ANDRO [VOL. 1]

TRACK #1 - B Side

"ANDRO ANDRO ANDRO!"

Concert footage played as five young boys danced on stage year after year—the echoes of fans cheering and screaming blended with the music.

An Instagram live stream of a skittish influencer crying replaced the footage. Thick black eyeliner smeared across her doe blue eyes.

"He had sex with me knowing he had an STD. I have screenshots of him telling his friends about all about it. And now he's getting on here saying I gave it to him?" She laughed bitterly her eyes wet and swollen.

Tweets from an anonymous woman detail a date night that turned into months of emotional abuse and coercion from the same man years prior.

The camera flashed. A girl with heavy tanner and bleached blonde hair slipped her sunglasses over her face with a sense of urgency. Her strut quickly morphed into a sprint as the cameras came closer and closer. The lights flashed as she interrogated her.

"Miss, where's Malvolio?"

"Do you know where Mr. Beckett is?"

The camera went wide and focused on four young men sitting back in chairs. Two of the boys fidgeted with their mics and clothes while one of them held his head low. Only when the last boy cleared his throat they noticed the woman sitting across from them in her wine-red pantsuit and blunt haircut. With a pristine poker face, the last boy spoke and she nodded along.

"With the claims made against Malvolio at this time, we just want to leave the door open for discussion on both sides."

The leader looked at the teleprompter as the words ran down the screen.

This is a nuanced situation.

It was so simple and easy. His eyes bore into the camera before cutting back to the newscaster.

"With the ongoing lawsuit regarding former member Malvolio Beckett and the mixed reception of their last album, critics and fans wonder, what is the future for ANDRO?" Her voice played on the TV before it clicked off.

Yazzie turned around. Kareem waved the remote before placing it down on the ground.

"You know watching that again won't change anything."

He saw his warped reflection in the tv and threw his head back against the couch. "Whatever."

Kareem tied back his locs and stood by the door. He waited there like he had more to say. When Yazzie peeked at him he saw the bags under his eyes. They were starting to become his most notable feature. Giving up Kareem sighed, slipping his headphones on.

"You know I'm right." Kareem walked out the door, laptop in tow.

▶︎•၊၊||၊|။|||||။၊|။•

The rustle and bustle of the conference rooms, small slotted rooms with PowerPoint presentations displaying different cultural hairstyles, and stylists running back and forth with stacks of hangers, fabrics, and clothes. The brown studio floors squeaked as multiple shoes bounced and stomped across the ground.

Staring at a large banner showing multiple groups the biggest one in the center of the entire building was ANDRO. The five boys smiled at the camera while the guy to the right of Yazzie made love to it. That neon pink hair and arrogant smile once brought life to these halls. Now it haunted them with the PR nightmare he caused. The banner was clipped and all their faces fell to the floor.

Yazzie took a breath going into the office. Stacks of boxes littered the otherwise pristine floors and marble countertops. A pair of heels clicked along the floor.