Dents

[+] The Apprentice

When 2D asked for my assistance on the new album, I thought he'd meant for me to play some riffs on my harmonica or something. I was speechless when he proposed that I help him work on the synthesizers and final editing instead.

I had no prior experience with anything of the sort, aside from a couple of tracks from the last album. In the face of my ineptness, 2D always responded 'I'll help yew, luv.' I could do nothing but swallow my insecurity and do my best.

The album remained a secret between the two of us, though I suspected that Ace might have had some idea of what we were up to already.

According to 2D, we couldn't get a stable foundation to work from for each song without at least a rudimentary bass track. Due to that, he asked Ace to record a handful of simple things as a personal favor. Ace, being the easy-going sort, agreed on the condition that 2D cover the cost of slushies and popsicles for him for one week. Initially, it seemed to be a pretty agreeable arrangement for both parties.

It was obvious by the end of the first day that the deal was far more beneficial for Ace. He went through a trough of popsicles and iced drinks hourly. 2D insisted that going broke over it, literally, was worth keeping the album low key a while longer. He kept his word. His wallet was a lot lighter for it.

We waited until everyone was asleep one night and snuck out of my room. 2D held my hand and functioned as my escort, turning back to me once every so often with a single finger pressed to his lips, whispering an inaudible 'shh.'

Once he set his foot on the top stair leading to the ground floor, we were harshly reminded how absolutely pointless our careful steps were. He snapped his head over his shoulder, wincing at me like the squealing of the staircase was physically painful.

"Next time I should jus' carry yew 'n we can run down 'ese bloody fings," he mumbled.

By the time we got into the kitchen we had probably woken not only the entire band, but also the neighbors. The second set of stairs that spiraled down to the dingy recording studio were far more merciful on the ears. By then, it was too little too late.

2D and I had come to an unspoken agreement that we'd pretend the album was still definitely a secret that no one else could have possibly figured out that we were up to something.

The basement was drafty. We had to find our way by the light of the moon cast through the cobweb coated hopper windows. The concrete floors radiated with the chill of the snowfall outside. A drop of water fell rhythmically from the water heater, a chunk of metal now entirely unable to serve its singular purpose. The droplets formed a narrow stream that trickled unhurried into a drain hole nearby.

2D stumbled upon the cord for the light in the maze of junk that had piled up while the basement was abandoned. He turned it on. In the process, he toppled a few boxes over and almost fell with them, which resulted in him latching onto another wall composed of garbage and debris. That wall proceeded to collapse as well, burying him in a pile of rubbish.

A rotten banana peel rested crookedly on the side of his deep blue mop. A winged insect buzzed by loudly, disappointed at having its meal suddenly interrupted.

He grinned widely.

"Sorry fo' the mess, luv."

I laughed, paying no regard to the fact that we were supposed to keep our voices lowered.

"Are you okay, 'D?" I snickered, "I don't even know how you managed to do that."

"'M alrigh'. Could I get a hand?"

"Yeah, of course. Of course."

I hadn't noticed the magazine that fell square in front of me when 2D tore the piles of trash apart. I took a step forward and reached out my hand. He used my support to lift himself up. Unfortunately, I lost my footing on the laminated pages and fell into the heap, dragging him back into it with me.

"We 'aven't even started recordin' yet 'n we bofth need a showa," he remarked.

I chuckled. A foul smell crept up my nostrils.

"And it was going so well, too."

2D stared at me affectionately. A small crease formed in the center of his brow. The corners of his mouth quivered up slightly.

"Et's good to see yew laughin', Saoirse."

We stood up, careful not to lose our balance once more in the horde of junk consuming the room. I watched him curiously. He looked like he had more to say.

"Et's jus'... Yew 'aven't been smilin' 'n laughin' like this lately. Et's good to see et. I missed et."

His pitch black irises wandered over me, a look of compassion dwelling beneath their glossy surface. I realized why he was doing all of this. I felt foolish for not comprehending it sooner.

He was trying anything he was capable of to distract me from how difficult reality had been for us. It was the same as he had done so many times before.

I looked back on how he played video games with me for hours into the night after we met, helping me settle in to what would eventually become our routine. I longed to grasp in my palm the porcelain harmonica that he'd stolen for me in Hong Kong after we nearly starved as a result of days adrift at sea. I reminisced about when he'd taken me out on the paddle boat in Beirut to sing for me after we'd narrowly escaped falling from a skyscraper.

Even now, he'd made an outrageously disadvantageous deal with Ace in order to give me something to be excited about. He was the ringleader of our poorly planned escapade to the basement tonight, and he was the reason I wasn't a bundle of worry and nerves like I had been so often recently.

"Thank you, 'D. Thank you so much."

"Fo' wha'?"

"For all of this. For everything."

A scarlet blush overtook his cheeks. His tongue pressed absentmindedly through a gap where a tooth should have been. He fidgeted with his hands awkwardly, a sheepish expression cast over his face.

"I - Uh, yew're welcome."

2D guided me to the keyboard and mic. He murmured something so faintly that I wasn't sure if he'd meant for me to hear him or not.

"I want to be able to do 'at fo' yew every day, foreva."

2D shifted gears and began instructing me on how to use the keyboard to create different sounds. I was exactly as awful at it as I imagined I'd be. 2D even scolded me at one point for flipping the switches with too much force.

To be fair, in that instance he was right. The key in question now hung limply on the switchboard from my rough handling of it.

He could have scolded me forever, though, and it would have been just as fun as everything else we did. As long as we were together and happy, that's all that mattered to me.

That's all I needed.

"I love you, 'D."

"I luv yew too, Saoirse."