《Lonely》
First Day
I looked at the room around me. It was your standard lecture room, desk lined up along the legnth of it. At the front stood a large screen projector, a small desk to accompany it. The room smelled musky, as if it hadn''t been used in a lon time. My suit was also beginning to become uncomfortable due to the temperature inside. Why did they even ask us to dress so formal?
All around me sat other people like me, some men, some women. We were all here for the same reason. We had applied for employment. For what you ask? Well, for the Companion service of course. The pay was good and required very little schooling and experience.
What''s that? What is the Companion service? It''s a service designed to give company to those who are struggling on their own, those who don''t have friends, those that normally socialize with others but get lonely every now and then. Back to more important matters.
I glanced over to the person next to me. It was a woman, probably in her twenties judging by her appearance. Her golden blonde hair was pinned up on hear head, but a few hairs had escaped and were draping over her cheek from the heat. She looked as bored as I was for orientation to begin.
"Hi, my name''s Martin, but you can call me M for short." The woman didn''t even bothered turning her head to acknowledge me. Either she was zoned out and didn''t hear me, or she just flat out ignored me. I repeated myself once more, this time soliciting a response. She turned to face me, keeping her head propped up with her hand. Without saying a word, she rolled her eyes and turned back around. Well, that was a waste of time.
The buzzing of the lights overhead were beginning to chew at my patience. Nobody in here seemed friendly in the slightest. Maybe it was because we were all growing impatient. Our supervisor had yet to show up, running 30 minutes late already.
As I glanced down at my watch, I heard the doors at the back of the lecture room bang open. A thin and slobish looking man came bolting past the desks and made his way up to the front of the room. He threw the bag down he was carrying and quickly took a seat at the table with the projector.
"Sorry for being late guys. Traffic was a little more hectic than I thought it would be." I watched as he scrambled to pull his supplies from his bag. He was a mess. His hair was ruffled up, his glasses hanging at a crooked angle. Was he really supposed to be our supervisor?
I looked around me once more. Everybody else seemed to have reservations about this as much as I did. Oh well, it''s a job. You''re going to get that with every kind of job. There''s always guys like him.
"Yes, here we go." I saw the projector screen light up, a standard stock template lining the screen. It read, "Companion Systems Training Seminar." Wait, this isn''t just orientation but training as well? I suddenly felt worse about my choice to place myself here.
"Welcome everyone to the companion service orientation and training class. I''m Mr. Beck and I''ll be your instructor for today." Yep, this was definitely going to be a mistake. I could feel it.
"First of all, is anyone here familiar with the companion service itself?" I watched as a few hands went up across the room. No doubt we knew what it was, otherwise we wouldn''t have signed up for the job. It was more apparent that nobody felt too inclined to answer.
After a few of the obvious expected answers, Mr. Beck moved onto the next few slides. They mostly covered the history of the companion system and how prestigious it was. Well, at least in their eyes it was. To us, it was just a job. I didn''t have anything better to do with my life at the moment so I figured it would be an easy job that paid well. So far, nothing unexpected had occured.
I felt myself beginning to doze off as Beck droned on, at least until he came to the actual "training" slides. Honestly, the word training isn''t as aptly fit as suggestions would be. We were simply expected to act as our normal selves, keeping in mind to avoid all illegal activities. This of course included anything that mirrored prostitution, robberies, etc. You know, the general kind of crime that somebody might dial up somebody shady to help with.
There was one thing that caught not only my attention, but everybody elses well. Agents are not allowed to continue interaction with a client post service period, nor were we allowed to interact with other fellow agents outside of our work. It really didn''t matter that much to me, but for some I could see that it definitely caused a change of opinion.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
After spending only 30 minutes on the slides, Beck turned and faced us all. "As for your salaries, you will be paid monthly. You are not allowed to accept any form of payment from the clients directly. Now, if there are any questions please raise your hand."
The woman next to me raised her hand, an annoyed look on her face, "So, what are we supposed to do if we bump into one our former clients on the street?" She raised a good question. I didn''t give it much thought when it was brought up, but it was a very probable scenario.
"Why, you ignore them and under no means are you to acknowledge them." We all kind of wanted to feel shocked, but at this point, nothing was going to surprise us from this shady idea of a job. For me, that was fine. I never actually wanted to make friends from this. I just needed the money was all.
At Becks statement, I watched as nearly half of our class stood up from their seats and walked out. Apparently they were declining their employment. Suit themselves I guess.
I looked around the room once more. Surprisingly, the woman next to me was still seated. She must have just asked out of curiosity instead of conflict.
"Very well then. Those who are left, please come down here and take these forms. Once you fill them out, you may turn them in to the assistant outside and we will get your paperwork in order. Class, dismissed." With that statement, Beck laid down a stack of forms on his desk he had withdrew from his briefcase.
One by one we proceeded down to the desk, each of us taking a form. I returned to my seat to fill it out rather than go outside. It was general information that one would expect from an employment form. While we had already filled out applications, this was more or less used to corraborate the information.
As I flipped through each page filling out the proper fields, I felt someone nudge me on my shoulder. It was the woman who had rolled her eyes at me. What did she want?
"Um, I''m sorry about before, but could I ask a favor? I forgot to bring anything to write with, so would you mind if I borrowed your pen after you''re done?" I paused for a moment. I could easily return the treatment I had recieved before and roll my eyes, but at least she had apologized.
"Yeah, sure. Just give me a second to finish filling this out." She nodded her head and gave me a brief smile. Her face was fairly pale, a shallow complexion with a small forhead. Her eyes were a deep blue, resembling the hue of an azure crystal. She was actually kind of cute.
As I finished up the last fields, I flipped to the last page. It was an agreement about what Beck had mentioned before. "I hereby agree to the statements listed above and that I, as an employee of Companion Systems Inc., will refrain from any contact with other employees outside of work as well as previous clients of my own. Any violation of these terms will result in termination of employment and a ban from the use of the Companion system itself."
