Metzgerhundometry

By Steve Husk

The guys in Metzgerhund were one wrong move away from being fired from Sentry Ridge. Their boss imposed new restrictions, the worst of which was that the guys could only leave the park grounds with his permission...which he already said was never going to happen. The guys knew they had to be careful with what they did next; they were not prepared to go back home just yet.

In a self-help move, Billy created a contest to entertain his band mates. The Imperial Challenge! Each would challenge their band mates to an event, preferably an event that favored the challenger’s strengths. They even included a cash incentive for the overall winner.

The excitement and adrenaline caused them to conveniently forget that one of the events was somewhere else in town.

During this same time, a local sociology student wanted to base her senior paper on how the guys in Metzgerhund fought the trends and the expectations of their age group to create music nobody else was playing. Billy made her an honorary member of the Metzgerhund Empire, and even invited her to participate in some of the contests.

It seemed like a random move that this student provided an opportunity for the band to dig out of their hole at work...which Billy took full advantage of.

And it worked.

This freed Billy to concentrate on his turn in the Imperial Challenge. And she was more than happy to help him out.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Steve Husk
• Release date: Mar 17, 2024
• ISBN: 9798215900178

Steve Husk

Some say Steve Husk is constantly going up against his demons and the many voices in his own head. Truth is, Steve has recruited most of them as his advisors. Some of them want to start a band with him.Steve is a retired software / web application developer and security control center officer. He currently works his writing (and sometimes music) craft in northern Virginia, USA.

Book preview

Metzgerhundometry

Verse Eight of

Metzgerhund Retreat

Steve Husk

_______________________

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2023 Steven M. Husk

Cover art Copyright 2023 Steven M. Husk

All rights reserved.

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the author’s page on Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

_______________________

Billy was fairly sure Mr. Laypus didn’t change the chairs in his office. So, why did he feel as if he was sitting a half foot shorter than normal while listening to his ranting boss?

He realized it was his posture. He was slumping. His bandmates were slumping, too. Yeah, this meeting was causing all kinds of uneasiness. The barrage of unhappiness and disrespect seemed endless. Much of it was unnecessary. Billy blocked out most of it.

As of right now, I’m still on the fence about what to do with you five because of the mess you caused with Marvin Hetcher’s company.

Wasn’t us. That mess was already in progress before they even showed up here.

But make no mistake, I will be paying attention to everything you do. From now, on, every event or activity you plan will be cleared by me first.

We do that now, anyway. Sort of.

Every dime you want to spend on equipment or supplies will be cleared by me first.

We already do that, too. Where do you think we get the money to do what we do?

And, most importantly, you will not be permitted to leave the park grounds unless you have my approval. Mr. Laypus’ glare grew narrower and angrier. And just assume I will say ‘no’ to every request.

Ouch. That one is gonna suck.

Mr. Laypus spent the next few minutes lecturing the guys about the behavior he expected from them during their probationary period. Billy spent the next few minutes tuning him out as well.

Finally, Mr. Laypus pointed to the door and told them to get back to work.

The five Metzgerhund band mates walked out of the office without a word.

Billy noticed that Sam walked towards the food court with his monthly allowance card in hand, probably to use as much of it as he could before Mr. Laypus cancelled that perk. Not a bad idea.

He didn’t see where the other three went.

Billy ended up walking back to the east camp by himself.

In silence.

Except for his mind. It wouldn’t shut up.

Just as well, Billy conceded. He had many options to consider.

#

Jason led Calvin, Reggie, and Sam into the practice shed, then sat down behind his drum set. Except, he didn’t bother reaching for his drumsticks.

Calvin grabbed his guitar from its stand, but stopped short of slipping the strap around the back of his neck. He looked at the guitar for a few seconds, then placed it back on its stand.

Sam did the exact same thing with his bass guitar.

Reggie sat cross-legged on the floor next to the mic stand.

We are screwed, Sam said. Again."

I don’t know if this means anything to any of you, Jason said, but Billy blames our situation on himself.

I disagree, Calvin answered. We all signed on to what we did.

But you know how the Emperor thinks. He takes his leadership of this band seriously.

That’s true, Reggie said. but we took our shot together, so we’re going to pay the price for losing together.

I have a question none of us want to answer, Calvin said. Why are we even in the practice shed right now? We said we’d hold off on recording audio files for the battle of the bands coordinators until Mr. Laypus cools down. Did he come across as someone who has cooled down?

The others moaned their reluctant responses.

Mr. Laypus will forget all about being mad at us the second some sort of money-making event happens here.

All four of the guys spun around towards the keyboard stack. Billy was standing there, wearing headphones.

Reggie sprung to his feet. You’ve been back there the entire time?

Billy lowered the headphones down around his neck. I’m doing something creative. I’m programming some new sounds for the battle of the bands.

I thought you finished all that a long time ago.

Doesn’t mean I can’t come up with new stuff. Billy looked up at his teammates and showed a huge grin. Just in case.

Jason laughed. You’re up to something.

Billy slipped off the headphones and placed them to the side, then walked out from behind his equipment with his swivel hunting chair. I’ve been thinking about our last two weeks. We spent most of our time reacting to events. We recovered well enough to keep us in the game, but reacting is not when we’re at our best. Oh, by the way--- He sat the chair on the floor and plopped down. …I still take full responsibility and blame for the situation we’re in with Mr. Laypus. It was my idea to---

Hey, Emperor… Jason said, intentionally cutting him off.

What?

I got a great idea.

What!

Everyone shouted, Shut up!

Billy grinned. I have to admit. That was trippy.

Every one of us wanted to do the same thing you wanted to do, Reggie said. Your idea was just more workable than ours.

I greatly appreciate your support, guys. It convinces me you’ll accept what I’m about to say next.

Jason leaned forward. Am I gonna want popcorn for this show?

I had popcorn with my breakfast, Sam said, because of the drama-fest show Mr. Laypus put on for us.

Jason laughed.

Yeah, we lost our way for a short while, Billy continued, "but I think I’ve come up with a way we can find our way back without pissing off Mr. Laypus even further. We’re going to do something that will entertain us. We could all use that. I’m naming it the Imperial Challenge. Each of us will create an event that he will challenge the others to. Each contestant scores