I sighed as I trudged down the street to the music store I had found two weeks before, carrying a large Guitar on my back. I had already broken a string in my month of playing it, so I had to go and get a new string put on.
I had moved to this town a month ago, right after my only living relatives died- My parents. I was shoved off into a foster home, so now I had two new parents to deal with. Like I really needed that right after my parents died in front of me. But that's a story that is better saved for later.
I pushed open the door to the store and walked up to the counter, placing my Guitar on it and unzipping the case to reveal my treasure- my mother's Guitar.
"I broke a string, can you fix it?" I asked the girl behind the counter. She had come to know me by now, in the two weeks since I had found this place. I had come almost every day, seeing as I had nothing else to do in this town called Marysville. Washington wasn't the greatest place to live, but really, it was no different from where I lived before. After all, I had still lived in Washington, only about twenty minutes away.
The girl took a look at the string, and then shook her head. "You busted it up pretty bad, Alice." She told me, raising an eyebrow.
"My name is still Kaitlin..." I said, giving a sigh. She had taken to calling me Alice for some strange reason.
"And you still remind me of Alice." She said, mentioning the character from Alice in Wonderland, something that I didn't get at all.
Alice had blue eyes and blonde hair, whereas I have brown-red hair and a bright, almost unnatural, green eye color. But that was why I wore blue colored contacts, so really the girl didn't know that my eyes were green.
"Rebecca, could you just try and fix it?" I asked, trying to stay away from another argument about my name.
Rebecca shook her head. "It's too far gone to fix. But since I like you so much, Alice, I'll put a new string on it for you." She said, causing me to sigh in relief. "Just give me about fifteen minutes."
"Okay." I said, wandering off as she brought my Guitar into the back. Her grandfather ran the music store, so she could get free things easily. And, for some strange reason, since she had taken a liking to me she decided to give me free things all the time. She had given me a booklet of music paper two days ago, and a pack of picks a few days before that.
I pulled my thoughts from my guitar as I found another one. I picked it up and began to play, my fingers automatically playing Complicated, by Avril Lavigne. I had closed my eyes, singing along quietly, so when someone suddenly started clapping, I opened my eyes in surprise.
"You look like you know you're music." The girl said. She grabbed my arm and dragged me over to her group of what I assumed were friends. I gripped the neck of the guitar in my left hand, my right being pulled by the girl.
"Let’s get an outsiders opinion." She had announced with a slightly irritated look on her face.
The other girl sighed, rubbing her eyes, while the guy grumbled something under his breath.
"So, we have a question and want your opinion." The girl who had dragged me over said.
"O-Okay." I said, not really sure what to think of the group. They all looked to be about my age, juniors in high school, but I could not recall seeing them at my new school. Sure I had only been going two days, and I didn't really stand out, but still.
"We are trying to decide on doing a cover of Paramore, Pink Floyd, Queen, and Coldplay. Pick one." She ordered me.
"U-Uh..." I stuttered, not sure what to chose. "It would depend on the singer, and who was playing what instrument." I said, my voice much softer then the girl's had been. I wasn't very social, so getting into a discussion like this was not my strong point.
The girl looked a bit surprised as my comment. "I hadn't thought of that..." She said.
The guy grinned and pat my head, making me flinch at the unexpected contact. "I like the way you think." He said. "I'm Jake, and I play Bass and Guitar. The quiet girl here," he said, placing his hand on the shoulder of the girl who had not yet spoken, "Is Anna, she plays Piano. And the loud one is Isabelle. She plays Drums." The guy, Jake, said.
I nodded my acknowledgement of them, and decided to introduce myself. Why not? “I’m Kaitlin and I play Guitar, and a little Piano.”
I noticed Anna’s eyes light when I mentioned that I played Guitar, almost as if she had an idea.
