Two days after finishing high school, the Miles family moved to Casper in Wyoming, so that they could attend college there. Taylor was going to study engineering, and Laura media and communication. The three-bedroom double storey house only had a one-car garage, but the basement was bigger than their old garage, so that was turned into a gym and music studio. The location under the ground, kept the sound to a minimum, and the neighbors away. Laura and Taylor got a car, an old Jeep, but it was big enough for Taylor to sit comfortably in front with his leg braces. Laura became the designated driver, and when not needed to drive Taylor around to and from college, the old Jeep served as the local party taxi to her and her friends. College life suited both of them, Laura the party animal did not have to defend her brother all the time, and Taylor gained anonymity among the thousands of teenagers attending the college. To them he was just another cripple, all dressed in black. The name Forrest stuck though, and would be used whenever he got into the way of a student late for his next class.
Laura tried her best to get Taylor out of the house, and found many willing young girls to go on dates with him. The dates went well after first introductions, but once the logistics of the situation became clear, the dates ended shortly. He could not go and pick them up without getting a ride from Laura, and he wasn't able to dance, drink or party with them on his own for that matter. The only dates he could attend, was when they went as a group, and then mostly he had to sit in the back, watching everyone enjoying themselves, while he was stuck at a table. Taylor went on a few dates to placate his sister, but in the end, he withdrew back to his basement. Although she never stopped trying to set him up on dates, Laura and his favorite time together, was spent in the basement.
Laura loved hearing him sing and play his guitar, and she would always tell him that if he joined a band, he would become famous and rich. Taylor knew he had an okay voice, but he knows that to his own ears, it sounded nice, but doesn't every second person on earth think so? They were always arguing about him not trying out for bands when positions were advertised, but Taylor's hang-up about his legs, and his fear of placing himself in a situation where others might ridicule him again, was stronger than any argument she could come up with. Fifty percent of Wyoming liked country music, and the other music genre's has to share the rest, so there wasn't many rock bands looking for talent, but their was allot of talent looking for bands.
In the month of June of their first college year, and after a huge argument with Laura, she persuaded him to try out for a band that needed a lead guitarist. The auditions were held at a local pub during the week, so he and Laura went and gave it a try. Luckily, there weren't many people around, only a few early afternoon punters and the twenty or so hopefuls. Taylor thought that he sounded much better than the other tryouts, a fact which was confirmed by the band leader later, but when he told them, "we need someone more mobile," Laura replied with, "you actually need to go fuck yourself," so that was the end of that. Two days later a guy named Frank arrived at their house, he said he heard Taylor play during the audition, and that Taylor plays a guitar better than anyone he has ever known, will Taylor join their band?"
Frank's band is called Grudge, and they mostly play at pubs in and around Casper. Their main audience consists of students, who like listening to loud music while they get wasted. They played anything from AC/DC to Metallica, and needed a lead guitarist. Their singer Paul normally handles the lead guitarist job, but compared to Taylor, he sounded like a beginner. The band consisted of Frank on drums, Mike on keyboard, Shawn played the bass guitar, and Paul the vocalist and lead guitarist. Frank wasn't fazed by any of Taylor's hang-ups, the band wanted him, and nothing Taylor argued about was a problem big enough to solve. Taylor was going to sit next to the drums, at the back of any stage, with speakers or whatever he wanted to hide his legs. They did not need a guy jumping around on stage; they wanted a talented guitarist, someone that can play any song just as good as the original.
It took a few gigs, but Taylor became comfortable with his role as lead guitarist. He stuck to the shadows, hiding behind his long hair and musical equipment, and was always on and off the stage without drawing too much attention to himself. Laura was ecstatic with joy, and his biggest supporter, but Taylor warned her right from the start. No drawing attention to him, no interfering, and no bringing girls around to introduce to her brother the rocker. If she wanted too, she can come and listen, but that's it, any of her usual tactics, and he will go back to his basement. She not only attended every gig, she drove him to every band practice, so it was no surprise that before long everyone accepted her as one of the band. With Taylor's sound in the band, the students actually began listening to what the band played, and stopped treating them as background music to their jollying.
People started to go to clubs, and pubs where Grudge played, which made the band members happy, and the owners of these premises take notice. Laura being Laura, just could not help herself, and when Frank asked Taylor about his songs, he knew who was behind it. They tried out a few songs, and after adjusting the pitch and tone for Paul's voice, they tested it on the audience, and it was instant success. Since most of his songs were written with both him and Laura singing it, Frank found them a backing vocalist, in the form of a very hot twenty two year old rock chick called Jenny. She took an instant interest in Taylor, and right off the bat, began flirting and teasing him endlessly. With Jenny in the band, male students suddenly had a reason to follow the band as well, so things only got better and better.
Laura and Jenny became instant friends, and Jenny was more at their house, than her own little student apartment. Taylor was happy for the first time in years, but old habits die hard, and nothing Jenny, Laura or the band members could say, would make him stay and party with them after their gigs. As soon as they finished playing for the night, someone always drove him home, except for a very few occasions. In August the Orthopedic in charge of his case at the local hospital gave him the best news of his life, his leg bones has recovered sufficiently for them to remove the braces. At the end of October, they would surgically remove the steel rods, and then after a few months with removable braces this time, he would be normal like everyone else.
