Choke on Your Misery

Zack

“I can’t believe that our parents are actually letting us to meet with Mr. Boylan later today,” Alex said excitedly, tapping his thumbs against his steering wheel. It was Friday afternoon, and Alex was driving us home from school. Around six o’clock we would be meeting with Mr. Boylan in his Baltimore office. I had yet to meet the guy, but Alex and Jack seemed to believe that he was offering us a real deal. Rian’s parents were doubtful about the whole thing, and were afraid it was going to turn out to be a scam. My parents had the same worry, but they agreed that we had to meet with the guy to find out. I believed Alex – if he said it wasn’t a scam then it probably wasn’t a scam.

“I can believe it – they’re going with us just to try and prove us wrong,” I pointed out.

Alex shrugged, pulling into his driveway. “They’ll realize that this is a legitimate offer and hopefully let us record our songs.”

“Hopefully. It’s going to cost a lot of money though, isn’t it?” I asked, unbuckling and getting out of his car.

“It probably will; we can try and divide it between the four of us though,” Alex said, shutting his car door behind him.

“That would make it a lot easier,” I nodded, swinging my backpack over my shoulder and walking around to the front of his car.

Alex caught my arm as I walked past him, “Where do you think you’re going?”

“I was going to go back to my house,” I said with a chuckle. “I need to put my backpack away and change into shorts; it’s too hot for these jeans.”

“Too bad; you’re coming back to my house,” Alex said, slipping his hand into mine. “My mom won’t be home until around five-thirty, which is when we have to leave to head into Baltimore.”

“I see,” I said, following him up the stairs and into his house. “We haven’t been alone in a while, have we?”

“Yeah; between me getting sick and you getting hurt, we’ve only had a few hours to ourselves,” Alex said, tossing his backpack beside mine near the door. “That’s why I want you to stay over here for a few hours.”

“I thought so,” I smiled, kissing him on the cheek and walking into his kitchen. “Do you have anything I can drink?”

“There should be some water bottles and pop in the fridge,” Alex said, following me.

I opened the fridge, bending over to grab a water bottle. I stood back up and jumped slightly, feeling Alex’s arms wrap around me. “Can I help you?” I chuckled, opening the bottle to take a sip before setting it down on the corner.

“I’ve missed being alone with you,” Alex said softly, kissing behind my ear.

“I have too,” I replied, blushing. I felt goosebumps come up as he continued to kiss down my neck, stopping at the base of my neck.

“How about we go up to my room for a little while?” Alex said, lips brushing against my neck lightly.

“O-okay,” I stammered. Alex chuckled at my disorientation, kissing me before leading me up to his bedroom.

••••••••••

Two and a half hours later, Alex and I were headed to Baltimore in his mom’s car. Alex and I had spent a good portion of the last two and a half hours in his bedroom, which resulted in a hand job or two and a lot of making out. Now we were in the car with Alex’s mom on our way to Mr. Boylan’s office. She had stopped at home to get us after work because it was “pointless” for her and Alex to drive separately. My parents were going to meet us at the office because they were just getting off work. Rian, Jack, and their parents were going to meet us up there too.

“Is that it?” Alex asked, pointing out the window at a building. We were both sitting in the backseat.

I leaned over to look past his head, “I think that’s the place, Mrs. Gaskarth. It’s got the name on the building.”

“I think you’re right,” Alex’s mom said, slowing down to turn into the parking lot. I saw that all of the other cars were already here, meaning that everyone else must be inside. We got out of the car, quickly going into the building and finding everyone else inside. Mr. Boylan came out of the back just a few seconds after we walked in the door.

“Good evening!” he greeted, smiling. “I’ve got a table set up in a back room, if you would all like to have a seat.”

I followed the others into the back room, sitting down as our parents introduced themselves to Mr. Boylan. I sat between Alex and Rian, and Jack sat beside Alex. Once everyone was seated, he spoke up.

“Well, I’ve met two of the band members – Alex and Jack, correct?” Mr. Boylan said, smiling at the two of them. He looked at Rian and I, “So you boys must be the other half of the band.”

“Yes, sir. I’m Rian Dawson, the drummer of the band,” Rian said.

“I’m Zack Merrick, bassist,” I added, my tone quieter. “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise. I understand that you all have questions for me, so please, ask away,” Mr. Boylan smiled.

“Is this a real deal? No scam or anything involved?” Rian’s mom asked.

Mr. Boylan shook his head, “No, of course not. I understand why you would think that; this is a brand new company. I can assure you that this is a real deal. I’m not here just to take their money.”

“So there is a contract and all that, to make it legal?” my mom asked.

“Of course.”

“So how does the whole recording thing work? I’ve got the general idea but...” Alex asked, trailing off.

