Chapter 1: "Since You Been Gone"--Rainbow CHAPTER 1 "Since You Been Gone" --RAINBOW The garage exploded with noise as twelve-year-old Zadie Drake struck a chord on her cobalt-blue electric guitar--a beast of an instrument that perfectly matched the streaks racing through her spiky, shoulder-length blond hair. Zadie''s thin, freckled fingers launched up and down the fretboard, releasing a caustic riff of speed and sound and energy that punctured the balmy June air of Wilbury, Michigan, as surely as a lightning storm. Zadie heard dogs barking, car alarms blaring, Mom''s boyfriend shouting--just barely audible over her epic solo. "Zadie!" Zadie continued. She imagined playing in a stadium with stage lights shining in her eyes and a sea of people reaching their arms into the air, screaming her name. "ZADIE!" Feedback cut through the garage. The amp whined in displeasure as the song halted, slowing to a muffled, stagnated mess. The plug fell slack against the concrete floor, and Zadie fell sharply out of her daydream.

Zadie''s head snapped to her amp. Mom''s boyfriend--a stout man with thinning blond hair and a spare-tire belly who always wore golf shirts, khaki shorts, New Balance sneakers, and a phone clip belt--knelt beside it on one knee, holding the cable in his hand. "Lloyd!" Zadie marched toward him, her thick-soled Doc Martens clomping against the concrete. "I''m trying to practice!" "I understand you want to practice," Lloyd said as he stood up, back and knees creaking like an old tree, "but you don''t need to practice now ." "It''s past five, Lloyd!" Zadie shouted, clutching her guitar in her hand. "I waited to start until after your work hours, and I''m not waiting any longer!" Zadie and Lloyd must''ve had this argument a million times, but Lloyd never listened to what Zadie had to say. Zadie''s life had been great before Lloyd--back when it was just her, Mom, and Zadie''s older sister, Persephone--back when she could be herself in her own home and didn''t have anyone to yell at her about playing her music loudly or sleeping in late or setting off fireworks without permission. Zadie, Persephone, and Mom were like the awesome trifectas of goddesses from mythology--the Fates, the Norns, the Furies.

Now, the goddess days were over. Lloyd and Mom had met barely a year ago, but despite their short acquaintance, Lloyd had managed to worm his way into every aspect of Zadie''s life. First, he was constantly over for dinner, then he was staying over most nights, and then, two months ago, he''d sold his condo and moved in with them. Permanently. "My coworkers can''t hear a word I''m saying," continued Lloyd. "I had to reschedule our biweekly afternoon check-in." Zadie gritted her teeth, trying her best to keep her cool. Lloyd was the "chief risk compliance officer" at a big company that sold machine parts, which basically meant he was a huge nerd who kept people from having fun.

This was just one of the many annoying aspects of Lloyd''s personality, including, but not limited to, saying "yello" instead of "hello" when answering the phone, driving at exactly the speed limit, and drinking whole milk with every meal. "This is my house too," Zadie responded, "and I need to practice if I ever want to get a record deal." Lloyd grabbed the bridge of his nose. He had made it abundantly clear he did not care for Zadie''s "impractical" rock star career goal. "Here''s a compromise. If you promise not to play for just thirty minutes, I promise not to complain afterward. That should work, don''t you--" Lloyd''s words were lost as the intro of Led Zeppelin''s "Heartbreaker" erupted from Zadie''s cell phone. Zadie''s heart practically sprang from her chest as she moved to answer.

She took her phone from her pocket, revealing a screen bearing the word "Dad" and a picture of Zadie holding finger horns against her forehead, sticking her tongue out, standing alongside a man with white-blond hair and tattoo sleeves posing in a similar manner. He was classically handsome with a bit of a ragged edge--as if Indiana Jones had wandered into a Zeppelin concert and fully embraced the rock ''n'' roll lifestyle. Dad. He was Zadie''s favorite person in the world, but she almost never got to see him because Mom got full custody in the divorce. Though Zadie loved Mom, things were always better when both Mom and Dad were around. Dad would play classic rock albums on a record player, tell Zadie and Persephone about old myths and legends, and bake delicious treats inspired by his travels around the world. He was a great dad, even if his job as a park ranger required him to travel for long stretches of time. People just didn''t understand him--the same way people didn''t understand Zadie.

