Days Are Numbered

Three: Adam

When Adam stepped out of the bus, he found himself staring at a grand entrance of a hotel. He looked up to see the hotel's name and the whole building's façade. He didn't know much about architecture but the building looked like any other hotel going for a classical-slash-renaissance style. He didn't mind just as long as they had comfortable beds and good room service.

It was almost 7 in the morning and everyone was still looking tired after the show last night in the last city. But they took out their luggage out of the vehicle in a practiced way. Most of them had slept in their clothes from last night and none of them had anything to eat yet.

"Adam, can you help out here? Craig is apparently still asleep," Bas, their vocalist called to him, motioning him towards their bass player who was standing by the bus entrance with a dazed look as if he had been the one with only two and half hours of sleep. Adam didn't complain anyway, he grabbed a bag and placed it on the luggage carrier a hotel boy had brought out.

"Can we go back to sleep after we checked in?" Ambrose, their drummer asked as he placed took out one of Adam's guitar from the back. "I had a really nice dream last night and it got cut off."

"Can you even continue your dreams like that?" Bas asked, pulling up the hood of her jacket. "I slept like a baby."

"I'm afraid you guys just have enough time to shower, prepare and have breakfast before going off to the sound check at Plaza Loomis," George said, patting Ambrose on the back. "You can catch up on sleep on your day off after this city."

Adam groaned inwardly, knowing too well that he might get berated for being ungrateful for the opportunity he was having, and how unfair he was being for the fans. But they were having five shows in the next three days here in Burrow City. And that would mean three days of continuous playing and possibly, partying which he didn't want to be a part of at the moment. He just didn't want to do anything, not sleep, not eat, and not even play shows. If he could hear himself think this way, he would have been disappointed at himself. But he didn't care at the moment.

"All for the music," he said instead before grabbing two cases which housed a bass and a guitar. He shoved the other case to Craig who remained standing by the entrance. "Good morning, sunshine. Now time to pull your weight."

Craig yawned, ruffling his blonde hair which was without of its usual hat. "Thanks. Can we get pancakes for breakfast?"

"You can eat out, just be out here by 9:30," George said before motioning them to get inside. "And you guys look like shit," she laughed.

"Don't we all?" Craig smiled.

Adam stepped inside, instantly feeling the warm air which the lobby provided. George was already at the reception table while the other guys were just lounging, checking out the interior and taking pictures. Bas was seated on one of the dark green chairs with gold-like handles, she was tinkering with her phone, probably playing that new annoying game she and Ambrose found. Craig was talking on the phone near the elevators, far enough where his group couldn't hear him, but Adam knew he was talking to his girlfriend, Alex. That guy always called her every time they got to a new city, or every time they left for a new one. Ambrose was seated not far from Bas, he was talking to Sydney, an old friend of his who was also the band's merch guy. They met him somewhere along the road in one of their shows.

Adam decided to sit with the others while waiting.

"Damn it," Adam sat down just in time to hear Bas fail another attempt to get Daddy Long Legs walk pass the fifteen steps Ambrose had managed to do. Bas looked up at him and cocked a brow. "Oh don't look at me like that, it's a very frustrating game."

"Then why do you still play it?" Adam asked, feeling his phone vibrate inside his pocket. "Very addictive, is it?"

"Hell yeah, I kind of regret finding it."

"That's just a loser talking," Ambrose interjected. Sydney wasn't by his side anymore. "You haven't beaten my score have you?"

"I almost got to ten steps, shut up," Bas hissed with her eyes still on her phone. "Besides, fifteen steps isn't as impressive as it sounds."

"I'm sure it's not that hard," Adam said after sending a quick reply to his grandmother who had asked if they had arrived yet.

The two looked at him as if he had said the earth was flat. "Are you kidding me? Haven't you played this game before?" Bas asked, letting another hiss of frustration realizing her mistake of looking up. "I'm sure I can get this if I practice enough, but I have other things to do with my time."

"Yeah sure, blame it on your schedule," Ambrose had stood up and walked to Bas' side to watch her play.

"There are far other things to consider besides this game, Amber."

"Then you wouldn't mind if I asked you to hand that phone over then?" Adam asked, his hand stretched out to her.

"Ugh," she groaned. "That was supposed to be my tenth step." She gave him the phone. "I will not be held accountable if you start playing that game too."

"I won't hold it against you," Adam said with a smile.

The game was tricky. Bas and Amber were standing over his shoulder watching him play, as if waiting to see the frustration hit him with every failed step.

"What are we doing here?" Craig appeared, peering over Bas shoulder. "Damn, I caught Alex playing that game, she almost threw her phone across the room."

Two steps in and Daddy Long Legs lost his balance. "Well...It is annoying," Adam admitted.

"See? Is it easier than you thought it would be?" Bas scorned.

"Give me a sec," Adam said and hit the play button again. The rest of the gang was silent as he tapped his way into five steps before Daddy Long Legs lost his balance again.

"I hate you. How could you make five in your second time playing the game?" Bas grabbed her phone back.

"Patience?"

They were checked in within the next few minutes and it took almost half an hour discussing who would shower first. George and Bas didn't have to consider the problem seeing that they shared one room. The other three, including Sydney shared one room and one bathroom. Adam had backed out almost immediately, not just because he didn't feel like arguing, but because everyone knew every argument, every battle boiled down to the final two which were Craig and Ambrose who would argue about almost anything in the world. In the end, though, with an already bathed George, Craig went first.

Adam randomly chose a new batch of clothes from his bag, scowling at the faint scent of apples. He set them all on the bed Ambrose was going to occupy and brought out the same notebook he had been scribbling down on last night. George knew his writing habits, but she had failed to notice the shift in his habits. He couldn't blame her, she was busy attending to everyone's needs that she even barely had time for herself. Adam found himself working on just one song for months. He had started it earlier in the year but had declined in actually completing it. He'd review it over and over in his head, sometimes playing it with his guitar and even the virtual piano he had downloaded in his phone and there was no actual progress. He had a tune in his head yet it stopped where he had stopped months ago. He couldn't even think of the right words.

Bas was usually his songwriting partner but this was a song he had kept from her, something he didn't want her to help out with. Although he was aware that it was her voice who was going to be used to record this song, he wanted all the composition to be his as if he was going to prove something by doing so. The song, whether he liked it or not, was a break-up song and he had never actually done one before, not needing a reason to do so. They've only recorded one break-up song so far and it was written by Ambrose who felt bad about breaking up with his girlfriend at the time.

His feelings were all in a mess of sadness, confusion, anger and hope that he had no idea what to focus on. He couldn't decide on a tempo, on a right gist of the song. Should people feel happy? Energetic? Inspired? Encouraged? Depressed? Confused? Is he writing this for him? Or for her?

Defeated, Adam closed his notebook and waited for time. There was no point in creating a song at this moment. He had no purpose or whatsoever to create one yet he felt like he should, to prove what exactly?