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“God, you’re depressing,” Seven shouted over the booming bass as he took the stool next to mine.
I held up my bottle in a toast. “Fuck you too.”
His eyes narrowed. “When did we become enemies?”
My eyebrows shot up. “Really? You’re asking me that?”
“I know I got out of line about Tali. I apologized my ass off. But, like, we don’t have to be at odds. I get that you don’t like what’s going down in the studio. I don’t like it either. We gotta present a united front. Get on the same page. Jeremy and Jin will go along with whatever.”
Hehadapologized, but not until I made the decision to go to New York. Then he’d basically kissed Tali’s feet. I didn’t even have to say me agreeing to New York was all on her. My boys were well aware.
“I’m all for a united front. I didn’t sign a record deal to become some lame-ass boy band.”
He cackled maniacally, alerting me to how high he was. I was no saint, not by a long shot, but the amount of readily available drugs here had been a surprise. However, I was nobody’s mom. As long as they were functional in the studio, I had other things to worry about.
Besides, like I said, I was no saint.
“Never Again is no boy band. We’ll get this shit figured out,” he said.
I was still skeptical, but damn if I couldn’t use a friend. Ben had all but disappeared from my life, despite living in the same house as Tali. I’d always considered him more of a brother than just a friend, so I didn’t doubt we’d get back to normal once things settled down.
Sev opened his hand, showing me a vial half-full of white powder. My eyes flicked to his, and he gave me a devious smile.
I palmed the vial. “We’ll get it figured out,” I agreed.
* * *
Hey Stripes,
I’m getting tired of only being able to text a sentence at a time. The secretary at the studio is letting me use her computer while she’s at lunch. I’m answering the phone for her, and I have no idea how to transfer calls or anything. It’s kind of hilarious.
Guess what we started recording today? Your song, Tali. It’s gonna be immortalized. People in China are gonna hear my voice, singing about the most together, gorgeous woman in the world.
I can’t wait to see you this weekend. We’re gonna be NYC tourists and see it all. You can probably guide my ass around. I’ve barely seen any of the city since I got here.
Things are going better, thank Christ. Sev’s back to his normal asshole self instead of the supreme asshole he’s been lately. We got a new producer working with us who gets our sound a lot better.
I’m feeling optimistic. Like maybe this is gonna be great.
I’ll call you tonight but email me anyway.
Yours,
Jude
Hey Jude,
When your email came through, I’d just started nodding off while I was supposed to be studying statistics. So thank you :) I have a test tomorrow I am utterly unprepared for.
I love that you’re playing secretary, although I feel sorry for anyone who’s calling while you’re on duty. And don’t get the real secretary fired!
Want to know what I did this morning? Ben and I played a Gamelan instrument for the class he’s interning in. We showed 25 first graders how to play. My god, Jude, it was the cutest thing in the world. And those kids worship the ground Benny walks on. He’s going to be such a fantastic teacher.
I’m definitely going to be your tour guide. We can do whatever you want, as long as some of it involves pizza. And I promised Tino I would bring him NYC bagels.
Of course it’s going to be great. I never doubted it. You met some obstacles, but you held fast and got around them. You are a brilliant musician, and that’s why you landed this record deal.
I love you so very much. I can’t wait to hear your voice later, although your emails make me smile. I’ve saved them all, and one day, I’m going to put them in a scrapbook.
