Claire

> Be me
> Middle school
> Kind of a loner
> Spend a lot of time in my room playing guitar
> Got pretty good
> Go to school
> New girl in my math class
> Pretty bad stutter, but cute as hell
> No one wants to talk to her
> Lunchtime
> Tables all full, except me alone at mine
> Sits down with me
> Introduces herself
> "Hick-huh-hello. I'm Cl-Claire"
> We get to talking
> She's in a band
> Guitarist just quit
> Well, I play a little
> She insists I try out for them
> That afternoon, go to some dude's garage and play for them
> They dig my style
> Join the band
> We play lots of different covers
> Rage Against The Machine
> Nirvana
> Barenaked Ladies
> Original stuff, too
> Claire plays drums
> Standard kit, but plays with her hands
> Always going on about how it keeps her mind sharp
> At least 5 rants a day about playing without sticks
> Play together for a few months
> Start to get pretty decent
> Book our first gig
> Shift into overdrive
> Some days practice for 16 hours
> Only stop for meals
> One day we order Chinese takeout
> Pass the phone around for everyone's orders
> Claire's in the middle of one of her rants when we pass her the phone
> She orders
> "Chickity-China, the Chinese Chicken
> You have a drum stick and your brain stops tickin'."