Cover Story

All in all, it had been an uneventful summer for Kids Incorporated. Riley was still working to pay for college so they hadn’t lost him just yet. They’d all passed, and the band was coming together like a well-oiled machine. In fact, everyone seemed so sad to see it go that the Kids decided to say goodbye to summer the best way they knew how - an all-day concert. Of course, this meant back-to-back rehearsals. With the new school year fast approaching, this may not have been the best of ideas.

Not for the first time, Riley dutifully interrupted them and made them take a break. “Are you sure this is a good idea? You guys should be thinking about school right now.”

“Riley!” Devyn exclaimed. “We have to do something to celebrate the best summer of our lives! School’s only two weeks away!”

“Yeah, and besides, we’ll have plenty of time to think about school once it starts.” Connie backed up her friend.

“All right, but don’t get in over your heads.” warned Riley as he let them get back to work.

“Okay,” Ryan consulted the songlist they’d made, “we’ve all got a solo.  That’s great, but we’ve gotta spread them around a little. When’s the new stuff coming in?”

“Thursday.” said Stacy.

“Man, I hope we can pull this off.”

“I just hope people actually come to this thing.” worried Stacy. “Is it just me, or have the audiences been getting smaller and smaller?”

“That s ‘cause everyone’s been sick.” Richie told her. “Half the kids on my block have some kind of bug.”

“Man, imagine being sick over summer vacation!” said Kenny. “Good thing none of us caught it, huh?”

“Yeah.” they murmured in agreement.

“Well, if nobody comes, we won’t have to worry about new material.” Devyn said hopefully.

“Yeah, but better safe than sorry, right?  C’mon, guys, we have to have this together by the end of the week, or else we’ll run out of time.” Ryan said, directing their attention back to the list.  “Now, we still have some gaps to fill, and we’ll need something else, in case the new material doesn’t pan out.”

“We could take requests.” suggested Richie.

“Devyn and I could write another song.” said Connie.

Suddenly, things were looking up. “This is gonna be Kids Inc’s best concert ever! I can feel it!” Kenny raved. Everyone shared his enthusiasm.

Unfortunately, things that go up usually come down twice as hard. In the course of one week, everything that could have happened, did. The new songs that arrived didn’t seem to fit the band. That little “bug” turned out to be a serious virus that swept through town. It touched down lightly on the Kids, but spared them its worse. Most of them, that is.

They had originally planned to rehearse every afternoon, but forgot to take school shopping into account, and with them being a little under the weather, things usually went slowly. Nerves and patience were wearing thin. The weekend was the worst. Three o’clock on Sunday was the only time all 6 of them could squeeze in a quick rehearsal, but when 5 of them got there, Riley had distressing news.

“Guys, Connie’s mom just called.” he said.

“Is she going to be late?” asked Richie. “We’ll have to start without her.”

“No, we should wait for her.” said Stacy.

“Well, you’re gonna be waiting for a while,” Riley told them, “because she’s not coming. She’s sick.   Really sick.”

“Oh no! What are we going to do?” said Devyn.

“We’ll have to cancel the concert.” Kenny said sadly.

“That’s all right. At the rate we’re going, we’d never make it before school started, anyway.” Ryan griped.

“Maybe this hasn’t been the best summer after all.” Devyn said quietly.

“You could just postpone the concert until Connie gets better.” offered Riley.

“When would that be?” Stacy asked him.

Riley’s mind was still working. “Or...you could still have your concert! Just find someone to fill in for Connie.”

“That’s easier said than done.” complained Ryan. “Auditions take even more time. We’d never find anybody on such short notice.”

Riley smiled. “I think I have just the right kid for the job.”

“Thanks again for letting me sing with you.” Robin said.

“Well, we’re just glad you agreed to do it.” said Kenny.

“Yeah, we’d really be up a creek without you, Robin.” Stacy said. “It’s a good thing Riley suggested you to us.”

“That’s okay. I’m glad I could help.”

“So, are you ready to get down to business?” Ryan asked her.

“Absolutely!” They laughed.

Figuring a late concert was better than no concert at all, the Kids buckled down and got ready for their First Day of School concert. It was still a good way to say goodbye to summer by signifying that it was officially over. Robin made a great stand-in and fit in well with the band. They were just getting ready to do a sound check when Richie came in and said he saw Ryan talking with the principal. Remembering how badly it went the last time, they were worried for him. But soon afterwards, he came in looking triumphant.

“Why are you so happy? Didn’t I just see you talking to the principal?” Richie asked him.

“How can anybody get in trouble on the first day of school?” wondered Devyn.

