I'll Hum Along

“And this is why we can’t have nice things.” I said while filming Airin. He had broken about twelve pairs of drumsticks since the tour started, and it had only been a two weeks. “When I was the drummer I only broke three sticks in total.”

“Yeah, but you’re not as badass as I am.” Airin said, throwing his broken sticks in the trash.

“At least I’m not a douche.” I said. Airin gave me a look.

“Yeah, but you married one.” Airin said. I was quiet and Airin raised an eyebrow at me.

“Okay, you’ve got me there.” I said, and Airin laughed.

“God, you pick on him a lot.” Airin told me.

“Only when he deserves it…which is ten-percent of the time.” I said. “The other ninety percent is because I’m bored.” Airin laughed and I shut off the camera. Airin stood up and stretched his arms behind him. We were in Manitoba now, and we had played our two US shows we had planned. I liked the US crowds, because, even though they didn’t know a lot of our songs, they were super excited about everything. Marque really liked the US shows too, because the only times he had been to the States was when our school went to the Silverwood theme park and when we went to a wedding in Spokane.

Airin and I went back into the hotel we were staying at, and I was sharing a room with him. Airin went into the bathroom, saying he needed to shave the horrible facial hair he had going on. I sat on my bed and grabbed my laptop to check my e-mails. “Have you noticed Zack’s been acting kind of weird the last few days?” Airin asked from the bathroom.

“No, not really. Why?” I replied.

“He’s just been really…not himself.” Airin said.

“How so?”

“Well, for one, he’s not really eating. His energy level just keeps going down. Honestly, he looks like a zombie.” Airin said.

“Airin, his mum passed away a few months ago. He’s still really upset about it.” I said. Airin came out of the bathroom, rubbing a towel on his face.

“No, I know that, but he’s just…he’s not Zack.” Airin said, throwing the towel on his bed. “Sure, he still looks like Zack, but something’s going on that I think we should be worried about.”

“You’re really sounding like a dad, you know?” I said. Airin frowned at me.

“I’m serious Josline.” Airin said. We were both quiet a moment, aside from the ticking of my keys. “Do you think he’s doing drugs?”

I looked up at my brother in shock. “No, I don’t think Zack is doing drugs!” I exclaimed.

“It’s just a thought.” Airin said defensively.

“It’s a stupid thought.” I said. “Zack is better than that.”

“Just think about it for a moment, okay?” Airin snapped. “He’s becoming withdrawn from people. He’s overly tired, he’s feeling sick all the time, and he’s really…antsy.” Airin explained. I only frowned. “He’s acting a lot like I did when I was doing drugs.”

“Maybe he’s just upset.” I said. I really refused to believe Zack could be on drugs.

“Yeah, maybe, but don’t you think he would have talked to us by now?”

“He never told us about his dad.”

“His dad passed away before we even knew of Zack’s existence.” Airin said.

“You know, Marque acted the same way Zack is when Jazz passed away.” I pointed a finger at Airin. “He’s just upset, okay?”

Airin sighed in defeat. “Fine.” He said. I went back to reading something on Twitter. “Do you want a coffee or something?” Airin asked. I nodded slightly and he left the room. I quickly opened up Skype and saw the Stephanie was online, so I clicked on her name. When her face popped up, she smiled at me.

“Hey Josline! How’re you doing?” Stephanie asked me.

“I’m alright. How about you?”

“I’m good, thanks. How’s the tour?”

“Good. Um…” I trailed off slightly. “I have something I want to ask you.”

“Okay, sure. What is it?” Stephanie could sense the worry in my voice.

“Have you noticed anything strange about Zack? I mean, when he was home, did you notice anything weird?” I asked.

“Well, no, not really. Aside from being upset about his mom, I haven’t been paying much attention.” Stephanie admitted. “What’s wrong?”

I sighed, “Airin thinks he’s doing drugs.” Stephanie raised an eyebrow.

“That doesn’t sound like Zack.” Stephanie said.

“I know. I thought, maybe since you’ve known him the longest, you might know what’s up.” I said.

“I really only know as much as you know.” Stephanie frowned. “You’ll tell me if you find out anything, right?”

“Yeah, of course.” I said.

It really did worry me that Zack could be on some kind of drug. He always was a very private person; he didn’t let people know much about him. Zack was like a little brother to me. I almost lost one brother to drugs, and I wasn’t about to lose another.