Shinedown short stories

Second Chance

"Tell my mother, tell my father, that I've done the best I can"

*Zach's POV*

My dream was to be a rockstar. I always wanted to play in front of an audience with my friends by my side, playing my heart out. The problem is, my parents don't approve of that lifestyle. It's hard to practice doing what I love when I don't even own a guitar to practice with. Luckily I have good friends on my side.

After school we all met at my friend Eric's house for band practice. He was nice enough to let me use one of his guitars. I loved our little band. I was on guitar, Eric was on bass, our friend Barry was on drums, and our friend Brent did vocals. Together, I think we sound pretty good.

"Guys, if we want to be taken serious, we need a good band name" Brent said as we wrapped up our practice session.
"Like what?" Barry asked. The bright light flooding into the room as the sun started to set was distracting me.
"Eric can you close the blinds? The way the light shines down is blinding me" I mumbled.
"That's it!" Brent called out.
"What? What did I say?" I was confused by Brent's sudden excitement.
"We'll call the band Shinedown!" He exclaimed. We all looked at each other and smiled. It did have a nice ring to it.

We all said our goodbyes and headed home for the night. I had a feeling the others were going to keep practicing from their own houses, while I was left to wait until our next session together. My parents were there to greet me when I reached my house.
"How was school?" Dad asked.
"Fine" I grumbled.
"Did you hang out with your friends afterwards?" Mom asked in a friendly tone.
"Yes mom, we just hung out" I threw my bag down and went to the kitchen. Mom had left my dinner sitting on the table, waiting for me. I sat down and silently ate by myself, wishing I was back at Eric's house.

As a band, we worked hard each week to improve our sound. It was obvious I had less practice then the rest, but they were all patient with me. Eric would even pull me aside to teach me new things. As school came to an end, we all prepared for our first summer as a band.
"I know I'm buying my own guitar, as soon as I can afford it" I said as we talked about our plans.
"For now you can continue using mine" Eric said as he put a hand in my shoulder.
"We should get a bus or something. If we travel, we can play more places" Brent suggested.
"We can stay in hotel rooms at each city we visit" Barry added. I then realized my parents would never allow me to do this. I had a choice to make, and it wasn't going to be easy.

Summer came quickly and I knew it was now or never. Everyone else was packed up and ready to go. Their families knew about our travels and said their goodbyes, promising to keep in touch and wishing us all the best. I wasn't so lucky, I planned on leaving without even telling my parents so they couldn't stop me.

I packed my bags and snuck out of my house while my parents weren't home. I didn't leave a note or anything, I figured they find out if they heard about the band later on. I rushed over to Eric's house and saw everyone else was waiting on in our van.
"Come on Zach" Brent said as I climbed in.
"Sorry" I mumbled. I took a seat next to Barry and we were on our way. A new adventure has just begun, and it was worth it.