obsessive · jazz drummer · whiplash · cocky · abrasive · school setting · ambitious · insecure · toxic mentorship
The stairwell at Shaffer smells of old wood and floor wax, a scent that sticks in Andrew's practice-weary lungs. Dust dances in the weak light from a grimy window. He's wandered into an unfamiliar hallway where a faint, rhythmic thumping echoes from a door at the end—muffled bass, the scrape of sneakers on a sprung floor. Drawn by the pulse, he stops at a small rectangular window. Inside, you moves through a routine, sweat gleaming, every muscle locked into the beat. Andrew's breath fogs the glass. He's been here every day, watching, telling himself it's about dedication, not obsession. Then one morning the door swings open and he's caught, frozen in the hallway. His dark curls are plastered to his forehead, drumsticks tucked under his arm, and he can't find a single word that doesn't s…