Lonely People

Starr Time

"While Pete is out on vacation," Brian smiled, "I thought you might like to try a new drummer."

John lifted his eyebrow. We all sat around The Cavern Club, waiting for the rehearsal. Technically, the lads were waiting to start rehearsal, I was just there for the fun of it all. Molly had gone to pick up Reggie and Gina from boarding school with her Mum, leaving me all alone.

"We don't need no new drummer, we have Melly, she can be a stand in for us," John replied.

Brian shook his head, "I'll be straight with you lads," Paul snorted causing Brian to glare at him, "You've got to experiment with different sounds. Now is as good a time as ever to see if a different drummer might be better than Pete."

"I'm not sure if I should be offended or not," I muttered.

"You shouldn't be. You're a great drummer, Amelia, but we're trying to find the sound that fits this group," Brian replied.

"I still take a little offense."

Brian gave me a sympathetic smile that told me he didn't mean anything against me. Still, I felt a pang in my heart. As if quitting the band wasn't bad enough, now Brian was practically telling me I wasn't good enough to be a stand in. I crossed my arms and moved my body to where all Brian saw was my shoulder. 

Paul lifted an eyebrow, "Are you trying to replace Pete?"

"Not exactly. Let's just call this an experiment."

"Alright," John smirked a little, "We'll go along with your little experiment. Who'd you get to play with us?"

"His name is Richard. He's the drummer for Rory Storm and The Hurricanes, but he agreed to come and act as stand in for this show. He's a brilliant drummer, really."

John smirked, "Better be."

He and Paul exchanged knowing glances. George looked at them for a moment before looking at me. He lifted an eyebrow, but I didn't pay attention. I shook my head, standing up and saying, "I'm going out for a ciggie."

"Don't be offended, Amelia," Brian tried, "I'm not saying you can't play stand-in, I'm just trying to experiment with different assets."

I frowned, "Assets now, are we?"

"Amelia-"

I didn't let him finish. I left The Cavern through the front door, stopping on the curb and pulling a cigarette from my inside coat pocket. At first, my lighter wouldn't light, causing my frustration to grow.

Brian was a good guy and all, I actually liked him a lot, but he was beginning to get on my nerves. He was always so extreme when it came to managing. Maybe he felt as if he couldn't do it, so he had to overcompensate. The lads were getting a bit frustrated too, I could see it in their demeanor, but they held their tongues. He was their manager, after all, they had to listen to him.

It upset me that Brian went out of his way to find a stand in drummer when I was right there. I would have no problem playing with the lads once again, in fact, I might enjoy it. While I was happy to have branched out and started my own thing, it would be nice to play with my friends again. The fact that Brian purposefully replaced me with someone none of us had ever met was hurtful. I felt like he was telling me I couldn't do it. 

Perhaps he wasn't telling me that I couldn't do it, rather, that I shouldn't. He could easily be giving into society's demands, just like I did when I quit the band. Brian was the first to advise me to quit. At the time, I didn't hold that against him, and I still don't think I did. It was good to get out from an all boy band and start my own, especially when Revolution was fighting for a cause. It shouldn't make me angry that Brian did what he did, but it did, and I couldn't help it.