Using the mask right now is a stupid idea because of two reasons. One, Thom doesn't know what Ryan or Hugh's reaction when they see the mask. Now that he thought about it, Ryan would react nothing besides the slightest of nods. Hugh would shout, calm himself down, then do it again. Two, Dom would kick him in the nuts if he disrupted band practice. Bandzilla is happening next week, and they haven't completed their track for the contest. They need to win that band battle to have the chance to play at the T-Bone Junction Theater this coming Halloween.
"Imagine the booze! The women. The fame!" Dominic would say, "And you, Thom, you can have the money to move out of your parent's basement and finally become a functioning adult."
Thom hid both masks in his bag. He accompanied the two by the dining room, where they ate Hugh's magnificent macaroni and cheese. They small-talked while they ate. Mostly, it is about what they will do with the prize money or the resulting fame. They said it is terrible to count your chicks before the eggs hatched. Expectations bring disappointment. But it makes a good topic of conversation, so who would stop them?
Dominic arrived fifteen minutes later, red and sweating - as if he came back from a brawl fight. Someone keyed his car and popped four of his tires. Luckily, he brought his drum set yesterday. The asshole who did it is still at large. It was done in the middle of the night when everyone is sleeping. They caught the culprit on CCTV, but the guy is wearing a mask. There is a trail, but it went cold by the docks. Whoever this is, it's a professional vandal - and they have an extensive idea on who the culprits might be.
Terry Bates is the mastermind of the crime. The man is a slimy fellow - a rival to their band and a contender for the winning place in Bandzilla. He already has everything. Wealth from leeching off of his parents. Connections just because he is rich. He shouldn't even be vying to play in the T-Bone Junction Theater. The man is a conniving and greedy bastard. He's not satisfied until he has everything. Unlucky for Thom and company, that includes the demise of their band.
The second culprit is Piers Steven - a member of Terry Bates' band, The Deadly Roses. Piers may act and look nice, but he is a well-known town vandal. He knows the town like the back of his hand. One of his handicrafts is the vandalism of the town water tower. He had the Deadly Roses' insignia spray painted and protected with a permanent layer of epoxy. That stunt should have taken him days, but it only took him three hours to do. The town enforcement cannot arrest him for they do not have enough evidence to pin him to the crime. Then investigations suddenly stopped, probably the handiwork of Terry Bates.
The water tower is now a town tourist spot. People see it as a work of art, but the Atomic Bombz sees it as a constant reminder of how powerful their enemies are.
"No matter," Dominic said "We're here to train so that we can see them fall. Get to your places, everybody. And Thom, shouldn't you have your new bass yet?"
"It's still stuck in delivery," Thom said. He's still borrowing Hugh's old bass guitar. It's old and rusty, but it does its job.
---
"I think it’s done," Dom said, relieved that they finished their last song one week before Bandzilla. "One more round? Then we're finished for the day."
"One, two, three, four. We're the Atomic Bombz!" Ryan shouted.
Thom strummed the all too familiar strings in a flurry of deep sounds. Dominic took the cue and played his drums, providing the bass’s framework and the melody of Ryan's acoustic guitar. All the while, Hugh is on a sofa eating leftover macaroni while checking out his socials.
The song reached its pre-chorus, and this is the cue for the band to lower the register of their instruments to give the spotlight to Ryan's melodic vocals. A moment later, Thom and Ryan jumped in the air, pouring their energy into the song’s electrifying chorus.
"We're radiation, baby! Radiation baby!
We spit the heat that will melt your face off,
Bury all your worries in a mountain of bodies/
We're radiation, baby! Radiation, baby!"
One more turn, a rap verse from yours truly - Thom, an extended chorus, and a trailing conclusion - the song is done and ready to be presented in the beachside crowd of Bandzilla. They retreated to the sofa with Hugh and quenched their thirst with a splash of mineral water.