"Jeez, that seems like a mouthful doesn''t it?" The woman had chimed in, reading from my page what she would soon come across.
"Yeah, you think they would encourage interpersonal communication among agents. I guess they just want avoid attachment between clients and workers I guess." I handed the pen to the woman. She took it with a smile, hurrying to fill out the form so she could return my pen.
I watched as she filled out her name on the form. "Abigail Walker. That''s a nice name." She quickly glanced up from the paper and gave me another smile. At least it didn''t creep her out.
After a few minutes she handed the pen back to me, having completed the form. "Thanks, I appreciate it." I slightly felt bad at getting annoyed at her before Beck had arrived. She was actually polite, a difference in what I had first assumed.
"It''s no problem. Now let''s go get these forms turned in." I grabbed my bag, and proceeded past the others who were still filling out the form. Were they havin second doubts? Oh well, if they''ve got the time to think about it then I guess they can.
As I walked out the door, Abigail followed behind me. A ways from the entrance, the assistant was sitting at a small fold out table. She wasn''t noteworthy in appearance, a face you would think of when you think of an assistant that''s tasked with simply taking up papers. After handing the forms in, she gave a nod and replied, "Thank you for your choice to be employed with Comapanion Systems Inc. We will contact you soon with your proper I.D. and schedule. Please keep in mind that you are not considered an employee until your I.D. is officially put into service."
I walked away from the table, and started to leave when a thought crossed my mind. I turned to face Abigail, who had just finished hearing the same statement. I tossed my hand up in a wave and threw the idea out of my mouth, "Um, for the sake of curiosity, would you like to go have dinner?"
I figured if we weren''t going to be allowed communication outside of work, I would make the most of my time before being officially employed. Besides, what would it hurt to get to know a fellow coworker since we would be in communication with one another while at the main office?
Abigail let out a small giggle and waved the invitation off with her hand, "Sorry Martin, I appreciate the gesture but you remember what you just signed right? I''d rather not develop a bad habit before I''m even offically employed." Well, I tried. Wasn''t the first time I had been declined anyways.
"Alright then. Guess I''ll see you at the office soon. Take care on your way home." I waved to her, and walked down the corridor. Guess I''ll be eating by myself tonight...
Dinner All Alone?
Having been turned away for dinner plans, I roamed about the city trying to kill some time. I never liked to stay long in restaraunts by myself. I always felt like everyone was staring at me sitting there by myself. I wasn''t neccessarily self conscious, I just was never fond of being the center of attention. I honestly doubt that anyone even noticed me, but that thought was always at the back of my mind.
I had strolled from various stores, browsing their wares. I was an avid gamer growing up in my youth, but that hobby quickly faded with the loss of free time at becoming an adult. It was still nice to look through the shelves, gazing at the different box arts aimed to perk up ones imagination at the scenarios they held. I turned away from the section and drifted away. With my new employment, there was no chance that I would be able to reclaim that hobby.
As I began leaving the aisle, I heard a loud crash from the one over from me. As I rounded the corner, I saw a stack of books, manga to be specific, floating on top of the case they had been lined up on. Underneath the case, I could see someones legs sticking out, waddling in a fury to free themself. It was quite a humorous site. I reach down and began moving the books when a hand suddenly shot forth and grasped my arm.
"Help. Please." It was a quaint voice, not what I was expecting. I grabbed ahold of their arm and began pulling. From beneath the pile a body emerged, like a zombie crawling from its grave. The person that rose to greet me was like the voice, a surprise. She was a rather short girl, her reddish hair cut close to her shoulders. A red pair of lopsided headphones hung from her head, having been knocked ajar from the collapse of the shelf. Her face was pale, serene. A large pair of red framed glasses sat crooked on her nose, her brown and glassy eyes blinking in a daze.
"Are you alright?" She looked down at herself. She dusted off the pink hoodie that was just a little too long for her arms. She looked down to check her legs for scrapes, but the black and red striped leggings she was wearing had saved her from that. She quickly knelt down to tie her red converse shoes. What was with this girl and the color red?
"Yeah, I''m fine. Thanks for helping. It''s a good thing somebody was nearby." While the store wasn''t huge, it was large enough that even if someone had heard the crash, it probably would have taken a few minutes for any of the workers to make their way over to it.
"It''s no problem. How did you manage to turn this thing over anyways?" I wasn''t trying to embarass her any further, but bookshelves didn''t usually tip themsevles over just out of the blue. Something had to come into play.
"The top. I tried to reach it and well, you know the rest." I let a giggle escape from my mouth. The girl gave me a quick look of scorn. I didn''t mean to make fun of her, but the mental image was just too comedic to hold back. She quickly let me off the hook and began trying to stand the shelf back up.
"Here, I can get that. How about you start gathering up the books that fell?" I stood the shelf back up while the girl starting sorting through the books, arranging them in alphabetical order. I lined the shelf up flush with the ones on each side of it and waited for her to start placing the books back before I jumped in to help.
"Oh, I should introduce myself. The name''s Martin, but everybody calls me M."
"Nice to meet you. I''m Leah." She gave me a quick smile before reaching up to try and place the books back. She apparently had yet to learn her lesson as she was aiming for the top shelf again.
"Here, let me handle those. We don''t want a repeat of history." She paused for a moment, probably assuming that I was trying to make fun of her. She must have realized I was only trying to help and handed the books to me. As I lined the books up I came across one with the image of a stoic looking vampire on the front. It was a more traditional characterization of the theme, not some glammed up redefintion. It was actually very eyecatching, a combined smoothness of reds, golds and blacks. As I placed it on the shelf I felt a tap on my arm.
