The Church Boys ➸ Peterick/Brentrick

24: Patrick Befriends Electra Heart

Patrick loved his job.

Sometimes it was just coffee runs, then tuning the instruments to how they were needed, or replacing the strings. At least, for the time being. A band was in the studio recording a new album, and he was acting as an assistant. He was learning how to work the booth as well, and what people looked for in harmonies and melodies.

It was helping quite a lot, and part of him wasn't entirely mad at Pete because it was his doing that landed him here, and he was making a lot of friends.

He had a few days off, naturally, when the band wasn't recording and he wasn't needed by Pete's father for anything. Soon, though, his schedule would be changing (as the band was more than halfway recording by the time he got there) and he'd be getting two artists to deal with on varying days. Less days off, but he also wouldn't be interacting with Pete's father as much. Which, he was fine with.

Both artists coming in were headed by women, as far as Patrick knew, so it'd be an interesting dynamic.

He'd be attending a meeting for Pete's father as a scribe with another female artist in a few days, and he was a little nervous for that one, but it wasn't bad. He didn't hate being an errand boy, surprisingly, and it paid well. Also, he didn't run into Pete, which was quite nice.

After every day he worked, he'd usually wind up walking to Amoeba Music and wandering. He'd only buy things at the end of the week when he got a check and could cash it, however. Still, the first time he'd gone in there, he'd had money to spend and walked out with nothing. He was too overwhelmed with everything: it felt like a literal heaven for him. There was music everywhere, and the people he'd encountered were nice and were just as enthusiastic about albums as he was.

He'd drive to his aunt's afterwards, and that would be his day. It wasn't a bad day at all, it never was. He loved the job, and probably still would've done it as a regular unpaid intern.

-

He was supposed to get going on a coffee run for an artist he wasn't really involved with that much when she stopped him after he took her order. Of course, he did things in there, but he wasn't staying in the room that often. Yet, he didn't really realize who it was until she stared him directly in the face.

"Hey! Wait!" Marina called out, reaching to take Patrick by the shoulder as he glanced down at the Starbucks order on the paper. "What instruments can you play?"

He turned to look at her, a little star struck as he thought of how to phrase the question. "I don't want to sound conceited, but I can play like fifty..."

"Drums included?"

"Yeah, course."

"Can you play this for me?" she asked, offering the pages and looking right into Patrick's soul. He was hesitant, but nodded.

"Y-yeah, sure," he said quickly, nodding and taking the pages to look over. He could play drums, that wasn't a big deal, but this was Marina. As in, Marina and the Diamonds. He was freaking out a little bit.

The drum work was simple, but he got behind the set and picked up the sticks. Glancing at the people in the studio, the man who was usually ordering him around nodded.

"Whenever you're ready. Just give it a run through a couple times, then we'll record it."

Patrick memorized the first half in about a minute, playing through a couple parts at different paces before he went to play it at a pace that seemed like it would suit it. In his defense, she hadn't told him how she wanted it played, she just asked him to play it.

He put the two parts together soon enough, then looked up and nodded. "I think I'm ready."

"What do you want from Starbucks? I'll run and get your order too," one of the other people there offered.