Words of Encouragement

Lincoln sat on Luna's floor, listening to her play her guitar. She had written a few songs that weren't high-energy so she could play them while sitting on her bed instead of standing and shredding. As she played, Lincoln admired how skilled she was with her instrument, it made him somewhat envious. He wondered exactly what kind of instrument he would play if he ever picked up one, but that was for another time. Luna was playing a relatively chill song with that you could easily bob your head to.

"So how was that one bro?" Luna said as she finished her song.

"That one was really good; I like your softer songs."

"Thanks, I wanted to go for a more Ska/R&B type song." Luna said with a smile on her face. She always liked how Lincoln sat and listened to her songs, unlike most of her sisters. Maybe that was one of the reasons why she and Lincoln got along so well.

As Luna readied herself to play another tune, a thought struck Lincoln.

"Hey you know what would be cool? Joining a band!"

This idea took Luna by surprise. She always wondered what it'd be like to be part of a band. Sure she had Chunk, but he was just a roadie. Being part of a band would be a big responsibility, plus she wasn't confident that she could play with the rest of them. Still, if Lincoln thought it would be a good idea, it's at least worth talking about rather than just dismissing it.

"You really think so? I don't know man, I'm not sure that I can make the cut. I mean, joining a band is a lot harder than just playing."

"Oh come on, you're great! You'd absolutely rock if you joined one!"

Luna smiled; she really did have a soft spot for Lincoln.

"Well you got me all pumped now! I'm going go and rock out at an audition, like this!"

Without even thinking about where Lincoln was sitting, she cranked the volume up on her amp and began to shred. This was unfortunate for Lincoln, since he was sitting rather close to the amp. By the time Luna had noticed, Lincoln was snapping his fingers next to his ears to see if he could still hear.

"Oh my bad dude, I totally forgot you were sitting there!"

Lincoln just stared blankly at Luna before raising a hand next to his ear.

"WHAT?!"


Sometime later...


Luna had found a flier for a garage band who had recently lost a guitarist and was looking for a replacement. Eager to try out for the band, she managed to convince Lori to give her a ride to the audition. She zipped up her guitar and was ready to head out; but she had one last thing to take care of before she left. Looking around, she managed to spot Lincoln fixing himself a snack in the kitchen. As Luna approached him, Lincoln noticed the guitar and assumed she was going to try out for a band.

"Found a band?"

"Yeah man, Lori's gonna' take me to their garage so I can try to get the gig."

"You're gonna kill it at the audition Luna, trust me."

"Thanks for telling me to audition bro. C'mere." Luna said as she motioned for a hug.

Lincoln hugged her back and wished her the best of luck as she and Lori got into the car.

"I'll tell you all about it when I get back!"

"Come on hurry up, I don't want to be in some smelly garage all day." Lori said as she scoffed impatiently.

So the two drove off, Luna excited at the thought of playing in a band. Her excitement faded ever so slightly as a worried look crept up onto her face.


At the audition...


Luna was now sitting in a chair with her guitar, waiting for her turn to play. She watched as others before her got up on stage and played. She was already having doubts about her skills, so the ones who had their turn before she did affected her greatly. Every time that someone got up and played poorly, she felt more confident. On the other hand though, good players had also gone up on stage and rocked, which in turn made her less confident. By the time it was her turn, she was a nervous wreck. So many thoughts ran through her mind, comparing herself to all of the other guitarists that had played before her. Was she good enough? I mean, some of them were pretty bad, but some were really good. She also realized something else; this was her first time really playing for others. Sure she had played songs before for individual people and her family, but never in front of a band judging her skills.

She nervously stepped up onto the stage, the eyes of the band members felt like they were staring into her soul.

"So um, Luna Loud, what exactly will you be playing for us today? Said the lead singer as he rummaged through some papers.

"O-Oh um, I'll be playing one of my original songs. I hope you like it..." Luna said nervously.

Luna took a deep breath, trying to regain some of her composure, closed her eyes and began to play. Things were going pretty well, she was hitting all the right notes and the band was looking impressed. Little did she realize that her success at playing for them was based on her closed eyes; with them closed she didn't have to look at their judging faces and she could just get lost in the music. Since she didn't realize that fact, she opened them after a while and saw them staring intensely at her. To her it felt like they were staring daggers right into her; she was starting to lose her focus. She tried to avert her eyes from the band and turned them to the left, right where the other guitarists were waiting to try out. She knew that they were doing the same thing that she was doing when she was sitting there; judging whether or not if they were better than her. As she began to feel trapped the final blow was struck; a sour note. Hearing the discordant note, her confidence began to break down and it seemed like she was messing up more and more notes.

As she finished the song she looked dejected and ashamed of her performance. How could this happen? She never had a problem playing for her brother or Chunk, so why was this time so different? These thoughts were broken by the lead singer giving a cough to catch her attention.

"Well, thank you for your performance; we'll be in touch. Next!"

And so she dragged herself off of the stage, feeling like there was a giant weight on her back that she was being forced to carry. She zipped her guitar and made her way back to the car meeting Lori there.

"So how did it go?" Lori said.

"Can we just go? I kinda' just wanna' go home."

Lori could immediately tell that she had tanked the audition, which took her by surprise. Yeah Luna's style of music wasn't her preferred type, but Lori knew that she was talented. Both of them strapped in and headed back towards home, with an awkward silence between the two. Lori wanted to say something, but she struggled on whether or not to say it; asking about it makes it worse than it already was. They pulled up to the house and Luna quickly got out of the car and entered the house, on the verge of tears. Meanwhile Lincoln had heard the car door shut and quickly rushed to meet Luna and ask her how she did at the audition. He waited by the top of the stairs, asking her as she walked up them.