"Um, do you mind handing me a copy of that? It was the one I was originally trying to get down." I looked for the one that had taken the least damage from the fall, finding one in nearly pristine condition. I wasn''t sure if the condition actually mattered to her, but it wouldn''t hurt to take it into consideration.
"Thanks. Glad none of them were damaged that much. They should really add reinforcements to these or something." As I handed her the book, Leah turned and began to walk away. An idea suddenly dawned on me. I had already been turned down for dinner once, so what would it hurt to ask another person? Sure, I had only met this girl but you have to start somewhere to become friends.
"Um, before you go, I have a question. Hope it doesn''t come off as creepy, but would you mind tagging along with me for dinner?" Yep, it still sounded creepy. Probably shouldn''t have added the fact that I hoped it didn''t come off that way, but what was said had been done, no taking it back.
Leah paused her steps for a moment before turning back around, "Sure, why not. I don''t have anything planned anyways." I was somewhat shocked. Rarely had anyone ever responded to the invite positively, let alone a female. The result was that I was usually turned down, considered creepy and was left to eat by myself. This would be a nice change of pace.
"Oh, let me go pay for this first. After that you can lead the way." Leah proceeded towards the checkout at the front of the store, attempting to fix her headphones in the process. Mid stride she gave up and let them hang around her neck instead. I followed behind and waited patiently by the door as she finished checking out.
I thought about how soon it would be before I''d be too busy to do things like this. Throughout the day I would be hired to be someones companion, only leaving when night approached to return home. This process would go on for up to one week per client. At the end of that week, I would recieve payment for my services from the company and then would report back to the office daily until I was hired out again. It wasn''t a bad job, it just definitely put a strain on the personal aspect of friendships.
"So, shall you lead the way?" I brushed the thoughts from my mind and headed out for one of my favorite spots, Leah in tow.
The place I had picked had always been a favorite of mine. It was a chinese themed restaurant that offered up a buffet style dinner. Their food contained the traditional customs with a heavy focus on seafood dishes, something that had always been one of my favorite groups of food. It was nice to visit the joint with company for once.
"Oh, I didn''t realize you like this place too." I had been as equally surprised as she was when had recgonized the place. It wasn''t far from the store we had been at so with the distance and my fondness, it was a no brainer. The fact that Leah also favored the place was just a lucky strike.
"Yeah, I usually come here alot by myself when I had downtime. The food''s always really good for the price." Leah tilted her a bit sideways at me, showing a hint of confusion at my statement.
"You said you come here by yourself? Do you not have any friends that come here with you?" The question stung me deeply. Friends had been something that I generally didn''t have the luxury of. All throughout my life I had the acquaintaces that came and go, but I had never had any real attachments to anybody before. My parents were always too busy before to notice it, but I quickly became accustomed to the loneliness. After awhile, the solitude of it became soothing.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
"Um, no. Friends aren''t something that I really have." It sounded pathetic after I heard myself say it, but it was the truth after all.
"Aww, that''s so sad. You''re so polite though. You helped me back in the store and was even kind enough to accompany me for food. Why wouldn''t someone want to be friends with you?" I felt that the question was rhetorical, one doomed to be a pitfall for any answer provided. I simply shrugged my shoulders and let off a goofy grin, deciding to hide the truth that friends were just something I had never strived for.
"I''ll tell you what. I''ll be your friend then, that way you don''t feel so lonely." Leah was smiling at me, clearly happy at the thought that she was going to be somebodys first friend. It was childish in a way, but I appreciated the gesture.
"I appreciate the offer, but with my upcoming job I won''t really have time for friends. I do thank you for coming with me today though. Most people just get creeped out and run away. Not that I ask alot of people or anything." I felt myself begin to trip across my words. I didn''t want to discuss my job with a stranger, but it had already escaped my lips.
"Oh, so you do have a job. What kind of job would you have that would make it to where you couldn''t have friends?" Leah seemed genuinely curious, intrigued by the possibilities that I could reveal. I bided my time for a moment, deciding whether to continue with the discussion or go ahead and cut it short. Oh, what the hell? I wasn''t going to have this oppornuity anymore in the next few days.
"I actually signed up to work for the Companion services. I actually had orientation and training today. They dictate that we keep social relationships to a minimum outside of work, even to the point that we can''t interact with former clients of ours or our fellow workers."
"Oh, the Companion service. That''s that thing where you can hire someone to accompany like a friend or something isn''t it?" Was she really that unfamiliar with it? I mean, she had the general idea, but it seemed odd that she was so vague about it. Oh well, guess it''s one of those things that if you don''t see it yourself it doesn''t really register with you.
"Yeah. That''s the one. We are assigned to a district office where we go each day that we''re not hired for work. They really just pay us to be friends for people who can''t make them. It''s kind of sad really."
Leah suddenly let out a chuckle. What was so funny about what I had said? It was actually quite a depressing thought if one was to sit and think about it. Humans were meant to be social creatures, so for those that lacked that ability it was almost as if they were alienated from the normal world.
"Don''t you think it''s kind of ironic? You just said that you yourself didn''t have friends, yet you work for a company that hires people to be friends for others." Ouch, the irony of it suddenly stung me like a wasp. I hadn''t given it any thought, but irony was an understatement. I felt that it was different however. It wasn''t that I lacked social skills. I could get along with anybody, whether it be small talk or conversations. My only problem was that nobody ever gave me time enough to get to know me to be friends.
Leah must have noticed the glum look on my face because she quickly spoke up again, "Hey, I didn''t mean it like that. I just thought it was odd is all. Don''t feel bad though. I used to be the same way. When I was a kid I used to hide behind my mothers leg all the time whenever someone tried to speak to me. I kind of grew out of that though when I decided to become a musician."
The statement caught my attention. So Leah was a musician. I could only imagine what genres she chose to submerse herself in. The topic still interested me however. I wiped the gloomy disposition from my face, perking myself up, "So, you said you''re a musician? What kind exactly?"
