Rockin' Romeo and Jammin' Juliet

Thirsty For You

Chapter 10: Thirsty For You

((Playlist: First Date by Blink-182)

"Hey, Soph! Glad you could make it."

Sophie raised an eyebrow, watching as he finally unlocked his front door after having juggled his five-pound keyring for three minutes trying to find the right one.  Why he had many she hadn't a clue.

"Jackson, you live here. You literally just drove me here."

"I know, I know. It's just a greeting." He lead her down into the basement, the rest of the band soon thundering down after them.  "Anyway: welcome to The Missionary Position! And I'm not talking about the band," he winked.

Sophie blushed furiously. "I- what?"

Jackson sighed. "Sophie, chill. I was joking." He grabbed a pair of drumsticks off the floor and thrust them at her. "Here you go. Now you get to sit back here." He pointed to the stool behind the drum set.

Sophie sat down, "I don't know about this, Jackson.  I've never touched a drum set before."

"You'll do fine." He smiled warmly at her.  "I've heard you tapping away on your desk before in Fulton's class.  You have rhythm."

Sophie tilted her head, both flattered and confused.  He was watching me during class?  He sits all the way across the room!  Still, she couldn't say she was unpleased by the thought.  She nervously turned the sticks in her hands.

Jackson grinned and pointed to the sticks she was flipping. "You're getting it already! Awesome."

Sophie looked down at the sticks. I didn't realize this was a drummer thing. She shrugged it off and watched as the rest of the band set up. Lilith gave her particularly bitchy looks as she tuned the guitar up, so she figured that meant she was accepted into the band.

"Alright. 'Thirsty For You,' from the top. Sophie, just watch the metronome and hit the drum on the left with the beat it plays, alright? This is a pretty easy song to start you out with."

Sophie nodded. What have I gotten myself into? She watched the dot on the metronome blip back and forth. As Jackson counted off, she began to quietly tap the drum in time.

A minute into the song, Lilith turned and shouted back over the guitars, "PLAY LOUDER, DAMN IT!"

Sophie jumped in surprise. Her dislike for Lilith fueled her hands. She whacked the drum, hard, in time. Jackson glanced back and gave her a thumbs up. Sophie smiled and kept hitting the drum.

When the song ended, Jackson walked back to change the metronome. "Good job. Make sure you really hit the drum, too," he added. "Act like it's a spider you want to squish, not a kitten you want to sing to sleep."

Sophie laughed at the metaphor. "Alright."

Jackson gave her a lopsided smile before turning to Dave the Ex-Drummer. "Hey, what's the next easiest song we have as far as beat goes?"

He thought for a moment, playing with the strings on his bass. "Probably 'Kinky Motivation'. It can be simplified until she gets the whole thing."

"What's the simplified version?" Sophie asked.

"Hit on one, two, the and of three, and four." He demonstrated the rhythm by clapping.

Sophie adjusted her grip on the drum sticks, trying to lock the rhythm in her head. "Okay. Which one do I hit for that?"

Lilith sighed, rolling her eyes. "God, this girl is clueless."

Jackson shot her a glare. "Shut up, Child of the Corn. You're lucky you aren't the one who got bumped to bass."