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Triangle now, or did you come back just
to audition for (he cleared his throat and used his movie trailer
voice) Billy-Eye’s Arcade and Dance
Barn ?”
    “ That’s good—you sound just
like one of those announcers. I saw your ad in the paper, and
thought this might be a cool gig.” He was asking too many
questions. But she really wanted the job. And giving him a bloody
nose was not likely to help her get it. “I’ve got plenty of work in
Houston,” she lied. “But this just sounded like fun.”
    “ But you don’t have a band
right now?”
    “ I can get one together
before the audition. It’s not a problem. And I’m writing a couple
of songs especially for this place.”
    Craig smiled. Original songs
for Billy-Eye’s . If they were good catchy songs, that would be a big plus.
“Can’t wait to hear them. Do you have anybody in mind for your
band?”
    “ Yeah. There’s a bass player
I used to work with in Houston.”
    “ Have you talked to him
yet?”
    “ Her . I left a message, but she
hasn’t called me back yet.”
    “ So, are we talking an
all-girl band?”
    “ Yeah.”
    His face lit up. “Then I have a suggestion
for you.”
    “ What’s that?” She didn’t
really want to hear it. Nobody was going to tell her how to put her
band together. She’d been in the business for fifteen
years.
    “ Yesterday I met this girl
named Cindy Banya. She’s a drummer.”
    “ How old is she?”
    “ Late twenties, I
think.”
    Then she’s not a girl , thought
Sondra. I’m not a girl. We’re women . But, of course, Craig is
just a big boy . And he’ll probably never grow up. “Have you heard her
play?”
    “ Well, no. But I’m sure she
very good.”
    “ She’s hot, isn’t
she?”
    “ Uh, yeah, she
is.”
    “ Look, Craig, I’ll give her
a listen, but she’d better be a rock-solid drummer, or I’ve got no
use for her.”
    “ Oh, I’m sure she is. And a
sexy girl band would stand a much better chance of getting the job.
So—“
    “— I get it. When can I hear
her play?”
    “ Tonight. I’ll set it
up.”
    “ Okay.”
    He reached across the desk, picked up a
clipboard and pen, and began to study the audition schedule. “Let’s
see…we want to give you a good time slot…”
    “ Is everybody auditioning on
the same night?”
    “ Well, we had hoped there
would be enough bands to spread them out over three nights, but—you
saw the line out there. It looks like we’re going to be able to do
everybody on Friday night.”
    “ I want to go
last.”
    “ Okay. But the kids might be
pretty tired by 11:30. And some of the younger ones might have
already gone home.”
    “ So, is that how you win—by
getting the most screams and applause from the kids?”
    “ Yeah. Sort of. But I make the final
decision.”
    “ Of course.” Sondra
understood. Wink, wink. If she accepted Craig’s new little
plaything into her band, they would be sure to win on Friday night.
But what if the kids went crazy over one of the other bands, and
she was stuck with a lousy drummer? Billy-Eye might override Craig.
Her band needed to be the most exciting, unique, outrageous group
Orange County had ever seen.
    “ What’s the name of your
band? Oh, I guess you don’t have one yet.”
    “ I’ve got some
ideas.”
    “ Well, I don’t whether
you’ve heard, but we’ve put the word out that we would prefer a band with a
local-sounding name. You know, like The
Sabine Rivers , or The Triangulars. Of course, you
won’t want to use either of those names since I’m giving them as
examples. Chances are, one of these bands will .”
    Don’t worry, she thought.
She’d already had something a lot better. It had just hit her. But
she didn’t want to tell him yet. That would spoil the
effect. “What’s the latest I can give you the name?”
    “ Wednesday morning. I’m
going to record a radio spot that afternoon.”
    “ Okay.”
    They exchanged cell phone numbers. He said
he would call her a little later to set up a time