Leah quickly sat up in her seat and clapped her hands together, the excitement getting the best of her. "I love when people ask that question. Have you ever heard of a genre called J-Rock?" I recognized the genere right away. It was a term used in the western regions of the world for music that mostly came from Japan, a focus on light hearted rock to heavy metal sounds that encompassed all ranges of topics. It had recently begun to take a rise in popularity in our part of the world.
"I actually have. Alot of the games I played before were JRPG games that put a large focus on the Japanese music base. So I''m guessing you''re probably like an otaku or something?" While the word originally had negative connotations in its origin, it had become a slang word mostly for those obessed in the manga and anime areas. I felt it was safe to assume this about Leah, considering her excitement over J-Rock and the fact that my first encounter with her was at a manga shelf.
"How dare you, it isn''t nice to assume things about people." I instantly felt regret at my statement. It''s easy to assume things at times, and this was one time I wish I hadn''t. "But you are correct in a way. Relax, I''m not insulted or anything." Leah was giggling at my reaction. It was clear that my regret had transferred to my face in that period of time.
"That wasn''t funny. I actually thought I had insulted you for a second." Leah continued to giggle, taking only a brief moment to take a sip of her drink. Before I had got my bearings about myself, she had quickly brought her smartphone at a level angle in front of my face. I then heard the click of a camera.
"Hey, why did you take a picture?"
"Because, you said you don''t have any friends. As of today, I''ll be your first friend. Now give me your phone, I need your number after all." I felt my stomach drop. Nobody had ever asked for my phone number before. I never used it to make calls or texts, just surf the web whenever I was out and about.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and she quickly snatched it from my hand. She turned the screen to face her and in a few moments I heard the snap of a camera again. Before handing the phone back, I watched as her fingers flew across the screens, clicking sounds going off like machine gun fire. When she handed my phone back to me, the display was on my contacts screen. It was on an entry labled, "Leah the Otaku" and a goofy picutre of Leah smiling was the contact photo.
"There, now you officially have a friend. It also won''t make your job that ironic anymore either. Anytime you''re not busy just give me a call. If I''m not performing a show with my band I''ll come and hang out with you. We don''t tour nationwide or anything so I''m usually in the same area."
"Um, thanks. I''ll make sure to do that."
"Oh, I just thought of something. The next time you have a day off you should come see one of our shows. We set up in a small nightclub not far from here. We usually perform on weekends. Just let me know if you''re willing to come and I''ll make sure you get in free."
"Yeah, sounds nice. I don''t know if I''ll ever actually have a day off but I don''t see the harm in trying." I felt a race of excitement within my heart. I had never been invited anywhere nor had anyone offered to be my friend. It was overhwhelming for someone like me to have both happen in the same day. Leah went back to her food, looking to make up for lost time we had spent chatting.
"Oh, I completely forgot to mention. You probably want to know the name of our band. We go by the name Lonely. It''s kind of a cheesy story but it had a deep meaning for us. I''ll tell you about it some other time. Why don''t we go ahead and finish our meals?" I gave her a quick nod and dove into my plate as well. After spending so much time wandering about and talking, I hadn''t realized just how hungry I had been.
After paying for our food, both Leah and I stepped out onto the street into the night air. Unfortunately, the direction of her destination was the opposite of mine. She quickly trotted off down the street, giving a wave followed by the universal call me sign. I waved back and gave a big smile and began walking home.
After a few minutes of walking I arrived at my apartment. It was a small, single bedroom suite built into a complex. It was nothing special, the kitchen and living room being combined into one with the bedroom at the back. It was enough to accomodate my needs however. I unlocked the door to my suite, gently closing it behind me as I stepped in. I quickly removed my shoes and spotted the answering machine flashing its bright red signal.
Walking over to it I pressed the play messages button. "You have one new message." It was the same characteristic tone you expected from an answering machine. After a few moments an upbeat voice popped out, "Hello Martin. This is you dispatcher Mark Blevins just calling to let you know that your I.D. will be ready the day after tommorow. You can come pick it up at the main office by noon that day. After that, just come to your local Companion Services branch and we''ll get you ready for hiring."
I left the message on the machine, just in case I managed to forget for some reason. So I had two days before my work started huh? It was going to fall on a Monday from the looks of it. My thoughts turned to Leah. She had said that her band played on weekends. I figured I would give her a call come tommorow night. After all, she was just a friend so even if I did continue to interact with her after I got my I.D., I wouldn''t get in any trouble with work for it...
Girl at the Rock Show
It had been nearly a day since I had spoke to Leah, her invitation still vivid in my mind. As dusk began to approach, I felt my excitement begin to grow, tingling in the tips of my hands and fingers. Anxiety tried to get the best of me, but I stomached it and pulled my phone up.
I swiped my finger across the screen, the familiar click of it unlocking ringing out. I hesitated a moment before I thumbed down the contacts icon and scrolled down. With one small flick, I reached her entry. It wasn''t that hard to find anyways. My phone barely held anything in the contacts menu. You may have forgotten, but I''m a bit of a loner.
I giggled at the picture I was presented with. It was the same look on her face that I had remembered from that night. A gentle and warm smile, radiating a happiness that was seldom acquired. I brushed down to the dial out menu, pushing the call button. I panicked for a moment, realizing that a text may have been a much better alternative. Would she hear the nervousness in my voice?
As I was trying to make a last minute decision, I saw the screen flash that the call was connected. Too late now to back out. I held the phone up to my ear and managed to mutter a greeting through my shackled breathing, "Hello?"
"Hello? M is that you?" Yep, it was her. I quickly regained my nerves before there was a long enough pause that it would be creepy.
"Yeah, it''s me. You mentioned before that your band puts on shows during the weekend. I know it''s kind of quick to respond that kind of invitation, but I found out that I won''t be going in for work until Monday so I figured I''d take you up on the offer." Despite my best attempts, I still sounded rattled.
