Music Inn

Music Inn came to be because Dan wanted to combine a store that sold both music equipment and actual music. He also wanted to focus on and support local bands by selling their merch and their music. Jesse had been his first employee, only eighteen years old at the time, still a senior in high school. Kiera and I were welcomed into the mix a few months later at age sixteen, in our sophomore year of high school.

No one really expected the store to become as popular as it did, but for some reason, all of the various misfits, punks, and hipsters found a safe haven among the CDs and guitars. And who could blame them? Dan was probably one of the coolest people ever, always willing to strike up a conversation or offer music recommendations whenever needed, and with a smile, too. His wife, Hazel, was the same. She was kind and beautiful and motherly, ready to listen if you needed to rant or complain or just sit and cry for a little bit. She liked to bake, and sometimes she’d bring in leftover cupcakes or brownies and leave them at the counter for people to take. There was something so “Mom and Dad” about them, even though they were in their early twenties.

Even Jesse, dark, brooding Jesse, was known to crack a grin every now and then, even though it took a lot of coaxing and some good conversation. But it was good, because then you knew you earned it. He was quiet in a way that meant he was observing, and when it was truly needed, he gave great advice.

Kiera, at first glance, came off as extremely intimidating, with her blue hair and sharp wit, and in a way she was. But it didn’t mean she was unapproachable; on the contrary, in fact. My best friend had an incredibly sarcastic and tough exterior, but if you dug deep enough, you’d find that she was loyal and caring and understanding. Kiera and I had met in middle school, bonded over our mutual love for punk bands, and had been a package deal ever since.

And me? I was, as Dan put it, “the sunshine of the solar system that is our store.” It was true, in a way. I was bright and cheerful, volunteering to go get coffee because I knew how everyone preferred theirs. People liked me, because, simply putting it, I was friendly. Even if I was annoyed at a customer, I’d never show it. I liked making people feel good about themselves.

“Hey,” I called. It was almost closing time on Thursday, and Kiera was sitting on the floor, sorting through some records that had gotten jumbled during the day while I organized the cash register. Jesse and Dan were in the back, making an order for some more guitars over the phone.

“What?”

“Remember that band who came in last week? Common Castles?”

“Vaguely . . . why?”

“I ran into that guy Sam in the laundry room yesterday, and –”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a second. You ran into a cute boy yesterday and you didn’t think to mention it to me?”

I shrugged. “I guess not.”

“I’m going to pretend to not be offended,” Kiera said. “So what happened? Did you have wild sex all over his whites and brights?”

“No, Kiera, we did not,” I said, annoyed. “We just . . . did laundry together. And talked about his band.”

“Yeah, sure you did,” she said, snorting. I ignored her.

“He said that they landed a spot at Bender. Friday nights at ten o’clock.”

Kiera sobered up. “Seriously? That fast? They must be good.”

“Sam said that they’re playing tomorrow. We should stop by. Unless, of course, there’s some party being thrown by one of our high school classmates that you’d rather go to,” I added. She made a face at me.

“Fuck you, it’s not like we have anything better to do. Fine, we’ll go.”

“Go where?” Dan asked, coming out of the back room with Jesse following dutifully behind.

“To a show tomorrow night.”

“Who’s playing?”

“Common Castles.”

“Wasn’t one of their songs playing in here the other day?” Dan asked.

“Yeah, “Souvenirs in America” is the name,” Jesse spoke up. “It’s from their EP.”

“You know the band?” I asked.

He shrugged. “I’ve listened to them a couple times.” Jesse was our go-to guy when it came to underground or local bands. He knew them all. Ask him about Katy Perry or Lady Gaga, however, and he’d be totally clueless. Jesse didn’t think he was better than anyone else because he didn’t listen to mainstream music; it was just a genre he tended to stray away from.

“They were pretty good,” Dan said, nodding appreciatively.

“Alexa is trying to bone their rhythm guitarist,” Kiera reported.

“I am not!” I said immediately, feeling my face flush. “Shut up.”

