Lonely People

Three Becomes Four and Possibly More

Two months after Christmas, my ankle was healed. I could have sworn it healed better than before. I felt invincible as I ran around the city, laughing with my closest friends. Paul and I had played several shows with The Quarrymen, and each show was better than the last. With each show we played, I found myself falling deeper in love with the art of music.

"What about cello?" I asked, "That's kind of like a violin."

Paul snorted, "Rock and roll don't use cello."

I frowned. After so many concerts with the band, I decided I wanted to learn more instruments than just the piano, flute, and violin. I knew how to play the drums, but it wasn't one of my better instruments. Drums were easy, both Paul and I knew. John, Paul, Stuart, and I all knew piano. I wanted to learn something that would benefit the band, something nobody else knew how to play. 

"You could always learn the guitar," George suggested.

Paul, George, and I were waiting for the school bus to take us home. Being early in February, it was heavily snowing, making walking home impossible. Just sitting there, I was freezing, even though I was bundled up in a snow coat and pants. Even Paul was shivering, and he was almost never cold.

"There's already two and a half guitar players," I sighed.

Paul shrugged, "John said we need a new one since the other guy quit."

A few of The Quarrymen had quit and moved on with their lives. There were only five of us left, and we were struggling. After being in a band with so many people for such a long time, we weren't used to the shortage. 

"If I'm playing the guitar, someone else will need to play the piano," I replied, "Maybe I'll learn a woodwind."

"You could do saxophone," Paul said.

I snapped my fingers, "Brilliant, I'll do that."

It began to snow harder at that point. The wind had picked up, making the snow blow directly into our faces. I used my pack to block my face. It didn't do much good, I felt as if the snow was coming directly through the pack. 

"When will that bus get here?" George muttered, "I'm freezing my arse off."

Paul nodded, "I could really go for some hot tea right about now."

I shivered. Even with my double layers of clothing, I was still freezing. Paul and George were freezing, and they were taller and with more muscles than me. The only advantage I had was long hair.

"I feel like I'm freezing to death," I muttered.

"It'll be here soon," Paul glanced at me, "I'm sure."

George peered around me to look at both Paul and me, "We could sit closer together. Body heat helps."

None of us argued. We all scooted to where we were pressing up against each other. I was in the middle and was nearly overtaken by the two boys sitting next to me. I could feel their shivers as well as my own. All three of us shook hard enough to cause an earthquake, I thought.

The bus arrived ten minutes later. Paul, George, and I didn't hesitate to climb on. The rest of the students followed us, each trampling the rest to get on the warm bus. When we were inside, we realized there wasn't much of a difference. The bus blocked the snow, but it didn't stop the chill. The chill seemed to root itself in our bones, making permanent residence until the warm months of summer could melt it away. 

Paul and George sat on a bench in the back. I took the one behind them and leaned forward to rest my head on the back of their bench. The cracking leather poked into my skin, but I didn't care. A boy I didn't know sat next to me.