Lilith thought a moment. She wanted to work on “Somebody’s Other Blues,” but thinking about it, and about what Cam had done with her lyrics, still smarted.
“We could try—” she said, but three loud knocks on the door made her stop. “What was that?”
“Nothing!” Luis said. “Let’s keep playing.”
“Might be Tarkenton,” Jean said. “We’re not supposed to be in here.”
The knock sounded again. Only it wasn’t coming from the door. It was coming from outside. The window.
“Dude!” Jean Rah said. “It’s Cam.”
The boys rushed to open the window, but Lilith turned away. Cam’s face was the last thing she wanted to see right now. The feeling she’d had playing her music moments before had been simple, good. The feeling she got when she looked at Cam was so complicated she didn’t know where to begin unpacking it. She was drawn to him. She was mad at him. She was grateful to him. She didn’t trust him. And it was hard to feel so many things for one person at once.
“What are you doing out there?” Luis asked. “We’re on the second story.”
“Trying to lose Tarkenton,” Cam said. “He wants my head for skipping another prom court meeting.”
Lilith couldn’t help herself: She snickered at the thought of Cam in those meetings with all those stuck-up kids. When she accidentally caught Cam’s eye, he smiled at her and held out his hand, and before she knew it, she found herself moving toward him to help him climb in through the window.
He stood up but didn’t let go of her hand. In fact, he gave it a squeeze. Her stomach fluttered, and she didn’t know why. She pulled her hand away, but not before glancing at Jean and Luis, wondering what they’d think about Cam standing there like a weirdo, holding her hand. The boys weren’t paying attention. They’d moved back to Jean’s synth and were working on a groove together.
“Hey,” Cam whispered now that the two of them were more or less alone.
“Hey,” she said. Why did she feel so awkward? She looked up at Cam and remembered there was something she wanted to say. “My brother’s been in the hospital sixteen times. He’s never had a visitor besides my mom and me.” She paused. “I don’t know why you did that—”
“Lilith, let me explain—”
“But thank you,” Lilith said. “It cheered him up. What did you say to him?”
“Actually,” he said, “we talked about you.”
“Me?” she asked.
“It’s a little embarrassing,” Cam said, smiling at her like he wasn’t embarrassed at all. “He kind of guessed that I liked you. He’s very protective of you, but I’m trying not to let his size intimidate me.”
Cam liked her? How could he just say that like it was no big deal? The words rolled off his tongue so easily, Lilith wondered how many girls Cam had said it to before. How many hearts he’d broken.
“You still with me?” Cam asked, waving his hand in front of her face.
“Yeah,” Lilith said. “Um, don’t underestimate Bruce. He could kick your ass.”
Cam smiled. “I’m glad he’s feeling better.”
“It’s like a miracle,” she said, because it was.
“Earth to Lilith.” Luis’s voice sounded distorted through the microphone Jean had hooked up to his Moog. “Bell’s gonna ring in fifteen minutes. We’ve got time to work on one more song, and we need to schedule our next practice.”
“About that,” Cam said, scratching his head. “You guys got any extra room in this band for an electric-guitar player who can hang high in a three-part harmony?”
“I don’t know, man,” Jean said, grinning. “You’re good, but last I heard the lead singer hated your guts. Stealing her journal was a dick move.”
“Even if it means Lilith wins the lyrics contest,” Luis added. “Personally, I think it was kind of a genius hack.”
Lilith slugged him. “You stay out of it.”
“What?” Luis asked. “Admit it, Lilith. You would never have entered that contest if it hadn’t been for Cam. If you win, it’ll be great exposure for the band.”
“What can I say?” Cam shrugged. “I believe in Lilith.”
He’d said it as easily as he’d said he liked her, but this sounded different, more palatable, like he wasn’t just trying to get in her pants. Like he honestly believed in her. Her cheeks grew warm as Cam bent down and picked up one of the photocopied pages she’d brought in for Luis and Jean. He read the lyrics of “Flying Upside Down,” a smile spreading across his face.
“This your latest?”
Lilith was about to explain a few changes she already wanted to make, but Cam surprised her by saying, “I love it. Don’t change a word.”
“Oh.”
Cam put down the paper, unzipped his bag, and pulled out a large, spherical object, wrapped in butcher paper.
“Is that Tarkenton’s head?” Luis asked.
Cam glanced at the freshman drummer. “Morbid. I like it. You can stay in the band.”
“I’m a founding member, bro!” Luis said. “What are you?”