The girl, Anna, who I thought to be Asian, maybe Korean, had long black hair, reaching her waist, and she was short, a bit shorter than my five foot five inches. I looked to the other girl and guessed her to be an inch or two taller than me. Isabelle had shorter, layered brown hair that reached her neck. I looked to Jake next and found him to be a good four, maybe five inches taller than Isabelle, with blonde hair than was long for a guy, reaching into his pretty blue eyes.
I stopped studying the group when Anna asked her question, her voice void of any accent, and a bit quiet. “Are you good at Guitar?” She asked me eagerly.
I was surprised as her question. I didn’t even know her but for two minutes and she was asking me if I was good?
“Err, I guess.” I said when I realized I hadn’t answered yet. “My mom always said I was.” I added.
Anna grabbed Jake’s and Isabelle’s arms and pulled them away, out of my earshot, probably discussing something that concerned me. I shifted on my feet nervously, not sure if what they were saying was good or bad.
After a minute or so, they rejoined me, Anna and Jake grinning, with Isabelle looking skeptical.
“We want you to join our band.” Jake said eagerly, grabbing my hands.
My eyes widened in surprise, not having suspected this.
"Wh-What?" I squeaked.
"Will. You. Join. Our. Band." Isabel repeated.
"Uhmm...." I said as my mind swirled. Joining a band? I get to play music more... No! You don't even know them!' A voice in my head said.
“You don’t have to answer right away.” Isabelle said, rolling her eyes as my startled expression.
I quickly pulled my hands from Jake and stepped away. “Oh. Uh… Thank you for the offer.” I said.
“Anna, paper.” Isabelle commanded, and Anna pulled from her bag a paper and pen, handing them to Isabelle. I looked to Isabelle to find her writing something on the paper.
“When you have decided, call this number.” Isabelle said, handing me the paper, which I quickly tucked away in my pocket.
“Alright.” I responded. “Oh! And… If it’s just you guy’s, then do Coldplay… Maybe Paramore.” I said.
Anna nodded. “Thanks, Kaitlin. By the way, can you sing at all?”
I nodded my head. “A bit. But… I don’t really sing much.” I replied.
Anna went to say something else, but then Rebecca called out, “Alice! It’s ready.” And I turned to find her back at the counter with my Guitar.
I turned back to the group, who had confused looks about what Rebecca had called me, and smiled. “I gotta go, but thanks.” I said before putting away the guitar I had been playing, and walking over to Rebecca and grabbing my own Guitar.
“Want me to play something next time I come in?” I asked. Usually I’d play a song for her as payment for giving the free stuff.
“Sure! I’ll find a song for you, alright? I’ll try to find a hard one.” She replied.
I laughed. So far anything she had picked out was fairly easy. “Alright. Well, I had better get back. Don’t want Diana and Richard waiting for me too long.” I said, waving as I walked out.
I had told Rebecca a bit about my family situation, about how my parents had died and I lived with a foster family. I considered her a friend, my only one so far, and enjoyed our chats when i came to play for her. Even though she was working in a music store, she had absolutely no talent.
As I made my way back to my new house, I had my Guitar slung over my shoulder, my fingers itching to play as soon as I could.
When I walked inside I was greeted by Diana as she stuck her head outside of the kitchen. “Oh hello, Kaitlin. Back already?” She asked.
“Yeah, it was just a broken string.” I said, before excusing myself and heading upstairs to my room.
As I pushed open the door it hit one of the many still-packed boxes, knocking it over and spilling its contents, causing me to sigh and put my Guitar on my bed before reaching down to clean up the mess. The box had been full of stacks of pictures, so now there were pictures of my parents covering my floor, which caused tears to begin to pool in my eyes.
My parents were still a touchy subject for me, them having been killed before my eyes less than two months before. I took a deep breath to calm down, willing myself not to cry.
I picked up all the pictures and repacked them before sitting on my bed and pulling out my Guitar to release my feelings of pain and sadness through my music.
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So I know it's short, but it's my first try writing something like this. I don't even know if anyone will read this, but if you do, then thank you!
Dedicated to Kaitlin Ashely McVey, because I named the main character after her :3
-Caitlin
Spumescent Community Member 
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