That Monday, I was not in the greatest of moods. I was leaning against the bus window, checking my YouTube Studio app, and sighing.

20 views.

Our average was over 100.

Now, I don't want you guys thinking that my annoyance came from the lack of attention. As I mentioned when talking about the dinner, I have a limit to how long I can last before I have to get the spotlight off of me. No, that's not what this was. I just have a lot of pride in my music, and it felt like my bandmates were the only ones that shared my pride. Plus, it bugged me that our gossipy small town couldn't even be bothered to support us in a real way.

Pearl hopped in the seat next to me, as normal. "Ahlan, Grace! Everything alright this morning?"

Dang it. It must've been written on my face. "Have you checked YouTube Studio?"

"Oh, yeah." That reaction made me feel kinda bad. It seemed like she had genuinely pushed it out of her mind. Still, she smiled. "Well, it's only been out for, what, one full day? Surely not everyone who's going to watch it has yet, right?"

"I guess." I sighed again and put my phone away in my backpack. Then, Pearl found an... alternate subject to talk about.

"What happened to your jeans?"

I peered down at them. "Oh!" Now, this wasn't the first time I'd noticed that the green swatches were there, but they'd certainly gotten bigger. "Must've gotten dirty from filming."

I remembered a shot during the instrumental break - the one before "No home to call my own," et cetera - where I knelt on the ground to hit those guitar riffs. I thought if I could blame it on that, Pearl wouldn't think anything was wrong with me.

The truth was, I'd already figured I was bringing this on myself - though not in the same way that I inevitably did. Call it a sudden instinct, but I hadn’t actually changed jeans since filming day. I didn’t know what it was at the time. Obviously, now, I do. But there was just something that compelled me not to wash my pants for some reason. Although, I figured I would have to that night. The swatches were obviously becoming more noticeable, and I didn’t wanna keep on walking around in public like that. It would just be yet another thing for my classmates to talk about.

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We met up with Mika in front of the school. Well, when I say “meet up” in this case, what I really mean is that they ran up to us, going “Guys! Guys! Guys!”, and with a huge beaming smile on their face.

“Shaku maku, Miks?” Pearl inquired.

“Archer Plane…” They paused, seemingly for effect, although they looked like waiting to say it was killing them from inside. “...we’re going to homecoming!”

“Ya Allah, that’s amazing!” Pearl was more than ready to join in the celebration.

As was I. "Are you serious?!"

Mika nodded. We each took turns hugging them, before hugging each other. I was practically bursting out of my body, having forgotten completely about my previous bad mood. Homecoming really was gonna be ours after all!

"We need a set list!" I exclaimed.

"I was thinking the same thing. I was thinking we could open and close with an original, and then alternate between originals and covers. But we can discuss it more after school," Mika added, pointing to the clock on the other end of the window. They were right; the bell was gonna ring soon, and we had to leave. We agreed to meet up at Mika's house after school to begin planning the setlist.

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Now, I knew that it was gonna take Pearl some time to get away. Her parents were working a bit later than normal, so she had to keep an eye on her younger sister, Blair. So, since I didn't have a lot of schoolwork, I decided to use this time to finally pry out that coin.

I went to the kitchen and grabbed a spoon. I thought about getting a knife, but I was worried about making a hole in my jeans - as if the swatches weren't enough. Anyway, I dug the spoon in my pocket and maneuvered it underneath the coin. But as I started to get it upward, I heard a deep, unfamiliar, feminine voice in my ear.

"I wouldn't do that, Gracie."

I jumped back, getting the attention of my brother. "What's wrong?"

"Don't tell him!" the voice snapped.

"Umm...nothing!" I didn't want to listen, but I was too freaked out.

"Are you sure? Cause you're pocketing a spoon and jumping at nothing. I mean, you're a strange girl, but not that strange."

"I am not strange!" Although I was questioning that myself. "Anyway, I have to go. Archer Plane's expecting me." They weren't really yet. I just wanted to get out of there.

As I started to walk out, Alex stopped me again. "You're bringing the spoon to band practice?"

"Uh..."

"Just put it back," the voice advised. "You're gonna need that coin anyway."

Reluctantly, I obliged, removing the spoon from my pocket and awkwardly left it on the counter. Then, I grabbed my jacket and immediately bolted out of the door.