Dear Readers, This is an apology and an explanation. I started Wildcat Fall earlier this year and realized it wasn't the story I wanted to tell. So, I have started from scratch, and here is a completely new Chapter One. This is the continuing saga. I would appreciate any feedback. Constructive criticism is important to me as I am writing this story. Thanks.
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New Chapter One
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Teri was curled up on the sofa in the small lounge. It was her favorite spot on the tour bus. She enjoyed feeling the vibration and muffled noise from the idling diesel.

When they arrived at their venue, the crew set up the stage while they had their sound check. They ate together, showered, and got dressed. Her hair was in a simple high ponytail, and her makeup was subtle.

Teri knew she’d never smiled this much in her life. Their tour was a great adventure. Back when she was in high school, boring summers used to involve tutoring at the local music school and mowing neighbors’ lawns. She was a great tutor but terrible with grass. The weed wacker was her nemesis. Even wearing safety goggles, she hated the orange plastic strings chopping weeds while bits and pieces went flying.

But this summer was amazing. Now she performed for ten thousand people every night. The cheering crowds and loud music had become the most addictive things in the universe. She lived for the adrenaline rush, but still did not fathom the money they were making.

When management told her she’d make a million dollars this summer, she struggled with the concept. In her mind, it didn’t add up. Even when Phil pulled out the books, they sat down together while he showed her the ticket sales, venue costs, and their overhead. There was still a lot of money left over. Too much.

Teri already had everything she wanted. She had the best girlfriend. Allentown Music provided her with instruments. Barbara and Jersey Girl custom-made her clothes. GLOW supplied her with shampoos and cosmetics. They had a chef with their tour, so she ate healthy meals.

On one of their brief breaks together, she asked Jenn’s advice. “What should I do when I get paid?”

Jenn grinned. “Big problem, Rock Star. Buy stuff, invest it. What do you want to do?”

Teri shrugged. “I’ve already got stuff.”

“You should pay for Amy’s house.”

Teri grinned. “Lisa and I did that when we got our signing bonus. But she never stays there anymore. She’s always at Conors.”

“Okay. We’ll need a place in West Philly big enough for you to visit and me to go to school.”

“Great! I’ll buy a place near the University, a condo. Look around this summer. Find something you like and tell Richard. He’ll arrange all of that.”

Jenn gave her a hug. “That’s great!”

“Now, what do you want? What can we buy you?”

Jenn laughed. “Mom paid for school, so I don’t need anything. GLOW gave me tons of stuff, and Barbara at Jersey Girl sent me a wardrobe.”

“Want a new car?”

“Nah. Mom left her car behind when she moved to Chicago. It still has a warranty.”

Teri looked puzzled.

Jenn sighed. “A warranty means that if anything happens, they fix it.”

“I know it’s big, but what kind of car is it?”

Jenn shook her head. “You are such a girl. It’s a Chevy Tahoe.”

“It looks like Jessica Jade’s truck.”

“See. You can learn. I’m going to buy you a set of flash cards so you’ll be able to identify different cars.”

“Why?”

Jenn shrugged. “I guess since you’re my passenger princess, you really don’t need to know.”

“What’s that mean?”

Jenn kissed her. “You are content to let me drive everywhere while you ride along and look pretty.”

“Pretty?” Teri frowned.

Jenn smothered her in kisses, pushed her down, then climbed on top. “Uh-huh. You are beautiful, and I get excited just being with you. I love having a pretty girlfriend.”

Teri wanted Jenn to stop talking about her. While she kissed and nuzzled her, she tried to have a conversation. “We can travel. We talked about going someplace warm in the winter.”

Jenn snaked her hands under her top. “Sure. Hawaii, Fiji, Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania.”

Teri was having trouble concentrating. She was getting lost, and her brain kept short-circuiting. “Uh, do we need to slow down?”

Jenn was having just as much fun losing herself. “Why? Isn’t this the best?”

Later, when they were getting dressed, Teri thought out loud. “I wonder where our next tour takes us besides Europe?”

“Ask Richard and Bill Wiggins. I’m sure they have it all planned out.”

“While we’re over there, I am sure we will have breaks for vacation. You’ll be able to come visit during school and stay in the summer.”

