CHAPTER FOUR
BUSINESS TRANSACTION

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     When Luna walked in, Julia ─ her mother ─ was already sitting at the table and at that moment, Luna knew it was going to be another lecture.

     "Do you want to explain to me why your principal called me and told me that you had already gotten detention today?" her mother asked and Luna could tell that it was going to be a long night.

     "Not really," she said as she locked the door.

     "He said your math teacher had a complaint about you talking back in her class," her mother said and Luna sighed.

     "She asked me to solve a problem on the board and I did and then she told me it was wrong even though it was the same thing we did last year. So, I told her to check the answer sheet but she said it wasn't always correct so I told her to solve it herself to prove me wrong," Luna explained.

     "Did she prove you wrong?" her mother questioned.

     "No, she only ended up proving herself wrong because she followed the same steps I did and got the exact same answer I did," Luna said. "She thinks that because she's the teacher, she's always right."

     "Luna, listen to me. This is the Southside so you have to be careful with who you cross. You're lucky all Mrs. Willard did was give you a two hour detention for 'talking back' when she could've given you worse," her mother said as she stood up and grabbed a water bottle.

     "Seriously, Mom? The worst thing she ever did was scratch her nails on the blackboard and she still does it! I'm surprised my eardrums didn't burst yet," Luna said as she headed towards the stairs.

     "Well, just so you know, we're having takeout tonight and I need you and Rosalie to go out and get it when it's time so don't get any ideas about taking a nap."

     "Sure, Mom."

     She went up the stairs and saw her sister's door open and she could see Rosalie sitting on her bed while looking at her phone, most likely texting Sweet Pea. She opened the door that led to the attic and headed up the narrow stairs and turned on the light. She placed her bag on the floor next to the nightstand and checked the time on her phone. She had a few hours to get her homework done before she had to go get the food. Maybe if she finished early, she could get back to working on her new song. The work wasn't so difficult at this point so she could get it all done with no problem and still have time to spare for herself. Once she was finished, she put everything back in her bag and took out her notebook and pen. As she was writing, she heard a knock and she saw her sister standing right by the light switch.

     "So, Sweet Pea texted me. He said he was able to get you the stage for an hour. That should give you enough time to play your songs and maybe tune your guitar in between," Rosalie said and Luna nodded.

     "What time?" she asked.

     "Eight to nine o'clock. Also, we gotta head out and get the food in ten minutes," Rosalie said before leaving her room.

     Luna picked up her phone and sent a message to the group chat to let them know that they got a location and what time they were going to go on stage and how much time they had. Once the message was sent, Kai would be able to post an update on their website and spread the word. They had the rest of the week to put together a set list and rehearse their performance for Friday night. An hour might have been a little bit more than what they needed but they could make it work.

     Luna put her pen and notebook down on the floor and grabbed her black platform shoes. She tied the laces and grabbed a black denim jacket to wear over her red and black striped long sleeve shirt. She tucked the loose strands of her hair behind her ears and put her phone in the front pocket of her black skirt. She went downstairs to the door but her sister was still upstairs in her room.

     "Rosalie, let's go already!" Luna shouted up the stairs.

     "Give me five minutes!" her sister yelled back and Luna groaned loudly.

     "You said ten minutes and it's already well passed that!" she shouted again.

     "Ay! Stop shouting! Do you want the whole Southside to hear you two bickering like children on the playground?" Julia asked and Luna frowned as she watched her mother sit on the couch in the living room.

     "Mom, why does she always take forever to get ready?" Luna asked.

     "What are you talking about? You're the one who wears all that dark makeup," her mother said and Luna laughed.

     "Mom, I am wearing the same clothes and makeup I had on at school. Rosalie changes into a whole new outfit, and for what? We're going to get food and come back so nobody really cares if you're wearing the same skinny jeans and tee shirt from four hours ago," Luna said.

     "That's what she thought before she met that boy."

     "Mom, he's in a gang. I'm still wondering how you're okay with this."

     "Rosalie is smart enough to know that he doesn't have a bright future ahead of him, not like she does."

     "How can you be so sure?" Luna questioned.

     "Luna, people like him only have one of two things in their future. Jail or a graveyard. And I know for a fact that Rosalie will realize that on her own," her mother said with a sharp gaze lingering on her.

     "You're just waiting for the day where she comes home crying and the first thing you say to her is 'I told you so' aren't you?" Luna asked but before her mother could respond, Rosalie came down the stairs and was shooting a mean glare at Luna.

     "Let's go," she said while walking to the door. "We'll be right back, Mom."

     Luna sighed as she followed her sister out the door and they both started walking to Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe.

     "Why do we always get takeout from Pop's? As much as I love the milkshakes there, why don't we ever go find another place to get food?" Luna questioned.

     "It's the only thing that gives us a taste of the Northside, where everything is much nicer than this shithole we live in. Plus it's closer than everything else," Rosalie said and Luna didn't say anything for the rest of the walk to the diner.

