when you met me

flaws

Flaws

It’s time to talk about flaws. No, not physical flaws, personality flaws. They often define a person, and Mara’s were obvious. Her open personality made it easier to see her flaws, which didn’t mean she had any more than anyone. She was frankly too proud to be told she was wrong, and too cynical to be told YOU were right.

Duds were somewhere beneath the surface, he’d only ever let Mara in, so basically no one knew just what they were. Shy? Too quiet? No. He was… Somewhat pretentious. In a way only a trained quiet person can be. Yes, he’d respectfully listen to what you had to say, but in his mind he would think I AM RIGHT. He would think his way was the best way, and instead of getting in your face about it, like Mara would, he would simply wait to be proven right.

Besides, that mixed with a push-over made it almost impossible to see. When he put his foot down with Mara, he happened to be climbing over his push-over trait, as awful as it felt on both ends.

But, back to physical flaws. Dud went for his physical assessment and knew that they would find out his eyesight was terrible. And then what? Contacts? Dud shivered at the thought of touching his eyes.

Mara took her plasters off of the tips of her fingers. Perfecting cover songs weren’t easy, and now that fingers had stopped bleeding, they were simply purple and bruised. “I can’t wait to do this gig.” Cole said excitedly, putting down his drumsticks. “What if I forget one of the songs?” Mara panicked.

Beth, who had sat watching them practice for hours, laughed, “It’s three songs, you’ve perfected them all. It’s just a little place, right?”

“Right,” Dax answered, seeming content, no matter how bruised his fingers were getting on electric guitar. “And if you’re nervous, just picture the crowd naked, or something like that.” Mara rolled her eyes and got a drink of off tasting water from the tap.

“Does that work?” Beth asked, chewing loudly on gum, as she always seemed to be.

“I don’t know, do I?” Dax retorted, leaning his guitar against the walls. None of this was helping Mara’s nerves. “Mara, we’ll all be there. We will be amazing. I’m getting a mate to tape it for us. So we can take notes on what to do better next time.” Cole explained. Mara breathed.

“You’re eyesight isn’t great, eh?” The Doctor said, writing something on her notepad. Dud sighed and shrugged, “Yeah, I used to wear glasses.” BEFORE THEY BROKE FIVE TIMES, he didn’t add. The Doctor nodded and stayed quiet for a moment. “Well, I’m going to get you an appointment at an optometrist. They might get you contacts, since glasses could be an inconvenience in your field of work. Otherwise, you’re in perfect shape.”

Dud smiled, thanked the doctor, and left with a few feeling mixing around in his stomach. The main one being regret.

Mara tucked her hair behind her ears and stepped up on the platform after the MC had announced their name. She stood awkwardly in her army boots and black skinnies and plain white crop top. “Please welcome, Vague Education!” Mara walked up first, waved to the crowd. She was at front, right stage.  Cole had convinced her that she had to speak first, as she was the lead.

“Hi, everyone.” She said into the microphone nervously, “Thanks so much for having us.” The small but enthusiastic crowd cheered and whistled. Mara laughed a jittery laugh and Cole and Dax walked onto the stage, taking their places.

Mara took in a deep breath before starting. She scanned the crowd, and Dud wasn’t there. Not that she should’ve thought any different.