But the money still bothered her. A million dollars was a lot of money. Every adult she asked for advice told her the same thing. Bank it. Start a nest egg. After thinking about it, Teri decided to save most of it and spend some on vacations.

When she asked Lisa, she laughed. “Gina’s dad’s law firm hooked us up with an investment guy. Everything gets put away until we want some. You don’t have to worry.”

But now, her biggest dilemma was the song that was stuck in her head. She heard fragments of a melody and a few lyrics, but nothing was fully formed. Teri closed her eyes, trying to let the song wash over her until she heard a scream. She looked to see Tiffany yelling at Gina. “Uh-oh,” she said quietly. “Fireworks.”

“What?” Tiffany yelled out loudly, her voice echoing through the bus. Teri looked up to see her by the bathroom, smoothing out her silver dress and glaring at Gina. She was pointing her finger.

Gina turned and looked back down the bus at Tiff. She slowly shook her head, crossed her arms, and in her best Hollywood tough guy voice growled, “Hey! You talking to me?”

Tiffany bent down and slipped into her matching silver stilettos. Standing tall, she strutted towards the front, looking down at Gina. “Yeah. You miserable pint-sized toad. I saw you staring at me. What are you thinking?”

Gina’s grin widened. “Tiff, the more we’re on the road, the nuttier you’re getting. Hearing my voice in your head again, huh? Saying you look like a runway model who falls short in the tits and ass department!”

Tiffany’s eyes widened, and her mouth dropped into an O in surprise. “That’s your voice! Is this some hypnosis thing, you sawed-off moron?”

Laughing, Gina stood up and hugged her. “You got it, babe,” she whispered. “Every night while you’re asleep, I’m repeating all the truths you’re trying to run away from. Whether you’re sleeping on the bus or in a hotel room, you hear me repeating all those words that scare you. I almost have control of you. Soon, you’ll be mine. I’ll have your soul. Of course, you might recognize me by one of my other names—Lucifer, or Beelzebub.”

Tiffany raised her hands to her face in horror. “Satan! Why are you here?”

Gina stood and waved her arms. “Oh, you know how it is. Hell was getting so boring. Nothing but the same old, same old for a thousand years. So I decided to come up into the light and inhabit the body of a drummer in this little shit-hole band!”

Teri struggled to keep from laughing. A variation of this exchange happened several times a week whenever one of them needed to blow off steam. Lisa said they’d been doing it for years. So Teri joined in. “Hey, Satan! I resent that. We’re a big, popular shit-hole band with an awesome drummer.”

Gina nodded and saluted her. “Thank you, feeble human. I am good. Over the years, Satan has picked up a few pointers jamming out with the best musicians. A lot of rock and jazz artists eventually come to spend eternity with me. We jam together inside the fiery flames of Hell. And we’ve got the best acoustics, too.”

Tiffany had her fists clenched, hands on her hips. She turned and pointed at Teri. “This is great, Little! You’re my witness.” She pulled Gina into a hug. “So, when I suffocate this monster, you can testify in court that she admitted to being Satan and confessed to brainwashing me! You can say I killed her to protect my sanity. It was self-defense! I’ll plead the Fifth!”

Teri sang out the four notes that Beethoven made famous, “Dah, dah, dah, dum!”

Lisa was sitting in the front lounge, working on her iPad. She shook her head and called out, “Tiff, instead of trying to kill Satan, maybe you should ask God just to send her back to where she belongs.”

Tiffany looked at Lisa. “You mean, like Hell?”

“No. I was thinking, Allentown!”

Zoe boarded and looked at Lisa. She’d heard the fuss and shook her head. “I want to remind you stragglers that we play in thirty minutes. But now I realize you’re already warming up. I love this shoutout, but you’re using up all the oxygen. C’mon, children. I’m ready to rock the house, but I can’t do it alone.”

Lisa grinned at Zoe. “Yeah. Seriously. What would life be like if Gina and Tiff couldn’t go a few rounds before we walked out on stage?”

As they were walking off the bus, Teri turned to her sister. “Speaking of Hell, are we playing any dates down there in August?”

