The shrill sound of the phone broke the uncommon silence in the Pad. Mike, nearest to the phone, answered.
"Mike! You haven't left yet! We're gonna be late!" Buddy almost yelled through the phone.
"Late for what?" Mike asked. He was completely taken off guard.
"The concert! Didn't Peter tell ya? I called yesterday and told him that I had tickets to the Marty and the Martians gig!" Buddy explained.
"No. Sorry, I didn't get that message," Mike said as he glared in Peter's direction. "What time does it start?"
"At 7:30". Buddy answered. Glancing at the clock, Mike saw that is was 5:50. He knew that Buddy always wanted to get to the concerts a little early to get a good seat.
"I'll be there in ten minutes," Mike said and then hung up the phone.
"Mike, I'm sorry. I forgot----," Peter started.
"Not now! I'll talk to you when I get back." Mike almost growled as he rushed to get ready for his date.
The next day...
Davy came in to the Pad in a rather solemn mood. His clothes were disheveled and his hair was sticking out all over his head. Having entered, he continued straight to Peter.
"Petah, did Mary call for me yesterday?" Davy asked.
"Mary?? Um...uh yeah. Oh, Davy I forgot. She wanted me to tell you that she would meet you Tuesday instead of Monday at the Pier." Peter recited.
"Oh. It would 'ave 'elped if ya told me," Davy said tersely.
Micky came into the room and took one look at Davy's appearance and asked what was going on.
"What's goin' on!!!? What's goin' on??? Peter, 'ow many times have I told ya to be careful of messages?" Davy said flustered. "I thought that Mary stood me up, so I called and took Sondra out tonight. TUESDAY."
"Uh oh." Micky said.
"Uh oh is right. When Sondra and I went to the Pier, I saw Mary. Well, it wasn't very pretty after tha'." Davy finished indicating his appearance.
Just then Mike walked in.
"Whoa, shotgun. What happened to you?" Mike asked.
"Ask Petah." Davy said flatly as he went to his room.
Peter hung his head and sighed a heavy sigh.
Two days later, Micky came bounding down the stairs. He stopped just as he was about to enter the kitchen. There was a note by the phone from Davy:
Mick;
Scott called and he wanted to know why you didn't show for the gig he had gotten you at the country club.
He said he'd called and left the message with Peter.
Davy
In between gigs, the boys usually took on a series of odd jobs to make ends meet. Scott worked at the exclusive Country Club and when there was a big event, he'd always called Micky. Now Micky had missed an opportunity to earn extra cash because of Peter.
Peter entered the Pad from a walk along the beach. When he saw the look on Micky's face, Peter knew he had forgotten something once again.
Later that night, a restless Peter walked the pier along the ocean side. How did things get so tense between him and his band mates? It seemed all they ever did now was yell at him. It seemed as if his new name was Peter 'How Many Times Have I Told You' Tork.
Maybe he wasn't cut out for being in the band. Maybe they would all be better without him. Maybe he should just go back home to Connecticut. With all these 'maybes' on his mind, one thing was for sure as he approached the darkened Pad at the end of his walk. He would go home tonight. Home to Connecticut.
Peter silently entered the Pad. He gathered his belongings and walked out of the Pad for what he thought would be the last time.
Chapter 2
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