Screen Burn

Episode 11

Mateo was not a good singer. He forgot the lyrics of his favorite songs and replaced them with ones he had created. He had no sense of timing. He could not hit high notes without his voice cracking, but he tried hitting them anyway.

Jake became aware of this as the two stood in front of his sister's band, watching them perform. Mateo was trying to sing along to all the songs in the set, and his attempts were making everyone in their immediate vicinity cringe. Lexa had noticed, and beamed at him because she appreciated the enthusiasm.

The album launch party was held at the record store where Jake's sister had first met the boy who would later introduce her to the rest of the band. He also became her boyfriend soon after she became part of the band.

The store hadn't been changed much in order to maintain its charm. The shelves that displayed various albums had been pushed back to make space for all the guests. A stage had been set up towards the back of the room, where the opening acts had performed before the band had finally appeared to take their rightful place. Fairylights were strung along the walls, giving the place a cozy feeling and making the event feel like a personal interaction.

As soon as Jake and Mateo had stepped through the door after showing their passes to the guard at the entrance, they were drawn by the table that was covered with food. They only had time to try the red velvet cupcakes, however, before a lot more people walked through through the front door and glared at them, as if rebuking them for eating before the event had even started.

Jake had sheepishly put a mini quiche down, and pulled his friend away towards the stall where C.Ds and t-shirts were for sale. The album cover was simple and brought a smile to Jake's face. The band were sitting on the hood of their old car Roxy. The red paint was peeling off, a few bumps were scattered across the surface, and a sticker clung to the license plate. He was glad to see that despite their growing popularity, the band remained proud of their simple beginning.

The t-shirts had the band's name written in block letters on a white background. A small red car was hand-drawn on the bottom left corner of the shirts. Mateo immediately bought the shirt and pulled it over the one he was wearing. Jake had called him a fanboy, but didn't get any reaction other than a look of resigned acceptance. When he looked away for a moment, he saw Mateo buy the C.D as well from the corner of his eye.

"I could've just got one of those for you, for free," Jake had told him, shaking his head.

"That's alright. You're helping me get this signed," Mateo had replied, beaming.

Before Jake could tell him that Lexa had already promised him signed C.Ds, he spotted someone familiar standing near the back-door. He walked over to the man, smiling once he realized that it was Caleb.

The two talked about how proud they were of Lexa, and how the store was benefitting from the launch. Caleb was still working at the store part-time, but was earning more. He also filled Jake in about developments in his romantic life, which seemed a lot more interesting than Jake's. He was introduced to Mateo, who listened to him talk about his girlfriend patiently. He was in such a good mood that he didn't make a a single rude remark.

When Play it Again walked up the steps leading to the stage, Mateo had simply stared, at a loss for words. He got his voice back, however, once they started to perform. Jake regretted this, because he was standing right next to him and his ears had to bear the assault.

"I'm so proud of them," Mateo whispered, as the band had stopped playing for a short while to drink water and tune their instruments. "I didn't know who they were when I first saw them perform, but by the end of three months, they had improved their sound so much that I couldn't help but fall in love with it. I knew that they'd land a record deal soon, and I'm so glad that I get to see them release their first album."