Zoe shook her head. “No, Little. That’s history. The old Wildcats played hell years ago, when we had to take any gig we could get. We drew the line when they tried to pay us in souls. You can’t pay the bills that way.”

Lisa smiled. “It was okay when they paid us in the gold coins from the cadaver's eyes. We could always pawn them.”

Teri was walking Zoe. “Yeah, there’s a good one. Pawn rhymes with spawn.”

Tiffany, Teri, and Zoe began looking at each other and playing with words.

Pawning my soul to pay my bills,
The spawn of the Devil says…

Tiffany yelled, “Exact change only!”

Zoe laughed, then continued to trade lyrics.

I got in the line on the way to Hell,
But a politician offered me a better deal.
He said he’d get me a government job
As long as I’m willing to rob and steal

But I waited for too long,
And the line disappeared.
The Devil started pulling me down
Handing me my ball and chain,

He pushed me out onto Earth again.
Saying get on with your life
And when you’re ready
I’ll see you when the time is right

I asked about that politician
Who’d offered me that deal?
Saying all I had to do was rob and steal.

The Devil shook his head and whispered to me.
Got convicted, serving life in jail
Going nowhere til he’s old and frail.
A withered shell when he comes my way,
Regretting everything he did,
Thinking ‘bout everyone he played.

They all smiled and gave high fives as they left. Lisa glanced at her sister, who was dressed like someone’s ideal Philadelphia Phillies ballgirl—wearing red high-top sneakers, tight white spandex capris, and a thin red T-shirt. Her silver hair gleamed.

Lisa nodded, smiling at her sister. “Okay, Cats. Let’s go out there and show the home team that we can score more runs than they can.”

Teri was excited about how they’d sketched out some new lyrics for a future song. “Maybe we should huddle and cheer ‘Wildcats!’ before we go on.”

Teri loved wearing her team colors. Barbara from Jersey Girls had embroidered a Phillies letter P on the front of her t-shirt, with the name "Nelson" in bold letters on the back, and the number “00”. Teri was excited about the Phillies, who were having a great summer. “Yeah, team spirit. I like that. Maybe we can record a Wildcats walk-up song to play when we go on stage. Wouldn’t that be cool?”

Four voices all yelled out in unison, “NO!”

As they headed towards the building, Richard held the fire door open. He leaned down and whispered in Lisa’s ear, “Auburn, Washington, near Seattle. The Green River Gorge, fly fishing, fresh air.”

Lisa squeezed his arm in thanks. She’d remember those words and use them at the beginning of the show after they opened with Run, Run, Gone!

Each Cat followed a stagehand out onto the darkened stage, one hand on a shoulder and all eyes looking down at the red flashlight leading the way. Dark stages were a hazard with equipment scattered everywhere, and cables waiting to trip the unsuspecting ankle.

Teri called out quietly, “Go Cats!” She heard the laughs and snickers. “C’mon, guys. Seriously. We really need a walk-up song, like they have in baseball.”

Tiffany stopped dead in her tracks and whispered. “Huh, Little? What the fuck’s a walk-up song?”

Teri tried to explain. “In baseball, when each player steps up to bat, the stadium plays a different piece of popular music, you know, a signature song.”

Tiffany looked at her strangely. “Is this more bullshit that Gina told you to say?”

Gina was laughing. “See, Tiff. I’ve got all my minions trained to play with your mind. It won’t be long before you willingly give me your soul to stop the voices from talking inside your head.”

Tiff turned her back to the audience, who could only see their silhouettes in the darkness. She stared at Gina, stuck out her tongue, and held up both her fists, giving a Jersey salute with each hand.

Zoe came over and put her arm around Tiffany. She squeezed her and whispered,

Just give up your soul,
Like all of us have done.
Let the Devil have her way,
When the time comes.

Tiffany was grinning and nodding to Zoe. She answered in rhyme.

I hate being cold,
And love being hot
If Hell’s full of bad boys,
Find me a spot!

Gina smiled and said,

We’ve got the baddest boys
Waiting for you.
Big, hunky demons
Who’ll gladly dance your tune!

Tiff raised both arms high in the air, looking up to the sky, and yelled, “Take me!” As she turned to face the audience, the stage lights came up, revealing the six-foot-tall blonde in stilettos with her arms outstretched overhead like she was praying to Heaven.

