An Excerpt from a Writing Project

From The Jazzy Island of Dinosaurs

Last night, after the end of the fiesta, the Grzedek’s were dropped off at their house in St. John by Jack Enjille and Angela. The five kids came back later than expected: eleven o’clock at night. Oh well. The expedition was well worth the time they came home.

All five of the Grzedek kids had a lot of fun on Galavanti Island. They all had a lot of fun at the fiesta. They had a great time with their new friends. And they even had great food made by their new friends.

However, Caleb had to get ready for his first performance.

Today was the day of the concert and Kathryn and Mark’s sister’s graduation party, and everyone was excited. Caleb went over to Kathryn and Mark’s house extra early to practice, about nine o’clock in the morning. On the walk there, he saw Alessandra trying very hard to catch up with him.

“Hey, Caleb!” she greeted.
“Hey!” Caleb answered back.
“Are you super excited about the concert?”
“Very much so! What time does the party start?”
“The party starts at two, but that will be when we’re practicing.”
“And, of course, we perform at 7:30 tonight.”
“You are correct.”

Caleb and Alessandra continued to walk toward Kathryn and Mark’s house. Not a word was spoken. Not even the word, “a,” was spoken. The two kids kept on walking silently, just enjoying each other’s company.

The way it sometimes should be.

It seemed like a long time for the two kids to get to their friends’ house. Caleb lives on the west side of the neighborhood. Alessandra lives on the east side. And Kathryn and Mark live on the south side of the neighborhood.

“Where is Jennifer going to school?” Alessandra asked Caleb, somehow feeling as if she should have known the answer.
“I can’t remember. I know it’s a private university, but I just can’t think of the name of it, though,” Caleb replied.
“I also know it’s a private university, but I can’t seem to….oh no.”
“What?”
“Here comes….Ryan Phillips.”

And the truth was….here came Ryan Phillips. In his car, with his beanie on, most likely heading toward his best friend’s house. The only difference now was that he was listening to punk rock music in his car.

“Hi,” Ryan said in a goofy voice.
“Hi,” Caleb answered, but Alessandra just smiled.
“I’m wearing a beanie.”
“I see that.”
“Where’s your beanie?”
“I don’t have a beanie.”
“Ya want a beanie?” Ryan offered.
“Maybe later. Alessandra and I are headed to Kathryn and Mark’s house,” Caleb replied.
“Okay. Ask them if they got beanies.”
“Alright. Will do.”

The two kids waved “good-bye” to Ryan. And then they continued walking. Caleb and Alessandra knew that it was going to be a few more minutes before they would reach their friends’ house.
It was about two o’clock in the afternoon, the starting time of Jennifer’s graduation party, and they all began practicing for an hour and a half. After the end of their rehearsal, they decided to play card games. And then, once they were sick and tired of playing the same card game nine times, they went outside and helped themselves to some good food.

“So, I think our first performance is going to be amazing,” Alessandra assured her friends.
“I know it’s going to be,” Caleb answered with utmost excitement.
“I love our band name,” Kathryn said.
“I do, too,” Tad replied.
“Yeah. I seriously believe ‘The Sound of a B Flat’ really suits us well,” Mark said.

And they all did. Not only because ‘The Sound of a B Flat’ is a rather catchy name to begin with. It also applies to all five kids. Since they all plan on being in the school’s band next year. And it, for them, would most likely be an exciting experience. Since they are all great musicians.

“The chocolate balls are amazing,” Alessandra said out of the blue, after a lot of thought about the band’s name and how it applies to school.
“Who made the chocolate balls?” Caleb asked.
“I think Tad did. They’re really good,” Kathryn replied.
“Merci beaucoup!” Tad answered gleefully.
“I’m taking French some time,” Mark blurted out.

The kids will all be in seventh grade next year, meaning that they might have the opportunity to take a class in their choice of a foreign language at school. If they would have to wait until eighth grade, or if scheduling conflicts would happen to exist, the five kids would still attempt to learn the language through dictionaries, TV shows, and actual books.

“Guess what? I also plan on taking French!” Alessandra exclaimed, again, after much thought.
“I’m taking Español,” Caleb said.
“I am, too!” Kathryn exclaimed louder than Alessandra.
“And I am not!” Mark answered excitedly.
“Have fun taking that language. French is so much better,” Tad joked.

