wait,” Don mentioned, “there’s just one more thing.”
“What now?” Angelo complained.
“We need a name for the band,” Don said. Both Angelo and I burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny?” Don asked.
“Angelo and I always joked,” I worked hard to contain my laughter as I
explained, “that if we ever became a performing duo we’d call ourselves the
‘Ruby Angels’!” Angelo and I burst out laughing again.
“Why is that funny? I think it’s a cool name,” Don was confused.
“If by ‘cool’ you mean ‘egotistical’, then sure,” Angelo chuckled. “So does
anyone have any ideas? Hurry. At this point I think
I’m willing to accept any name for as long as we can start practicing.”
“How about ‘Leviathan’?” I joked.
Angelo laughed. “No. Not that.”
“ Leviathan ?The mythical sea
creature?” Don cleared up.
“Also the title of a work by Thomas Hobbes, one of the great Western political
thinkers,” I replied. “It’s one of my favourites.”
“I think it’s a pretty cool name,” Don smiled.
I blushed again, “Thanks.”
“Okay, okay,” Angelo interjected. “So we’re going with ‘Leviathan’. Everybody happy? Now let’s start practicing. One Direction. ‘What Makes You Beautiful’.Go five, six, seven, eight.”
I knew Angelo was trying to catch Don off-guard, but Don’s timing was perfect.
He started right on cue, and was actually pretty good. Angelo kept the beat,
and I sang. It was perfect right up until the chorus.
“The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed,” already had me trying to
stifle a laugh. But by the next line, “The way you smile at the ground,” I was
overwhelmed with laughter. Angelo was laughing, too.
“Why are you guys laughing?” Don chuckled. Laughter is contagious.
“Because!” I laughed. “Who the hell
smiles at the ground!?” I demonstrated by widening my eyes and giving a
big toothy smile while looking down at the ground. Don was laughing, too. “See?
It’s ridiculous!”
“Okay,” Don suggested, “so maybe it’s not such a good idea for us to do the
songs you guys like to make fun of…”
“You think?” Angelo laughed.
“Alright, seven songs,” Don rolled his eyes and chuckled.
* *
* * *
As I was having lunch with Angelo, scolding him
for being mean to Don during our first rehearsal, Don sat down with us.
“Speak of the devil,” Angelo rolled his eyes. “ Ow ,”
he said as I elbowed him.
“Behave,” I warned.
“Hey, guys, I have a proposition for you,” Don proclaimed.
“Oh no,” Angelo shook his head. “It’s already bad enough we agreed to be your
band for the fair. What next, you’re going to make us hand out flyers or make
posters? Let me just be clear: we are not part of your committee. We did not
volunteer. We are-”
“Angelo!” I scolded. “Let him speak. Jeez, you like to ramble.”
“Ramble? Or defend our rights as legal citizens?” Angelo smiled wryly.
“Is there a difference?” I playfully rolled my eyes. Angelo very gently pushed
my arm. “Anyway, so Don, what’s up?”
“Remember how you mentioned portability
Rebecca Hamilton, Conner Kressley