Skylines and Turnstiles
Elevator;
I was allowed to sit in as they did their interview with a MTV executive, the whole band over excited at the chance of getting their band name out there. "We're actually performing at a Battle of the Bands soon. The winner gets a couple hundred bucks and a spot on a big upcoming tour so we're stoked for that. Uhm, other than that we just have practice. A few local shows at a club in Towson, a few here in NYC. No big deal, really."
It seemed like Alex dominated when it came to speaking for the band during interviews. Jack would goof off and say a few things here and now, mostly a few serious statements twisted into a form of a grotesque joke that had the interviewer dying from laughter. Zack stayed quiet unless he was directly spoken to, happy to sit aside and let Alex as Jack enjoy mouthing off to the interviewer. Rian was the same, only throwing in his own serious answers when Jack and Alex left the question unanswered in the wake of a joke or goofy statement.
"Are you writing at the moment for an EP?" the boy asked, glancing up from his questions scribbled on a piece of crinkled looseleaf paper. Alex glanced at Jack and turned to the interviewer, "Nothing too official, you know? Just fooling around with my acoustic, scribbling down a couple pretty phrases here and there. I have a couple songs ready for the studio, all we have to do is get in there and record." Alex explained, his hands moving wildly as he talked.
The interviewer nodded and switched off the tape recorder that sat on the table towards the middle and got to his feet, shaking everyone's hand before leading us out of the door and into the hallway to catch the elevator down.
"Max weight, 1500 pounds. Do you think were 1500 pounds, Alex?" Jack asked, rocking back and forth on his heels as his hand laced with mine, staring at the sign next to the buttons of the elevator.
"Jack, you're all sticks. I doubt we weigh even close to 1500 pounds." I mumbled, scratching my arm and checking my cellphones for text messages as the light above the elevator blinked and the doors opened.
We all scrambled into the elevator, squished next to each other as the numbers quickly changed on the wall next to the doors.
"Okay, who's hand is touching my butt?" Zack exclaimed, looking over his shoulder at me and Jack. I pointed at Jack with a shrug and Jack let out a laugh before smirking seductively, "That's not my hand."
We all busted out in laughter, Zack grinning and shaking his head as the elevator stilled and let out a ding making it known that we were at the bottom of the elevator shaft. The doors opened and we spilled out of the confines of the metal box happily, walking out onto the populated sidewalk heading back to the parking garage.
"Do we have to go back to the hotel?" I whined, swinging me and Jack's hands between our hips as we walked. "Yeah, we should go eat or something. Go shopping?"
Everyone let out sounds of agreement and we walked over to a mostly unoccupied buffet place, the waitress dragging another table over so we could all sit together. "C'mon, my lady. Food awaits." I chuckled at Jack's use of words and followed him to the rows of food, pausing every so often to place small mounds of each substance on my plate. I shoved a roll on top of my corn and headed over to Jack who was piling a mountain of nachos on one plate while he scooped mashed potatoes and macaroni on the other. "Leave enough for the other's, baby." I said with a laugh, grabbing one of his 3 plates and leading him back to the table.
The other's eyed Jack weirdly as he shoveled a forkful of corn into his mouth, chewing with his wide open. "Ew, bro." Alex said, a look of disgust on his face. "At least chew with your mouth closed, we're in public." he smacked the back of Jack's head and shook his own before biting into a piece of chicken.
I watched Lisa as she only played around with the tiny amount of food on her plate, not a single piece going into her mouth as we all sat and devoured our own plates. I looked away and spooned peas into my mouth and by the time I looked back over, half of Lisa's plate was clean and she was leaning back in her chair talking to Alex animately.
She excused herself soon after and I frowned, excusing myself and following slowly. I stepped into the bathroom and paused at the sounds of vomiting coming from the closest stall. The toilet flushed and she stepped out, only slightly bothered by the sight of me lingering by the paper towel dispenser. "Lisa..." I mumbled, stepping closer and standing beside her as she used a hand to scoop water into her mouth before spitting it out into the sink.
"Don't tell anyone, especially Alex. Please?" I could hear the desperation in her voice and I couldn't help but feel sorrow for her. "Lisa, this is serious. You need help." I whispered, my tone serious as our eyes met.
"I will get help, I promise. Just please don't tell Alex? I will do anything."
"I won't tell, I promise." I said, wrapping an arm around Lisa and walking with her out of the restroom and back to the table. Alex stared at us strangely but didn't say anything, only resumed his conversation with Jack and Rian.
"Are we ready to go?" Matt asked, looking up from his smartphone and glancing around the table. Everyone nodded and we left a large tip on the tabletop, heading out the doors and back to the parking garage to head over to the hotel.
I couldn't keep my eyes off of Lisa and I felt guilty for keeping the secret from everyone but what else was I supposed to do when she was already eager to get help? For the time being I would keep my mouth shut and let her handle her situation. I just hoped that the condition didn't turn into something a little more serious, I didn't think Alex could handle anymore pain in his life. Not now, not ever.
