"The Appaloosa Philharmonic Orchestra is hiring new talent," Grace remarked over breakfast, "They're having auditions at the Teeter Theater all week."
Huxley ignored her mother's obvious hint, stuffed one last bite of mushroom omelette into her mouth and got up. "I'm going out," she announced, "Don't wait up with dinner." The door slammed behind her before Grace could protest.
Huxley's mother had never understood that being employed in the industry would destroy everything Hux loved about music. In the days since her graduation, Huxley had felt free like she never had before. She made her own hours, played music when and where she wanted and didn't answer to anyone besides herself. True, she hadn't earned any money yet, but that was going to change as soon as she finally got her band off the ground.
This morning she made her way to Irina's Irish Pub - a bar that had about as much to do with Ireland as its mysterious Russian owner - and began to play.
To the casual observer it may have seemed as though she made her song up as she went, making her appear as some rare genius of musical improvisation. In reality, the building blocks of this particular composition had been floating around her subconscious mind for days, haunting her in quiet moments and during sleepless nights. Rage, regret and frustration manifested themselves as chords and riffs in Huxley's head, crashing like waves against a dam ready to burst. Now, finally, her restless mind found release as the words poured from her mouth and her fingers danced over the strings.
It was Huxley's song, and she'd taken the lead without question, but Theo had no trouble keeping up.
So far their band had only two members, no publicity and no gigs, but what they did have was a name: Offbeat Autonomy.
The gracious barkeeper had given them permission to perform here during the slower morning hours. It wasn't a real gig, but it was something. Unfortunately the patrons were more interested in the handsome mixologist than the musicians up on stage.
The metallic strings reverberated throughout the guitar's wooden body and through Huxley's own. She messed up a chord but continued to play without pause, weaving the mistake into the song and making it a part of her music.
A poetically inclined sim may have called this a metaphor for Huxley's life. Luckily no such sim was around, as they would surely have been acquainted with her fist for this observation.
Still, something about this poor guy's face seemed to piss Huxley off.
Benjamin Schmidt had just returned from a long night shift at the military base and all he'd wanted was a quick drink to unwind. And suddenly there was this chick all up in his face, making fun of his uniform! He'd teach her to respect him!
On second thought, nope. Man, this chick was crazy!
Lucky for Flight Officer Schmidt, Theo intervened.
"Come on Hux, leave him be," he said calmly, "We've got to be at Barney's at noon, remember?"
That was about the only thing that could've gotten through to Huxley in this situation. Offbeat Autonomy needed new members and the only person to respond to their flyers so far had been Benni Hennessey, who had agreed to audition at Barney's that day.
Benni wasn't half bad at the bass and apparently also willing to try her hand at other instruments, should the need arise.
However, there was just something about her that wasn't quite in line with what Hux had had in mind for Offbeat Autonomy's image.
"She seems fine," Theo shrugged, "very enthusiastic."
"I know, isn't it weird? And what's up with that giant ribbon?"
Theo shrugged again. "She's the only one who's interested so far, and people won't take us seriously until we've got more members." He glanced at his cell and quickly shoved it back into his pocket. "Anyway, gotta run. Mike needs me. I'll leave it up to you, Hux!"
Theo hadn't given up his job at the auto repair shop in favor of pursuing music. In fact, he'd been hired full time now.
After Theo's high school graduation, his mother Sherry had informed him that she had a new boyfriend, a new house and a new baby on the way and that there was going to be no more room in her life for Theo.
So, out on his own and determined not to accept any charity, Theo had to work tirelessly to scrape by.
Left alone with a big decision on her hands, Huxley turned to the mixologist for a stiff drink and sage advice. "What do you think?" she asked, "You've seen us play. Should I let her join the band?"
The mixologist watched the animated bassist for a while, thoroughly considering her reply. "Beggars can't be choosers," she said finally.
*
Confined to the indoors by the frequent snowstorms, Adam often chose to spend quality time with his young daughter.
But all too soon, reading books with her daddy wasn't Hazel's idea of a fun afternoon anymore.
At least Scout was still a loyal companion to Adam. Even though his limbs ached with every step and his fur had grown grey, he never left his human's side during the day.
But at night, while everyone was asleep, Scout would quietly traipse outside on his own, to then run across fields and empty roads.
Things to do, places to be, apparently.
Come spring, the family found out what those things had been.
Scout bounded excitedly towards the visitors that had arrived on the edge of the property one morning, but Huxley approached with a bit more apprehension.
Benjamin Schmidt immediately swooped down on her and huffed, "Figures that this scoundrel would be yours!"
"What the hell," Huxley shot back, "What has my dog ever done to you?"
"He violated my poor Ralston!"
"There! He's doing it again," Ben fumed, gesturing at the two dogs who were happily licking each other's muzzles. "Ralston! Get away from him! Leave it! Leave it, I said!"
The dog obeyed reluctantly, albeit with a resentful look at its owner. Turning to Huxley again, Benjamin did not drop his commanding tone of voice, "Get your dog under control, will you? My poor Ralston, giving birth to these mutts!"
"So 'Ralston' gave birth?" Huxley taunted, miming air quotes.
"I thought she was a male when I named her and now she won't listen to anything else, okay?" Benjamin Schmidt was defiant, though obviously annoyed. "But that's not the point! The point is that your mongrel violated my purebred German Shepherd and now I have these little mutts to deal with!"
"Leave them here then," Huxley snarled, "and scram, because right now there’s no one here to keep me from whooping your ass!"
After Benjamin had hurriedly affixed a leash to Ralston and strutted away, Huxley approached the woven basket on the ground.
Even though Huxley was loath to agree with that pompous jerk, she couldn't deny the family resemblance.
"Guess you're a single dad now, huh?" she said to Scout, who let out a whimper.
But of course the family dog would not be left to rear his pups by himself. They found a spot in the barn, right beside the horse stall where it was warm and cozy, and procured two brand new pet beds.
Scout, possibly overwhelmed with this much responsibility in his old age, showed his gratitude to his humans with a hug and many slobbery kisses.
______________
Has Hazel been wearing the same overalls since she was a toddler?!
Ahem, moving on...
You'll have noticed that although Huxley is a young adult now, we're still on generation 7. Yup, Hazel is the heir. But, fret not, because - drumroll - Huxley gets to stick around as help! Yay, finally a "+ help" roll! I've been wanting one of those so badly :D
So Hux got a head start on her career as a busker. The gem of a name that is Offbeat Autonomy came from a random band name generator. Another strong contender was Sushi Surveillance XD
Btw, for now I'm continuing to not edit the pics since it hasn't been an issue apparently and also I'm lazy :P But please, feel free to tell me if there is a problem after all, even if you're reading this much later.