"Oh. Oh!" It was as if she had forgotten about what I was talking about. Either that or she was just surprised by the fact that I had responded so quick. "Um, we''re actually playing a show tommorow night if you''re interested."
Tommorow night huh? While it would be the following morning that I would have to go to work, I didn''t think it would be too much of an issue. I had always been a night owl anyways.
"Yeah, I don''t see any issue. Er, where is it anyways?"
"We''re playing at a place called Metronome. It''s near the downtown area. If you want I can probably send for a cab to come get you or something. You''ll get in for free that way."
A cab? Was she serious? I had never heard of the place but I didn''t want her to go to all that trouble. It couldn''t be that hard to find anyways.
"Um, no that''s alright. I''m sure I can find it myself."
"I wasn''t asking. Besides, you''re a friend remember?"
My request was rejected. So much for trying to be accomodating to her routine. The tone of her voice told me I was taking a cab whether I wanted to or not. I wasn''t used to being bossed around like that, but at least it was out of a pure intent.
"O...okay. You''ll need my address won''t you?"
"Nope. Went ahead and got that stuff too when I added myself as a contact." I didn''t know if I felt violated or creeped out. When did she even have the time to do that? I had watched her flick her fingers across the screen when she took my phone before, but was she really fast enought to get all that information?
"Leah. That''s kind of creepy you know."
"That''s ironic coming from a guy who calls a girl to come to her concert after only a day." Ouch, right in the ego. I couldn''t tell if she was kidding or not, but I heard the giggling come forth shortly after. She was definitely a teaser. I simply laughed it off. At least I had a friend with a good sense of humor.
"You don''t have to be so direct about it you know. You were the one buried under a pile of books." I began to laugh myself. I thought back to the image of her being buried under the books, legs flailing in a feeble attempt to escape. I only made myself laugh harder.
"Hey, it wasn''t that funny mister. Anyways, I''ll send a cab out around 7. We don''t go on until 9 but I figured it will give you time to meet everyone that way."
"Wait, I have to meet the others?"
"You sure do." Before I could respond, she had hung up the phone. I felt my nerves come back to me. I wonder what her bandmates would think of her bringing in some outsider like a close friend? Would they shun me or be as outgoing as she was? I pushed the worries from my mind and put my phone away.
I flopped down onto my couch, the material gasping as it was compressed under my weight. Outside my apartment window, I could see it getting dark. Dusk was slowly turning into night and I was left with nothing to do. I tapped my foot momentarily and eyeballed my 3DS that was sitting on the table.
While I had gotten out of gaming for the most part, there were still some things I kept with me. A handheld system was perfect for me considering I was always out and about. There were also some nice series on handhelds that I could let myself become immersed in.
I flipped the 3DS open and gazed at the screen. Before me was a game I had left suspended beforehand, Monster Hunter. It was a game I had become intrested in out of curiosity and once I had dove into it, often invested my free time in. I''ll spare the details however. After a few hunts, the night was growing late and I felt myself beginning to become groggy.
I laid the 3DS back down on the table and made my way to the bedroom. After briefly changing into pajamas, I faceplanted into my bed. I glanced at the clock to my side. 4:30 a.m. How soon that my sleeping habits would change. I sat the alarm for 11 a.m. and dozed off into a deep sleep.
The day had passed more quickly than I thought it would have. I had done some grocery shopping throughout the day, trying my best to kill time until later tonight. As I made my way back home, it felt as if time was crawling to a standstill. Traffic was clear all the way back, and the taxi driver even gave me a discount for some odd reason. The day was feeling too happy.
As I put the groceries up, I glanced down at my watch. 6 p.m. Time to go get changed and freshen up. After all, I didn''t need to show up at a nightclub wearing a suit. It would just feel odd. Something more casual would be suitable.
I pushed through what few outfits I had in my closet. From what I had, I placed a loose fitting dress shirt together with a pair of black dress pants. Ok, so maybe not fully casual but close enough. The clothes framed my body well enough anyways.
I looked in the mirror at my hair. I had let it grown down to my shoulders over the past year, and the wave it developed let a sleek shine bloom across its dark strands. At the risk of sounding like a narcissist, I actually didn''t look too bad. I gave it a quick brush and left it be.
I rubbed my hand across my chin and felt the rough edge of stubble. While I had once sported a beard, I found it was alot less of a hassle to deal with if I kept a smooth face. I broke out the razor and quickly cut it down. After spritzing on some cologne, I headed out the door and waited for my cab.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
About 10 minutes after 7, I saw a taxi roll up to the sidewalk in front of my apartment. I walked over to the car and the driver rolled the window down.
"I assume you''re Martin?"
"Yes sir, that would be me."
"Alright, hop in. Ride''s going to be about 30 minutes."
I gave the driver a nod of acceptance and hopped in the back. The cab was nothing special, just your typical yellow exterior, black interior design. As I buckled up, we rolled away from the apartment and towards my destination.
As the cab driver stated, we arrived in 30 minutes, give or take. He pulled around to the back of the night club and pointed to a man standing by the rear entrance, "He''ll take you where you need to go. Don''t worry about payment. Your friend already took care of it."
I felt my pride be injured somewhere inside. I didn''t like the idea of others paying for things for me. I quickly let it go though and bid farewell to the driver.
As I walked up to the man by the door, he put a hand out, "Guessing you''re Martin?"
"Yeah, just call me M though."
The man gave a nod and opened the door behind him, "First door on your left when you go in. They''re still getting ready for their show so try not to interrupt them too long."
I gave the man an uneasy nod and proceeded through. Inside, it was a long dark hallway with various musical related posters decorating its walls. The floor was black marble, similar to the walls. As I kept walking, I noticed a set of golden double doors on my left. This must''ve been the room he was talking about.