Mr. Boylan chuckled, “If you decide that you’re interested, I have a contract for you to read over and sign.” He pulled a few pieces of paper from a folder on the table. “I will need a parent signature for whoever is under eighteen years old. Then we can set up a scheduled recording time, probably on the weekend because you boys are still in school. I’ll be here with another man to work with you, because we don’t have an actual producer yet. We will help tweak the music or lyrics if we feels that it could be a bit better. You boys will record each part of the song and we’ll put all the songs together to make an EP.”

“Sounds cool,” Jack said, looking over at the rest of us with a grin.

After a few more questions regarding the recording process and the contract, our parents finally seemed to be satisfied. I finally spoke up, asking the question that was on everyone’s mind, “How much is it going to cost to record?”

“Generally, it costs around one grand to record five or six songs. That’s about one hundred dollars per song, plus the cost of studio space,” Mr. Boylan explained.

“Damn,” Rian mouthed at me, and I nodded in agreement. We didn’t have that much money.

“However,” Mr. Boylan continued, “You won’t be recording with a professional producer, so I can lower the price a bit. Also, you’re the first band to come to this label, so I think I’ll make a deal with you. I could settle for seventy-five dollars per song, plus studio costs. That would make your total somewhere between 600 and 800 dollars, depending on the number of songs.”

“That’s definitely a little more manageable,” Alex said.

“Yes, I’m sure it is. With this contract, you would make about ten percent profit from CD sales if we decide to release it. Of course, I would double as your promoter, so I will set up shows and such so we can promote the band.” Mr. Boylan looked around at us. “Have I answered all of your questions?”

“Yes, I believe so,” Jack’s mom replied. “Would it be too much of a bother to let us talk this over alone for a few minutes?”

“No, that’s perfectly fine. I do have the contract, if you care to take a look at it,” Mr. Boylan handed the contract to Alex. “I’ll leave and come back in about ten minutes.”

He left the room, and the four of us huddled around Alex to read the contract. A lot of it was basic stuff or the stuff that Mr. Boylan had talked to us about. After we had read it along with our parents, we looked up at each other. “So, do you want to do this?” Alex asked us.

“I do!” Jack said with a grin. “Even if we don’t sell too many CDs, it promotes the band a little more.”

“Where are we going to get the money, though?” I asked.

“If we record the four songs that we have written, it would cost about 600 dollars,” Rian pointed out. “If we use the money we won at the Battle of the Bands, we only need 500 dollars.”

“That’s only about 125 dollars each,” I said, calculating it in my head easily.

“Show off,” Alex teased, smiling and poking me in the stomach. “That amount isn't too bad though; I can definitely afford that.”

“Me too,” Jack nodded.

Alex looked up at our parents, “What do you think? Are you going to let us do this?”

They looked at each other, a few of them sighing. “It does seem like you’re getting a good deal. You’d be paying twice as much at any other label,” Rian’s stepfather admitted.

“Money isn’t the main object, though,” Rian’s mom added. “It’s whether we want the boys to do this or not.”

“Signing the contract will mean that you’re bound to everything in it. You’re going to have to record this EP, play more shows, and maybe even do a tour,” my dad told us. I almost laughed as I saw Alex’s eyes light up at the word ‘tour.’

“I’m okay with that,” Alex said with a grin. Jack nodded, just as eager as Alex.

“What about you two?” Alex’s mom asked, looking at Rian and I.

I looked at Rian, who shrugged. “I’ll do it if Zack’s going to.”

Everyone looked at me, and I flushed slightly at the attention. “Y-yeah, I definitely want to do it,” I said, smiling slightly.

“Yes!” Alex cheered, hugging me tightly. He pulled back, keeping one arm around me. “So can we do this?”

Jack’s mom nodded, “As long as you boys understand the contract and are committed to this, I’m okay with it.” Jack’s dad nodded in agreement, as did Rian’s parents and Alex’s mom.

“You’re sure that you want to do this? With all the concerts and a possible tour, you’re going to be under a lot of stress...” my mom said hesitantly, looking me in the eyes. She was worried about my anxiety, as I had expected. Honestly, I was too; with the added stress of playing more concerts, I wasn’t sure how bad my anxiety would get.

“I can manage it,” I said, forcing a smile for her.

“Are you sure?” she asked, not believing me.

“C’mon, Mrs. Merrick,” Alex said, hugging me closer and pouting, “We can’t do it without Zack!”

My mom sighed and looked at my dad, “What do you think, Mark?”

My dad looked over at me, and Alex quickly pulled away from me. My dad was just starting to accept our relationship, and he didn’t want to ruin it by goofing around. “I think that if Zack wants to do this, he can do it.”

“Alright,” Mom sighed. “If you think you can handle it, then I’ll let you.”

I grinned and Alex, Rian, and Jack cheered happily. Mr. Boylan poked his head back in the door before walking back into the room. “I hear cheering – does that mean you’ve agreed to sign this contract?” he asked with a chuckle.

“Yeah,” Alex said with a nod, smiling.

“Good! Let’s get this contract signed, then.”