Crash

Chapter 18

No one in my family was a musician. It was just never something anyone did. I always thought I got it from one of my grandparents or even great grandparents, because neither of my parents were musically inclined. But nope. I was an outlier.

The first instrument that really caught my attention was the drums. All throughout my early years, I was blessed with an absurd amount of energy. No one knew what to do with me. Then one day, my dad played a music concert DVD for me - yes, I am DVD year's old - and the rest was history.

It was the Beatles, and at that time, only Ringo caught my attention. I liked his name, his style and most importantly, his sideburns. I immediately begged my parents to buy me a drum set, a Ringo inspired outfit and lastly, stick on side burns. I wanted to be Ringo Starr.

I attended drum lessons, and what my parents thought would be a passing phase, ended up being the start of my life long love for everything music related.

*

Every few Wednesday's I begged my teacher to let me come to school early and just play the drums. My parents had sold my drums and replaced them with electric drums, because I was making too much noise. I understood, and at home, I played my electric drums, but nothing could beat the real thing.

Today, I didn't feel like going overboard, I just wanted to drum along to something, so I had Sam Fender's Hypersonic Missiles album playing softly in the background. I really enjoyed this album, purely because of how diverse the songs were. I was able to play different instruments, depending on the song and that really helped me grow musically.

There was a sense of freedom as I played a long to the song - a sense of satisfaction. I allowed myself to be completely lost in the music. Another thing I really appreciated, was Sam Fender's sense of lyricism. He reminded me of Bruce Springsteen - someone who sings for a reason. I wanted to sing for a reason. I wanted to impact someone's life.

As the song came to an end,  debated whether to stick with the drums or play a different instrument. Then, I saw the bass in the corner and settled on switching things up. I had to make the most of the 10 or so minutes I had before people would start piling into the school. 

The song Dead Boy's had always been my favourite of all of his songs - the lyrics, and the ways in which each instrument was played were simple, but powerful. 

Once again, I allowed myself to be lost in the song and its meaning. I also found myself unable to hold back from singing along. 

As the song came to an end, I heard low clapping coming from the door. I immediately turned to see Kyle standing there. His expression was unreadable, but he then snapped out of whatever trance he was in and his signature smirk once again graced his face. 

I rolled my eyes as I removed the strap of the bass, returning the instrument to where it once was. 

"That was really good, Carter." He slowly made his way over to me. I ignored him, opting instead to reach for my bag. Somehow he ended up right next to me, and I could tell, purely based on how overpowering his scent was.

"I told you to tone it down with the cologne, Fletcher." I said, brushing past him. Unfortunately for me, he couldn't take the hint that I was truly not in the mood to talk to him.

"Hey, I mean it, you were really good." He looked deep into my eyes and sounded so genuine. I quickly turned to look away, because I could feel my cheeks burning up.

"I know, that's why I'm at this school." I tried to sound as nonchalant as possible, hoping he wouldn't catch on to how blushy he was making me. 

I walked out of the room and he instantly followed me, digging his hands into his pockets. I can't say I was completely mad at the way we were walking together in silence. But of course he had to go and ruin it.