I Shot The Sheriff... {OPEN}

[Tommy Sinclair]

It was a bright, sunshiny day at the Hammel Institute. Not a cloud in the sky, but a gentle breeze kept the temperature to a perfect, bearable degree. Tommy Sinclair strolled out into the courtyard, guitar slung across his back. He wore no shoes today along with dirty, cut-off jeans and a loose fitting hemp-woven tunic. He took a deep breath, revealing in the the fresh air. The instant his bare feet touched the grassy ground, he felt refreshed. His terrakinesis flared up, and he felt as if he was home again.

Tommy walked out into the center of the courtyard, slinging his instrument off his back and tuning it. He hummed the appropriate notes as he twisted the nobs on the end of the guitar. Finally in the right key, Tommy looked around and smiled, seeing a few people in the area. He was preforming for himself just as much as he was for them. Good music never hurt anyone, after all. He then began to sing:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWrPdeRfAz8

"I shot the sheriff
But I didn't shoot no deputy, oh no! Oh!
I shot the sheriff
But I didn't shoot no deputy, ooh, ooh, oo-ooh.)
Yeah! All around in my home town,
They're tryin' to track me down;
They say they want to bring me in guilty
For the killing of a deputy,
For the life of a deputy.
But I say:

Oh, now, now. Oh!
(I shot the sheriff.) - the sheriff.
(But I swear it was in selfdefence.)
Oh, no! (Ooh, ooh, oo-oh) Yeah!
I say: I shot the sheriff - Oh, Lord! -
(And they say it is a capital offence.)
Yeah! (Ooh, ooh, oo-oh) Yeah!

Sheriff John Brown always hated me,
For what, I don't know:
Every time I plant a seed,
He said kill it before it grow -
He said kill them before they grow.
And so:

Read it in the news:
(I shot the sheriff.) Oh, Lord!
(But I swear it was in self-defence.)
Where was the deputy? (Oo-oo-oh)
I say: I shot the sheriff,
But I swear it was in selfdefence. (Oo-oh) Yeah!

Freedom came my way one day
And I started out of town, yeah!
All of a sudden I saw sheriff John Brown
Aiming to shoot me down,
So I shot - I shot - I shot him down and I say:
If I am guilty I will pay.

(I shot the sheriff,)
But I say (But I didn't shoot no deputy),
I didn't shoot no deputy (oh, no-oh), oh no!
(I shot the sheriff.) I did!
But I didn't shoot no deputy. Oh! (Oo-oo-ooh)

Reflexes had got the better of me
And what is to be must be:
Every day the bucket a-go a well,
One day the bottom a-go drop out,
One day the bottom a-go drop out.
I say:

I - I - I - I shot the sheriff.
Lord, I didn't shot the deputy. Yeah!
I - I (shot the sheriff) -
But I didn't shoot no deputy, yeah! No, yeah!"

[Izzy James]

Was that acoustic music that was reaching Izzy's ears? The youngish blonde paused, his ears almost visibly perking. He didn't have his guitar with him, unfortunately, though he could still feel his fingers start to twitch as the first few chords hit the air. There was a voice too, a decent one, singing a song that Izzy recognized.

Izzy followed his ears, hurrying across the courtyard, till he at last located the hippie with the guitar. Thankfully Colorado had entire sections dedicated to people exactly like Tommy, so Izzy wasn't exactly like "ooh, look Mom, a hippie!" Still, seeing one here did cause him to stop, for, you know, all of three seconds. Then the song caught him, and he recognized the chorus. Because, really, who didn't know that chorus?

"I shot the sheriff" Oh Lord
"But I swear it was in self-defence."
"oh-oo-oh
"I shot the sheriff,
"Oo-oh!"

Yeah, it kind of came out without being wholly invited. In Izzy's defense, the kid actually had a very decent voice, and he knew how to harmonize. So instead of stealing Tommy's thunder, or overwhelming him, or upstaging him, Izzy just slid in behind him, doing echo verses and supporting during the chorus. He really couldn't have done too much more, guitarless and clueless as he was. The chorus might have stuck in his brain, but the verses were quite mysterious.

So the duet between the two continued, at least as long as the song, unless, of course Tommy stopped sooner. Izzy was nervous though, half-convinced that the older student would be perturbed at the uninvited joining in. Still, he covered it well, smiling nervously and nodding toward the other man. No need to make waves, after all.