Gina began pounding on her drums, and Tiffany played hard on her bass. The audience cheered as the Wildcats opened with "Run, Run, Gone!" The crowd happily yelled out ‘Run!’ during each chorus as Lisa yelled the verses. After finishing, they went straight into their originals, "Downward Spiral," then finished with "Electric Cars."

With the audience standing and cheering, Lisa stepped up to the mic stand and yelled, “Hello, Auburn! It’s great to be in Washington tonight to play for you. Remember, if you get too overheated from dancing, bartenders everywhere are waiting to help you quench your thirst. In the meantime, let’s heat things up by introducing the hottest bass-playing blonde on this side of the Rockies, Tiffany Lungren!”

As Tiffany waved, she stepped up to the front of the stage. She and Teri began singing another original titled "Gotta Get A Job." As they were finishing, Zoe started shredding the guitar intro to their song, Two-Thirty Blues. Teri played lead as Lisa handled keyboards. Zoe rocked her guitar and sang lead. The Nelson sisters harmonized into one mic. After that, Teri and Zoe exchanged sixteen-bar leads until Lisa signaled it to a stop. As the crowd cheered, Teri sang a new band original titled Miss You.

With the audience dancing and clapping along, Lisa yelled into the mic. “Hey, gang! Here’s one from way back. It’s called "Show Me Some Love." And I’ll need all of you to send your love back to the band. Can you do that for me?”

The fans cheered as they heard Tiffany start the bass line of the rhythmic dance number that DJ Blank had mixed into a club hit. One at a time, each Cat stepped up and played to the beat. It was a disco song that Blank had turned into a space odyssey.

As they all played, Tiffany moved up to her microphone. She stared at Teri and, in a sexy voice, crooned, “Oh, Teri! Oh, Teri, you look so hot tonight in your Spandex and tight red tee. Oh, Teri. You look so delicious tonight, I want to eat you up.”

The crowd had watched the band’s videos. But seeing it live was a treat. Everyone was enjoying the party as they yelled and cheered.

On the other side of the stage, Teri started moaning out Tiffany’s name. She kept her voice low and breathy, as if she were doing an X-rated phone call. “Oh, Tiffany. Oh, oh, Tiffany.” The crowd cheered as Teri moaned and Tiffany got further into what she would like to do.

Each night, their performance was a little different as the two of them tried to find something new to add. Tonight, Tiff was urging Teri to come up to her suite so she could ravish her. Teri moaned, panted, and cried out her name, over and over.

As the crowd cheered and danced to the music, the lights lowered. Lisa started playing the Theremin, and spotlights covered in tinted gels turned the hall into a spacey new wave world reminiscent of an old psychedelic light show. As Lisa set the Theremin on a repeating loop, she came downstage, bent over her mic, and whispered, “You can't lose if you don't try. If you don't try, you can't lose!”

The audience was encouraged to repeat her words.

Everyone was chanting along when Lisa yelled, “You gotta give it a try! You gotta give it a shot!”

The whole audience was shouting along with Lisa as the band continued to play.

The Wildcats turned and grinned. Using sound effects and reverb, the guitarists created feedback and harmonics to add to the cacophony, but never lost the dance beat. When the music stopped, Lisa yelled out to the fans, “Auburn, it’s great to be here. Now show us some love!” The crowd came to their feet, cheering loudly. Then the stage went black.

The band had been playing for sixty minutes, and it was time to slow things down. No one noticed the baby grand piano wheeled out from the left wing. But when they heard a Bach concerto begin, everyone turned to watch the single spotlight of Teri playing. As she played, the mournful sound of a cello began to fill the theater.

A second spotlight found Tiffany sitting on a stool on the opposite side of the stage. She was leaning over and playing her electric cello, bending her bow and writhing as she played. For minutes, the audience was silent, watching the two women playing the Bach piece until the third spot found Lisa mournfully singing.

