Rockstar Serenade: The Verse

Ch 29: Deceit

TREVOR~

So let me get this straight.

One sunny day in early May last year, I bumped into a girl along the streets leading to Castleburn High. Same age, same height, only from a different hometown, Jane claims. She was in a hurry to meet up with a friend from the same school plus her phone was with him. In order to contact this friend of hers she borrowed my phone and texted her own number. She asked for my name and told me hers, then thanked me. After that I haven’t heard from her since... until yesterday.

I visited the exact spot she described to me through text—few bushes on the side a few meters from the school’s walls, by the street light, but nothing rang a bell no matter how hard I tried to dig further into the deepest of banks of my memory. Damn, how could I not remember anything?

Or it may probably come to me, maybe not today but soon. I just have to be patient.

“So you went to Castleburn when you’re from Baltimore, just to visit your friend? Man he must be special,” I text furtively, as I fear Zephyr might get irritated with me when I should be listening to something he’s sharing with the group.

“I tried considering it,” he mumbles. “Olwyn Fox just couldn’t find somebody to man the synthesizers.”

Xavier flashes him an obvious look of disgust. “Why would you think of switching from rock to electronicore in the first place?”

“Just wanna open up to change.”

I figured out that even they say that three’s a crowd, three’s still a lonely group, so I had Zephyr and Rick meet Xavier. I haven’t heard from Drew and Jake since the competition, and I don’t think The Forward Afflicted exists anymore. Despite that, Xavier and I remains inseparable.

“But they say that synthesizers and sequencers are rare. When they say bands it will always be the drums, vocals and guitars,” Rick adds.

I remain silent, oblivious to anything else but their moving lips as they talk more about the wonders of a modern music genre called electronicore. Personally I’m not a fan of that genre yet I don’t hate it either. They don’t hear about my opinions though, ‘cause I may be physically present but my mind is focused on someone else.

Then my phone vibrates again.

Jane: Yeah, he’s my childhood friend.

Damn, I really need to know if this is just a prank or a mistake or what.

Trevor: Are you sure you’re not mistaking me for somebody else?

Jane: I’m so sure it’s you. Trevor, right? You have nice, jet black hair. When I met you, you had it jelled and swept sideways. It covers your eyebrows. And your eyes are dark brown. You were wearing a red shirt and pants when I bumped into you.

Trevor: What was printed on my red shirt? :P

Jane: A skull wearing a Mexican hat.

Oh my god I do own a shirt like that.

Trevor: Describe your physical features to me. I might recall you if I try to picture your face out.

It takes quite a few eternal seconds before my phone vibrates again.

Jane: Pretty, goddess-like beauty.

I nearly spurt out the cola I was drinking ‘cause I wasn’t expecting her to reply like that. I’m a huge failure in controlling my laughter that the drink gushes from the corner of my lips before I could gulp everything inside my mouth.