Rum and Coke

“So, Ellie, what brings you back here?” Dr. Amani asked.

“You know my dad- he freaks out over every little thing,” Ellie replied, hiding her shaking hand.

Dr. Amani saw this. “I see. And how long have your hands been shaking like that?”

Ellie sighed. “Off and on for the past week.”

Dr. Amani nodded and scribbled that down. “Anything else?”

“My legs have not been working as they should and, um, two or three nights ago, I started convulsing in my sleep.”

Dr. Amani widened his eyes in shock. “Ellie, it is normal for muscles to twitch and jerk-”

“I know that, but it was reported by several people that I was full on convulsing and that I was not responding to them.”

“I see. And emotional?”

“Paranoid, mainly. I’ve been snappy and short-tempered a few times. And I believe all the other crazy emotions were well within normal limits, given the circumstances.”

“Circumstances?”

Ellie paused. “There’s been a lot of drama since the last time that I saw you.”

“Ellie, I thought I told you to keep your stress level down.”

“I tried, okay?! It’s kind of heard when you meet your biological father and then you go touring with his band. And then two of your best friends just up and leave you!”

“Ellie, calm down.”

Ellie took a few deep breaths before looking up at the Dr. “Well?!” she asked, her voice raised.

“Well, what? Ellie, you already know what I’m going to say.”

“I just…I don’t know.”

Dr. Amani sighed and sat down on the exam table next to her. “Ellie, I know this is a trying-”

“No! Just…no. Aren’t there tests you can run? Equations to do?”

“To do what, Ellie?”

“To see how long I have.”

“Ellie, it’s not healthy-”

“Just tell me, goddammit!” She screamed, scaring the small man.

“Ok. We’ll run a PET scan, it-”

“Measures the metabolic activity in my brain- I know.”

Dr. Amani nodded. “Right, and we'll run a functional MRI, just in case. Let me go get it prepped and I'll come back when it's time.”

~*~
“Alright, guys,” Ellie projected from her spot on top of the coffee table. “Thank you all for coming out today. I know it’s been a hard few days- for all of us, but together, we can get through this,” she said, giving a small smile to everyone who was in her uncles’ home. “Ok, so we’re going to split up into three teams. Adam will take a group upstairs. Ryan will be in charge of the main level, and I’ll be downstairs. Now, remember, don’t touch any furniture- only pack personal belongings. If you want anything that is not an award, bring the item to me and I’ll say if it can go or not. I will copy photos if you want those. Okay, that’s it- let’s go. Um, if I can see Toby and Ryan for two seconds, that would be great.” Ellie smiled as Brian helped her off of the table. She spotted the two in question in a corner and walked over to them. “Toby,” Ellie sung as she hugged him.

“Ok, please don’t do that. I really don’t want to be reminded of that show,” Toby groaned inwardly.

“Ok, fine. So, did you do it?”

“Do what?” Toby feigned innocence.

Ryan lightly punched him in the stomach. “Did you write the computer program, dumb-ass?”

“Oh, that!” Toby exclaimed.

“Yes, that.” Ellie and Ryan said in unison.

“You guys are really freaky when you do that.”

Ryan made a motion for him to get on with what he was saying.

“Oh, yea. That. Well, I finished writing the program.”

“And?” Ellie prompted.

“And well, it’s a bit temperamental.”

“Temperamental?” Ryan asked. “How so?”

“Well, since the only songs of yours I had to go by were on your album, those are the only songs I have.”

“That’s fine, but that doesn’t explain how it’s temperamental.”

“Well, you have to execute it yourself.”

“We don’t speak techie, Toby!” Ellie exclaimed.

“He means that I have to tell it when to go,” Ryan simplified.

“Before you say anything, I tried to do it your way but there were too many bugs in the system and I had to account for you guys not playing the tempo in which it was recorded at.”

“So, how do I get it to go? As you can see, my legs are useless!”

“Ellie! Ryan! We need you!” Brian yelled over everyone in the room.

“Be there in a jiff!” Ellie called back. “Well?”

“You tap the rim of the drum over that kick drum.”

“And if I want all of them at once?”

“You tap the rim of the joint in between the middle and side kicks.”

“And what about if I need that particular drum and the kick?”

“Those, I actually did manage to record, so just hit the skin. So, there’s going to have to be someone managing the computer during the set.”

“Sounds complicated,” Ellie mused.

“It’s not really, the technician just has to type in the song name, and hit the button when the little ball lights up- it’s very much like a video game,” Toby explained.

Ryan thought about that for a moment. “What happens when I only tap one joint?”

“Only those to drums go.”

Ryan nodded his head. “And transportation?”

“The computer is only hooked up to the foot pedal, and I just need to install some sensors under a few of your skins. Once they’re in place, you just hook the cables in and you’re set.”

“That could actually work. Let’s do a practice run after dinner.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Ellie said. “You’ll have to show the roadies how to set it up, though.”

“That’s fine. Well, I’m going to go help now,” Toby said before running away.

“You think it’s going to work?” Ellie asked her brother.

Ryan shrugged. “It won’t hurt to try.”

Smiling, Ellie patted his shoulder before heading toward the basement door. This is going to be a long day.