Page 80 of Driving Beats
Byproduct of sending Nese away.
I walk into the center and get the informational packet for the week. As I enter the meditation room, I smile at some of my fellow practitioners. A Zen Master walks in and begins to talk in typical low tones.
This is good. Exactly what I need to calm my soul and achieve peace.
I look to my right, and a young woman with her eyebrow pierced settles into her posture. Great. Something tells me this is going to be unlike any retreat I’ve ever attended.
Not in a good way.
22
NESE
Isleep in my own bed for the first time in nearly a year. The full size feels smaller, especially compared with the king-size beds the hotel rooms offer. I’m surrounded by my own things—photos, magazines, inspirational quotes—yet I’m discombobulated.
Still in my sleep shorts, I wander into the kitchen, which looks exactly the way I left it. I start to brew coffee and sit to wait at the table, as there is no dining room or island. One of my roommates, Noah, pours some OJ and joins me. He’s good looking in a 9-to-5 type of way. We’ve had sex on a few occasions, and he’s not bad.
He sips his drink. “Hey.”
“Hey.” The alarm goes off on the coffee maker so I retrieve my brew, add milk and extra sugar, and retake my seat.
“How’s it going?”
“I’ve been having a blast. It’s been amazing seeing the world.”
“I bet. How is Untamed Coaster? Are they stuck up assholes, or what? I’ve watched some videos and they all look like jerks to me. Especially their guitar player. He always stays in the background as if he’s too good for the rest of them.”
My body stiffens. “Are you kidding? They’re all really nice! Bennett can sing the phone book and it would sound like a multi-platinum song. The guitarist, Coop, is—” I stop myself and choose my words. “Introverted. Not stuck up at all.”
Another roommate enters the kitchen. “Oh, good. Coffee.” Alexis pours a mug for herself and slips in across from me. “What are we talking about?”
Before I can respond, Noah says, “Nese was just extolling the virtues of the band. I was telling her the public version of them and how they’re portrayed online are two very different things.”
Alexis sips her coffee. “I don’t know. I like their new sound. I mean, before their original keyboardist OD’ed, they were good, but now, they’re amazing. Have you heard their song that won the Oscar?”
Noah shrugs. “I’m not saying their music isn’t good. I was saying that the band members themselves seem full of it.”
“Oh.” She adds another splash of creamer and stirs her coffee. “Yeah, I can see that. But their lead singer is HOT. All caps.”
The need to defend my friends forces me to speak up. “All of the members of Untamed Coaster are really cool guys. They even listen to me when I suggest things for them to wear.”
Alexis blinks. “Did you dress them for the Oscars?”
I smile. “Sure did. I thought they looked amazing in Versace. The people at the designer house were fantastic. Such attention to detail.”
“What car repair shop has careful attention to detail?” My fourth roommate, Owen, enters the fray. “My beater of a car needs new shocks. Good, coffee.”
Noah tracks Owen’s progress. “Nese here was telling us all about how dressing Untamed Coaster is amazing.” He’s actually not being malicious. Honest.
“Oh.” Owen takes the final seat at the dinette. “I thought you guys were talking about the new car repair shop on Claymont.”
“No,” Alexis supplies. “I’ve walked by them a few times, though. They seem to be busy.”
I stir my coffee for want of something to do. Their conversation continues about their jobs, then moves on to a new club down the road.
“We should celebrate Nese’s return there,” Alexis states. “Although, I did hear they charge twenty bucks to enter, so perhaps we should go to the bar next door.”
I stay silent. It’s hard to believe I used to participate in these types of conversations as if the whole world depended on our decisions. If nothing else, touring with UC has opened my eyes to a different reality. The fact my roommates think the band members are assholes doesn’t sit well with me.
