It was 8 pm, right after dinner...

XI

After six days of ups and downs healthwise, Brett finally got a call from the Gastroenterologist.
"Brett, hi. We have your results and would like to discuss them with you as soon as possible. Can you come in today?"
Today was bad, because they had that big video with those (non-)musicians coming up. So he had to make an appointment for the following day.

Luckily, Brett felt quite good and ready to face a group of people he didn't know and tape that probably and hopefully funny encounter for the whole world to see.
"Hey, you want anything to eat?", Eddy asked, while they were setting up cameras and lights in the filming studio they'd rented. "Yeah, the pho we had last time from that vietnamese place around the corner would be great", Brett anwered, his mouth already watering as he imagined the dish. Breakfast had consisted of fruits and one slice of whole grain bread, courtesy of Eddy's caring side, so Brett was pretty much starved. Didn't that guy know, that a sick person needed to eat to get better too?
"Good idea! Let's go together?"
"Can't you just go get it? So I can finish setting up with the rest of the team. Our guests are coming in soon, too."
"Bro! You expect me to bring two hot bowls of noodle soup back here? I don't even know if that's a dish you can have as take out! Let's just go there together. You need a proper break!"
And with that said, Eddy just took Brett's hand, told everyone to take a break and dragged him out of the studio.

Having a change of scenery and actually sitting down for lunch had proved to be a very good idea, Brett had to admit. The soup was hot and savoury and the freshness of the herbs was very welcomed by both Eddy and Brett.
"Best pho ever, man!", Eddy exclaimed while slurping loudly. Brett smiled. "You can say that again!"
"I will! After I finished my portion. But I also meant to ask..." Brett looked up from his food at the change of Eddy's tone.
"You up for the vid, mate? It's probably gonna be more draining than what we usually do."
"Of course!", Brett replied, "Setting this whole thing up was probably the most exhausting part and we did that already. So no way we're gonna blow this off. Besides", he took another mouthfull of his lunch, before he continued, "we sucked big time at that last line up, remember? We need to redeem ourselves!"
Eddy groaned. "Don't remind me! We failed so hard that probably half of the internet doesn't believe we're actual musicians."
"Should have listened to my gut more instead of asking stupid questions like 'Do you have perfect pitch'! Who asks that?"
"Hey, it's a valid question! But definitely, man! You would have been right so many times. Guess that's the strategy for today?"
"It'd better be! Otherwise, I quit."
Eddy stuck out his tongue at the last comment and both laughed.

"But seriously", Eddy said, while they were waiting for the tab, "you feel ok today? Not too tired or nauseous or anything?"
"I am fine. Don't worry. I've learnt my lesson."
Eddy nodded. "I just know how seriously you take our work. Just tell me if you're feeling off or something, alright?" Now it was Brett's turn to bob his head in agreement and before anyone could add anything to that, the waiter brought their bill and they paid and left.

The group of people they asked for this project were all very nice and very hard to tell from just looking at them, if they were musicians or not. So perfect for the video!

Brett found himself staring at Eddy talking to an Asian girl with long, luscious black hair before they started filming and had to force himself to look away.
What the hell? Why did a perfectly normal occurance like Eddy speaking to another human being than himself even catch his attention? Maybe it was the whole corona thing, not used to human interaction in general, Brett mused, while attempting to socialize with the others. He tried very hard to avert his field of vision of that one particular area and focussed on getting ready for filming, very much ignoring that strange and nasty feeling creeping up on him, which had nothing to do with any physical illness.

Filming went great! There was one guy, who said, his favourite time signature was 4/3, which made the whole crew laugh. Apparently, Eddy had learnt from last time and asked Brett much more about his opinion, which made Brett feel a little bit better about himself. His gut (and Eddy's, sometimes) did a decent job. In the end, they reestablished their musician honor and managed to place all participants in the right corner. Interviewing them was lovely too and once again, Brett was amazed by what great people their team had been able to cast. The obligatory bubble tea for everyone was greatly appreciated and the whole project was a wrap! Much to Brett and Eddy's satisfaction.

"That went great!", Eddy said happily on their way home.
"It did", Brett agreed.
"Those people were so nice! And that one girl playing the violin for twenty years? Very impressive!"
"Bro, we've been playing for more than twenty years and we still sound like crap sometimes. I'd like to hear some samples first before placing a judgement", Brett retorted while playing with his empty bubble tea cup.
"Hey. You're being a meanie! No benefit for the doubt?"
"No! In LingLing's world, everyone is equally good or bad, depending on if they've practiced fourty hours or not!"
"Bullshit! What about all those prodigies? LingLing's world is not fair at all!", Eddy exclaimed loudly, making a passing couple glance at them suspicously. Brett laughed.

"So, you liked that girl with the black hair?", Brett asked, after they'd walked for another ten minutes. Their appartment was close now, for which Brett was pretty grateful.
Eddy turned around. "Who?", he asked, clearly surprised by Brett's question.
"That girl with the long black hair", Brett clarified and already regretted having opened his stupid mouth.
"Bro, you gotta be more specific! There were tons of girls with long, black hair and I have no idea of whom you're talking about."
"Never mind", Brett mumbled and picked up a faster pace. Eddy had no trouble keeping up though. Damn his long legs, Brett thought.
"Wait, what are you talking about? Did I leave a weird impression? Did someone say something?"
"It's nothing! No one said anything. Was just a stupid question."
They entered their building. Brett quickly stepped to the elevator and pressed the button multiple times, as if it would make their lift arrive faster.
"I still don't know who you're talking about", Eddy said, as he stepped next to Brett, "And why are you not looking at me? Did I do something wrong?"
"I told you, it's nothing! Let it go!"
Their elevator arrived with a loud "ping" and both went inside.
"If you say so", Eddy murmured and looked away.

Brett felt bad. Clearly, it was his own stupid brain reading too much into a situation, which Eddy very obviously didn't have a lasting impression on. And also, why would he even be irritated in the first place? Eddy was free to talk to who ever he wanted, they both were. He was his bro, so Brett should be happy, if Eddy made any new friends, right?
Brett was so frustrated about this whole thing he couldn't even bring himself to apologize to Eddy when they opened the door to their appartment. Instead, Brett just went straight into the studio to unpack their filming gear, his head full of emotions he couldn't order.