Chapter Text
It was a bright, cool morning in Duluth, Minnesota. On one street, a garage door opened, revealing an impromptu rock band setup. Two large speakers had been set up on opposite sides of the entrance, with a drum kit in the rough center. Wires snaked all around the floor, connecting the speakers to the drums, three microphone stands, and a guitar.
Young Vicki Peterson walked into the garage and up to the guitar stand. She picked her trusty axe up and slung it over her shoulder, strumming the strings. She frowned slightly before looking over her shoulder at the door leading to the house proper. “Hey, Debbi! Come on!”
Debbi Peterson, Vicki’s younger sister, emerged from the door, ducking low to avoid her platinum-blond hair from hitting the top of the door. “Sorry,” she mumbled, before sitting down at the drums and picking up the sticks. She twirled them around in her fingers. “Have Michael or Susanna showed up?”
As if on cue, a somewhat tall redhead in a long, black coat walked up to the garage, guitar case in hand. “Hey, you two,” Michael Steele said. She held up her free arm, flashing them a blue-colored wristwatch. “I’m on time, right?” She looked around. “Least I got here before Susanna.”
Debbi leaned forward and narrowed her eyes at Michael. “Is that a… Transformers watch?”
Michael rolled her eyes. “My brother got it for me last week. You know how big a fan he is. I mean we went to see the movie three times opening week last summer.” She set her case down and clicked it open, pulling out her bass guitar and plugging it in. “I mean was I really gonna say no to the gift? It’s not even my birthday!”
Debbi held her hands up. “Hey, I’m not gonna complain if it means you get here on time. Not that it was a problem before.” She looked out to the street. “And…”
A Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty Special pulled up and parked itself in front of the garage. The back passenger door opened and a rather small lady emerged, pulling a guitar case that looked almost comically-oversized in comparison to her. Susanna Hoffs slammed the door shut before going to the front window and peering in. “Thanks, Mom.” She turned, but stopped and rolled her eyes before looking back to the window. “No, Mom. I don’t have any quarters. Why would I need quarters? We’re not going to the mall or anything. There’s no Tiffany concert going on. Yeah, love you too.”
Vicki stared at Susanna as she walked over. “You are… right on time,’ she said, finally smiling. She motioned to the final microphone stand, then turned and walked to the front of the garage. Vicki turned so she faced her three bandmates. “All right. We’ve got a gig this Saturday at the Roxie.”
“We maybe have a gig at the Roxie,” Michael said, leaning forward.
Vicki sighed. “We’ll find out for sure tonight, Michael. In the meantime?”
Michael knelt down and pulled out several manilla folders. “All right, Vicki.” She handed the folders out to the others. “I wrote some new songs, got a little experimental.”
Susanna opened the folder Michael gave her. She placed it on the music stand in front of her microphone and started leafing through the pages. “‘Following’ seems a bit… sparse to me.” She swallowed as Michael looked at her. “N-not that it’s a bad thing!”
Vicki walked back to her own microphone stand and slung her guitar over her shoulder. She plugged it in and adjusted the knobs. She looked over her own music sheets. “All right, let’s start off with… ‘Something to Believe in’?” She looked back at the other three. “That good?” At their nods, she readied her guitar pick. “Debbi, shall we?”
Debbi tapped her drumsticks together, setting the beat. She raised them high above her drumheads…
A large, brown van pulled up to the house, horn blaring. A large caricature of a newsboy tossing a paper while shouting, “Get your News!” was airbrushed on the side-door. The window opened, and the mulleted head of one Huey Lewis poked out. “Hello, ladies,” he said, grinning.
Vicki’s nostrils flared. She glanced up at Huey, eyes blazing. “Lewis,” she said through clenched teeth. “What a… pleasant surprise.” She motioned to her bandmates. “If you don’t mind, though? We’re a little busy.”
Huey slowly turned his head, taking in everything and everyone there.”I see. Got a gig at the Roxie this weekend?” He motioned to the van as his five band members exited. “We, of course, will be in California, meeting Little Richard and competing in the Battle of the Bands!”
Susanna held a hand up and waved it at him. “Hi, Huey?” She grinned as he turned to her. “Maybe both of us will make it to the finals. Wouldn’t that be cool, two hometown bands representing in Hollywood?”
Huey looked to Susanna. He ambled over, chuckling. “It would,” he admitted. “It’s a good thought, Susanna, but let’s be real.”He motioned to himself, then his bandmates. “We all know who the better and realer band is.”
