All of us hung out in my room, and talked about nothing and everything. My mom, ever the gracious host, brought in a tray loaded with snacks—chips, cookies, and a big pitcher of lemonade—and set it down on my desk. She smiled at us, her eyes twinkling with that classic mom energy.
"Enjoy, and if you guys need anything, you know where to find me," she said, giving us a knowing look before gliding out. I'm convinced she secretly loves eavesdropping on us, but she's too polite to admit it.
With snacks secured and everyone settled, I got down to business, eager to show off the setup and start doing something productive. It's become a habit now, post-Gamer: always doing, always learning, always moving forward. I don't like doing 'nothing' anymore.
To start off. I pointed to each piece of gear, giving my own mini TED talk. "This is the audio interface—you plug the mic in here, and it connects to the laptop for clean recording. These are studio monitors, way better than regular speakers for mixing. And this," I said, holding up a pair of headphones, "lets you hear every detail, every mistake, so you can actually get better."
"We know what a headphone is. Genius" Leonard tries to be funny and was ignored by everyone.
Alex and, surprisingly, Josh, listened with rapt attention. Alex kept tapping notes into her phone, and Josh kept poking at the mixing board, fascinated by all the buttons and blinking lights. I answered every question because, honestly, I'd read every manual cover to cover. Who does that? I do. I can't help it since I got 11 INT. I think I have developed a mild OCD with things.
We were still in the middle of a debate about whether analog or digital sounds better when Leonard, looking a little antsy, nudged me. "Alright, show-off, let's hear you sing something. I need it before my mom calls and ropes me into another one of her 'experiments'."
I laughed, then decided to go big. I set up the mic, checked the levels, and, with nothing but my raw voice, launched into bob dylan song "blowing in the wind". It was already a song released in this world but by the looks of it none of them heard it.
"How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, and how many times must the cannonballs fly
Before they're forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind
Yes, and how many years must a mountain exist
Before it is washed to the sea?
Yes, and how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn't see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind
Yes, and how many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, and how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, and how many deaths will it take 'til he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind"
The way the music just took over. When I finished, there was a beat of stunned silence.
"This is one of my dad's favourite songs which he made me hear since I was a kid and it has somehow become one of my favourites as well." I finish the song saying this and then looked at their faces. Which was quite funny.
Alex's jaw dropped, her eyes wide with awe. "Lucas… every time. How can you be so good?!"
Josh just stared, mouth open, then shook his head. "What the fuck, dude? That was, like, scary good. You're hiding superpowers or something."
Leonard whistled, shaking his head. "Whoa. You could go viral with that. No, seriously, you need to post that somewhere."
Not done yet, I grabbed my guitar and played the main riff, then hopped to the keyboard and layered in the signature melody. With everyone watching, I pulled it all together in the software, tweaking the levels, adding a little kick drum, and mixing it until it sounded polished and professional. These are the skills I was learning for the last two days and they were still not the best but I was getting better very quickly.
When I played the final version through the studio monitors, the room was filled with only music and silence from my friends. They were now listening very attentively and not in enjoy the music way but trying to figure out how the fuck I pulled it off. It was different from the original version but in a good way.
It was the first time I'd really heard my own work. It definitely sounded like it belonged on the radio. I was not the best but I was also not very far from it.
After hearing the final version everyone got silenced for a few seconds and then Alex squealed, leaping up and hugging me, nearly knocking me off my chair. "We are going to be famous!" she shouted, her excitement infectious. Josh and Leonard high-fived with each other and then me, and I just grinned, feeling that buzz of accomplishment.
"Here are the two songs that I plan to record before this week," I said, passing Alex a page with lyrics and notations. "One is solo and the other is duet."
She widened her eyes as she read the lyrics, then let out a dramatic sigh. "When do you get the time to do this stuff?"
"I've been planning this for too long," I said, lying through my teeth. Truth was, I'd just written both songs yesterday before school. It might seem like I'm doing a lot, but honestly, I don't study anymore—I just absorb books and I am already way ahead of the school's level. I play chess when I'm bored, but it's getting hard to find worthy opponents, so I'm challenging bots now. Basketball is mostly for testing things and staying in shape. Music is my main grind these days, and I've promised myself not to pick up any new hobbies until college starts.
Just then, Leonard's phone buzzed. He checked the screen and groaned. "Oh man, it's my mom. She wants me in the house. Last time, she made me stare at a dot on the wall for fifteen minutes while she took notes. I think she's trying to unlock my latent psychic powers or something." He sarcastically said.
Josh said his bad joke and he laughed alone at it. "Tell her to make videos. Maybe you can get famous that way. Hahaha"
Leonard rolled his eyes, gathering his stuff. "If I don't make it back, avenge me."
I grinned and made a shooing gesture at Josh. "Alright, Josh, your turn. Out. I need some alone time with my duet partner."
Josh gave me a thumbs up, waggling his eyebrows. "Say no more, bro. "Peace" He grabbed a handful of cookies and ducked out, still laughing.
Once the coast was clear, I turned to Alex. "Let me teach you this tune." I played the melody on my guitar, and she mirrored it on her cello, both of us getting serious but keeping it fun. She picked it up fast, but I noticed a new notification—apparently, I'd just unlocked a teaching skill. No surprise, since Alex kept complimenting how easy I made it for her to learn.
Like that, we spent the whole afternoon together, working through the song, laughing at our mistakes, and nailing the harmonies. When I heard my mom's car pulling out of the driveway, I couldn't resist getting a little cozier with Alex. We ended up making out, tangled up on the bed, giggling and playing each other's instruments.
Best day.
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