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The Blue-eyed Boy
Mike Ellis strikes again!
DISCLAIMER: The story that follows is a work of fiction. Some characters may be based on real people, but this story should not be considered accurate or truthful representations of any actual person connected with the members of OTown or any other person.
WARNING: This story deals with sexual themes. If this offends you, read no further. If accessing this story causes you break any laws applicable in your area, read no further. If you are under 18 years of age, read no further.
FEEDBACK: Send any comments, compliments, or criticisms michaelwashere@netzero.com.
April 27th
Jacob
didn't get it. All long day in the studio, he was never tired, never hungry,
never wanting a break. It was as if the act of making music was enough to sustain
him. But, in less than an hour after leaving the studio, he was completely exhausted,
only the thought of how hungry he was kept him awake. It would be good to get
back to the hotel, he thought. Have some dinner in the restaurant and crash
in his room — yeah, that's all he wanted to do. He settled heavily into
the front passenger seat of the van and began to doze off without realizing
it.
Andre
glanced over from the driver's seat and noticed this with a smile before returning
his attention to the afternoon traffic into Radolfzell. In the seats behind
him, the other members of OTown were sleepy or sleeping, so he moved slowly
as he merged onto the Singen highway to make his way downtown.
A dark length of
dead wood, fallen fron one of the great oaks over the access road, lay hidden
on the dark asphalt. Andre didn't see it until he was almost upon it, when it
was too late. The van's tires passed harmlessly over wood, feeling it only as
a jostling bump. Andre kept checking his rearview mirror to see if he'd awakened
any of his sleeping passengers.
When he returned
his eyes to the road in front of him, he saw that he was headed uncomfortably
close to a group of people at a bus stop shelter. He turned the wheel to the
left and easily avoided them before joining the traffic on the highway itself.
The men of OTown dozed, and most of the people at the bus stop hadn't even noticed
the incident. Only one girl, clutching a violin case, looked up and stared at
the van as it passed her.
When it was safe
to do so, Andre glanced at the dashboard clock. 5:22. With any luck at all,
he'd have the guys at the Gasthaus by 6.
Gabrielle
was so glad that Friday had fiinally come. Not only could she sleep later the
next two mornings, but tonight she was finally going to get to play the concert
they'd been preparing for for the past three months. Tonight she would be recompensed
for all her hard work: for all that practicing before and after school, all
the Wednesday nights and Sunday afternoons spent in rehearsal, all the time
spent with the petty jealousies and arguments of a bunch of musically talented
adolescents.
Now,
as she waited for the bus to take her to the Musikschule, Gabrielle was remembering
her satisfaction when Herr Neuhalfen had given her the first chair. Kati and
Georg had both been so smug about it, sniping with each other for weeks about
which of them would lead the section, and all the while Gabrielle had kept quiet
and practiced harder each time she heard them. Finally it had paid off: Kati
and Georg would be beside her on the front row of the second violins, but they'd
play knowing that Gabrielle had been leading their sectional rehearsals.
This thought was
interrupted when Gabi glanced up and saw a white van headed toward her and the
bus stop. She clutched her violin case to her, but the van's driver swerved
away and drove harmlessly by. There's been little real danger, but Gabrielle
was still surprised by what happened next. In the van's window, she saw the
sleeping face of the dark-haired American she'd seen on the bus two days ago.
Just before the
van disappeared into traffic, Gabrielle made a note of the name painted on its
side: Gasthaus zum Adler.
"Oh,
this place is charming!" Amanda's mother was saying. Jeez, Amanda thought,
she'd never said that in Amanda's whole life, but now that they were in the
God-awful town in this God-awful country, everything was suddenly "charming."
The little bakeries on every block were charming. The tiny cannisters on the
breakfast tables were charming. The cobblestone streets were charming. If I
hear that word again, Amanda inwardly promised herself, I'll puke.
"Yeah, it's
a great place. I eat lunch here at least once or twice a week," her brother
was saying as he sat down on the other side of his mother.
"Is this place
on your meal plan?" Ms. Tyler was saying. Drew'd already explained to them
that the language school gave them tickets to use for lunch and dinner in various
restaurants in the city. Amanda had only half listened: Drew may have lightened
his hair and bought some nice new clothes, but he was still boring. "It's
certainly much nicer than your university cafeteria."
