Classic Rock

Opposites - Part 2

Dexter's POV:

On Saturday night, I just came back from grocery shopping. When I walked in, I saw Andrew eating pizza on the couch.
"Hey bro." I said.
"S'up. Want some pizza?" He asked.
"Nah, I'm good."

After I put the food away, I went to my room to review the new music for the band.
"Hey..." Andrew stood in the door way. "One of your friends talked to me the other day."
"Oh yeah?" I glanced at him.
"Yeah, it was uh...glasses boy—Simon." He remembered. "He told me you two are going through some stuff."
I sighed, "Mm-hmm..."

"What's going on with that?" He raised an eyebrow.
"It's none of your business." I focused on the music sheets.
"Dex'..."He sternly said, "Are you forgetting what happened last time you did something like this?"
I darted my eyes at him, "What do you want me to do? I'm always busy—I don't have time for him."
"Doing what exactly?" He raised his eyebrows, "All you do is practice all week. You know you don't have to come to every practice, right? Even I don't come to practice sometimes."

"You do realize I'm in the school band too, right?" I glared at him.
"So? You did that to yourself." He crosses his arms, "You can't be the one complaining about time when you made your own fucked up schedule."
"What did Simon say to you?" I rolled my eyes.

"It doesn't matter what he said to me." He came to sit on the bed, "Do you ever notice that when you're into something, you become obsessed with it?"
"No I don't—"
"When Mom bought you a guitar for your tenth birthday, you'd play it every. Single. Day. It drove Dad crazy because you were so bad at it!" He said before snapping his fingers, "When you were five, Dad put you in martial arts classes and you would practice day and night, just to be better than all the other kids."

I sighed, "...are you done?"
"Bro listen..." He put a hand on my shoulder. "All I'm saying is: Yes, you are talented. Yes, there are some days where you have to practice, but your not a robot—you're gonna wear yourself down. Sometimes you gotta focus on your social life. And perhaps...a love life."
I looked down at my lap...

"Alright-Alright...I get it." I sighed.
"And the band's not going anywhere." He playfully nudged my shoulder, "And there's no way in hell we're replacing you—you remember how long it took to find a new drummer?"
"Yeah." I laughed. "I think that was the only time I've ever seen you that stressed out."
"Exactly! So—enjoy college life to the fullest; the band will always be here." He stood up, "Alright?"

"Yeah-yeah..." I smiled as he mocked me. Soon as he left my room, I laid back on my bed and stared at the ceiling. I glanced at my dresser and noticed the beluga whale plushie sitting comfortably on my old music sheets. I sighed and pinch the bridge of my nose. Goddammit Simon...

The next day, I woke up at around ten to go practice in the band room. When I got there, the doors were locked. The hell? I peeped through the large glass windows and saw that the band director's door was closed.
"Great, she's not here..." I muttered to myself.

I went to sit on a bench near one of the dorms to listened to music. I noticed my headphones wouldn't turn on and blinked red—telling me to recharge them. I groaned and slouched on the bench. The wind started picking up and my hair caught a gust. For November, it wasn't too cold out; it was the perfect weather for walking or bike riding.

I noticed the campus was dressed in pretty landscaping; the grass was evenly cut, the trees leaves were slowly turned red and gold, and squirrels were hiding nuts in the ground. I took a deep breath and exhaled. It's so peaceful...

I got up to walk around campus and heard something crying. I followed the noise and found a small black and grey kitten limping on one leg. I slowly approached it coaxed it to come to me. It was hesitant, but came up to sniff my foot. I gently rubbed its head and it tried hiding under me.

I gently put my hand under its belly and held it to my chest as I walked back to my brother's apartment.

When I walked in, he immediately questioned what was in my hands.
"It's an injured kitten." I showed him, "I found him near one of the dorms."
"Aww, poor thing..." Andrew petted it's head, "You wanna keep him?"
"Does your landlord allow pets?"
"I dunno." He shrugged. "We should get him checked first."
"Okay."