"Hey Luna, did you rock the audition? I bet you blew them away-" Lincoln's sentence was stopped by the look in Luna's eyes.

"Look bro, I really don't want to talk right now. I just want to be alone." Luna said as she closed the door to her room.

As she closed it, she couldn't even take one step away from it; all that she could do was slide down it and sit on the floor with tears in her eyes. Lincoln could hear her softly crying and sat against the door, wanting to offer words of comfort.

"I don't know what happened, but I just want you to know that even if they didn't like your music, I'll always sit and listen to you. Listening to you play is something I've always liked, since you've been playing for me ever since I was little. I still think that you are amazing, even if they can't see it."

Luna stifled her crying, smiling a bit as she heard Lincoln's words.

"And if it happened because you got nervous, then I'm sorry I made you audition. I thought that you'd be able to go in and play without thinking of anything else. I never took into account your feelings on auditioning and I ignored the possibility that you could get stage fright. I know I'd get nervous if I had people watching me and telling me that I wasn't good enough. I guess I never really thought about it that, so... I'm sorry Luna."

As he finished his thoughts, the door opened. Luna was standing there wiping tears from her eyes and smiling. She picked Lincoln up and gave him the tightest bear hug that he had ever received. As she let up on her grip she just softly said,

"Thanks Lincoln, you always know just what to say. And don't feel bad about making me audition. I chose to do it; so don't feel bad."

"So do you want to hear another song? I'm pretty sure I can make one out of what happened today." Luna said as he let him down.

"Of course! I'll always listen to you, whenever you want." Lincoln said, smiling at his job of being a supportive brother being well done.

Luna plugged her guitar into her amp and sat on her bed with Lincoln sitting on the floor. She began to play a somber melody, making up lyrics as she played. Lincoln closed his eyes and got lost in her music like he usually does, hoping that this would never change...


Later that month...


Luna zipped up her guitar once again; she had found an opening for another band and was determined to win this time. With Lincoln's words of encouragement that he offered that day, she felt like she crushed all the other guitarists in the audition! Once again she got Lori to give her a ride to the audition, this time though there was no worry or hesitation on her face; she felt ready to rock.

When she got to the audition and sat down just like she did before, she decided to not look at the other guitarists playing; instead she focused on making sure that she was at the top of her game. Every time that she felt a hint of doubt or worry, she just listened to Lincoln's words again. Those words telling her that she was amazing and how she would rock at an audition. She held onto those even as she stepped up onto the stage and tuned her guitar.

"So what are you going to be playing Ms. Loud?"

"I'm going to play you one of my original songs, it's Ska-infused punk rock!"

The singer looked at eyed her carefully and then gave a shrug and said,

"Well let's hear it."

And so Luna began to shred, playing that fast but upbeat sound that was prevalent in Ska Punk songs. Even as she looked directly at the band, she felt no fear. All that mattered was the music; and it didn't even really matter if they like it or not. She had realized that before, she had gotten so wrapped up in being judged that she lost sight of the purpose of playing; enjoyment. Free from that burden, she could enjoy every second of playing and this is what stood out to the band. As they saw her they knew that she was damn good and that she was going to be the sure fire winner of the audition. She finished the song, panting a bit from playing so intensely and asked,

"So, how was that?"

"That was totally righteous girl! Go and take a seat, you're definitely in the running." The singer said excitedly.

As she was getting off of the stage she saw the faces of the others that had come to audition; they were both astounded and intimidated by her performance. Happy with how well she did, she sat down and gave a content sigh.

One by one the others stepped up and played, though it was obvious to the band that none of the others could match Luna's amazing performance. After it was all over, the band turned to the three remaining guitarists that had been considered and announced,

"So we've decided that the one who had the best performances was..."

While the other two guitarists looked at the band expectantly and hoping that they would land the gig, Luna was relaxed. She had done what she came here to do; play. The band huddled around each other, whispering, before they broke and looked at the three. The lead singer coughed and announced,

"The best performance was Luna Loud!"

Luna pumped her fist in excitement with a loud, "WHOOHOO!! I GOT THE GIG!!"

The other two looked a bit sad, but they handled the defeat with grace, shaking her hand and wishing her the best of luck with the band. She felt it was only fair that she wished them luck too.

"Both of you guys totally rocked, I hope you find a band!"

As the two were about to leave the lead singer asked,

"Alright Luna, we meet every Saturday at this garage at 4:00 for practice. You can make that right?"

Luna was about to answer yes, but then she realized something; she didn't really have that kind of time. Taking care of her siblings ate a lot of her time. After coming to this realization she sheepishly said,

"Oh yeah, so here's the thing; I don't think I can make it. I kinda' have to take care of my brother and sisters which is really busy when you have 9 of them."

She then turned to the other two. "Hey, can one of you guys take my place? I just realized that I can't make it to practices so I can't join."

The band looked a little sad that such talent was going to slip away, but there was not much they could do. So they shook her hand and told her that she could really go places. Luna wished them goodbye and hopped into the car, this time with a smile on her face. Lori noticed this and smiled, asking her,

"So I take it went well?"

"Yeah it was good. I had to turn down the gig though; taking care of the family comes first. Besides, I think I like it when I play just for Lincoln..."

They drove up onto the drive way and made their way out of the car. As Luna walked into the house she noticed Lincoln, who walked up and asked her,

"So how was it?" He made sure not to press too hard like he did before, in case she didn't get the part.

"I got the gig."

"That's great! I knew you could do it!"

"But I turned it down."

"What? Why??"

"Cause' taking it would mean that I'd have less time to spend with my favorite bro!" Luna said as she ruffled Lincoln's hair. "Alright, come up to my room, I gotta' give you a reward for helping me out."

"You mean like another song?" Lincoln said as he followed her into her room.

"Something like that..." Luna said as she closed the door to her room and locked it.