I hesitated for a moment, not sure if I should knock on the door or enter right away. Before I could make a choice, the doors swung open, sending me flying backwards and crashing to the floor.
"Oh god, are you alright?" I recognized the voice right away. It was Leah''s. At least I was in the right place.
"Yeah, I''m fine. This floor is softer than it looks." It really wasn''t. It hurt.
"Good. I was just coming out to see if you had arrived. Here, let me help." She reached down a hand and helped pull me to my feet. I quickly dusted the back of my pants off.
"Yeah, the cab showed up just like you said. It''s still weird that you know where I live."
"Forget about that. Why don''t you come in and meet everyone?"
I felt that familiar sensation return to me. I wasn''t exactly anti-social, groups just tended to put me on edge if I wasn''t familiar with them. Leah being present should''ve made me feel better, but they were her friends so that point was mute.
As I stepped through the door, I was greeted by a bright light. It was coming from an overhead light that was just a little too bright in contrast to the hallway outside. As my vision came back, I looked around the room. Leaning up against the wall was a younger man with white hair. It was tucked up under a blue beanie, giving him a rough look. His tan skin was hidden under an olive t-shirt with japanese romanjii characters, a blue hoodie covering that. Following up his outfit were a pair of cargo pants with white sneakers to boot.
He was tinkering with a black bass guitar, its shine like that of a midnight sky. The neck was adorned with a grafitti like writeout of the word Lonely. It was actually pretty cool looking despite its plain design.
"That over there is Weston. He''s our bassist." Leah pointed over to another person that was working on a rather large drumset.
"The girl over there is Penny, our drummer if you couldn''t tell."
I looked at the girl Leah had pointed out. She was lean, her arms toned from her drumwork. Her pale skin hurt my eyes as it shined from the glare of the light overhead. She had shoulder length black hair with purple streaks throughout it. She was wearing a plain black tank top with a large letter L scrawled across the front. Completing her look, she wore a pair of black skinny jeans, clinging to her as if she had jumped into water with them on.
"Oh, there''s one more but she''s outside somewhere. She''s our keyboard player, Macey." My thoughts spiraled as to what appearance she would take. They hardly looked like they belonged in a band honestly. You know what they say about looks though.
"Um, Leah. Who''s your guitarist?" I had assumed she was their singer from the way she had spoken, but I hadn''t heard her mention anything about a guitarist.
"Oh silly, that would be me. Did I not tell you before?"
"Wait...you sing and play guitar at the same time?" It wasn''t unusual to see artists who had this talent, but I was kind of shocked after the incident at the bookstore. Was she actually coordinated enough to do that?
"Sure do. We used to have two guitarists, lead and rhythm, but our rhythm guitarist quit awhile back. Said it was a pointless dream to chase and it was time for her to find a real job."
"Oh. Wait, is Weston the only guy in your band?" I hadn''t really thought of it, but with Leah included, that made it 3 girls and 1 guy. It just seemed unusual for some reason.
"Yeah. He''s actually Macey''s little brother. He''s been with us since the beginning. The rest of us have been childhood friends so it was only naturally that this came out of it."
Childhood friends. It must be nice to be able to talk about that. I wasn''t ever going to be able to relate to it. I felt a little glum at the thought until I was brought back to reality by Leah''s decision to shake me by my shoulders.
"You should go talk to Weston. I bet you two would be good friends!"
Nope, not how I was going to approach it. Before I could counter her statement I felt somebody punch me on the shoulder from behind.
"So you''re the fellow that our little Leah befriended."
I turned and faced the puncher. She was tall. Really tall. I looked up to her face, her green eyes staring down at me. Her hair was shaved on one side, the black stubble poking through the pores. On the other side of her head, her hair was laid over and had one bright, neon pink stripe running through it. She wore a denim vest with various patches, a black tank top worn underneath. No way she was with them.
"Oh, Macey. You''re back earlier than I thought."
"Yeah, I got a good look at the crowd out there. They seem pretty excited. Shouldn''t be anything new we haven''t done."
Turning her attention back to me, Leah quickly grabbed me by the hand. "Follow me, I''ll show you the floor."
As I was pulled away from the new faces I had been introduced to, Leah pulled me further down the hallway and around a bend. At a split in the hallway, I was forced to go down the right path and emerged out from behind a set of red curtains. We seemed to have startled the bouncer standing on guard.
"Don''t worry Carlos, I''m just showing my friend here the club."
The man offered no response and Leah carried on. What lay before me was something I was unfamiliar with. The stage was set up above the dance floor but still to the point where you could watch the show. The floor itself was lit up with differing LED panels, creating a swirling array patterns. It was like watching an acid trip be played out.
Behind the floor were an array of booths, menus stacked on each table. The nightclub also doubled as a restaurant apparently. It was a nice convenience, although I felt as if the dining idea was probably less favorable to those who came here. If you were here, you didn''t come to eat.
People were already populating the club itself, the floor lined with anxious concert goers. The bar itself was busy as well. I chuckled at the thought of how many people would actually remember tonight. At least I wasn''t going to be like them.
"So, what do you think?" Leah had been anxious to hear my thoughts on the setup itself.
"It''s...overwhelming. I think, at least."
"It''s really a sight to see when a group''s up on stage pouring everything out to the crowd. Don''t worry though, you''ll get to enjoy that in a bit."
I glanced down at my watch. It was already 8 p.m., one hour until Leah and her band would take the stage.
"I hate to leave you here, but with everyone back now we need to get ready for the show. If you want you can take a seat at one of the booths. I''ll be looking for you when we come out."
At the end of her statement, Leah took a brief turn and departed. I wanted to beg for her to take me with her, but I knew it was important that they properly prepare. After all, I didn''t want to be the reason that they might fail in setting everything up.
I wandered over to a nearby booth and took a seat. Within a few seconds, I had grown bored of the radio stream that was being played overheard for the club goers and whisked out my cell phone. As I began flipping across the various news readings, I caught the vision of someone sitting down at the booth with me out of the corner of my eye.
