Strummings After School

Anita shuffled along the leaf-covered side-walk. She stopped to watch a cat vanish behind a fence, before contemplating whether or not she should go home or not. It had been a horrible day at school, and she needed her oddly considerate friend, Alan, to confide in. She passed the street that contained the deserted chalet. It would have been rather dainty, had someone cared to rake the leaves, pull the weeds, and paint the house.

She was just passing it when she heard a drumroll coming from the vacant house. She frowned, questioning who might be there. Her curiosity overcame her. Deciding that it wouldn't hurt to make a tiny detour, she headed towards the little hut. She heard more drum-like sounds and in addition, what sounded like an electric guitar. Just as she approached the shed that accompanied the house (which was where the sounds seemed to be coming from), it all stopped. Then she heard a voice.

"Guys!" said an irritated male voice. "Geez, you don't need - "

She wasn't able to grasp just what they didn't need, because a noisy deisel engine drove by. She groaned aloud, then gasped. "Hey," said the voice, "Did you hear that?" Screwing up her face, she ran for the gate and towards Alan's house.

As she approached his house, she saw him on the porch, his head in his hands. Recognizing this as a sign of disturbance, she hurried up the walkway.