Chapter 31

“Good work,” Crisfield said when Zach came back to the corner. “I could have lived without that last takedown but it made the score look better.”

“Awesome,” Betterton yelled as he hugged Zach. When he was close enough he lowered his voice to a whisper. “Tell the coach you have to piss real bad,” he said. “It’s eleven-thirty. You have to leave right now. Go to the same door.”

“I have to get to the bathroom pronto, Coach,” Zach said as soon as Betterton let go and backed off. He scooped up his warmup clothes and hustled away without waiting for an answer. Easton was waiting with the gym bag just like the night before. He handed it over without a word and then Zach was outside. The cold air on his sweaty body was invigorating but he knew that wouldn’t last. He opened the passenger side door to Beth’s Impala and got in.

“You did great,” Beth said. “Did you hurt your wrist again?”

“You noticed,” Zach said. “I just have to get through one more match today.”

“Yeah, and not just any match,” she said. “The finals.”

“What time is it now?” he asked.

“Twenty before twelve,” she said after looking at her watch. “Can we make it? I hardly know where this place is. Last night I was lost the whole way until I found it by accident.”

“I was about to ask you,” he said.

“Help me with the directions after we cross the bridge, okay?” she asked.

“Okay. The guys must be losing it,” he said. “They have no idea if I’ll make it or not.”

“Neither do we. You better change your clothes,” she said.

Just like he had the night before, he made his transformation in the back seat. After jamming everything back into the gym bag he climbed back into the front and parked the bag on his lap.

“Your face looks scary,” she laughed.

“Mat burns,” he said. “Am I bleeding?”

“No, it just looks kind of raw,” she answered.

Zach talked her off the expressway and all the way to Walnut Street. “I’m not sure where Jeanine parked last night,” he said as the car rolled to a stop under the hotel archway.

“Just go,” she said. “It’s five of twelve. I’ll see you inside.”

He leaned over and kissed her before opening the door and scrambling out. With the gym bag in his good hand he ran into the lobby and up the stairs where Herndon was pacing back and forth. “Dude, you gave us a heart attack!” he said loudly before hugging Zach. “Did you win? Come on, we have to run!”

“Yeah, I won,” Zach said. “I’ll tell you about it later. What are we playing today?”

“We only get to do three songs this time,” Herndon said. By then they had reached the dressing room. “Jesus H. Christ,” Dumphries said when he saw them. “I can’t believe you made it. We were just about to walk out there. Joe was going to sing.”

“I knew he’d be here,” Fauquier said calmly, but Zach didn’t believe him.

“I’m still sweating like a pig,” Zach said, wiping his face with his sleeve. “So what are we playing?”

Dumphries shoved the new list at Zach, who scanned it quickly. “’Love Walks In’? I guess I can do Sammy Hagar.”

“You always sound strong on that one,” Fauquier explained. “I get to do some Eddie Van Halen. And it’ll give Bo a chance to show off with his keyboards.”

“’Red Barchetta’ is cool,” Zach said, referring to the Rush song that they would perform second. “I hope I remember the words.”

“The most important thing here is versatility,” Fauquier said. “Most of those bands last night did five identical songs. That’s why they’re not here today.”

“Can’t accuse us of that,” Zach said. “Finishing with ‘Crazy Train’ is going to be tough. I don’t know how much range I have today.”

“What about ‘Barchetta’?” Herndon asked. “Geddy Lee sings higher than the Bee Gees.”

“I never have trouble with their stuff,” Zach said. “Just Ozzie.”

“Call an audible if you can’t do it,” Herndon suggested. “Signal us and we’ll do something else.”

“That’s a good idea,” Fauquier said. “Draw your finger across your throat like a pirate. If you give the signal we’ll play ‘Low Budget ‘ instead. That was my next choice. Is that better?”

“Gotcha,” Zach said. “If I could just stop sweating.”

The performance went as well as it had the night before. The audience was much smaller, presumably because fans of the many bands that had been eliminated weren’t around anymore. Not having to play bass made it easier for Zach to go all out on his singing. By they time they finished their second song he decided he’d be able to get through ‘Crazy Train’. When that one was finished he doubted if he could have done it again but it didn’t matter. Fauquier had wanted ‘Crazy Train’ and Zach was proud that he had come up big.

“I don’t know what happens next,” Fauquier told the rest of the band when they were back in the dressing room. “You don’t need to hang around, Zach.”

“Cool,” Zach said. “I really need to get back.”

“Dude,” Herndon said just before Zach left. “Way to be, man. Now get back over there and kick some butt.”

~~~

“How do you remember all the words to so many songs?” Beth asked as they were driving back across the river to New Jersey. “You didn’t even know what songs you were doing when we got there but when you were on stage you had it down pat.”

“It’s easy,” Zach said. “Are you telling me that if you turn on the radio you don’t know the words to just about every song you hear? Like every song for the past ten years?”

“You’re right,” she said. “I never thought about it that way.”

“I always thought they should use music to help teach stuff in school,” Zach said. “But I never figured out how.”

“Maybe you’re onto something,” she said.

“What time is it?” Zach asked. “I wonder if I’m in trouble with the coach.”

“Not even three,” Beth said. “You’ll definitely be back in time for the match. At this point, what’s the difference? If your coach knows anything, he knows you’re a special case. No use worrying about it now.”