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wouldn’t let them play
Liberation Force 3
, which took place in Afghanistan, and yet this version, set in World War II, is like the top-selling game ever.
    Some other ways that Mr. Darren is cool: he actually cares about how he looks, unlike so many adults. He has a rock haircut, dyed black, and he wears jeans that are actually in style. And even though he’s married and has two kids, he’s still in two bands, called the Breakups and Subdivisions on Mars.
    We’ve only seen him perform once. The Breakups played at school one time, which was pretty great except for the fact that it was at three in the afternoon and lots of parents came. A couple of them knew the Breakups and actually started dancing a little bit right there in the school gym, and, ooh, not good. Luckily, Keenan and I got to be roadies for the day, tuning guitars and running the sound system, so we were able to mostly ignore that display. And then Mr. Darren and his band were really good.
    We’ve also watched videos on YouTube of his band from like fifteen years ago called Tender. There is young Mr. Darren, with spiked hair, playing in Europe and even on
Saturday Night Live
. That must have been sweet!
    Still, I wonder if it’s weird to be a has-been like that. I don’t mean that in a bad way, like he’s pathetic or anything. Just that he
has been
those things and now he’s not. That’s got to be strange. Sometimes, when Mr. Darren is talking about what his current bands are up to, he sounds a little flat, andI wonder if he’s thinking back to those awesome times with Tender and wondering how he ever ended up in some gross student lounge with a couple of teenagers.
    And yet, when the topic is us and our music, he is always enthusiastic. He acts like what we’re doing is just as important as any other part of our school day, maybe even more important, because music is about expression and connecting people. He makes it feel like a noble calling, not just a cheap
extracurricular
activity, and definitely not something you could just
take away
like we’re children and it’s a shiny toy. If more teachers were like Mr. Darren, school would suck so much less.
The One and Only Merle
    “You two ready to work on the Killer G tune?” Mr. Darren asks. “It was sounding great last time. Definitely another memorable Rusty Soles hit.”
    By the way, our band name was Keenan’s idea. And before you ask, yes, the spelling like feet is intentional. Like we’re all robots, and since we’re in rainy Seattle our feet get rusty on the bottoms. He did a great sketch for an album cover where a giant rusty robot foot is about to stomp you. But also the name has the cool double meaning about your soul getting worn out.
    I don’t actually love the name, but we spent forever tryingto think of one and everything we came up with had either already been done, sounded stupid, or had no album art that you could imagine, and so here we are. My one good idea was the Flak Jackets. It was so great! But Keenan didn’t like it, and Sadie, our lead singer, thought it was too “boy.”
    Sometimes I still think of new band names and suggest them to Keenan, just in case one ends up being better. Like the other day I thought of Androids with Neckties. Keenan didn’t like that either. But Rusty Soles is fine, I guess. At least for now.
    “And,” Mr. Darren adds, “the clock is ticking for Fall Arts Night.”
    “Twelve days,” says Keenan.
    “Don’t worry,” says Mr. Darren. “That’s plenty of time in rock and roll. Maybe today we can find that elusive second part.”
    “Cool,” I say, grabbing my guitar case from the corner where I stashed it before school.
    “I should tell you guys, though,” Mr. Darren adds, “the other bands are starting to sound good. Could be some real competition for you.”
    I know he’s kidding, but it still gets my competitive juices flowing. There is one band for each grade—sixth, seventh, and eighth.
    “Bring it on,” I say.
    I lay my