[Tommy Sinclair]

Tommy just kept on singing as...whatshisface... joined on in. Their harmony was epic he though, and sung louder and ever merrier the more he did. When they finished, the last chords echoed through the courtyard. Mild applause could be heard, and Tommy turned to face...whowasthatagain... raising his right hand up for a high five.

"Yeah man that was awesome! Totally harmonized and all. No one ever like, joins in either you know what I mean? Thanks man, I mean that!" After the high five was complete, Tommy reached into his pocket a pulled out a capo; a clip that went over part of the strings to change the pitch. He make a few adjustments, strumming the guitar to make sure the capo was in the right place.

"So what was your name again man? I hate to admit it but like, I kinda forgot. I ever meet you before?" Tommy scratched his head and a few grains of sand fell out. He then adjusted a dreadlock or two and shook his head, getting into a more comfortable position.

[Izzy James]

Izzy caught on to the gesture, returning the high five with earnest. Helluva lot better than some of the reactions he could have gotten, and Izzy was definitely big on the whole "not getting my butt kicked" thing. Should've figured as much by the way the other guy looked, irregardless of any parental warnings to "not judge someone by the way they looked."

"Hey, no problem. I just recognized the song, well, the chorus anyway. Not really my thing, but kinda adjacent to my thing," said Izzy. There was definitely a relaxing vibe about the other guy, and it was nice to not have tension surrounding a meeting for once. Especially nice for someone who's power had the remarkable tendency to go stupendously haywire.

"I don't think we've been introduced or anything, but, uh, my name's Izzy," said Izzy. He paused for a moment, considering the other student's guitar. Naturally being a guitar player, unlike some other peoples, he recognized the make, more or less, and could almost feel his fingers twitching slightly. He needed to get his own out and try playing. Hadn't been much chance, what with getting situated in the new school and all.

"So," he said, looking back up at Tommy, "what's your name then? I'm guessing you've been here longer than I have, so, uh, yeah."

The usual questions were also "what power did you have," but Izzy was already feeling awkward enough as it was, without quite opening up that can of worms.

[Tommy Sinclair]

Tommy laughed when the boyish-faced teenager introduced himself

"Dude, Izzy? That's like, a cool name man, I like it! What's it short for?" Looking the guy up and down, he noticed the twitch in the fingers he knew oh so well. His new friend played guitar alright, which Tommy thought was fantastic! Maybe they could jam sometime? He wondered what he played... but then realized he was thinking way too far ahead of himself. He needed to live in the moment, the here and now.

"I'm Tommy, nice to meet you man. Always like making new friends, you know? Especially friends that can sing and play guitar. Yeah, I saw those fingers get all antsy." Tommy grinned, nodding down to Izzy's tense hands. "So yeah, anyway man, let's see if you know this one..."

Tommy double-checked to see if the capo was on the proper fret, the 7th. Seeing that it was, he cleared this throat and took a deep breath. Gripping the plastic pick in his fingers a bit tighter than usual, Tommy started to sing as he strummed away.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6tV11acSRk

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun,
and I say it's all right

Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
and I say it's all right

Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
and I say it's all right

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...

Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun,
and I say it's all right
It's all right

[Izzy James]

"Isaiah. Apparently my parents were digging through the Bible or something," said Izzy, shrugging. Rarely did anyone ever bother to wonder what Izzy was short for; likely thought that it was an entire name in itself. He found himself nodding along with an introduction a few moments later, and his smile only grew. Itchy fingers? Izzy chuckled, tightening and releasing his hand again. Not that it really helped. Shame he didn't have guitar summoning powers or anything useful like that.

Didn't look like he'd really need it though. Tommy had nearly issued a challenge, before picking another song. Lo and behold, it was the Beatles, which were about as big as Jesus to Izzy. The moment the tune started, Izzy was humming along, and soon after that, his hands were moving in time with the beat.

Tommy's clear voice, a great fit for the song, started up. Izzy instantly joined in, again providing harmony and support. This time, he actually dared take lead on a few parts, though that would count some on Tommy following suit. Somehow, Izzy didn't see that not happening.

"Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
and I say it's all right"

And again the song rose and fall. Izzy and Tommy both seemed to know this one, and the combination was definitely working, even better than it had for the last one. If they kept this up, they might even draw a crowd or something. Izzy was still following Tommy's lead still though, waiting to see where the dreadlocked one lead.

At least until the song ended, where a grinning blonde would be standing, looking nearly stupid.