We shook hands. Mom always said to shake hands hard as you could so people wouldn’t think you were a wuss. Horace liked to break your palm, he squeezed your hand so tight. I tried to do something in the middle, just your average grip and double pump. I know, I was analyzing the shit out of my handshakes, but that’s how awkward I was. I put every action I took under the same withering microscope.

“We have our own private driveway,” said Luther, pointing to the far side of the house, “where we park the van. Leads us straight to the main road just past the border of the property. All in all, not a bad setup.”

“You guys are in a band, right?” I said. “I think Grandma mentioned that.”

“Indeed,” said Luther. “It’s our trade, how we make money.”

“Oh come on,” said Stephens. “We don’t make any money.”

“This is true,” said Luther.

“But making money isn’t the point, is it?” said Cass. “The point is just to make our own noise, you know, and to make it with as much heart as we possibly can. There’s beauty in that too, right?”

I had the feeling that this was an old argument, one they’d all had a million times before. I didn’t mind listening in on it. It made me feel like I was one of their friends.

“It would be cool not to be broke, though,” said Stephens.

A kid with a shaved head sat on the roof, a beer in one hand and a cigarette in another, squatting like a medieval gargoyle. I wasn’t sure how long he’d been up there.

“Who’s that guy?” I said.

“Oh, that’s Jack, our lead singer,” said Stephens. “Dude’s weird.”

“Thinks he’s psychic,” said Luther. “He’s always trying to channel the Spirit. Crazy stuff, you know?”

The Spirit. How did they know?

Of course I didn’t think it was crazy. It was hard to call anybody insane when you’d spent your whole life seeing things that weren’t there. But I was trying to make friends and not be weird, so I kept my mouth shut.

“Jack does his own thing,” said Cass, shrugging.

“Cool with me,” I said.

She laughed. “Is it? Is it cool with you?”

I could feel myself blushing hugely, so I stared at my feet.

“Jesus, I’m sorry,” I said. “I guess it doesn’t matter what I think.”

“I’m just fucking with you, Lee,” said Cass. “Relax already.” She smiled her crooked-tooth smile at me, and I got shivers all over. “Anybody need a beer?”

“Of course,” said Stephens.

“Come on,” said Cass, grabbing my hand. “I’ll give you the tour.”