Brake Check

To say Errol was a rowdy kid would be an understatement.

He'd been a part of the band for three months now, officially, and Prestonwas confident in saying that he wasn’t the only one getting tired. Every practice session was a gruelling affair, far removed from the chilled-out sessions of the past. Preston found himself longing for the days when it had just been him and Elison, meeting up on Saturday afternoons to play music, with no expectations beyond having some fun.

He tried not to complain, though. Errol might be annoying, but Elison was determined to make the whole band dynamic work and seemed convinced that with enough efforts on both sides, it could. He acted like the kid's immature antics weren't becoming more and more of an issue as time went on. Like if he kept playing peacemaker and resolving all the band's conflicts, he could make everyone like each other - somehow.

Preston didn't want to be the one to drag Elison's hopes and dreams out from underneath him.

"Great work, everyone!" said Elison that afternoon, after a practice session that had been more tiring than productive. "We're definitely going to be ready for the show next week."

I'm not sure about that, friend, Preston thought as he pushed an empty drinks can along the pavement with his foot.

"So, we'll meet up again tomorrow?" Elison prompted.

"Yeah," said Madeline. She rarely had more than one syllable to add to the conversation.

"I dunno, man, I'll have to see if I got the time," said Errol. The dragon-in-human-form moved with a swagger in his step, his movements leaking arrogance as much as his designer jeans and gold tooth did. He grinned in a way that showed said tooth to its fullest extent,then walked towards the black motorbike parked a little way up the street.

Preston was starting to hate that guy, and he couldn't even fully explain why.

"Text me tomorrow to let me know if you're coming, Errol!" Elison called out. "We should really try to practice one more time before the concert--"

"Shut up, old man," said Errol lazily. "You yap too much."

Madeline got into her van and left without so much as a word of goodbye. Preston turned around with the intention of addressing Elison, but Errol chose that moment to start revving his bike, and the noise was absolutely atrocious.

He doesn't have an ounce of respect for anyone. It's all him, him, him.

Elison gave Errol a look reminiscent of a disappointed parent, but if Errol’s behaviour was anything to judge by, that look had never worked on him. From the other side of the street, a woman walked past and shot him a glance that was probably mostly annoyance, but Errol seemed to take it as admiration and puffed out his chest with a smirk.

"I'll talk to you later," said Elison helplessly. Preston couldn't actually hear his voice; the words were deciphered by watching his mouth move. He nodded, not bothering to hide his own annoyance, and stood aside to let Elison climb into his car.

Later, I think we need to talk about our drummer.

Elison drove away. Errol stopped pointlessly revving his bike and shot off in the same direction. Preston saw him hounding Elison all the way down the road, deliberately swerving left and right behind him, then overtaking with a burst of speed and giving him stupid hand gestures. As far as he could tell, Elison wasn't rising to the bait, continuing to drive slowly and calmly. The pair rounded a turn and disappeared from sight, though the chesty rumble of the motorbike could still be heard in the distance.

Preston took a moment to contemplate his life before slowly turning and walking back to the house.