“I never pegged you as a groupie, Lex,” Dan grinned. “This is a surprise. Are you going to be the next Marianne Faithfull? Or Pamela Des Barres?”

“She’s with the band now,” Jesse added. “Pretty soon she’ll be living on the tour bus with them, selling their merch and showing her boobs to get backstage.”

“You guys suck,” I huffed. “We’re friends, and that’s it. I barely even know the guy.”

“Ah, we’re just teasing,” Jesse said, grabbing me in a headlock and ruffling my hair. “You have my blessing to go.”

I pushed him away. “I don’t need your blessing, you dick. I’m not five years old.”

“In all seriousness,” Dan said, putting on his grown-up face, “just be careful. That goes for both of you. Getting involved with a band member is just asking for heartbreak.”

“Kiera knows that first hand,” Jesse grinned, referring to the senior year lead singer incident. Kiera rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him.

“Shut up. That was last year, okay.”

“Right. My mistake.”

“The point is,” I said, before Kiera could murder him, “we’re going to be fine. It’s just one show. We don’t even know these guys very well. So drop it.”

Dan and Jesse did, surprisingly, and we finished organizing the shop before finally locking up. “What’s Hazel making for dinner?” Kiera asked, even though it was well past dinnertime. Hazel was just one of those perfect wives who kept a plate heated for him. Dan got a dumb little smile on his face, the same one he always got whenever Hazel was mentioned.

“Dunno. I’ll let you know tomorrow.”

As Kiera and I went one way and Jesse and Dan went the other, Jesse called over his shoulder, “Make sure he knows you don’t put out on the first date, Alexa!”

“Fuck you, Jesse.”

♫ ♫ ♫

Kiera and I arrived at Bender a little after nine on Friday night. The place wasn’t too packed, but the crowd seemed to be enthusiastic. “You wanna find a table?” Kiera asked, looking around.

“Nah, let’s go towards the stage, see what’s going on,” I suggested. We pushed our way to the front of the stage, where some of the instruments were already set up. I could see the curtain moving around backstage, and then, a few seconds later, Sam walked out, carrying an amplifier.

Kiera nudged me. “There’s your man.”

“He’s not my man,” I hissed as Sam saw us and began to wave.

“Hey!” he said, coming over and squatting down so he could speak to us. “Hi, I’m Sam,” he said once he noticed Kiera. “You must be Kiera.”

She nodded, a little surprised. “Yeah. Nice to meet you.”

“I’m glad you guys could come,” Sam said, and he sounded like he meant it. “We’re all just sort of chilling backstage. You wanna come?”

Kiera blinked at me, impressed. We’d been invited backstage before by other various bands, but never as fast as this. “I didn’t even have to show any cleavage,” she whispered as we followed Sam back, only half-joking. We’d done some wild things in high school.

Backstage wasn’t much, just some couches and a table with food pushed against the wall. Fletcher was twirling his drumsticks in his hand, Thomas was scrolling through his phone, and Colton was lying down, eyes closed. Another guy who looked to be about Dan’s age was sitting in a chair, talking quietly into his phone.

“Guys,” Sam said, and the other three looked up. “You remember Alexa, right? From that music store we visited the other day?”

“Our neighbor, right?” Thomas asked. I nodded.

“Yeah,” Sam said. “This is her friend Kiera. You work at the store too, right?”

“Yep,” Kiera said, giving everyone in the room a little wave. I noticed Colton’s eyes widened a little bit, and I tried not to laugh. Kiera was certainly something.

“This is Colton, Fletcher, and Thomas,” Sam pointed each boy out.

The other man finished speaking on the phone and then stood up. He held out his hand for each of us to shake. “Hi, I’m Gabe, also known as the manager of this shit show.”

I grinned. “Hi, Gabe.”

The seven of us chatted for a bit, and I found that we all got along pretty well. Colton seemed especially interested in Kiera, and while she wasn’t returning it 100%, I knew that she was pleased with the attention he was giving her. I made a mental note to make fun of her later.

“How old are you guys? You want anything to drink? Beer, wine, soda?” Gabe asked, going over to a cooler on top of the table where the food was.

