Free Blessed Tragedy by Hb Heinzer Page A

could get us a set?” It amazed me how quickly the gears started grinding in Jon's head. He probably already had the full arrangement figured out, just waiting for us to quit bickering so we could get to work.
    “Yeah, I'll run up and ask him. You guys start working out the harmonies.”
    Mike couldn't grab his keys fast enough when I told him what was going on. He agreed with me that there wasn't a better song we could play. “Hey, you wanna come? Pretty sure we could make a couple of boys cry if you walk into the school.”
    It was a bizarre statement from my typically reserved brother. “Um, sure?”
    “Oh, come on. You have to know what you do to hormonal boys with those short skirts you wear. Plus, you're probably the only famous person to ever come out of this town. It'll be good.”
    My brother, the same one who had spent five years avoiding the subject of my chosen career was now asking me to go to his workplace, a school filled with impressionable teens, to “make boys cry.” That's when I started feeling like I had no clue who these people were and what they'd done with my family.
    “Yeah, sure. Let me tell the guys.” I ran back down to the basement to let them know where I was going. I let Colton know where my laptop was so they could print off some music while I was gone and ran back up the stairs. The nice thing about living on a tour bus? No stairs. I would not miss these flippin' stairs.
    “Ready?” Mike asked, opening the door and ushering me through.
    The next hour was spent at Lexington High School. It was amusing to watch people do a double-take as we walked through the halls together. If I didn't know better, I would have thought Mike timed it so we'd walk through the front door just as the bell rang between classes. Judging by the look on his face, either he was finally proud to be seen with me or he was absorbing as many cool teacher points as he could rack up. I was okay with either.
    As anticipated, more than a few students had a hard time concentrating while I was there. It was strange because I didn't feel like I was coming across as Rain, I was just Madeline Neumann, in town for her mother's funeral. It's something that's hard for people to understand but I really feel like two completely different people sometimes and Maddie is no big deal. Honestly, I wished everyone else could understand that. It would make things less awkward. I have no problem with my status when I'm scheduled to be in the public eye but other than that, it's always been something I've struggled with.
    “Mr. Neumann, how in the hell--” One of the football players all but ran down the hall to talk to Mike.
    “Joshua, you will watch your language.” I bit my lower lip to keep from laughing at the authoritative tone in Mike's voice. He asked for this, not me. He's the one who wanted me to come down here; he couldn't exactly be upset with the boy for forgetting his manners.
    “I'm sorry, sir. Is that Rain Maxwell?” He asked my brother, barely able to look in my direction. It was cute, kind of made me want to scruff his hair a little bit.
    “Yes, but don't go telling everyone. We're just here to pick up something quick and then we have to get back home.” Did he ask me to come with him just so he could torture these poor kids? Mike grabbed my arm and hustled me towards the band room.
    “Wait, you know Rain Maxwell?” The kid's eyes were about to bulge out of his boyishly handsome face. “I'm surprised you even know who she is, but damn, Mr. Neumann, you actually know her?”
    This was the good thing, in my mind, about being so private. We were still a new enough band on the national scene that no one had dug deep enough in my life to figure out where I was from. After Mike's little stunt I was pretty sure that piece of my anonymity was gone.
    “Yeah, you could say that,” Mike laughed. “She's my little sister.”
    “No fu--”
    “Joshua!” Mike barked. I was beginning to think it would be impossible