Vicki rolled her eyes. She looked back to Debbi. “Oh, is the great Hugh Anthony Cregg the Third lecturing us poor women on what a ‘real’ band actually constitutes?” she asked, curtsying to her sister.
Debbi stood up and bowed deeply, her arms sweeping out. “Oh, but of course!” she replied, her voice taking on her best upper-class British accent. “Where would we be without the big, strong men to tell us that even after having been together for seven years, we’re still not a real band,” she said, her voice hardening with each word.
Huey swallowed. He held his hands up. “All right, all right. I’m sorry. That was…”
“Dumb?” Michael chimed in with. She glanced to her left as one of Huey’s bandmates, Mario Cipollina, walked over. “Mario,” she said, suddenly coughing as smoke from the cigarette dangling from his lips wafted over. “Dammit!” she shouted, nose wrinkling as she waved her hand back and forth. “Put that thing out, or I’m telling Aunt Patty!”
Mario tilted his head down, looking at Michael over the tops of his sunglasses.”Ah,come on, Michael. Don’t bring Mom into this. You know how she gets.”
Michael reached up and plucked the cigarette from Mario’s lips. She dropped it to the driveway and crushed it between her boot. “I get the same way, in case you forgot.” She sighed. “Come on, Mario. I don’t want you getting lung cancer or anything like that.”
Vicki waved her arms in the air. “Hey, hey!” She turned Huey. “Okay, as much as I love this little get-together, we’ve got work to do!” She jabbed a finger at his van. “All right?”
Huey held his hands up. “All right, Vicki. I’m sorry.” He turned and started back to the van, but paused and looked to Susanna. “Oh, Susanna? Could you tell your mother I said hi?”
Susanna grinned and waved at Huey as he and his bandmates reentered their van. “I will, Huey. See you later!” She waved after them as they drove off, but both her smile and arm fell as both Vicki and Michael flanked her. “Hey, girls,” she said, chuckling nervously. “P-problem?”
Michael jabbed a finger at her. “No making nice with the enemy!”
Susanna leaned back, eyes wide. “But, but they’re not our enemy!” She looked to Vicki. “Right? I mean c-come on. I’ve known Huey since I was a kid!”
Vicki shook her head. “Until the Battle of the Bands announces the finalists tonight, they are our enemy, Susanna.” She looked around. “All right, we’ve wasted enough time!” She walked back to her microphone stand. “No matter what, we’ve got a gig Saturday night. And whether it’s in front of fifty or fifty million, the Bangles bang on!” She looked over her shoulder. “Ready, Debbi?”
Debbi held one drumstick up to her forehead in a salute. “Ready, boss!”
Vicki looked to Susanna, then Michael. “On three. One, two… three!”
Chapter Text
The bedroom was dark, the only light the flickering screen of the television. The Bangles sat in front of it, Michael, Vicki and Susanna on the bed itself, with Debbi at the foot. Four pairs of eyes locked on the screen, the only sound the occasional munching of their popcorn, or the shifting of their bodies on the bed as they waited.
Finally, the image changed to a man about their age, sitting in an office and staring directly at the camera. “And now, the winners of this year’s contest, voted by you to be the best neighborhood bands in the country.”
Debbi reached over her shoulder and grabbed a handful of popcorn. “Can’t he just announce it?”
Vicki waved at her. “Wait a second!”
“... Already know, the winners will go to Los Angeles, where they’ll meet…”
Michael furrowed her brow. “If we ‘already know’ this, why’s he saying it again?”
Susanna glanced at her. “Hey, he’s just following the script. Don’t blame the messenger.”
“... meet that legend of rock and roll Little Richard. Both groups will also compete in the Battle of the Bands!” The Announcer reached offscreen, pulling back and clutching two slips of paper. He opened the first one. “The first finalist is, from Duluth Minnesota…”
Vicki gasped. “Oh, god!”
“Huey Lewis and the News!”
All four ladies visibly deflated. Debbi leveraged herself into a standing position. “Well, that’s it!” she said, throwing her hands into the air. “Looks like it’s the Roxie this week. And next week, and the week after—”
“And the second finalists are…” The Announcer opened the slip of paper. “Well, this is quite the surprise! The second group’s also from Duluth, Minnesota!”
Debbi froze. Her eyes widened. “No…”
“The Bangles!”
Silence once more reigned in the bedroom. Susanna suddenly grabbed Vicki and pulled her in for a hug. The two tumbled back onto the bed, shrieking with joy.
Michael rose to her knees and held her right hand out. “You were saying?”
