Rock star dreams of the grounded hooligan

Rock star dreams of the grounded hooligan.

Barry walks to his room and slams the door. Why be cool at this point? He is grounded. At least until his thirties. There’s no way he’s going to chill out now. He hears the door slam from the garage. The rock would be in the back of the garage at this point. That’s where everything going into the trash went. In the back of the garage. Next he hears the door to his mom’s room slam shut. It was so loud it made the walls shake. Barry can’t understand why she’s so bent out of shape.

It’s not like they can’t replace the money. Besides, he is the one that gave up his trip. That should account for something. He throws his jacket onto his bed and kicks off his shoes. He will be in this room for a long time. Best start getting used to it. In the corner is his clarinet. He could practice, but he feels more like trying to understand where everything went off the rails. Things were fine this morning. He is in the final month of his junior year of high school and things are right on track.

Rock Star Dreams

In fact, he is on track to become the high school band’s next Senior Captain. It’s something Barry has worked for since his first day in high school. Of course, that all might change now. Funny how none of that came to mind when he was talking to that strange guy who sold him the rock. It wasn’t that he wanted to be a rock star. The words still sting. Of course his mom is furious. He lost all the money. The money they saved for his class trip with the band. As Barry thinks about it, he feels the first pangs of guilt. The guy seemed so sincere. And the rock is highly unusual.

Furthermore, who’s to say it doesn’t have magical properties. Except, that isn’t exactly what the guy said. Now that Barry is alone, and the fight with his mom is hopefully over, the memory comes back to him easily. “It might seem to have magical properties, but that is because all advanced tech seems like magic.” If only he remembered that when his mom was yelling at him. Or the part about the rock being from a distant star. His mom wanted him to do well. And he feels grateful for her help. Furthermore, she supports all his musical hobbies and interests.

The band trip is part of that experience. He went last year and the year before. This year was going to be something special until he met the guy with the strange rock. And once again he remembers something more. He felt drawn to the strange stone. He didn’t want to be a rock star, but did he think the rock came from a star? Almost certainly.

The Grounded Hooligan

Later that night Barry decides to get his rock from the garage. Maybe if he can find something of value in it and they will be able to make the money back. It’s trying to look on the bright side. Several hours ago he felt convinced that he knew what he was doing. Now he can understand why his mom is so angry with him. Quietly he makes his way to the garage. He heard the rock land in the back part of the garage. However, when he opens the garage door, he discovers that he need not worry about locating it.

He finds the garage bathed in a neon blue light. It fills the area, but intensifies near the back. Quietly he closes the door behind him. Then he cautiously steps toward the back of the room. When he turns the corner, he catches his breath in an inward whoosh. There is a ring of light. Blue light. And inside the ring is a tunnel. Confused and inwardly scared he looks around himself. Everything is normal. Their garage is still intact and nothing is out of place. Nothing to see here.

Nothing except this large blue glowing ring of light. A glowing ring of light with a tunnel that leads away into…into where? Barry squints his eyes and tries to see how far back the tunnel goes. However, as far as he can tell, it goes on beyond his line of sight. “All advanced tech seems like magic.” He hears the words in his mind and remembers how he felt drawn to the rock. He decides on the spot to do it and steps right on through the glowing ring of light. Then Barry, the stone and the light, all disappear, simultaneously.

Rock Star Hooligan

The tunnel goes on for quite some time. Barry feels a sense of vertigo as his eyes try to adjust to the surrounding walls of the tunnel. They appear to move, although it is very obvious they are solid. The contradiction seems to affect his balance, and he finds that staring straight ahead helps him keep his balance. When he turns to look behind, there is no garage or floating ring. He appears to be in a never ending tunnel. The first traces of panic flutter through his core, but he keeps moving forward.

Some time later, he notices the tunnel expanding and widening all around. And then, before long, he comes to a door in the back wall of the cavern. The door is not for him. It is for someone much larger than he. In fact, he needs an extension ladder just to reach the doorknob. Oddly enough, one would think a door of this size would have a large crack along the bottom. However, this door sits almost flush with the smooth stone floor of the cavern. Barry gets on his knees and tries to see if it’s possible to see anything under the door.

This is where he is when the huge doorknob above him starts turning. He hears the squeak of the knob, and then hears the door itself groan, as it begins to open. The sound is almost deafening in the cavern and the only thing Barry can think to do is run. So he runs. He runs for his life.

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Rock star