door of the van as Jamie parked it outside Scott’s house, and the boys started climbing out.

“Yeah, I know.” Ebony nodded sympathetically at Amanda’s explanation, but picked up on the fact that she didn’t really want to talk about it, and dropped the subject.
Instead, she simply filed what little she knew about Amanda safely away, and climbed out of the van with everyone else.