Debbi shrugged. She turned and slapped Michael’s hand with her own. “I have never been so glad to be—”
Susanna held up a pillow and launched it at Debbi. “Think fast!” she shouted, grinning.
The pillow bounced off of Debbi’s face, landing on the edge of the bed. Debbi looked down at it before looking back up at Susanna. “Oh, it’s on,” she said, before grabbing the pillow and holding it up over the comparatively-diminutive guitarist.
Susanna held up her hands and shrunk down. “Oh, please. Mercy, mercy! I—ACK!” she screamed as Debbi brought the pillow down on her head. The pillow ripped apart, sending out a veritable blizzard of feathers.
Vicki and Michael exchanged a look, shrugged, and grabbed their own pillows, swinging them at Debbi and Susanna. All four ladies shrieked and gigged as months of tension melted away, replaced by relief and giddiness. Feathers flew all around them, adding to the cathartic chaos.
A loud series of knocks on the door grabbed their attention. “Vicki? Debbi? Are you four all right in there?”
Vicki let out a squeak. She held up her hands and waved them at everyone, shushing them. “We’re fine, mom!” she said.
“Well, okay. There’s a phone call for you. It’s that nice Huey from across town.”
Vicki’s demeanor shifted almost instantly. She slid off the bed and walked to the door. “Thanks, Mom. Just let him know—”
Debbi bounded over to her older sister’s side. “Please let him know we’ll be right down, all right?” She looked down at Vicki. “We don’t even know why he’s calling. Let’s be cordial, okay?”
Vicki crossed her arms in front of her chest as Susanna and Michael walked over. After about a minute, she rolled her eyes.”Fine, fine.” She turned for the door, but stopped and spun back. “But if he starts gloating I will not hold back!” With that, she left the bedroom.
Michael held a hand up. “Watch out, folks! We got a badass coming through!”
A few minutes later, the four were downstairs in the Petersons’s kitchen, phone in Vicki’s hand. She held it out as the other three hunkered down around it. “Huey, can you hear us?”
Huey’s tinny voice came through the speaker. “Maybe not loud and clear, Vicki, but we can hear you.” He paused for a moment. “I just wanted to say.. Congratulations on making the finals with us. Susanna was right. It is pretty cool.”
Everyone looked to Susanna, who merely smiled. “Thanks, Huey!” she half-shouted.
“Anyway, we were thinking. We’re going to the same place, and there’s safety in numbers. How’s about our two vans drive to Hollywood together?”
Debbi, Susanna, and Michael all nodded at Vicki, grins plastered on their faces. “Say yes,” Debbi said through gritted teeth.
Vicki looked to her, then to Susanna and Michael. She finally held the receiver back up to her face. “Can you give me a second? All right, thanks.” She covered the microphone. “Girls, I think we can manage just fine without them.”
Debbi stared at her for a few moments. “Vicki, when was the last time we left Minnesota?” She held up a hand. “It was when we you were five and we went visiting relatives in Wisconsin!”
Michael raised a hand. “I’ve never been outside the state period .”
Susanna shrugged. “Well, I’ve flown to California a few times. Never drove there, but I’ve been there.”
Debbi blinked. “Thanks, Susanna.”
“No problem!”
Debbi sighed and looked back to Vicki. “Like Huey said, safety in numbers. We’ll drive to Hollywood with him and the News and part ways after until the Battle of the Bands.” She pointed to the phone. “All right?”
Vicki sighed. All right, all right!” She held the phone back up to her head. “Okay, Huey.We’ll all drive there together.” She waved a finger at the phone. “But no funny business! I don’t want you peeking at our set list or anything like that!”
“Of course, of course.” There was a pause before Huey continued. “Susanna?”
Vicki, Debbi, and Michael all looked to Susanna, who simply leaned in close to the phone. “Yes, Huey?”
“Did Vicki waggle a finger at the phone?”
Vicki’s eyes widened. “Wait, what?”
Susanna grimaced slightly. “She did, Huey.”
Huey barked a laugh. “You owe me ten bucks, Chris!” And with that, the line went dead.
Vicki hung the phone back up. “All right. It’ll be a long drive to Hollywood, but we’ve got a week to get there.” She held up her right arm. “Let’s synchronize our watches so we can get up on time and—”
Debbi’s brow furrowed. “Wait a second. My room’s right next to yours. And with that bullhorn of an alarm clock I’ll be waking up right along with you.”