"Fancy seeing you in a place like this. You said your name was M right?"
I glanced up to see who had decided to invade my space by sitting down at the booth. The blonde hair immediately stuck out to me and I recognized them right away. It was my soon to be coworker, Abigail. Why was she here?
Girl at the Rock Show Pt. 2
Why was she here?
Abigail continued to stare at me with a confused look, unsure if I was going to respond to her question. I paused for a moment, debating how to appropriately address her arrival.
"Um, I''m actually here with a friend."
Abigail slightly cocked her head to the side, as if she was doubting what I said. Had she assumed that I didn''t have any friends from just the short contact we had a few days ago? Well, she wasn''t really wrong is she did assume that.
"Oh, I''ll excuse myself. I didn''t realize the spot was taken."
As she began to pull herself up from the seat, I motioned for her to stop with my hand. She hesitated for a moment before returning and plopped back down, still with that same confused look.
"It''s fine. They''re not really going to be sitting here anyways."
"Oh, did you get turned down for another dinner?"
That stung. While I''m sure she meant it as a joke, it still hurt nonetheless. I put it at the back of my mind realizing that she couldn''t possibly have thought that I would take it as insulting and continued on.
"No, it''s actually a girl here with her band. I figured I''d come see them before we start working."
Abigail''s ears seemed to perk up at the mentioning of a band. She glanced up to the closed stage and then back at me. Was there some correlation that I was unaware of?
"Oh, they''re playing here? What''s the name of their band?"
Her interest in the subject set off a red flag in my mind. Something about the tone she had used when asking the question told me that there was more to it than simple curiosity. It almost felt like an interrogation question than anything. I knew it would come back to bite me but I answered it anyways.
"I think she said the name was Lonely or something," half muttering the name hoping that she would simply dismiss it and move on to the next idea that crossed her mind. The mood dampening look on her face told me that she would not.
"So, they''re still trying I guess."
Abigail seemed to glare out past the club floor, staring into a nonexistant void. The warm color faded from her cheeks, replaced with a pale chill, her eyes lost in thought. Before I could respond to her vauge statement, she snapped back to and quickly hopped up from the table.
"Sorry, I just realized I need to do something. I''ll probably see you Monday."
With that short statement, I watched as Abigail hurried away from the booth and out into the crowd. Without even pausing, she brushed through them and out of sight, most likely heading to the door. I really didn''t know what ot make of it, only that there was some connection between the band and Abigail.
My mind shot back to what Leah had told me before, about the one that left the band.Could it have been her?
As I was staring down at the table, lost in thought, the room suddenly went dark. The floor below began to light up various shades of colors, flashing together in a rapid sequence. From the crowd below, a loud roar begin to rise up. As I peered up at the stage, I could see a small figure from behind the closed curtains. As I made out the figure of a waving arm, I realized it was Leah, signaling to me that she saw me.
As quickly as she appeared, I saw her dart back to where she had come from. From overheard, a voice suddenly opened up, calling down to me and the other attendants in the club.
"Now, we''d like to welcome one of our personal favorites. Everyone give a scream for Lonely, performing the song Rolling Girl, orginally by wowaka."
The song had sounded familiar to me by name. Then it struck me. It was one of the popular songs of a subgenre of J-Rock, Vocaloid music. This was music that was composed with a singer who was constructed from the basic roots of pronunciation of Japanese, an ideal that lead to a revolution in music approach. How would she be able to capture that same feel though? We were talking about covering a song that had a digital singer.
[Begin playing the song here for more immersion]
As I began to question it further, my thoughts were hushed by the sound of a piano. The curtains slowly slid back to reveal the band on the stage. At the front, Leah had taken her position, mic stand and guitar in position. Penny was on the drums in the back while Macey and Weston were on the opposing sides of Leah. It was almost chilling to see them as Macey rolled her fingers across the keys, playing the opening of the song.
The lights below flashed in response to her playing, changing with each strike of a note. As I became entrapped in the sound, I heard Leah''s voice break through. It sent a chill down my spine. It sounded like a voice that was noble, but trapped in despair. How could such a tone come from one of her demeanor?
The crowd seemed to rise in emotion with their performance. As the rest of the instruments came in, I watched as they reacted in sync. Between the verses and pacing of Leah''s performance, backed with the aggresion of Penny''s drumming and Weston''s finger plucking, it was so easy to become lost in the music.
I gazed as the worked the stage, keeping the crowd entrapped from left to right. I began to lose track of my thoughts and became hypnotized by the sound, each and every piece ringing through my head. Before I had even realized it, the performance had come to an end.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
[Song Ends Here]
As I looked onward, I felt something click inside. I actually wanted to be here, not just as something to do, but as something I wanted to be a part of. I felt the energy of the crowd invigorate me, their loud applause for Lonely''s performance spurring me on myself.
An ill feeling suddenly struck me inside.I can''t belong here.
No matter what I felt sitting there, watching their performance, this was something that I couldn''t do. I would have to go to work on Monday, and this would simply become an experience. I planned on keeping Leah as a friend, but I couldn''t let on to her that this was something that I could come to every time. There were other things to take care of.
As I heard my own thoughts within my head, they turned to Abigail. Was this the realization she had come to that had made her leave? I dismissed it, reminding myself that I was merely assuming that Abigail had been the member that had left. She could have seen somebody she didn''t like for all I know.
I gave a glum look down at my phone, ignoring the announcement from overhead of the next song. I waited until the lights grew dim, quickly pulling myself from the booth and made a beeline to the curtain Leah had dragged me through. The bouncer, Carlos as Leah had called him, was still standing guard.
As I approached, he put a stiff arm out, causing me to bump forcefully into him.
"Where do you think you''re going?"
