Excerpt: Aspects of Neptune

“What was the name of that group you girls like again?” The voice behind the paper was firm yet curious.
“Hm?” Clara glanced over at her father’s hidden face with a mouth full of sausage. “Mm -” She swallowed a drink of tea. “It’s Galaxtra, Dad.”
“Really.”
Silence. Mrs. Haversham put a few more sausages on the stove, and they sizzled.
“Says here in the paper that one of them was found dead.”
Suzi and Clara both looked up at the man with eyes about as round as the teacups they were clutching at.
“Gordon, really!” Mrs. Haversham turned to her husband, arms crossed.
“It’s not a joke! Take a look.” He folded the paper and tossed it over to the table. It landed on top of the plate of eggs, and Mrs. Haversham snatched it up before either girl could grab it.
“Let’s see if your father’s just having a laugh.” She adjusted her glasses and looked at the paper, reading to herself. Both Suzi and Clara could not even stand to watch her lips move, even though they couldn’t tell what she was saying. They glared at her, then at each other.
“Oh dear. He’s right, I’m afraid.” Mrs. Haversham’s face drew into a worried expression. “Says that their guitar player died in his hotel room yesterday morning. I’m sorry, girls.”
“Let me see!” Clara cried, jumping up and grabbing the paper from her mother. She held it with trembling hands as Suzi walked over to join her, timidly reading.
The article was short, regular papers like the Daily Mail didn’t care much about rock bands.

Robert Black, better known as Neptune Starchild from the rock group Galaxtra, was found dead in his room at the Grandviere Hotel on Friday morning. The cause of death has not been announced. Police are currently investigating. Dan Mallard, manager of the group, has released a statement saying that Galaxtra’s activities will be placed on hold until the group has made a decision about whether to continue or not. Mr. Black was 31.

There was a silence in the room so dead, so still, that even the sausages on the stove seemed to stop their sizzling.