Susanna looked down at her arm. “I think I’ll just set my alarm clock, too.” She looked up. “Ooh, Michael? Do you want me to give you a call?”
Michael shrugged. “Sure, I guess.” She looked to Vicki. “So, what time should we be here by?”
Vicki rubbed her chin. “No later than seven AM. We have to do a full check of everything before we head out, and I wanna make sure the van’s got a full tank of gas from the Kwik Trip before heading to California.”
Michael straightened up and saluted. “Sir, yes sir!” she half-shouted, unable to keep the grin from her face.
Vicki rolled her eyes. “You’ll be thanking me later when we don’t have to stop and turn around for anything.”
Susanna held a hand up. “Oh! We also have to drive to Huey’s so we can go down together.” Her brow furrowed. “Or should they come here?”
Debbi waved Vicki off as she started to speak. “Let’s just both meet up at the Kwik Trip, all right? We’ll figure stuff out from there, get everything sorted out. Then we’ll drive to California together.”
Michael pointed at the phone. “You think… we should let Huey know that? I mean last time I checked he’s not exactly a mind-reader.”
Vicki slowly looked to the phone on the wall. She picked the receiver up and held it out to Susanna. “Please?”
Susanna rolled her eyes, but took the receiver. She stepped up to the phone and tapped the buttons. “Hi, Huey? Yeah, it’s Susanna. Oh, good! Listen, think we can meet up at the Kwik trip downtown to coordinate? Okay, thanks. Ten AM should be fine. I’ll let them know. Okay, bye!” She hung up. “They’ll meet us there, and Huey said hi, Vicki.”
Vicki slowly nodded. “Thank you, Susanna. Although we’ll see who gets the last word!” She looked around. “Get plenty of sleep tonight, ladies. Tomorrow, we drive!” With that, she marched out of the kitchen.
Debbi held her hands up as the other two looked to her. “Hey, don’t look at me! She’s supposed to be the older and mature one!”
Chapter Text
Michael carefully placed her bass guitar in its case, double-checking to make sure it was secure before closing the lid and clasping it shut. She hefted a travel beg over one shoulder, grabbed the handle of her guitar case, hefted it…
And sent it swinging into her the bookcase right next to her bed, jarring it and sending her carefully-placed stacks of unread Star Trek novels tumbling. Michael stared as they all fell to the floor, followed by several panels jarred loose by the impact. Her entire bookcase tottered for a moment before following, disassembling itself almost in slow motion.
“Michael? Are you all right?”
“Yeah, Mom. Just…” Michel sighed as she surveyed the wreckage. “I’m just letting them down again,” she muttered, as she started picking up the mess.”Really should’ve seen this scene unfold. After what happened to Dad last week, I know it very well!”
Beep, beep, beep…
Susanna’s eyes slowly opened. She looked to her alarm clock on the stand by her bed. “Six o’clock already?” she groaned out. “I was just in the middle of a dream.” She tossed back the covers and slid out of bed.
Groggy eyes focused on her nightstand and the fish bowl sitting there. Susanna walked over, trying and failing to blink the gunk out of her eyes. She looked down at the bowl, then the small canister of fish food next to it. Susanna picked the canister up and looked it over. “Lemme see…” She started counting on her fingers. “We’ll be leaving today, probably three days to get there, maybe more? Then there’s the contest itself. Getting ready for the contest, after, then coming home…”
Susanna groaned and waved a hand in the air. She popped the top open and dumped the entire contents into the fish bowl. The little flakes of food spread out through the water, obscuring the current occupants in a brown haze.
Susanna knelt down and smiled. “There you go, fishies! Enough food for you!”
A voice from behind the door sounded out. “Susanna? Are you up, dear? You’ve got a big day ahead of you!”
Susanna glanced at the door. “Don’t worry, Mom! The fish are all set.” She looked around, spotting her guitar case near her bed and grabbing it.”Time to get walking down that street!”
Debbi left her bedroom, suitcase in hand. She went for the door closest to hers, opening it but finding a vacuum cleaner in there, along with a mop and bucket. “Son of a—” she grunted out, before wheeling about. “Wait, no. Vicki’s room is that way,’ she said, pointing at another door closer to the stairwell. She walked over and knocked on it. “Vicki, you there?”
The door opened a crack. A thin sliver of Vicki’s face was visible. “Are you ready?”
Debbi glanced back at the broom closet, then at her actual room. “I think so. Got my bags all packed, and the maps too. We’ll be at Hollywood in no time!”
