One And Only~ Maylor [Wattys 2019]

Ch. 1: In Search For Someone

1968

Roger's POV

I gathered all my gear from the counter and began heading to my dorm. Finally the day was over at last! Today wa a very tiring day, I had a ton of homework to do and study for tests. Good thing it was a Friday because I didn't have to work, and could go out or something along the lines.

For a couple of minutes, I passed long hallways, turned around corners, greeted people and went down long stairs to get to my dorm. As I was going out of the building, I stopped to take a look at the notice board, to see if there was anything interedting. There were a lot of advertisements. Most of them just involved activities or textbooks for sale, some small jobs, etc. Then, I noticed a bright yellow advertisement clipped to the board that had the words Looking for a Mitch Mitchell/ Ginger Baker type drummer written on them. Why would they need such specifications? I really didn't know.

My eyes scrolled down the yellow advertisement to find any references, until I found them. It had the address, its phone number, the date of the auditions-which was going to be tomorrow, Saturday-, and the time -which was at 9 AM. This could be a very good opportunity for me because I played the drums since I was 14, and I was in a band. But I  think that maybe another guy might get accepted into this "drummer thing," because there is no doubt that there are more talented people than me, and in my personal opinion, I think that I'm not so good at the drums.

I then grabbed a piece of paper and a pen that I had in my pocket and then copied down the address and phone number for the audition and left. Soon enough, I was already at my dorm. I slammed the door shut and threw my stuff to a corner. Then, I checked if my annoying roommate, Charlie, was in the room. Fortunately, he wasn't.

Charlie is the roommate I got assigned to live in when I first came to dental school. He is a total asshole. His behavior is practically unacceptable and he annoys me all the time. He thinks that I'm gay or something whenever he catches me "staring" or "checking out" men.

Here is the thing, I don't know if I'm gay. For some time now, I felt a bit attracted to men- since high school -but I'm still not sure. I still think that I feel attracted to women, but I'm still not sure. In the end, I just don't know what am I, maybe I'll just have to wait and see.

The thought about being gay sort of... terrifies me. Firstly because we still live in a homophobic, conservative society where literally no one is accepted. Secondly, you have to conceal it so no one will hate you, hurt you, offend you, or even kill you. And thirdly, I'm not sure if I could be free with it or even accept myself being gay.

I'm probably one of the few people in London were I think that we are all equal despite our differences. Here, people struggle with accepting the "different." They are very prejudicial with whatever they see. I think that the different things can be good, and not always bad.

After some minutes, I decided to call the phone number that I copied down from the auditions ad. Heading towards my phone, I started to sweat of nervousness. What if I make a fool out of myself? I dialed the number on the phone and got an inmediate answer.

"Good evening this is Tim Staffell. Who is speaking?"

"G-good evening," I stammered, "I called because I saw your ad in the University of East London, and I want to audition.

"Oh splendid! What is your name?"

"R-Roger Taylor..." I said, still stammering.

"Ok Mr. Taylor. Your audition will be at 10 AM tomorrow. Is that a good time?"

"Yes, it is," I responded.

"Very good. See you tomorrow! Have a nice night!" He hung up the phone. That wasn't so bad after all. I then headed to where my drumkit was to practice. Since Charlie hates music, I never got to practice the drums that much, especially when I got assigned with him.

It's been around an hour already and he hasn't come yet. Good, I think I'll practice some more. After 30 minutes of practicing, I went to my desk to finish some homework. It took me 3 hours to finish. When I was done, I checked the time. It was 9 PM. I'm home alone and I have nothing to, maybe I'll just go to a bar for a drink.

Once again, I headed out the building and walked to the nearest bar, which was 5 blocks away. It was a bit small but comfortable.

"Good evening Roger," Melissa, one of the waitresses greeted,"What would you like for tonight?"

"I'd like some whisky," I responded. She nodded and smiled at me. While she was serving me some whisky, I then saw a tall man walk into the bar. He was pretty skinny, had short, curly hair, a pretty long nose, and the most beautiful pair if hazel eyes I have ever seen in my life. He looked pretty gorgeous I'd say. Behind him, I saw a smaller guy behind him, who had longish brown hair, but wasn't as attractive as the first one.

"Here is your whisky Roger," Mellisa said. I got very distracted with the man that just walked in, and didn't even notice that Melissa had served my whisky.

"ROGER," she said, knocking me back to reality, making me jump.

"Oh I'm sorry," I apologized. Apparently, Melissa noticed that I got distracted by the man that just walked in. She just looked down at the counter and headed back to work again. Without her noticing, I started to look for that same man, who had seduced my eyes with his. He was sitting in one of the tables in the corners, with that same man, who looked like his friend.

After I finished my whiskey, I paid Melissa and headed out the bar, making my way back to my dorm to get some sleep for tomorrow. When I got there, Charlie was at his desk, probably studying. Fuck, now that he is here, I have to deal with him.

"Oh Roger, you are back," he said, looking up,"Had fun checking out men?"

"Shut up Charlie," I snapped.

"Looks like Roger's man disappointed him," he smirked.

"Charlie you know I'm not gay," I snapped again.

"That's what a closeted gay would say. Either way, you are useless!" he said. I rolled my eyes and headed to my desk, scrolling through some things I found like magazines, old schoolwork, etc. Then, I decided to put some music to annoy Charlie. I grabbed one of my records that was in a messed up pile in my desk. It was The Beatles' White Album, my favorite. As the record began playing, I heard Charlie groaning of frustration.

About an hour later, the record stopped and I decided to go to bed. I undid my white shirt, unbuckled my belt and slept only in my underwear. I let the sheets of my little bed cover me from head to toes, and within a few minutes I was already fast asleep.