Looking down
at the thin cable
going out into the night
was a path going home

One foot in front of the other
A breath, a blink
Only one way to go

A deep breath
Stepping off
Never looking down
Just focusing ahead

One foot in front of the other
A breath, a blink
Only one way to go

Once you start
There’s no going back
No changing your mind
No turning around

One foot in front of the other
The only one way to go home

Guitar notes full of feedback started to grow, and while the other lights dimmed. New spots found Zoe on guitar and Gina pounding her drums in four-four time. Suddenly, the bright lights revealed Tiffany playing her electric bass and Teri playing guitar.

Lisa was singing the same mournful lyrics, but now with a hard edge. They rocked the number until the lights went black.

The sound of the piano could be heard, but only a single spot found Tiffany playing. The piano stopped, but all eyes were on the blonde as she continued to bend the notes to her will on her cello. The audience was drawn into her performance. When she finished the piece, the whole place erupted with a roar of applause.

Lisa turned to the band and shouted, “Let’s all get on board.”

The band knew that getting on board was a phrase that meant that anything goes. Whenever they reached the end of a number, someone in the band would either call out a song or start playing it. They never stopped as the audience stood and danced in their seats or in the aisles. When Lisa signaled the band to stop, she yelled out, “We love you, Auburn. And we’ll be back in ten minutes!”

A digital clock appeared overhead on their projection screens, counting backwards from ten minutes. Everyone rushed to the bars for refreshments as the stage went dark. The band’s album played.

As they were walking off, Gina spoke. “How about playing everything straight off the live side of our album?”

Lisa was smiling. “Let’s open with "Fur Face", our album side, and then end with our hits.”

Teri turned to Zoe, “It’s so automatic. We’re a well-oiled machine.”

Zoe smiled and nodded at their newest member. “Welcome to the Cats' hive brain.”

“You mean like the Borg?”

“Right. And a good reference to Star Trek, long before your time, little girl.”

“Maybe, but I’ve got it all on a hard drive.”

“Well, Little. The band’s been playing for so long together, it’s become pretty easy to entertain the crowds and keep it exciting for us.”

Teri was wide-eyed, knowing she was making a contribution. “Have you noticed that more and more of the crowds are singing along to our originals?”

Lisa laughed, “We call them fans, honey. They’re all here to hear and see you.”

Tiffany chimed in, “But what we really need, Little, is a Wildcat’s cheer song.”

Teri got excited, “Really?’

The rest of them laughed and yelled out, “No!”

Teri was wiping off her face and body as she hydrated and munched on a power bar. She’d stopped eating chocolate and was substituting fruits and raw vegetables instead. Their chef always provided healthy snacks. Touring with the Wildcats meant meals full of fresh foods for the crew and the band.

When the lights went up to start the second half, the crowd roared their approval, seeing the band decked out in their Furry suits ready to play "Fur Face". Gina was a tabby cat, Zoe was a red fox, and Lisa was a yellow chick playing rhythm guitar. As Teri clutched the center stage mic, singing their viral internet hit, Fur Face, the band enjoyed their spoof on heavy metal. Teri roared out the nonsensical lyrics in her fluffy bunny suit.

But the crowning achievement was when Tiffany stood at her mic dressed as a pink poodle and did her rap tribute to soft and cuddly creatures. The audience rapped along with her. Tiffany loved it when the audience participated.

Ninety minutes later, the Cats and the crowd were exhausted. After performing for three hours, the band headed off the stage to the sound of the audience still cheering after their encore. As the Cats used towels to dry their perspiration, the five of them crowded around the three people waiting.

A woman shook hands with the band members. “Lisa, Gina, Teri, Zoe, and Tiffany, we’re here to thank you for your generous check and the opportunity to set up a table in the lobby. Mentioning us and talking about the good deeds that the Boys and Girls Club of Auburn does is a blessing. Your generosity is appreciated.”

The band knew the ritual, and it was a perfect way to cap off every evening. They shook everyone’s hands and posed for photos. No one could argue with their little love-in.

Finally, they climbed back on the bus and headed out of Washington State on their way to San Francisco. They looked forward to relaxing, waiting for their turn to shower. After that, each changed into their pajamas, said their goodnights, and slipped into their bunks. A second Wildcat bus and a box truck would follow later that evening after their road crew packed up their custom-made stage platform, lights, sound system, backdrops, cameras, and the big mixing board that provided a million-dollar experience for the fans.

