Like Father Like Son

All Work No Play

I woke up still at the picnic table. It was dark out, so I must have been out for a while. I looked up and smiled when I saw all the stars in the sky, surrounding the bright full moon. I stretched after standing up then walked inside.

"Have a good nap?" Dad asked while walking into the living room.
"Thanks for letting me sleep outside" I said in a sarcastic tone. Dad laughed as he took a seat on the couch.
"You looked so peaceful" he said with a pout. I plopped down next to him and yawned. "Maybe you should get some more sleep bud"
I nodded in agreement and walked to my room.  Throwing my cap onto my dresser, I fell into my bed and closed my eyes. It didn't take long for me to fall back asleep.

I woke pretty early the next morning. Sitting up, I stretched my arm and yawned. Looking at the clock I saw it was only six. I decided to get out of bed anyway and see what dad was up to. I found him in his office, writing in his notebook.
"Hey dad" I said quietly, hoping I wasn't disturbing his work.
"Morning kiddo. You're up early" he said, looking up at me with a smile. I walked over to his desk, pulling up a seat next to him.
"Yeah, guess so. Gives me time to get ready before heading to Daisy's house" I said. Dad looked back at his notes shaking his head.
"Sorry Parker. No hanging out with Daisy while you're suspended" he said sternly.
"Come on dad" I whined.
"Sorry bud. Why don't you go to work with me instead?" He asked. I sighed but agreed. It was better than doing nothing all day.

I went to the bathroom to take a quick shower. After the beating I took yesterday, the hot water felt nice. Once I finished up, I wrapped myself in a towel and walked to my room to pick out an outfit. I wasn't really in the mood to dress nicely today, so I just threw on one of dad's old shirts and a pair of jeans.
"Parker! Are you ready?" Dad shouted.
"Just a minute!" I yelled back. I quickly slipped on my sneakers and grabbed my black hoodie as I rushed out to meet dad outside.

The ride to the studio was pretty peaceful. The radio prevented any silence, which was nice.
"So what's your plan?" Dad asked. "What will you get done today?"
"Not sure yet. I was supposed to have piano lessons with Eric yesterday, so maybe if he's not too busy today..." I suggested.
"Sounds good" dad said with a smile.

Once we arrived to the studio I went straight to the piano. I figured I could practice a little until Eric arrived. It was nice being in the room by myself, allowing me to get lost in the sound.
"Hey kid" I turned around to see Eric walk into the room.
"Hey man" I greeted him. He sat down next to me on the piano bench.
"How are you feeling?" He asked as he put his hands on the keys.
"I'm alright" I said, not really wanting to talk about it. Eric smirked and started playing. I watched his hands dance across the keys. He was a natural.

Eric talked me through some songs to play. It took a while before I got that hang of any of them.
"I have an idea. Why don't I teach you something on bass?" He asked as I wrapped up playing.
"I don't know Eric, I've never really been interested in playing" I admitted.
"But it's good to know a variety of instruments. It'd be easy since you already know guitar" he said. I thought about it a moment before agreeing to give it a chance.

Eric lead time over to his rack of basses.
"Go ahead, pick one" he said after grabbing his own.  I grabbed the first one I saw, just wanting to get this over with. I pulled up a chair across from him and sat the bass in my lap.
"Ready when you are" I said.

Eric started by teaching me chords. I was surprised to see how quickly I caught on, it was actually easier then guitar.
"See, it's not so bad" Eric said as I started to get into playing.
"Yeah, I guess you're right" I said with a smirk.
"Eric! Get over here!" Barry called from down the hall. Eric excused himself and put his bass away before disappearing  down the hall to join the others. I decided to keep practicing for a while.

I kept working with the bass until my phone went off. After putting the bass away, I pulled my phone out to see who was calling. It was Daisy. I sighed before answering.
"Sorry Daisy I cant hang out today" I explained before giving her a chance to speak.
"Are you okay? Someone said you got into a fight yesterday, your not hurt are you?" She sounded panicked as she spoke.
"I'm fine Daze, don't worry about it. I'm grounded though" I said.
"That sucks. I'm having a party tonight and wanted to know if you wanted to come. I told David you'd play for us"
"Daisy, you know I don't play for others"
"It'd still be nice to see you. Too bad I guess"
I paced around the room as we talked, thinking of what to do.
"You know what, I'll think of something. I'll be there, but I won't promise I'll play anything" I said.
"Oh Parker thank you!" She said. We said our goodbyes before hanging up. I shoved my phone back into my pocket and walked over to the window. Now I had to find a way to get there without getting caught.

Was I really going to do this?