Zadie fumbled to accept the call, eventually managing to click it in her excitement. "Dad?" Zadie sounded practically giddy. "Hey, Z." Just hearing Dad''s voice, Zadie felt calm. It reminded her of warm summer nights spent under the stars, sunlight shining through leaves, and songs plucked on acoustic guitars. "My flight just landed--thought I''d call before I hit the road," said Dad. He worked at the George Washington National Forest--deep in one of the world''s "Static Zones"--places where any sort of cell phone, radio, television, or Wi-Fi signal couldn''t get in or out. Whenever Dad wasn''t traveling, he made a point to drive out of the forest to call once a week.

Unfortunately, he was almost always traveling. As such, a phone call was a lucky and rare treat. "What''s up with you lately?" asked Dad. "Summer break goin'' all right?" "It''s boring." Zadie opened the garage door and ducked under to get away from Lloyd. Outside, the identical houses lining Allman Avenue greeted her in their usual dull way. "There''s literally nothing to do. All my friends are either on vacation or at summer camp and now I''ve got--" Zadie looked over her shoulder and noticed Lloyd exit the garage to follow her, a disgruntled look on his face.

Zadie wrinkled her nose, then walked faster, determined to get away from him. "I''ve got Lloyd policing my every move." Dad laughed--a warm and hearty laugh totally unlike Lloyd''s weird chuckle. "That bad, huh?" "Oh, you''ve got no idea," Zadie said. She looked over her shoulder and startled at Lloyd''s progress. He was gaining on her--power walking with all the might his racquetball-toned legs could muster. Zadie looped around to the backyard, attempting to lose him. "First, I wasn''t allowed to practice guitar during the day.

Now, I can''t even practice after he''s supposed to be done with work." "That so?" Dad mused, a tinge of annoyance in his voice. "Well, since your mom and her new boyfriend aren''t letting you practice at home, I may have a solution if you''re game for it." Zadie''s whole body perked up like a prairie dog standing at attention. Of course Dad had a solution. He was the kind of guy who had a solution to everything. "Really?" "Really," Dad echoed. Zadie could practically hear him smiling through the phone.

"I was thinking you and Persephone could come and stay with me for a few weeks this summer." The heavens parted, and Zadie felt her soul begin to ascend. A few weeks? With Dad? At his awesome cabin in the middle of the forest? In the five years since he and Mom divorced, Zadie hadn''t ever been to Dad''s cabin. Not even once. It was too good to be true. "You could practice all you want," Dad continued. "Heck, I know better than anybody that learning guitar takes time. Plus, we could have bonfires, go camping--y''know, hang out.

" Zadie basked in the idea of a summer spent in the forest doing the things she loved most. Truly, there was nothing more Zadie wanted than to spend a few weeks with Dad. There was just one problem. "Mom''ll never let me," Zadie muttered. "Oh, don''t you worry about your mom," kidded Dad. "I''ll call her from the road." "You really think she''ll agree?" "I''ve got this. Don''t worry.

" "That''s great!" Zadie said, hope beginning to flutter around her chest. "I--" "Wish me luck," Dad crowed. "Talk to you soon, Z." "Wait, I--" The line went dead with a click. Zadie''s heart firmly collapsed with that click, but she kept it together. She knew that Dad was eager to call Mom, to make sure Zadie could stay with him. He wanted to make sure Zadie would have the best summer ever. Zadie turned and saw Lloyd standing behind her, his brow knit.

"Um. is everything okay?" Lloyd asked hesitantly. "Oh, yeah," Zadie shot back, glaring at Lloyd, feeling a raging satisfaction knowing Dad was currently in the process of saving her from Lloyd and his stupid rules. "Everything''s actually great. While you were busy, I dunno, stalking me through the yard or whatever, my dad invited me to stay with him. We''re going to play guitar and go on hikes and spend the whole summer together, and there''s nothing you or Mom can do to stop me from going!".