“Beer would be excellent,” Kiera piped up. I shot her a look. I didn’t mind drinking, but I didn’t want Gabe to somehow get in trouble.

“We’re nineteen,” I informed him.

He shrugged before passing around bottles to everybody. “I won’t tell if you don’t.”

“Re-lax, Lexi,” Kiera scolded. “We’re with the band now.”

Somewhat reluctantly, I gave in, so we had our drinks and continued to talk until quarter to ten, when Colton said, “Well, I don’t want to be rude –”

“Yes, you do,” Fletcher interjected.

“– but we should probably start getting ready.”

“No problem,” I said quickly. “Thanks for letting us come back here. Good luck.”

“Yeah, good luck,” Kiera echoed. The guys all thanked us, and Sam winked at me again. I tried not to blush, feeling it unsuccessfully creep up my neck. The two of us went back into the main room of the club and stood in the crowd, not as close to the stage this time.

At ten o’clock, the lights went dim, and the crowd cheered as the four of them came out and took their positions onstage. “Helloooooo, Bender!” Fletcher shouted into the microphone. “All of you are looking especially sexy tonight.” A couple girls whooped.

“We are Common Castles,” Sam announced, grinning. “I’m Sam.”

“I’m Thomas,” Thomas called.

“Colton,” Colton mumbled.

“And my name’s Fletcher, and we’re gonna perform some songs for you!” Everyone cheered again.

“Please refrain from throwing things until the end of the show,” Sam said. After a pause, he added, “Or at least until we finish the song.” The crowd laughed.

“This one’s called “Souvenirs in America.” And, uh. Yeah.” Colton said. Fletcher tapped his drumsticks, and then they launched into the song. Colton opened his mouth and began to sing,

“I’m so tired
It’s been so long
Working through this mess,
But now you’re gone

Might be crazy, or just plain dumb,
I can’t really tell
All I know is the more I shout
The less you seem to yell

You ditched me, you left me, I wasn’t enough
You couldn’t stand strong when things got rough
Put yourself in my place for just one day
You see it black or white, but I see it in gray
But now you’re fine, you’re okay, you’ve had it your way,
And I’m still here
Left with all these souvenirs in America.”

The song went on like that, and I had to admit, it was really great. Everyone in the club was on their feet, dancing, and the boys looked like they were having a good time, too. Even Colton had loosened up a little and had a small smile on his face.

Common Castles performed a mixture of original songs and cover songs, which, according to Thomas, were “a necessary evil.” In between songs, they’d talk to the crowd, with Fletcher and Sam bouncing jokes off of each other and Thomas adding in dry, witty comments and Colton just telling them to shut up, making everyone laugh.

When the set ended around 11:30, they left the stage to loud cheers and applause, including some from me and Kiera. “I have to say,” Kiera said, impressed. “They were pretty good.”

“They were, weren’t they?” I agreed. It was weird, considering I’d just met these guys, but I sort of felt like a proud mom. “Do you want to wait for them to come out, congratulate them?”

“Sure,” she said as the next band came out. They were okay, some local band that had the 11:30 spot for a while now. We found a table in the back and ordered some more drinks, waiting for them to come out.

Twenty minutes later, Fletcher walked out, with Sam, Thomas, and Colton trailing behind. They spotted us and came right over, and we made room for them, squeezing over. Occasionally, a few girls would interrupt to tell them how great they were, or inquire about their music. They were more than happy to answer, although usually Colton did most of the talking and Fletcher just cracked jokes.

“Sorry about this,” Thomas said after the third time it happened. “If you want us to go we understand.” There was a joking tone underneath his voice.

Kiera waved her hand. “Nah, it’s cool. Every band has its groupies.”

They laughed. “Well, you guys are technically our first friends here,” Sam told us, grinning. “So you’re higher up than everyone else.”

“Top groupies,” I said proudly. “Look at us. We can say we knew you when.”

“To our top groupies!” Fletcher announced. “And to an awesome summer.” And so we all held up our beer glasses and clinked.