...Progress

Over the next two weeks, we went busking nearly every day. We’d meet up about an hour or so before to warm up, and once we felt confident in the openers, we’d head out and find a nice spot to set up. We started out at my usual spot, but quickly expanded our horizons out all across town.

Over the course of the two weeks, I could see immense improvement in Sunny’s confidence. I didn’t know if it was because of all the practice or because of the removal of the Parallax song, probably a little of both, but she was finally able to show the world her immense talent. And the world was watching. Each show brought in more cash than the last. Making rent didn't seem like an impossible goal anymore, it was within reach.

As I watched Sunny grow more confident, I became more confident as well. The more confident I became, the better I played. We fed off of each others’ positivity, getting better and better, all leading up to today, culminating in our best show yet.

From the start of our set, we were in perfect synchronization. It felt as if we had a telepathic connection. Through the music alone I could almost tell exactly what she was thinking, and somehow I got the feeling she felt the same. It was something magical that I had never experienced before. I scoffed at my past self for even thinking that we’d be able to put on an adequate performance by practicing separately. Had we stuck with that practice routine, we could only have put on a passable performance. Passable brings in money, but only a spectacular performance brings in fans. Every now and again, I’d look into the audience, and I was starting to see some repeat faces. People were coming back to watch us. We were finally starting to get fans.

As we brought our set to a close, the crowd around us erupted into applause. Not just the usual clapping that we usually got, full on applause. It was surreal. Applause. For me; no, for us. I looked over at Sunny. She was beaming from ear to ear. I smiled too.

“Thank you so much! This means the world to us! Good night everybody!”

As the crowd began to disperse, two teenage girls stayed behind.

“Can we have your autographs?” one asked, holding out a pen and paper.

“Absolutely,” Sunny said, with a smile, taking the paper from her. After she was finished, she handed it off to me.

Autograph? I never thought someone would ask for one this early in our career, so I didn’t take the time to come up with a cool one. I scribbled down the coolest thing I could think of at the moment. After thinking about it for more than a few seconds, it was super lame. I’ll have to work on it.

The other girl spoke. “What’s your band’s name? What streaming platform are you on?”

I looked at Sunny. We hadn’t thought that far ahead yet. I was so wrapped up in the deadline to make rent, that I had neglected some of the most important day one band discussion.

“We don’t have a name yet. And right now we’re only performing covers, so we’re not on any streaming platforms, but hopefully we’ll write some original music soon,” I said.

“Okay!” she said with a smile. “Next time we see you guys playing, we’ll be sure to check back in!”

With that, the two girls pranced off, leaving Sunny and I all alone.

“How you feeling?” I said, beginning to pack up my equipment.

“Great. On top of the world,” she said.

“Me too, I never could have imagined performing could feel that… magical.”

“You felt it too? I thought it was just me! I felt like we were in perfect sync, like the two of us were performing as one.”

“I felt that too! I felt like I could tell exactly what you were thinking. I’ve never experienced anything like that before.”

“Me neither.”

“Not even with your previous band?”

“Nope. Never anything like that, they really just saw it as a job. They were all so serious about it, they never cut loose and had any fun. This band, with you, has been a nice change of pace.”

We both finished packing up our gear.

“Want to come back to my place and celebrate that great performance?” I asked.

“I’d love to.”

We made our way back to my apartment and headed inside.

I headed into the kitchen and grabbed a beer out of the fridge. “Want some tea?”

“I’d love some, thank you.”

I put a pot of water on the stove and headed back into the living room. I counted up the cash we had just made and gave Sunny her cut. I took my cut and fished the rest of my stash out of my tube amplifier.

I counted it all up. Then I counted it again. This couldn’t be right. There must be some kind of mistake.

“Everything alright?” Sunny asked from across the room, sitting on the couch.

I turned to her, tears in my eyes. “For the first time in my life, I’ve just turned a profit. I won’t have to beg my greedy-ass landlord to float me money anymore. I can actually splurge and buy some gear that I’ve been dreaming about for once. It’s not just a fantasy anymore.”

She chuckled. “Get used to it, I don’t plan on slowing down anytime soon. I’m having way too much fun performing with you.”

I smiled, but before I could reciprocate my sentiment, I heard the water boiling in the kitchen. I poured it in a mug and added a teabag and brought it out to her.

“Thank you,” she said, smiling.

I sat down on the couch next to her. We sat in silence for a few moments, drinking our drinks.

“So, it’s probably about time we decide on a band name, isn’t it?” I asked, remembering our two fans.

“Yeah it probably is,” she said, scratching her head. “I’m drawing a blank. I can’t think of anything cool.”

“Me neither…”

This was harder than you’d expect. Whatever we picked, we’d be stuck with forever. I’ve heard stories of rockstars wishing they’d picked a cooler name when they started. I don’t want to end up like that, so we’ve gotta come up with something cool.

“Well, let’s not get discouraged,” she said. “I’m sure something will come to us. For the time being, why don’t we listen to some music? This is supposed to be a celebration after all. I had so much fun sharing music with you last time I came over.”

I smiled and queued up one of my favorite punk rock songs that I’ve been obsessed with lately. I was in a great mood, and I think Sunny was as well, based on the songs she was queuing up. Last time, her songs were somber, almost melancholy. This time they were fun and upbeat.

She stood up. “Come on, let's dance! I love this song!”

I shook my head. “Sorry, I can’t dance, you have fun though.”

She grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet. “Sure you can. Everyone can dance! Some people just can’t dance well.”

I chuckled and attempted to dance alongside her. She was a great dancer. I, on the other hand, was not. I probably looked like an idiot.

“You’re doing great!” she said.

“No I’m not, I’m really bad at this, can I sit down now?”

“You’re doing way better than I did when I started! Nobody’s good at something the first time they try it. Tell me, were you good the first time you picked up a guitar?”

“No…”

“See, it takes practice.”

“How long have you been dancing?”

“Since I picked up bass.”

“Great, so I dance slightly better than a five-year-old.”

She chuckled.

I cracked a smile and laughed alongside her.

We passed the phone back and forth, sharing music for hours, late into the night. By the time I finally checked the time it was already past 3:00 AM.

“Damn it’s already three!”

“Shoot, do you mind if I stay the night again?”

“Of course, we’re bandmates. You can crash here anytime.”

She smiled. “I knew you’d say that, I still wanted to be polite and ask.”

I smiled and grabbed some blankets out of the closet.