It seemed like Alex dominated when it came to speaking for the band during interviews. Jack would goof off and say a few things here and now, mostly a few serious statements twisted into a form of a grotesque joke that had the interviewer dying from laughter. Zack stayed quiet unless he was directly spoken to, happy to sit aside and let Alex as Jack enjoy mouthing off to the interviewer. Rian was the same, only throwing in his own serious answers when Jack and Alex left the question unanswered in the wake of a joke or goofy statement.
"Are you writing at the moment for an EP?" the boy asked, glancing up from his questions scribbled on a piece of crinkled looseleaf paper. Alex glanced at Jack and turned to the interviewer, "Nothing too official, you know? Just fooling around with my acoustic, scribbling down a couple pretty phrases here and there. I have a couple songs ready for the studio, all we have to do is get in there and record." Alex explained, his hands moving wildly as he talked.
The interviewer nodded and switched off the tape recorder that sat on the table towards the middle and got to his feet, shaking everyone's hand before leading us out of the door and into the hallway to catch the elevator down.
"Max weight, 1500 pounds. Do you think were 1500 pounds, Alex?" Jack asked, rocking back and forth on his heels as his hand laced with mine, staring at the sign next to the buttons of the elevator.
"Jack, you're all sticks. I doubt we weigh even close to 1500 pounds." I mumbled, scratching my arm and checking my cellphones for text messages as the light above the elevator blinked and the doors opened.
We all scrambled into the elevator, squished next to each other as the numbers quickly changed on the wall next to the doors.
"Okay, who's hand is touching my butt?" Zack exclaimed, looking over his shoulder at me and Jack. I pointed at Jack with a shrug and Jack let out a laugh before smirking seductively, "That's not my hand."
We all busted out in laughter, Zack grinning and shaking his head as the elevator stilled and let out a ding making it known that we were at the bottom of the elevator shaft. The doors opened and we spilled out of the confines of the metal box happily, walking out onto the populated sidewalk heading back to the parking garage.
"Do we have to go back to the hotel?" I whined, swinging me and Jack's hands between our hips as we walked. "Yeah, we should go eat or something. Go shopping?"
Everyone let out sounds of agreement and we walked over to a mostly unoccupied buffet place, the waitress dragging another table over so we could all sit together. "C'mon, my lady. Food awaits." I chuckled at Jack's use of words and followed him to the rows of food, pausing every so often to place small mounds of each substance on my plate. I shoved a roll on top of my corn and headed over to Jack who was piling a mountain of nachos on one plate while he scooped mashed potatoes and macaroni on the other. "Leave enough for the other's, baby." I said with a laugh, grabbing one of his 3 plates and leading him back to the table.
The other's eyed Jack weirdly as he shoveled a forkful of corn into his mouth, chewing with his wide open. "Ew, bro." Alex said, a look of disgust on his face. "At least chew with your mouth closed, we're in public." he smacked the back of Jack's head and shook his own before biting into a piece of chicken.
I watched Lisa as she only played around with the tiny amount of food on her plate, not a single piece going into her mouth as we all sat and devoured our own plates. I looked away and spooned peas into my mouth and by the time I looked back over, half of Lisa's plate was clean and she was leaning back in her chair talking to Alex animately.
She excused herself soon after and I frowned, excusing myself and following slowly. I stepped into the bathroom and paused at the sounds of vomiting coming from the closest stall. The toilet flushed and she stepped out, only slightly bothered by the sight of me lingering by the paper towel dispenser. "Lisa..." I mumbled, stepping closer and standing beside her as she used a hand to scoop water into her mouth before spitting it out into the sink.
"Don't tell anyone, especially Alex. Please?" I could hear the desperation in her voice and I couldn't help but feel sorrow for her. "Lisa, this is serious. You need help." I whispered, my tone serious as our eyes met.
"I will get help, I promise. Just please don't tell Alex? I will do anything."
"I won't tell, I promise." I said, wrapping an arm around Lisa and walking with her out of the restroom and back to the table. Alex stared at us strangely but didn't say anything, only resumed his conversation with Jack and Rian.
"Are we ready to go?" Matt asked, looking up from his smartphone and glancing around the table. Everyone nodded and we left a large tip on the tabletop, heading out the doors and back to the parking garage to head over to the hotel.
I couldn't keep my eyes off of Lisa and I felt guilty for keeping the secret from everyone but what else was I supposed to do when she was already eager to get help? For the time being I would keep my mouth shut and let her handle her situation. I just hoped that the condition didn't turn into something a little more serious, I didn't think Alex could handle anymore pain in his life. Not now, not ever.
♠ ♠ ♠
I haven't updated this since 2009, my god. I might get into the habit of updating more since I actually enjoyed writing this update. I would appreciate a few comments. :)