Hurricane

“So what’d you and Patty talk about?” Pete asked.

“Just about how I’ve been doing and then a little bit about the overdose recently,” I said. “She also asked me if I had thought about trying singing again.”

“Do you want to sing again?” Pete asked.

“I don’t know,” I said quietly. “I’m scared that I’ll just end up failing again and I’m afraid if that happens—I’m afraid of how I would react to that.”

“If you want, you can sing for me, and I can tell you what I think,” Pete said. “I do own a record label.”

“Really?” I asked. “I didn’t know that.”

“Yeah,” he said. “It’s kind of new to me though—I only got it kind of recently. So, what do you say? Will you sing for me?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “I mean, it’d be nice to hear what you think I guess… but I don’t want anything to come from it.”

“But what if you’re really good? Which I’m sure you are,” Pete said. “I could get your career started. You could be really big!”

I sighed.

“If I’m going to get a career in music, I want to get it on my own,” I said. “I don’t want you to just pull a few strings. Besides, I’m not even sure if I want to sing just yet. I don’t think I’m ready.”

“Fine,” Pete said. “But can I at least pull a few strings to get you a job. We’re hiring, anyways. And then when you are ready, you can pull your own strings.”

I laughed. A job did sound nice. It’d be better than sitting around doing nothing.

“What kind of a job did you have in mind?” I asked.

“Well, I just signed this band about a year ago, and their CD just came out last month and they kind of need an assistant type person,” Pete said. “You interested?”

“I guess,” I said. “Would you mind if I applied and had an interview just so that I feel like I got the job on my own.”

“Of course,” said Pete. Pete was now pulling into my driveway. “Hey, before you go—Fall Out Boy’s CD is coming out in about 2 weeks, and I know this isn’t the best time to bring this up… But we’re going to be going on tour soon.”

“Oh,” I said. Pete would be leaving again. I didn’t like this.

“Hey!” Pete said. “Smile. I’ve got good news. The band you will be assisting is opening for Fall Out Boy, which means you’ll have to go too.”

“Really?” I asked. Pete nodded. I guess this would be better… At least I wouldn’t be away from Pete for months. But then again, it’d be a lot of traveling and probably completely hectic and stressful. “When are we leaving?”