When Pigs Fly

1.  ‘Oh, yeah!’ Jade said as the last notes of Raven’s guitar faded. Raven flashed her a satisfied smile. They were wrapping up a practice session in Jade’s garage. They had formed the band two years ago with Daria and Kiara, and since then they’d played hours and hours of different covers. Lately they’d been experimenting with indie and funk, even writing some of their own stuff. 
2.  Daria and Kiara were leaving. ‘See you at the dance!’ Jade called. She waved them out as Raven latched her guitar case. ‘You’re coming to the dance tomorrow, right, Raven?’ Jade asked.
3.  ‘Ew. Like my stepdad would say, “When pigs fly”. Dances are not my thing,’ Raven said.
4.  Jade rummaged through a storage bin until she found what she was looking for: an orange stuffed pig. She held it above her head, then threw it across the garage to Raven, who caught it. ‘Look!’ said Jade. ‘Let’s go!’
5.  Raven looked faintly ill. ‘I don’t think so.’
6. ‘Come on, it’ll be fun!’ Jade gushed as she put on a bouncy tune and cranked up the volume. 
7. Jade stood on the balls of her feet and effortlessly swung her hips to the beat. ‘See?’ she said. She gestured for Raven to join her. Raven smiled and started to move her feet awkwardly. When she noticed Jade watching her, Raven froze, stood up straight and crossed her arms. She was blushing furiously and refused to meet Jade’s gaze. ‘I don’t have anything to wear,’ she said finally. Jade gave her a quizzical look. Raven continued, ‘Plus, I heard the music at the dance was terrible. Like, all of this cheesy Top 40 stuff.
8. The music’s okay,’ Jade said. ‘Plus, it’ll be super lonely without you. Please, Raven?’
9.  ‘People basically line up to ask you to dance. You won’t miss me.’ Raven picked up the pig, walked it back into its bin and shut the lid.
10.  Monday morning in maths, Jade elbowed Raven. ‘The dance was good. You should have gone,’ she said. ‘I bet whatever you did wasn’t as much fun.’ 
11. Raven sighed. ‘I was reading a good book and listening to music. What could be better?’ 
12. Jade frowned. ‘I just want us to do something fun together.’ Jade paused and her eyes lit up—it was the same look Jade had given her when she suggested the band play country music with Raven on synth guitar. It hadn’t been one of their most successful experiments. Raven had come to fear that look. 
13. Jade smiled innocently. ‘Band meeting. Lunch.’ 
14. When Raven got to the cafeteria, Jade, Daria and Kiara were already sitting together. Jade was practically dancing, much to Raven’s annoyance. ‘We have a great idea,’ she told Raven. ‘What if we play the music for the next school dance? We’ve wanted to get more exposure, and this would be a good place to start.’
15.  ‘At the dance, you mean?’ Raven raised an eyebrow, but Jade shrugged innocently. ‘So you’re not afraid of performing in front of all our classmates?’ Raven asked, waving vaguely at the dining hall. ‘And we have like twenty band names. We’re not ready.’ 
16. ‘We can figure it out. Plus we have tons of music that would be great for the dance.’
17.  ‘And we have a whole month to practise,’ said Daria.
18.  Kiara chipped in, ‘And music is more fun if you play it for other people.’ 
19. Raven faced her three friends and threw up her hands. ‘Okay, fine. We’ll ask Mr Sardana,’ she said
20. After school, Jade was waiting by Raven’s locker. ‘You’re sure?’ Jade asked. ‘About asking Sardana? I don’t want to do this if you’re not down with it.’ 
21. ‘Thanks, Jade. I’m okay with it. As long as you don’t make me dance,’ Raven said with a shudder. 
22. The next morning, the girls entered the headmaster’s office to make their proposal. Mr Sardana listened as Jade described their ‘experience’, their ‘musical roots’ and their ‘enthusiasm and professionalism’. In fact, Mr Sardana said, the school’s dance committee had been considering live music for the dances but had assumed it was too hard to coordinate. Perhaps at the next dance, the girls could play one set and see how it went. After that, they could discuss future gigs.
23.  ‘Future gigs?’ Jade asked. She turned to high-five Raven, but Raven looked lost in thought.
24. ‘Student council is going to start advertising for the dance tomorrow morning, so I’ll need to let them know about you when they meet,’ Mr Sardana said, ‘What’s the name of your group?’
25.  ‘Uurrrm . . .’ Jade burbled. 
26. Mr Sardana’s eyebrows went up. ‘I need a band name for the flyers.’ 
27. Raven cleared her throat. ‘When Pigs Fly’, she said. Jade looked at her with alarm. Raven grinned and touched Jade’s arm. ‘That’s our band name.’