Treble Clef

Part 9 What Could Go Wrong?

Graduation came and went and just as Tahoe had told me, he was leaving for Hawaii. We said our goodbyes and parted ways, somehow I knew…that would be the last time I saw him. However I had a drive, I had motivation and furthermore and obligation to the treble clef.

                Tahoe’s dad came through big time for me, he had been holding auditions for people to be in my band for 2 months. And he had found the best…well almost the best. Our drummer was great, pianist was awesome, backup singer and bass guitarist phenomenal. But none of them could compare Jacob, or Emily and Benji, or Tahoe..

                Anyway, we went to work. I was now the lead singer of the band, I didn’t have the greatest voice so we harmonized most of the time. I made us practice every day, 3 times a day. This was our career, and I put my obligation to the clef over the feelings and the needs of my fellow band members most of the time. Sad to say, but I felt it was necessary, I never saw them as my friends. They were no more than business partners. Now that I look back on my endeavors with them, I feel bad because I was only using them to gain fame.

                Anyway our new name was “Straightforward” not just because my last name is Straight, but because we weren’t going to sugar coat anything. We were raw and so was our message, I had years of abuse delivered to me by the treble clef built up inside of me. I wanted the world to know what I was feeling.

                It was amazing, we were good…really good, every week our shows were sold out. Our popularity grew, we had magazines, tv shows and commercials about us. Our fame stretched from east coast to west coast. Houston, Atlanta, Los Angeles you name it, we were there. Every night we were in a different city, every night I was with a different girl. My once dream of being nationally famous had been completely blown away as we were now global, we performed in London, Paris, Canada, even Sydney. I had everything I had ever wanted, yet I felt like I had nothing at all. I still had my eyes set on one thing…

Madison Square Garden. Only the best of the best perform there. 35,000 people screaming your name, it was my ultimate dream, but I wasn’t there yet.

                One night after a show in London, we walked off the stage expecting congratulations from Tahoe’s dad. It had become the norm, but as I walked into the green room I saw him sitting in a chair with his head buried in his hands. You could hear his weeping from down the hall. My stomach dropped, as my mind went back to the morning when Emily’s dad called me crying so hard that he could not speak. Or the day that I had to tell Jacob’s mom the fate of her beloved son.

                I had realized by that time that it is never good when a grown man or woman cries. Mr. Hunter, Hunter was his last name, looked up at me with bloodshot red eyes. I knew exactly what his next words would be “He’s gone.” Although I knew these words were coming from the moment I saw him crying, the outcome was inevitable. Tears rushed from my eyes, everything that was once clear was now glassy and blurry. Why did this always have to happen to me? Tahoe was my brother, my best friend and now we will never share a laugh again, never walk together again, never have deep bro conversations again. Now all of my friends were gone, there was nothing left of the life I used to live and enjoy.

                I ran down the hall until everyone had disappeared, I just wanted to be alone. I later found out that Tahoe had overdosed on drugs. It’s funny, we all thought that would be Jacobs fate, but that’s what the clef does to you. You can never guess a person’s trouble cliff. Your fate is totally based on irony, the irony of how you lived your life and what you thought of other people. And anyone who is familiar with English language and Literature knows that irony is often unpredictable.

                Tahoe used drugs to get high and relieve himself of the pain that he had suffered all these years because of music. I like to think that Tahoe had reached a point where he was so high, that he saw an exit from this miserable life, and he took it. I like to think that he simply walked off his trouble cliff rather than being pushed or falling off.

                What was once 5, had become 1. I was the last, their legacy lived through me. I love you Emily, Benjamin, Jacob, and of course Tahoe; may you rest in peace. They had all reached their trouble cliff, but I had not reached mine yet. Therefore I must continue, must push on, must see this out to the end.

And that is what I planned to do

~End of Part 9~

Thank you all for following this emotional journey that is for the most part based on my life. Sorry this chapter was so short, I was getting a little emotional writing it. But please stay tuned for the 10th and final part.

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