Caleb, Alessandra, Kathryn, Mark, and Tad were still sitting together at the one table. The boys went up to get more Italian meatballs, chocolate truffles, fruit, and pot stickers. Alessandra and Kathryn still sat at the table and waited for the boys to come back. And that could actually take a while.

“You know how boys are, don’t you?” Kathryn asked her friend.
“Yes, I do,” Alessandra replied.
“They just love to grab everything on the table and see how much they can eat.”
“That’s true to a point.”
“My dad and brother are like that,” Kathryn remarked.
“I don’t think Caleb and Tad are getting that much. They said something about getting more meatballs because they’re so good,” said Alessandra.
“The meatballs are so good.”

In no time at all, Caleb, Mark, and Tad returned to the table with another plate full of food. They did not just get Italian meatballs, chocolate truffles, fruit, and pot stickers. The three boys got Italian meatballs, chocolate truffles, fruit, pot stickers, and some fruit punch.

Alessandra was wrong.

“The fruit punch is amazing,” she remarked to her friends.
“Yep. That’s why we got it!” Caleb replied.
“I would never have guessed.”
“So, I saw Ryan Phillips at the table.”
“He’s here?”
“Yeah. He didn’t say anything to us. Ryan was with his best friend, and they were talking to Jennifer. Probably asking her if she had beanies?” Caleb said.
“Probably,” Alessandra answered blankly.
“But I don’t think they’d stay long.”
“I don’t think they would. They have their own silly business to worry about.”
“They have their own silly business about beanies, for one.”

It was now five o’clock in the afternoon, and more people were starting to come for the concert. Other than the general graduation party attendees, such as Jennifer’s best friends, the first family to arrive was Caleb’s immediate family, aside from Kathryn’s and Mark’s family, who were obviously already there.

The time passed very quickly, and more and more people came, including Tad’s and Alessandra’s families. The kids, plus Andrew Grzedek, and his girlfriend, Eliza Colbert, helped move the equipment from the basement to the backyard.

“What time is it?” Caleb asked.
“6:54. So, I think we need to start moving things. Now,” Alessandra replied.
“Okey doke.”
“Tad, your chocolates are maliciously delicious!” Adam shouted from the top stair.
“Merci beaucoup!” Tad answered back.
“Okay, guys. We need to move the drum set out first. So, we need to move it piece by piece. Be careful with it while you’re going up the stairs,” Alessandra ordered.

It was now seven o’clock, and everyone started moving the drum set up the stairs into the back yard. They were eventually done with putting up the drum set. Now, the band had to bring up the keyboard, its stand, the guitars, and the tambourine. As well as the smaller equipment.

With some help from their friends, the move was quite simple, really.

Everything was now in order, and the band was ready to perform. Jennifer did not really want to make a huge announcement about her siblings’ new band. So, she just said:

“Here is ‘The Sound of a B Flat.’”

Right after the start of the concert, Caleb and Tad did their own rap covers, and Mark got very nervous. So nervous to the point that his palms were extremely sweaty, like a lake, and he was pretty sure that he could not keep his composure.

Caleb’s rap, according to most of the audience, was thought to be rather hilarious, as well as Tad’s. However, they were both very different. Caleb’s rap was more about dinosaurs. And Tad’s rap consisted mostly on video games.

No one really thought about how good Caleb and Tad have appeared to be at writing raps. Two kids in seventh grade, in a school band, at the threshold of their own garage band. Writing raps, according to the majority of people, is a pretty difficult task. Someone has to be really good to write a really good rap.

And Caleb and Tad pulled it off pretty well.

Caleb and Tad used goofy voices and play-on words to make their rap covers as funny as possible. Mark died laughing during both pieces, due to how hilarious they both were. Because of the humor emanating throughout the entire backyard, the drummer was still nervous when he started playing, but he managed to keep his composure and pull through.

Afterwards, the kids played a playlist of covers for their favorite songs. Mostly R & B covers and a few rock songs by their favorite artists from back in the day. The vast majority of the audience thought that the middle school-aged kids could actually pull off some very good covers. No one thought it was bad at all. However, there were some people there who are not quite music freaks like everyone else there. Even though this is the case, they most likely enjoyed themselves, and they would probably see if there were any more Italian meatballs, chocolate truffles, fruit, pot stickers, and fruit punch left.