As their caravan sped through the night, they arrived on the outskirts of San Francisco at noon. The band spent the day by the pool, soaking up the sun while the crew built them a stage downtown. As they were lounging around the pool, Richard approached.

Zoe looked over and whispered, “Uh-oh. Our man is not smiling.” As he got closer, she said, “Richard, what’s the matter?”

Richard chuckled. “Well, I need to share. We have become the subject of social media, and not in a good way. The Cats have become famous enough to garner attention, and with it comes the leeches that try to get a free lunch.” He handed his iPad to Zoe to see. “We see these things popping up all the time. Most of this content is clickbait, designed to entice people into clicking and thereby capturing their personal information. Most of it is harmless. We watch out for the people who are out to steal money. Now, did you know that the Wildcats have their own Bitcoin company?”

All of them chorused, “No!”

“Well, somebody posted a band picture, and they were taking people’s money to invest in the Wildcats’ private-issued investment fund. We’ve gone ahead and had all of those people rounded up, arrested, and penalized with big fines for trying to peddle their scheme.”

Gina looked surprised. “Dang. I didn’t know that we had that much clout. Who would listen to us?”

“I should show you the video where each one of you talks about doubling your money if you invest with the Cats. They have a fake Lisa, Zoe, Tiffany, Gina, and Teri all talking and singing the praises of this great investment opportunity. It’s a pretty slick Artificial Intelligence created video.”

“You stopped it, right? So that won’t happen again?”

Richard muttered. “Uh, well, we hope not. We have a paid service that searches for any Wildcat references on the internet and keeps us posted if any have criminal intent. What they’re doing right now is spreading rumors and speculation about Wildcat gossip. We have to ignore that. Sometimes it’s just fans talking with each other, and some of it can get crazy or even malicious.”

Everyone looked at each other. Lisa was angry when she spoke. “It sucks that criminals are preying on our fans. Our people are great and don’t deserve this disservice.”

Zoe smiled. “I could tell my dad. He still knows people who could take care of this problem, even if they are hiding in an Eastern European country.”

Teri made a face. “Ew. You mean make them disappear? Is that right?”

Zoe shook her head. “Well, they don’t have to be assassinated like in the movies. I was just thinking about putting them out of business, you know, destroying their equipment and maybe beating them up.”

“Your dad still knows people?”

Zoe shrugged. “I really don’t know. But if I asked him, he’d do it for me.”

“I can see it now, musicians by night, crime stoppers by day!”

“That’s graphic novel material.”

Tiffany smiled. “Sure, I look good in skin-tight leather.”

Later, the Cats had dinner, rehearsed, showered, and then dressed, ready to perform at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. After two nights, they rode out to Oakland, where they played the Outside Music Festival and then a night in The Sound Room. From there, they drove to Napa and played on Wednesday at the Oxbow River Stage. After a day off, they played Friday and Saturday nights in San Jose, at the Civic Theater.

Most days, Richard scheduled a visit to a local radio station or TV channel to promote their songs and shows.

After they toured Northern California, they headed down scenic Route 1, stopping to admire the vistas of the cliffs and the Pacific Ocean on their way to Los Angeles. For the next week, they played one night at the Whisky A-Go-Go, another at The Troubadour, and finished at The Greek Theater in Hollywood. Their last stops were in San Diego, where they performed at The Observatory in North Park and the Mission Bay Fest Music Festival.

San Diego marked the last nights of their tour. While their road crew took the stage off to storage, the band headed back to Los Angeles for a week of rehearsals for the Labor Day television broadcast.

As they unloaded in front of their hotel, they waved goodbye to their driver and their bus.

Teri watched and wiped a tear from her eye.

Gina grabbed her arm. “Hey, are you crying?”

Teri turned and laughed. “It’s crazy what we just did. I mean, all those shows and all those fans paying to hear us play. It’s like a dream.” She rubbed her eyes. “Why am I crying?”

Gina hugged her. “Smog, baby. It’s that LA air.”

Tiffany was kissing her cheek. “We all need to celebrate, Little. It’s our night off. Let’s get high and eat Sushi!”