Vicki’s door closed for a moment before swinging wide open. Vicki stood there; two suitcases clenched in her hands, and duffel bags slung over her shoulders and tucked inside her arms. She waddled forward. “Let’s go!” she shouted, stopping as the begs hit the doorframe and sent her back. She grunted and surged forward, buit the bags sent her tumbling back. Vicki shouted as she lost her balance and grip on the suitcases. The luggage fell to the floor, springing open and sending their inner contents flying , while Vicki herself toppled back and landed with a thud .
Debbi watched as her older sister fell. She walked into the bedroom. “Need some help?”
Vicki’s head tilted up. “Do you really want me to answer that?”
The sisters headed down the stairs and into the kitchen. Vicki made a beeline for the door, but Debbi stopped in her tracks as she spotted their mother standing there. “Hi, Mom,” she said, walking over.
Norma Jeanne Peterson stood by the kitchen counter, a pair of brown paper bags in her hands. “I know you girls are probably too ‘grown up’ for lunches like this, but I thought I’d take the chance,” she said, holding them both up.
Debbi took the bags from her and stared at them. “Thanks, M-Mom,” she stuttered out, eyes shining. She sniffed. “Oh, Mommy!” she cried out.
Norma sighed and wrapped her daughter up in her arms. “There, there,” she said, patting Debbi on the back. “It’ll be all right.”
Debbi broke the embrace and wiped her eyes. “I know.” She sighed and leaned in close. “I just hope Vicki doesn’t try and kill Huey.”
A loud series of thuds drew their attention. Debbi and Norma looked to the source of the sound. Vicki was at the door leading from the kitchen to the garage, trying—and failing—to get through the door with all her bags at once.
Debbi clasped her hands behind her back and walked over to Vicki. She stopped just shy of her older sister. “Need some help?” she asked, holding out a hand.
Vicki stopped in mid-stride and glared at Debbi. She waggled her right hand and forearm in Debbi’s general direction, the bags clasped in it bouncing against each other. “Well, come on! You getting mixed messages or something?”
Debbi quickly reached out and grabbed the bags in Vicki’s right hand and the crook of her right arm. “There. Anything else?”
Vicki turned sideways and managed to slide through the doorway and into the garage proper. She walked over to the Bangle’s van and unceremoniously dropped the rest of the bags to the concrete floor. “Have Susanna or Michael shown up, yet?”
Debbi walked to the opening and looked down the street. She leaned back as the Hoffs’ family Cadillac pulled up to the curb. She sketched a bow as Susanna got out, guitar case in hand. “Thank you for arriving!” She leaned in close. “I think Vicki’s going insane!” she whispered.
Vicki’s head shot around. “I heard that!” She opened the van’s back hatch and started chucking bags into it. “Come on, you two!
Susanna rolled her eyes as she turned back to her mother’s car and pulled out a small pair of bags. She started to extricate herself, but paused. “Yes, Mom! I’ll give you a call when we get there.” She groaned. “Yes, I’m sure… sadly.” She finally pulled herself entirely out of the car and closed the door. “Bye!” she called out as her mother drove off.
Debbi stepped up to the curb again and looked down the street once more. She narrowed her eyes. “I think…” She waved an arm in the air. “Hey, Michael!”
The Bangle’s bassist hurried down towards the Peterson’s house, lugging her guitar case. “Sorry, sorry!” she shouted, as she approached the driveway. “Had a bit of an accident back at my house and didn’t want to leave a week-old mess.”
Vicki turned from the back hatch, hands on her hips as she stared at her bandmates. “All right, all right! Are we done , yet? We gotta get to the Kwik Trip to meet up with, ugh, Huey!” she said, her face twisting at the last word.
The three exchanged a look. “You all got batteries for your Walkman?” Susanna asked.
Michael looked back down the street, towards her house. “We got time to stop by my house?” she asked, face betraying her anxiety.
Debbi shook her head. She grabbed Michael by the sleeve and dragged her over to the van. “Come on, Michael. I don’t think Vicki would want any delays.”
Susanna snorted. “I’m not sure she knows what she wants, but if she did I’d sure give it to her to make this trip any less stressful.”
Notes:
Sorry for the shortish chapter. Wanted to show I'm still plugging away at it. More to come and thanks for reading!
janoh (Guest) on Chapter 1 Mon 20 Dec 2021 09:12PM UTC
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AllOverThePlace (Guest) on Chapter 1 Sun 23 Jun 2024 03:12PM UTC
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Directioner1988 on Chapter 3 Sun 10 Jul 2022 09:56PM UTC
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