At the performance, Alyssa and her friends were classic examples of music freaks. The four young girls were so into the performance that they actually danced during the concert. They were very cute when they were dancing, and even Kathryn and Caleb joined them when they were not performing with the rest of the band.

At the very end, Alessandra dedicated a specific song that she made up herself to Caleb, since they have been best friends since they first met. During the time that Alessandra sang this song, Caleb actually broke down emotionally. Alyssa and Kathryn went up to him and hugged him. This moment was truly the best one yet.

Then, the concert was over. Everyone enjoyed it. It was now about 8:15 in the evening, and there was still more good food on the table. Some people stayed, and others left. The band stayed to help put the equipment back down into the basement. As promised, Andrew and his girlfriend met up with everyone in the band downstairs.

“You guys did extremely well,” Andrew said.
“Thanks!” Alessandra answered gleefully.
“Both rap covers were very good.”
“I wasn’t sure if I was actually going to handle backing them up because they were both so funny,” Mark said.
“Yeah. I saw you! Were you nervous?”
“Extremely. My hands were literally shaking before Tad’s. I think it was Caleb who kept me in line.”
“He’s very good at keeping people in line if need be.”
“I agree.”

Then, the five band members planned their scheme. A rather hilarious one. Caleb, Alessandra, Kathryn, Mark, and Tad decided to take Alyssa’s teddy bear when she was not looking. Then, they ran up to Kathryn’s room and found some doll clothes dating back to 1991. They put the clothes on the teddy bear. Then, they found a hat. The kids tried to fit Caleb’s sunglasses on Alyssa’s teddy bear, but they were obviously too big. He still put them on anyway. Then, Tad made a sign for the bear that said….

“Kiss me. I’m Polish.”

Someone knocked on the door, and Kathryn opened it. Eliza was at the door. It appeared that she was very mad at the kids because they secretly took Alyssa’s bear. However, Andrew was not with her. He was probably socializing with his two best friends, Jason Lazinski and Matthew Bartz. Regardless, Eliza was pretty upset at the whole band.

“What exactly are you doing with Alyssa’s bear?” Eliza asked with a stern look on her face.
“We were making a friendly gesture by inducting the teddy bear into the Polish Posse that we have,” Tad said.
“She has been looking for her teddy bear for about fifteen minutes, and she is literally bawling because she has not been able to find it. What did you do to it?”
“Sorry,” Caleb replied. “We were inducting it into the Polish Posse.”
“What exactly is the Polish Posse?”
“It’s a new idea for the name of the band.”
“Oh, okay. Alyssa!”

Alyssa ran into the room and quickly grabbed her teddy bear. Then, she ran out of the room with tears streaming out of her eyes like an ocean. Eliza also left the room and let the band members go about their own business. She was not nearly as mad as she was before Alyssa had found her teddy bear.

Silence for a few seconds. Then, Alessandra felt the need to speak her mind. No one else was thinking about much. They all thought mostly about how well they performed tonight. And the name of the band never crossed their minds.

Out of the blue….

“I actually don’t like our name,” Alessandra blurted out after all but thirty-two seconds.
“What?!” Everyone else answered almost simultaneously.
“I just don’t think it suits us very well at all.”
“Why not?” Tad questioned.
“I like the idea of ‘The Polish Posse.’”
“Like the idea of trying to induct Alyssa’s teddy bear into the Polish Posse?”
“Yes. Who all agrees that ‘The Polish Posse’ sounds better than our previous name?”
“We should add something more to it, though,” Caleb said.
“Like what?” Kathryn asked.
“Well, I don’t really like the idea of just ‘The Polish Posse.’ I don’t think just that name alone suits us very well.”
“What exactly do you have in mind?” Tad questioned his friend.
“Well….”

The five kids sat in a circle on the floor to come up with ideas on the new name for the band. At first, no one could think of anything. However, after a bit of discussion on the current name of the band, everyone, including Caleb, Alessandra, Kathryn, Mark, and Tad, collectively decided that the name of their band should not be “The Sound of a B Flat” anymore. And it shouldn’t even be just called “The Polish Posse.”

​Now, it should be called….

“The Polish Posse of the Island.”