“I’m not in trouble!” Ryan laughed. “Man, you are not going to believe this! You know how we, uh, clashed over that article I wrote?” They nodded. “Well, she was showing the school paper to someone who actually works at the paper, and he loved it! I just met with him today. He said every good reporter has written a story that has ruffled some feathers, and the fact that I didn’t cave in to what everyone else wanted me to write shows that I have real journalistic integrity!”

“That’s great!” Stacy said.

“It gets better! The guy is so impressed that he’s willing to take me under his wing and get me a job at the paper! Do you realize how long it would take me to get that far on my own?”

It might have been a little lost on them, but Riley, being a working man himself, understood pretty well. “Well, Ryan, they say it’s all in who you know, and it looks like you got lucky.”

“So, can we start rehearsing now?” asked Kenny.

“Yeah, let’s get this over with so I can get back to this guy. He wants me to meet with his boss as soon as possible.” said Ryan.

The rest of the Kids looked at each other, puzzled. It was strange to hear Ryan dismiss the band like that. The brief rehearsal that followed left them all feeling empty. It was a sad indication of what was to come. Ryan was very late the next day. When he did show up, his mind wasn’t on the music. They tried to be understanding, but the quality of their sound took a nosedive. They’d be lucky to get through one song this week. The day after that, he didn’t show up at all. That meant the following concert would have to be reworked around the solo he’d had.

Meanwhile, at the newspaper offices, Ryan looked at his watch and sighed. Another missed rehearsal. Would the guys understand? He really was sorry. Could they really blame him for wanting to do both? It wasn’t as if he didn’t care about the band, he just got too busy. He missed them as much as they missed him.  Most of his time was spent looking out the window imagining what they were doing at that very moment.

What they weren’t doing was rehearsing. No one had the heart to. They all agreed that it wasn’t fair giving the audience less-than-perfect performances, and lately, their performances couldn’t even see perfect from where they were. Just when things looked their worst, who should walk in but Connie!

“Hi, guys!” she said. She noticed they were just sitting there. “Isn’t it time for rehearsal?”

They sprung back to life.  “Boy, are we glad to see you!” exclaimed Richie.

“So, you’re feeling better now?” asked Devyn.

“You won’t believe what’s been going on while you were gone!” Stacy said.

“I missed you guys, too.” Connie laughed. “Where’s Ryan?”

“Probably at his job.” Richie said bitterly.

“Yeah, maybe he can cover the late-breaking news story: ‘Kids Inc. goes belly-up because one member’s always missing’.   Maybe we can finally see him when he’s interviewing us.” added Stacy. They filled Connie in.

“Now we need someone to fill in for Ryan until he gets back.” Devyn said.

“Well,” said Robin, “now that Connie’s back, I don’t have to fill in for her anymore, so I could do that.”

Kenny sighed and put an arm around Richie’s shoulder. “I guess we’re gonna be the only guys around here.”

“It’s a hard job, but somebody’s gotta do it.” Richie replied.

“Oh, give me a break.” Stacy said flatly.

“If we did that, then we’d have to find someone to take your place, too!” Devyn said to her. “Let’s just stay how we are for now.”

As soon as they got rolling, though, another problem presented itself “Connie, what happened?” Stacy asked.

“I’m sorry. I just can’t dance like that.” Connie apologized.

“Do you want us to go slower for you?” asked Kenny.

“No, I’m sure I’ll learn it soon.”

Maybe so, but now they had to go back over what they’d just learned and reassign parts. A week may not have seemed like a long time to the other Kids, but to Connie, it seemed like an eternity. By the end of the day, she was more exhausted than when she’d been sick.

Devyn could see there was something amiss. “Are you okay?” she asked Connie.

“I guess so. It’s just I’ve been out so long that I forgot how much goes into preparing for a concert. Plus, I already have all this make-up work for school.”

“Wow. I guess we haven’t really been fair to you.” realized Richie.

Riley couldn’t help but overhear. “You know, I could have told you that.”

“Riley, you’re not helping.” Devyn said, frowning.

“You know what the worst part about all this is?” Stacy said once Riley had stopped listening. “What?” said Kenny.

“Riley was right. I mean, he said we’d get in over our heads with this all-day concert, and I think it’s safe to say we have.”

“But it seemed like such a good idea.” Kenny argued.

“And it was. But we just tried to do too much too soon. And it didn’t help that we were shuffling singers and guitarists around. Speaking of which...” she added as she noticed Ryan lurking outside as if he were unsure of whether or not to go in.

“You know, you look familiar.” Kenny said to him. “Do we know you?”

“Yeah, you remember me. I’m the jerk who left his friends in a lurch. Nice seeing you again.” retorted Ryan.

“Have you come to tell us you’re back?” asked Richie.

