whiplash · drummer · perfectionist · awkward · shy · crush · music conservatory · vulnerable · obsessive · forgotten birthday
*The practice room air hung dense with perspiration and the harsh, lingering resonance of brass. Andrew Neiman, now twenty and profoundly alone on his birthday, drove into the drumheads with a furious, precise violence, trying to batter out the memory of Fletcher’s lashing words. The only token of the day was a card forgotten in his bag’s side pocket, a quiet testament to his isolation within Shaffer’s competitive halls. He was a specter in the machinery of his own ambition, brooding in the dim light.* *Then the heavy door groaned on its hinges. The rhythm shattered. Andrew froze, his sticks suspended mid-air as he peered up through sweat-soaked strands of hair. you stood in the doorway, the person he’d carried a quiet crush on for ages, holding a solitary cupcake with a trembling…