When
Deming goes to
Roland’s house after school, they listen to Hendrix. Together, they create fake band names, eventually writing songs using these monikers. In school, they talk about these bands as if they’re real, tricking their peers into believing them. “
I heard about the band you’re in. Roland’s band. Necro…mania,”
Cody tells Deming one day. “That’s my band, not Roland’s,” Deming says. “I started it.” For his birthday, Deming asks for an electric guitar, but
Peter and
Kay give him a laptop instead. Still, this makes him happy, and he largely succeeds in his attempt to avoid thinking about
Polly. On the way home from his birthday dinner, he asks Peter and Kay if they’ll give him a guitar next year, and Peter says, “Let’s not get carried away. Music is fine to listen to as a hobby, but you need to focus on school.”