“I wish I was, guys. Truth is, I don’t really know what to do. I know this job came at a bad time, but in a way, I’m kinda glad it did, because it woke me up.”

“I don’t understand.” said Connie.

“Well, a couple of days ago, I took a long, hard look at my priorities. Don’t get me wrong, I love being in the band, but having this job’ll look great on a college application and, let’s face it, it pays a lot more.”

“So, what are you saying exactly?” Stacy asked.

“I had to make a choice, and uh...I chose the paper.”

“Wait, so you’re just bailing on us?”

Ryan looked away. “I knew this wouldn’t go well!” he said to himself. From his viewpoint, it was like looking at Mount Rushmore, they were so stone-faced. He took a different approach. “It’s not good for the band to have everything up in the air like this, so I decided to quit instead of stringing you along. I’m sorry. I don’t want you guys sitting here waiting for me if I’m not gonna be coming.”

“Okay, now it’s official.” said Devyn. “This has been the worst summer.”

“So that’s it, huh?” said Kenny. Everyone sighed.

“If it makes you feel any better,” offered Ryan, “I’m miserable.”

“Me, too!” said Connie emphatically.

“You, too? Why?” Devyn asked her.

“Because I’m lost. You guys did so much in the week I was gone that I can’t keep up.”

“We’re sorry!” Robin told her.

“You’ll get better.” insisted Kenny. “You just have to get back into the swing of things. Just give it a couple of days.”

“I don’t think so, Kenny.” said Connie.

“But you can’t quit, too!” cried Devyn.

“I’m sorry, Dev. It’s just getting too hard for me.” Connie said.

From the far end of the table, Ryan spoke up. “Maybe the whole band should quit.”

“Are you still here?” Stacy said over her shoulder without looking back.

“I think he’s right.” Robin said quickly.

“What?”

“Excuse me?”

“Huh?”

“Who asked you?”

Anybody else would have taken it back, but Robin stood her ground. “I know it’s probably not my place, since I’ve only been here a week, but I’ve been a fan for a long time, and if you don’t mind me saying so, this band has seen better days. You all put so much into this concert that maybe you need a break.”

“Couldn’t have put it better myself” said Ryan.

“So...who wants to quit?” Richie asked the band. They were all thinking about it, but no one wanted to be the first to desert the band.

“Well, if Connie’s quitting, I don’t want to be here.” said Devyn.

“And if Devyn quits, I quit.” Kenny said, putting his arm around her.

“That leaves you two.” Ryan said to Stacy and Richie. “How ‘bout it, Rich? Stace?”

“Yeah.” said Richie at the same time Stacy said, “Fine.”

“Then it’s settled, then.” said Ryan. “We’re officially on leave.” They all got up and left, leaving Robin   to wonder if she’d done the right thing after all.

Riley came out to see just who would be going on in about five minutes and found a nearly empty house. “What happened?” he asked Robin.

“I don’t know.” she said mournfully. “I think I just killed Kids Incorporated.”

Robin wasn’t the only one who was depressed. The other Kids spent the next week lost in their own thoughts and memories. It was hard to cope without the band because it was such a huge part of their lives. Again, no one wanted to be the first to admit they’d made a mistake, but eventually, they were all talking again, and realized there was something they needed to do.

That Saturday, Riley called Robin and asked her to come help him with something at the P*lace, seeing as how she was the only one he knew would come. She had no idea she would be falling for a well-used trick.

“Hey, Riley.” she said. “You needed me for something?”

“Well, not exactly,” he confessed, “but they do.” Kids Incorporated stood decked out in their performance outfits on stage.

“Hey! You’re back together!” said Robin delightedly.

“Almost.” said Stacy. She came down the stairs carrying an extra jacket. “Robin, you came and helped us out at a moment’s notice without even hesitating. We put you through some really grueling rehearsals, and you did great.”

“Plus,” said Richie, joining them, “you made us realize what we were doing to the band.”

“So we talked it over,” continued Stacy, “and we all agreed.” She presented the jacket to Robin. It already had her name along the arm. “We’d like you to join the band.”

“Aah! Oh, wow! Thank you!” Robin shrieked, giggling happily. The other Kids had to laugh at her exuberance.

“Now comes the worst part.” Devyn said.

“What’s that?” asked Robin.

“Time to get to work!” laughed Kenny.

And with that, the band entered its fifth incarnation. Its former members were doing all right for themselves, too. Connie now devoting all her time to science and winning science fairs left and right. Ryan’s job at the newspaper was paying off, and he was becoming well-known around the offices for ghost-writing articles that popped up every now and then. One of them actually made it past page 6 to the front page. The headline read, “Six Years and Still Going Strong: Kids Incorporated Still Has a P*lace in Our Hearts.”

The End