The Edge Of Yesterday

Chapter 17

We had decided that Riot Generation needed to go back on tour, play a couple of shows, but how on Earth were we going to play our shows if we didn't have a drummer with us? I mean, we did have Bones, but judging by the state he was in at the moment, we couldn't force him to get out of his room and play shows with us. We needed to give him time and space.

So when Rosie asked Alex and I to come over to her apartment, I knew that something was different. She'd just come round to our place instead of inviting us to hers. 

Upon arriving at her apartment, we immediately noticed that Bones was sitting on the couch. He flashed a feeble smile at us when he noticed us. His hair was longer and unruly; sure, it had always been frizzy and unkempt, but it had only been past his shoulder blades last time we saw him. Now it was almost way past his chest, and wayyy springier. And he had dark circles under his eyes as well, like he hadn't been getting enough sleep. He probably wasn't. 

"Bones!" Alex exclaimed, fist-bumping him. "I missed ya!"

"I missed you too, mate." he responded. "I've finally decided to get out of my room for once. You know, I thought I had only been staying there for a few days or so, but it turned out that I had been in there for pretty much an entire month." he laughed nervously, shrugging his hair out of his face. "Lord, I'm a fucking mess. I've done nothing useful with myself at all."

"It's fine, you'll figure something out soon." I said in an attempt to comfort him.

Rusty ran up to Bones, sniffing his thick, black combat boots. Bones looked down at Rusty, who gazed back up at him with the most adoring eyes. It was like he was saying "this guy is my hero!" 

"Who's this little fella?" he said.

Rusty wagged his tail, his eyes becoming bigger and bigger. 

"That's Princess Rusty The Destroyer." Rosie announced his name proudly. "Our child."

"She's cute." Bones said, stroking Rusty's head. Rusty's tail began waging even quicker. "Such a sweet girl!"

"It's a he" I responded. "Rusty is a boy."

"Then why is Princess Rusty The Destroyer?" Bones asked.

"Irony." Alex responded. 

Bones understood and continued stroking Rusty's fur.

We all sat on the couch again, and began chatting about random things and flicked on the TV, only semi paying attention to what was playing on the news.

There was a news report playing, a news report about computer programming and the future of technology and stuff. That immediately caught Bones's attention. 

He stared at the screen, pure focus on his face as he analyzed every detail about it. He was just so... fascinated by it.

The news report discussed things like the internet and having news spread on computers instead of on the TV or by physical newspapers. 

"This... this is so fucking amazing mate." he responded, after a while. 

"The year right now is 1984." Rosie said. "Imagine what this internet will be like in 10 years, in 1994. Or 20 years, in 2004."

"Thank God all of this technology isn't like in the novel 1984." I said. "It would be soo creepy to be getting spied on all the time. It would really suck." 

"Yeah. But imagine. Imagine doing school on those computers." 

"Those lucky kids." Alex said whimsically. "They'd not have to deal with a lot of bullshit. They could just stay at home, listen to music, wear their pajamas, and relax." 

Without warning, Bones shot up, pushing his hair out of his face. "What if... I study computer science at another university?!" 

It was like a lightbulb had been switched on in his brain. The idea of studying computer science at another university took hold of him - we could see the spark in his eyes. 

"Yes Bones!" Rosie exclaimed, her face lighting up with relief. "You've always liked nerdy shit, that that stuff is really nerdy to say the least." 

Alex nodded in agreement. "You've got the potential, dude. Imagine the things you could create."

"I think you should go for it," I chimed in, offering my support. "It seems like a fit for you." 

"Yeah. It's some new stuff to focus on and annoy me with" Rosie smiled at him cheekily. 

Bones smiled slightly, but gratefully at us. "Thank you, guys. I'll try this out"

Excitement filled the room as we began to talk about all the possibilities and potential paths Bones could take. Nerdy stuff, as Rosie would call it. But at least it seemed to be getting him out of the slump that he was in. 

Over the next few weeks, Bones immersed himself in learning about computing and technology. He would go to the local libraire and come back with his hand full of books about the topic. He would also rent videos on the topic, and watch them very thoroughly. 

He also tried to look for every single article related to computers in the newspapers, but he didn't do very far, since I had taken all of the newspapers and cut them up into collages a while ago. All he got were some cut up papers that were barely readable. Sorry, Bones. 

At least he didn't mind, because he was finally getting back to the way he was before. Still uptight, still silent, but he was Bones again, and he was spending time with us and interacting with the world again. 

And Riot Generation was making a comeback as well. 

Bones's new found interest in technology and stuff caused him to start experimenting with new music sounds. We all revisited the studio again, ready to record a couple of new songs.

I had already written the lyrics to some songs, and we all played the instruments for the songs, as we did before. However, Bones had started incorporating technology into our music, experimenting with synthesizers and computery sounds, that sort of thing. 

Eventually, we had come up with an EP, which we called Down At Dawn. It had 5 songs on it, each of them with our original sound, with with this new sound Bones had included as well. 

The release date for this album was going to be on the 10th October. And on the 20th October, Riot Generation were set to be touring again. It was going to be fun. The past tour felt like ages ago, and I was longing to get back on stage again. I really couldn't wait for it.