     Once the two sisters got there, the first thing Luna did was smile and say hello to Pop Tate, the man who owned the diner. Rosalie told Luna the orders and headed to the washroom and left the cash with Luna. While her sister was in the washroom, she paid for the food and waited in one of the booths.

     "Luna!"

     The raven haired girl turned around and saw Sweet Pea sitting in another booth a few feet away from her with two of his friends. She got up and walked over to them with her hands in her pockets.

     "Hey, Sweet Pea. My sister's in the washroom so you're going to have to wait," she said while pointing to the washrooms.

     "Actually, I wanted to talk to you," the Serpent said and Luna nodded shortly.

     "Oh. Okay," she said and smiled tightly.

     She never really spoke to her sister's boyfriend without her sister around and that one time in the hallway only lasted five seconds before she rushed to class.

     "Did Rosalie tell you about your band performing at the Wyrm?" he asked.

     "Yeah. Eight to nine," Luna said while nodding.

     "You're going to have to come in early to set up your equipment and they're also willing to pay you for the night," Sweet Pea said and Luna's eyes widened.

     "They're going to pay us to play five songs that don't even add up to half an hour?" she questioned.

     "Well, they gave you a full hour to give you enough time for whatever you need to do in between songs but other than that you guys can take it from there," Sweet Pea said and Luna couldn't stop herself from smiling. "Consider this a business transaction."

     "Thank you so much for doing this," she said.

     "Can I just say I love your music?" a girl with pink and purple hair said and Luna swore she could feel her cheeks heating up. "I'm Toni, by the way and this is Fangs."

     "Thank you, Toni," she said. "It's nice to meet you and Fangs."

     "Luna!" Luna turned around and saw her sister walking over. "Do you mind checking on the food?"

     Luna nodded as she turned around and walked over to the counter. Once she left, Rosalie sat down next to Sweet Pea and Toni looked straight at her.

     "So, your sister and her band are going to be the entertainment at the Wyrm this Friday night," she said, hoping to stir up a conversation.

     "Yeah," Rosalie sighed.

     "I think it's exciting," Fangs said and Rosalie laughed. "Me and Toni have seen them play over the summer and they're really good."

     "Sweet Pea over here has never even heard their songs before so this would be the first time," she said and Sweet Pea shot her a hard glare.

     "They're okay," Rosalie said while shrugging her shoulders.

     "Aren't you happy for your sister?" Toni asked.

     "I just think she's stuck in the past."

     "That's not what I asked."

     "The thing is Toni, I think she's still in denial and that's why she started this whole thing. She got into music the same day she found our father's old guitar lying around and she got it fixed. He used to be into music too so I think this is her way of trying to stay close to him and not getting over the fact that he left us," Rosalie said while she watched her sister who was sitting at the counter waiting for the food.

     "I think she just found a good outlet and realized where her passion lies. I mean, she has her own band with a website, she has recorded music that people can download and listen to, a YouTube channel where you can see videos of their performances and puts on live shows. I think it's more passion rather than denial," Toni said.

     "Trust me, you guys. When she realizes the truth, the band isn't going to last because her denial is the only thing keeping it together," Rosalie said.

     "Rosalie, the food is ready. Say goodbye to your studmuffin and let's go home," Luna said as she carried the bags of food while Toni and Fangs laughed.

     "You gotta bring your sister around more!" Fangs said while resting his head on Toni's shoulder.

     Sweet Pea scratched the back of his neck while Rosalie chewed on the inside of her cheek. She sighed as she stood up and looked at the three of them. "I'll see you guys tomorrow," she said through a tight smile and followed Luna out the door. Once they were on their way home, she grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side. "What the hell was that?"

     "What did I do?" Luna asked, genuinely confused.

     "Studmuffin? Really? Do you even know what that is?" Rosalie asked.

     "I know what it means and I was only joking," Luna said.

     "Do you find my boyfriend attractive?"

     "Let's get home before Mom's burger gets cold."

     The walk home was silent and once they got home, Luna gave the burger and fries to her mother and grabbed the poutine she ordered from the diner. As she was sitting in her room with her food, she saw Rosalie standing there with her arms crossed.

     "Do you find my boyfriend attractive?" she asked and Luna sighed.

     She didn't mean anything by her comment but she couldn't lie and say that Sweet Pea wasn't a good looking boy. He was very tall for his age and she could see the muscles on his arms through his shirt but this was her sister's boyfriend. While she could be a pain to deal with most of the time, she could never do something like going after her boyfriend. Luna could tell that Rosalie had her own insecurities to work through and it was showing. As much as her sister got under her skin, he had no intentions of going after someone she was dating. They already had a very strained relationship since the separation of their parents but she would never want to jeopardize that any further.

     "Green is not a good look for you," she said and Rosalie glared before leaving her room.

     Luna sighed as she sat on her bed with her legs crossed. So much for a good start.