Interwinted Lives

1. Jamie

" Is it true that if you die in Canada you die in real life?" Trevor asks. It was funny the first hundred times he joked about it, but now the
humor in it just seems to be fading. Perhaps if he didn't try so hard to be funny, he could genuinely be amusing.

"No Trevor, if you die in Canada you don't die in real life." I answer, rolling my eyes. "Canada is not even a real country. For God sakes their money smells like maple syrup when you scratch it." Everyone in the circle stares at me, Neil even seems to smile.

"OK, but get this. How do Canadians survive by only eating maple syrup? I mean Canada is just a joke, no real country is that perfect."The joint we are all sharing is almost finished. I look at Trevor; he's spacing out, looks at his feet, glances at me and then stares at Alana for what seem to be the longest ten seconds of my life.

"OK, that's it dude, you've had enough hits for the day" Charlie says, taking away the joint from Trevor's hands. "We all know Canadians are orchestrating the takeover of the entire world, but every time we try to relax you have to ruin it with your stupid questions."

"That's true. I mean, sure it was funny the first couple times. But you do this every fucking time Trevor. I need this free space where I can relax, I already have to put up with you and your stupid questions sober" I tell him while taking a hit. I cough a little.

"You're just too afraid to answer the real questions Jamie" He laughs.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" I ask, annoyed.

Everyone stands up from the grass. Brent takes what is left of the joint, takes one last hit and then throws it in the trash and looks at both of us. "We have to go back. We still have two hours left of practice and nothing done, so you all need to up your game."

Alana decides she's going home. We go back into Charlie's house and the guys start playing random notes on their instruments. I'm still deciding which song would make my voice sound better. I keep staring at Trevor, but he doesn't look back so I have to stop and actually go through the songbook. I stare at him again, I notice how warily his fingers touch the chords in the guitar and how his jaw clenches while he concentrates. Trevor guitar's notes last  seconds, then minutes. The sound Brent's drums buzz in my ear for the longest time and, disappear momentarily and then come back in what seem to be milliseconds. What are the real questions supposed to be?

I'm still high, I think.