Page 56 of Lost
There was a knowing look on Pat’s face.
“Worried. About leaving him alone.”
“Yes.”
“You think he’d do something stupid if he had the chance?”
Zack didn’t want to think about it. Lysander had been through a lot — losing his mother, moving interstate, having to leave his lifelong friends behind, burying his sister — and Zack had known people who had cracked under far less.
“I don’t know. But I think it’s better not to risk it.”
Pat nodded. “I’ll keep an eye on him while you’re in the recording booth.”
They were simple words, but they took a weight off his shoulders that he had not realised was there in the first place. Pat had always been the sort of person that he could count on, and this was only more proof of that.
“Thanks, man. I owe you one.”
“You owe me nothing,” Pat assured him. “Kid’s family. It’s my job to look out for him.”
Lysander was already hard at work on his Physics homework when Zack and Pat came back inside, and that was where Zack reluctantly left him when Axwell declared that it was time to start the day’s work. The two of them plus Brendan made their way into the studio itself, needing to polish up some of the guitar work they’d been recording earlier in the week. Once they were done it was Pat and Adam who would be doing most of the work. The weekend was all about getting the vocals for this song done, while Adam could spare the time.
Zack stepped into the booth, guitar in hand, and breathed out through his nose. This was something that he lived for — these moments when those countless hours of practising were finally paying off, where he was recording music that all the world would hear. It wasn’t as exciting as being up on stage, but it was certainly as exhilarating. This was a room where magic was made.
“Whenever you’re ready, Zack.”
He pulled his headphones on. Straightened his guitar. Double-checked his tuning and connections. Only once he was certain that everything was perfect did he give Axwell the signal to go ahead. And then he was playing.
The solo had been giving him trouble over the past week. It was one of Brendan’s more intricate pieces of work, and Zack’s fingers just did not agree with it. But today would be the day he got it right. On the bright side, he wasn’t the only one having issues with the song. Brendan still wasn’t happy with a couple of the recordings he had done for the verses, and neither of them wanted Adam to hear the song until it was perfect.
“That was great!” Axwell called through his microphone. He grinned at Zack from outside the recording booth, giving him two thumbs up.
“Play it back for me,” Zack said. He couldn’t just take the man’s word for it — he needed to hear it for himself. “From the top.”
He listened carefully, alert for even the tiniest detail that he wouldn’t like. On the other side of the glass he could see Brendan listening too, eyes closed and foot tapping along to the beat. He watched his friend while the music filled both of their ears. He could always trust Brendan to give an honest opinion.
He got another two thumbs up.
He left the recording booth satisfied, trading places with Brendan so the lead guitarist could perfect what the rest of the band swore had already been perfected. But there was always something better in Brendan’s eyes. Always something that could be added to make the song just that little bitmore. And he had never been wrong, so they had come to know better than to argue with him. They simply let him do what he felt he must and were better off for it.
The changes he made were tiny, but they did indeed make all the difference.
By the time Pat and Adam were ready to start recording their vocals, Brendan had finally deemed the instrumental track complete. It played on Zack’s mind as he returned to the tiny kitchen, leaving a broad grin on his face. Every time he thought things couldn’t get any better with this album, they did. He couldn’t help the constant thought that the band’s fans would be in for a real treat this year.
Lysander hadn’t moved in the time that it had taken Zack and Brendan to finish their portion of the recording. He was still doing homework, still flipping through the same textbook, and still looking irritated. Zack sat down opposite the boy.
Chris nudged him. “Your kid’s a nerd.”
“We’ve been through this,” Lysander replied, not bothering to look up. “Just because I’m smarter than you does not make me a nerd.”
Zack took the beer that Brendan offered him with a nod of thanks.
And then he was alone with Lysander while Brendan, Chris and Aaron made their way into the studio to listen to Pat and Adam sing. The boy wasn’t showing any signs of moving so neither, decidedly, was the father.
He fixed his eyes on the textbook between them. Physics had never been one of Zack’s strong points.
“You like science?”
Lysander shrugged. “Do you care?”
