Revenge Of A Band Geek Gone Bad Read Online Free Page A

like, "You don't need to drive.  There are a lot of crazy people out there."  I think she's so reluctant for me to get my license because she hardly drives herself, only on Long Island, but never in the city.  But I love the idea of being able to get in a car and go wherever I want.  I love the thought of being able to escape when I need to.
    Josh turned on the engine and the car made a few choking sounds.  "Get someone else to teach you to drive," he said.  "It's not like your parents can make you do what they say forever."
    "You don't know my parents," I sighed.
    ###
    Josh drove past the never-ending rows of white and gray split-level homes and strip malls.  There are about a million of these little malls on Long Island, each containing basically the same set of shops: a pizzeria, a Chinese take-out place, a deli and a laundromat .  Sequoia's only about an hour or so from New York City, but you'd never know it given how suburban everything is here.  I directed Josh around Lake Sequoia, leading him to my development.
    "So, about Kathy," he began as he flipped on the radio.  He had it programmed to a classic rock station.  "What we need to do is make her mess up so badly that Francis kicks her out of first chair.  It's pretty simple, actually."
    "How do we do that?"  I asked.  I wasn't about to get her beaten up or do something else that could get me into trouble.
    He shrugged.  "I need to think about it.  Maybe we could write in some wrong notes on her music?"
    I shook my head.  " Nah, that probably wouldn't work.  She'd probably realize something was off when she played and either fix the notes herself or run crying to Mr. Francis."
    "True."  He nodded, then stared straight ahead, deep in thought for a moment.  "Oh, I know!  What if we stuck some gum into one of the pads of her flute?"
    "No!"  I insisted.  "Do you have any idea how expensive flutes are?  If we do that and we're found out, we're dead.  Besides," I added, "it's not like it's her flute's fault that she sucks.  I really don't like the idea of damaging an instrument.  The flute's like well, sacred , to me."
    "I get it, I get it," Josh said, his eyes twinkling.  In the daylight, they matched the sky.  "There have been times when I get so into playing that my trumpet feels almost like a person.  So you're right.  We do need to respect the flute."
    "Good."  I pointed him toward my block.  "That's my house there.  The Tudor-style one."
    "It's nice," he said, as he pulled into my driveway.  I have to admit, our home does stand out.  In our development, all of the houses are the same style: two-story colonials that are surrounded by a smallish yard in the front and a larger one in the back.  But my parents had the architect add on all these wood designs to the exterior so our place looks a little different from our neighbors'.  They had it done after returning from a trip to England that they took when I was just a baby.  They say that a lot of the houses over there look like this.
    "Well, uh, thank you," I said, carefully opening my door so it wouldn't stick again.  "And thanks for the jacket."  I grabbed my stuff and stepped onto my driveway.
    "No problem," he replied, "but use this weekend to think of things.  I’ll e-mail you when I get ideas.”
    “Okay.”
    "Send me any ideas as soon as you get them," he repeated.
    "Sure."  I watched him drive away.
    ###
    As soon as he left my driveway, Lana came bounding over to me, her light-brown curls bouncing as she moved.  She'd obviously seen me arrive home with Josh and was dying to know what I was doing with him.  "What was that about, Mel?"  she asked.  Josh's car sputtered down the street.  "Was that Josh Kowalski ?"
    "Yep."   I grinned, enjoying her shock.  I guess I couldn't blame her too much for being surprised to see me being driven home by a guy.  Lana's always been the one who's had boyfriends.
    Lana Brody and I have known each other since kindergarten when