"Vee should
orderr," Frau Pakleppa was saying, "if vee don't vant to be late to
zuh conzert." Amanda didn't really like Frau Pakleppa, the mother of the
family that had taken Drew in during his two-month stay in Radolfzell. She had
a scrunched-up little face and spoke so quickly that she sounded mad all the
time. "The Musikschule is near, but Drew must haf time to varm up before
he plays."
"Mom, try the
Hänchen, Großmutter Art," Drew suggested. "It's a sort
of roast chicken with peas and carrots. I eat it everytime I'm here." That
was like Drew too, Amanda thought: eating the same thing, over and over.
And it was typical that he'd give Mom a suggestion and not her.
"Will you
help them order, Frau Pakleppa?" Drew was still talking as he stood up.
"Ich muß mich entschuldigen." Then, smiling at his mother, he
added in a slight whisper, "Sorry. I have to go the the restroom."
Drew
Tyler stepped through the entrance to the dining room and bumped into another
young man already standing in the vestibule, looking left and right. "Oh,
es tut mir leid," Drew said reflexively. The other young man smiled at
him but didn't say anything. God, he's cute, Drew thought. All those
dimples and blue eyes.
The other man
continued to stand, unspeaking, for a few seconds. Finally he ran his fingers
through his spiky blond hair and began to say me slowy, "Excuse me, but
I am looking for..."
Drew grinned and
interrupted him. "Relax. I'm American too."
The other man smiled
wider this time, and his shoulders relaxed as he exhaled. "Oh, good. I'm
not very good at getting around here. They told us that everyone spoke English
— and they do — but what happened this afternoon I'm afraid to talk
to anyone." He paused after this gush of words and added quietly, "I'm
just trying to find the restroom."
"It's down
here," Drew said pointing to the left. "The door is just after the
staircase."
As the two young
men headed down the hallway, the other extended his hand. "I'm Ashley Angel."
"Drew Tyler,"
Drew said as they made the obligatory hand shake. "So, what did happen
this afternoon?"
"I'm not really
sure," Ashley said frowning. "We were buying some things in a grocery
story. When I got the register, I asked for a sack and the cashier burst out
laughing. Then she turned and told a bunch of people something and they all
started laughing."
Drew laughed too.
"I'm not suprised. Next time, ask for a bag. When you ask for a sack, you're
asking for a scrotum. Here's the restroom."
By the time they
headed back to the dining room, Ashley had told him that he was part of a singing
group recording in a private studio outside of Radolfzell. "So, we're staying
here 'til the end of next week," Ashley was saying as they approached the
dining room door. "Look us up. We could use an American guide to keep us
from getting lost again."
"Will
do," Drew told him. "It'd be nice to see different faces for a while.
There are only seventeen Americans at the school, and we spend way too much
time together."
"Ash!"
The two turned to see Eric coming toward them from the dining room. "Where
were you, bud? We thought you got lost."
"I did for
a bit," Ashley grinned. "But Drew helped me out."
Drew introduced
himself, and Eric said, "You're American!"
"Yeah, most
of the time," Drew grinned. They headed back into the dining room, as Drew
went on. "I'm on an exchange program here. We come to some language center
here to study German before going on to some other city to work for the rest
of the year."
"Is the language
center formal or something?" Eric said, noticing Drew's tuxedo.
"No, this is
for a concert tonight," Drew laughed. "I've been playing with the
local youth symphony orchestra since I got here. We have a concert at 8."
"What do you
play?" Ashley asked him.
"Saxophone."
"In an orchestra?"
"We're playing
'Rhapsody in Blue.' Three sax players were recruited for just that one piece,"
Drew explained, "I was lucky to get chosen."
They'd reached Drew's
table by then, and he turned to introduce the young men to the others there
when Amanda let out, "OHMYGOD! It's the guys from OTown!"
"Who?"
her mother said, blinking. "Where's OTown?"
Erik and Ashley
grinned, but Amanda was mortified. "Not where, Mom. Who. They're a singing
group. On television." The guys smoothly did the meet-and-greet thing,
smooth and polite just like Pearlman's people had coached them, and then made
their goodbyes. But not before Ashley asked Drew, "Where is this concert?"
"At the city
music school."
"8 o'clock?"
"Yeah."
"You guys should
come," Amanda said quickly.
Ashley smiled at
her. "Maybe we will." He got some careful directions from Drew, and
then he and Erik took their leave and headed to their table.
Trevor grinned
as they approached. "So, where was he?" he asked Erik.
"Oh, right
where you thought," Eric said as he and Ashley sat down. "Trying to
pick up some guy."