Luckily, Rafe didn’t have a chance to answer, because just then Grandma Dotty stuck her head through the door. “Did anyone else hear some awful crashing and wailing just a minute ago?” she asked. “Like part of the roof caved in on a howler monkey? Or a truck full of cats tipped over?”

“Um, no,” I said.

“I’d better call the ASPCA,” she said, and shut the door with a slam.

“Were we that bad?” Mari asked. She was looking at Rafe, as if his opinion counted for anything.

“No.” Rafe shook his head.

“Oh, good.” Nanci looked relieved.

“You were way worse,” Rafe added. The band looked horrified. “You guys should change your name to We Stink.”

I was afraid my friends might actually walk out the garage door and never come back. “YOU stink!” I shot back. “I can smell you from over here.”

“That’s your breath,” Rafe said.

I couldn’t think of a good reply, so I grabbed a roll of toilet paper and threw it at his head. Laughing, Rafe dodged and scooted through the door.

“Do we really stink?” Mari asked.

“Rafe would’ve said that no matter how good we sounded,” I pointed out.

“But we do need more practice,” Nanci admitted.

“Then let’s do it!” Mari agreed.

“Rock on!” Patti cheered.

I wasn’t so sure. But we launched back into our theme song, and this time it was even better than before. Now if I could just nail that guitar solo…

Home, Sweet Home

A pretty awesome band practice might cancel out a pretty horrible first day of school, but when you add them together, you still get complete exhaustion.

What I need is a hug from my mom, I thought, and to tell her all about my crazy day. Unfortunately, Mom wasn’t home, which meant no hug and no dinner either, unless I cooked it myself. Mom is a waitress, which means that she usually works all evening. So we kind of have to fend for ourselves.

I wished I had someone to talk to. But Mari, Patti, and Nanci went to Airbrook Arts, where I bet everybody (except my brother) was cool. They didn’t know what it was like to face the snobs of the Princess Patrol. I could talk to Grandma Dotty, I thought, but she would just tell me to be grateful that I didn’t have to walk five miles to school, the way she used to. And the only other person around was…

“Stinky!” Rafe announced as he strolled into the kitchen. “That’s the perfect word to describe your band, Georgia. Seriously, I actually think We Stink is a good name. It’s kind of got a rock edge.”

I just sighed. I didn’t have the energy to think of a comeback.