He definitely sounded upset. Was I not allowed to leave this way? I began to panic, afraid that Leah would spot me leaving and take an ill tone with me once I tried to explain why I left.
"I, uh... I left my wallet back there in the prep room. I was hoping I could get it before anybody got back there."
I wasn''t sure if he would buy it, but it was all I could come up with on the spot. He gave his eyebrow a slight raise, suspicious of my lie. Whatever he questioned must have been minor, because he swiftly moved his arm back and nodded over his shoulder. I quickly barged past and made my way down the hallway.
As I rushed down the hallway, I spotted the door I had come through. I barged into it, avoiding looking around too much as I left, hoping nobody would notice me. Fortunately, the man that had greeted me when I had first arrived was nowhere to be seen. I quickly brought my phone within view and called up a cab. It was a good thing I had prepared for one just in case.
While I was waiting for the cab to arrive, the night sky began to drizzle down upon the city. It was a light and misty rain, not one that would soak you but instead clung to your skin like sweat. I glanced around for something to talk shelter under. Just a ways down the sidewalk was a small sheltered bench. I walked over and flopped down onto it.
I pulled my phone back up and flipped to my message inbox. Leah''s number was the most recent and I began to think about how I would justify my departure without causing too much damage. I had wanted to stay, but I knew it would only be harder the more I became attached to the idea.
I swiped down to the keypad and began typing, "Hey, I''m sorry that I couldn''t stay any longer but I had something that came up. I thought the performance was amazing. Looking forward to getting a chance to come to another one sometime."
Without even pausing to think, I hit the send button. I was just happy to have gotten past it and out of the way. A sickening thought struck me though. What could have come up that required me to leave? I had told her that I didn''t have any friends and I didn''t have any family that I bothered with. How was I going to justify it now?
The second part caught my attention as well. I had said I was looking forward to coming again. What the hell was I thinking? After convincing myself to keep my distance it, I had just committed myself to going right back. Was I really that stupid. As I felt the nerves in me begin to swell up, I saw the taxi come creeping by and pulled to a stop on the curb.
I looked down at my watch, checking the time. As I hopped into the taxi, I realized I would be arriving at my apartment well before their show was over. So much for trying to hide that I left right away. As I gave the driver instructions on where to go, I looked out the back window as the club slowly disappeared from view. I should have never came here in the first place.
I creaked the door open to my apartment, and slung my keys down onto the table, letting the door slam shut behind me. I flung my shoes off of my feet and flopped down on the couch, not even bothering to get changed. I felt awful. I could only imagine the disappointment I would recieve from Leah later.
I turned over on my side, the dividers of the cushions digging into my hip. As I fumbled and fussed, my phone slid out of my pocket and onto the floor, landing with a loud clack. Please tell me it didn''t break.
I reached down and picked it up, carefully scanning over the screen. Fortunately, there were no cracks, only the slight smear of my fingerprints. I breathed a sigh of relief and laid it down on the table next to my keys. If it went off, I was guranteed to hear it.
Waiting for time to pass, I became anxious in how I would explain to Leah where I was coming from. Then a thought crossed my mind. Why was I so stressed out in the first place? I had only just met her and hardly knew her. Sure, she called me her friend, but she was probably just trying to make me feel better. She probably does that for alot of people.
Gazing up at my ceiling, I felt a fatigue begin to pull at my eyelids. I considered getting off the couch and going to bed, but somewhere in that thought I fell asleep. When I woke up, I was turned face down in the couch, a slight turn to allow me to breathe.
I gently raised my head, my face half stuck to the cushion, looking towards the windows of my living room. A bright, orange light filtered in through the blinds. I glanced up at the clock, squinting to see the time. 10:23 a.m.
It was alot later than I had wanted to sleep, but I figured it was alright since I didn''t have anything to do today anyways. As my sense began to come to me, I darted up over the arm of the chair and looked at my phone. I had forgotten to place it on charge last night. Hopefully it had lasted.
I rolled my arm up past the couch and snatched it off the table. I flipped the screen lock and looked at the battery. 14%. Good enough.
Sliding down to the message inbox, I opened it as quickly as possible. There were two new messages, both from Leah. As I felt my stomach began to feel nautious, I read the first message.
"Carlos told me you lied to him to sneak out the back after our first song. If you didn''t want to be there you could have said so."
Well, at least she didn''t seem overly irate with me. I figured it would be best to try and explain that I was simply afraid of getting caught up in the show too much. Before I could do that, I looked down at the second message.
"Someone also told me they saw Abigail sitting with you."
It was eerie at how short it was. She wasn''t asking any questions, just simply telling me what she knew. This at least confirmed my suspicions to a certain extent. They did have some relation to one another. Of course, it had ot be something like that. Not the, I''m just overthinking things like most people do.
I stared at the messages, not sure on how to take them as a pair. Was she simply stating that there was something I needed to ask about, or was she warning me that she was pissed? Before I could think about it any further, a heard a knock come from my front door. Who would be visiting me right now?
NOTICE: TEMPORARY HIATUS
Hey everyone, LonelyAuthor here. Due to my current work schedule (working 74hrs in a week sometimes) I am having to sadly place Lonely on a temporary hiatus until further notice. Trying to run two novels along with work and classes is next to impossible. Once I finish my other novel which I started with I''ll return to Lonely. Sorry for any dissappointments it may cause but I hope everyone understands.
For those who are curious though I am not giving up on Lonely in the slightest. It was meant to be my flagship passion project (hence my username) but I opened instead with Generation: Alpha, a story I had kicked around since my college days. Considering I had spent more time with GA, I felt more comfortable startng on royal road with that instead of a fresh new idea still in the making. It may seem cowardly, but I wanted to have a solid ground beneath my feet before I jumped in all the way.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Anyways, thanks to those who understand my siutation. I hope everyone looks forward to the eventual return lonely as much as I do.