Raven's View

Just One More Bite

"What happened to the rest of the guys," asked Dizzy.

“They've gone back to the hotel to crash,” said Animal.

“I'm surprised you didn't join them too,” said Dizzy. “Lisa seemed to be throwing out pretty strong hints.”

“Lisa and I are pretty solid, she'll be OK. When Jasmine asked us for some late night food at her friend's restaurant, I felt I sort of had to say yes.”

“As opposed to all the times you've been saying no?”

“I guess so.” said Animal. “She's a great singer, and a hot new addition to the band -- “

“Very hot,” said Dizzy. “Pretty impressive for such a young singer.”

“Not sure I like some of those new tunes she's pushing,” said Animal.

“She does do a good job on the standards, though,” said Dizzy. “Watching her work the crowd tonight on those smoky ballads was magical – I almost forgot to come in on that trumpet solo. She's got potential. But why is she after you – big, hairy, ugly, and already taken?”

Animal poked him in the shoulder. “She's not my type really. I like my women with some curves to grab – if I liked a boyish figure I'd be dating you.”

“Thanks,” said Dizzy. “I'll stick to Shorty – the way he works that slide of his --”

“Please, no more details,” said Animal. “Back to Jasmine - I keep telling her no, not interested, but she keeps on hitting on me. Must be the primitive image us drummers have – as opposed to the delicate nature of you horn players.”

“I think it's all that sweat,” said Dizzy. “But she certainly seems like someone that wants her way – and always gets it. Be careful, is all I'm saying. She is attracting a good crowd but I'm not sure she's that good for the band. We've already had more arguments in a week than we've had in the last year.”

Tonight had been a prime example. Jasmine had shown up with another of her songs, written to showcase her style of course. She had charts for the others for their parts, but as usual didn't want to give up the spotlight. Especially to Lisa. When she'd started into her sax solo, Jasmine kept singing along in the background, trying to steal the focus back to her. Dizzy had doubled up with Lisa, to back her up, earning him one of those 'if looks could kill' glances from Jasmine, plus a drum riff and laugh from Animal. Again – not appreciated by Jasmine.

“She seemed pretty upset after the final set,” said Dizzy. “What did you tell her?”

“Well, I tried to tell her once again I wasn't interested in her. And I may have sort of said she wasn't a good fit with the band, that I was dropping her.”

“Sort of said? Way to go,” said Dizzy. “Glad I tagged along with you tonight. Where is she anyway? I'm starving.”

“Here, have a fortune cookie,” said Animal.

“No thanks, I hate them,” said Dizzy. “You've had several yourself – any good fortunes?

“Cryptic as usual,” said Animal. “How about this one? 'A novice revenges the rhythm.' Any clue what it means?”

“What are you two gossiping about?” said Jasmine. “More band stuff? I've some great ideas about for some changes.”

“I think we need to talk more about balance in the group,” said Animal. “We have a lot of standards we're quite good with, Lisa has some arrangements she's been working on --”

“Lisa's too old fashioned,” said Jasmine. “You need to add more excitement to your band, more adventure, more fresh blood like me to get the young crowd in. You'll see.”

She slid into the booth, next to Animal, and draped an arm possessively over his shoulder.

Animal shrugged it off. “Don't be clingy. Please.”

She pouted for a moment, then crossed her long legs. “When I asked you to dinner, I meant just you,” she said. “Nothing personal Dizzy.”

“No problem.” Dizzy smiled at her. “Now that you have us into your little lair, what happened to that dinner you promised?'

“On its way,” she said. “The cook here is a very good friend of mine – actually a former lover. Poor boy, still besotted with me, so anxious to please. Anyway, he's preparing some real delicacy's for tonight, even something adventurous – Fugu fish.”

“I've heard of that, is it safe?” said Dizzy.

“All depends how you prepare it,” she said. “I like it – gives a nice little buzz. But it's not for the faint of heart – if you want we can just have something safe, like fried rice.”

“No, bring it on,” said Animal.

The dinner dishes did look interesting. Dizzy took a sampling of everything, even the Fugu thing. Tasted weird, so he left it for Animal. Jasmine didn't seem hungry at all.

“Go ahead boys,” she said, “enjoy your meal. I nibbled on too many things back in the kitchen with that dear little boy – not really hungry now. Isn't the Fugu yummy?”

“A little strange,” said Dizzy, “but I do feel a bit of that buzz. How about you, Animal?”

“Not bad,” said the drummer. “Feeling kind of tingly though, especially my toes. Maybe more numb than tingly.”

“Here,” said Jasmine. “Just one more bite.”

It only took the ambulance and police a few minutes to get there, but they were too late. Animal was paralyzed by then, not even able to talk, panic in his eyes, only minutes from death. The cook seemed resigned to his fate when he was arrested, trying in vain to catch Jasmine's eye. She was too busy being appropriately hysterical with grief. Dizzy gave his statement then went back to break the news to Lisa and the rest of the band.