Page 51 of Second Verse

Poppy wasn’t excited, only confused. The guy Sammy meant was Jeff Park, and he worked for Jam Records, a small label. He had come to the showcase and the after-party and had talked to a couple of performers who were very much not them. She’d assumed they’d blown it. But he’d come down to the school? For what?

***

Poppy walked into the rehearsal room to find Jeff talking to the three other guys in the band. Sammy was talking about his influences.

‘Lemmy, man. He was a bassist, and he was still the star. And that’s hard because no one ever pays that much attention to the bassist. But he rocked so hard, youhadto pay attention.’

‘Well, he was also the lead vocalist of Motorhead,’ Jeff pointed out, sounding bored.

‘I guess that helped, yeah,’ Sammy said.

Jeff noticed that Poppy had walked in, and his boredom evaporated. ‘Poppy!’ he exclaimed.

Poppy, who had no idea this man would have any way of knowing her name, was shocked by the familiarity of the greeting. ‘That’s me.’

‘I’m so glad you could come down. Fancy a chat?’ he asked, and it was pretty clear he meant just her.

Poppy glanced at the other band members. Sammy, Barnaby (the lead singer) and Micky (the drummer) didn’t look happy. Barnaby looked like he might throw a full tantrum. No one had understood what was happening until this moment. But it was obvious now. He had come for Poppy.

Poppy should have felt elated. But she was just scared. ‘Umm, OK,’ she said to Jeff. What else could she say? Noaroony?

‘Great, let’s go to the refectory,’ he said, ignoring the rest of the band’s daggers.

***

‘Sorry I didn’t have a chance to talk to you at the showcase,’ Jeff apologised. ‘I had to run to another thing.’

‘Right...’ Poppy said. She was still a bit confused as to what this was.

‘I want to tell you I thought you were great.’

‘Who, me?’

‘Yes.’

‘But I’m just the rhythm guitarist,’ Poppy told him. ‘You get that, right? Barnaby is on lead guitar and vocals.’ Poppy felt that if anybody from the band was getting plucked from obscurity, anyone would assume it was going to be Barnaby—including Barnaby.

‘But you sing backup, don’t you? And someone told me you’re the lyricist, too.’

‘Yeah, I do.’

‘I thought the lyrics were good. Your backing was strong, too.’

‘Oh. Thanks,’ Poppy said, absolutely baffled.

‘I was wondering if you had any demos? Maybe you write stuff that you perform by yourself?’ he asked hopefully.

‘Why?’ Poppy asked him outright.

He laughed. ‘Straight to the heart of it? I like your style. I’m trying to find someone for a group.’

‘A group?’

‘Yes, all female, three members. We could do with someone like you.’

‘Me?’ Poppy exclaimed, shocked.

‘We need someone who can compose. And your look could be perfect, with some minor tweaking.’

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