One Man Band System

Chapter 10: First Time Recording

Emma noticed that Eric had gone completely stiff. She snapped her head toward the guy next to her, who was still glaring at Eric.

"Hey, Kevin, seriously, stop staring at him," Emma barked.

"What? Who even is this guy?" Kevin asked, turning to look at Emma.

"He’s my friend. Don’t be a jerk," Emma replied loudly, pouting.

Then, Emma reached across the divider and tapped Eric on the shoulder, getting him to look back at her.

"Eric, meet my older brother, Kevin. He just got back from base, and he’s deploying overseas in a month," Emma said, introducing him.

"Oh... your brother," Eric said, turning to look at Kevin.

"Yeah... sorry about her. My sister loves causing trouble," Kevin replied.

"Who says I love causing trouble?!" Emma yelled, her face scrunching up.

The two siblings started bickering right then and there. Watching them banter like a normal, close-knit brother and sister briefly reminded Eric of his own relationship with Jason and Ruby. But the thought came and went without triggering any emotional pain whatsoever, vanishing completely in an instant. Once the siblings finally stopped bickering,

"Emma, Kevin, meet my cousin, Caleb," Eric said, introducing Caleb.

"Yo," Caleb greeted them, raising a hand.

"Nice to meet you!" Emma said cheerfully.

A few moments later, Emma moved over to slide into the booth next to Eric, while Kevin joined Caleb on the other side. Eric finally got a good look at Kevin’s clothes and noticed he was wearing a military t-shirt and tactical pants.

It looked like Emma wasn’t kidding about him just getting back from base. Judging by his build and appearance, he was probably a year or two older than Eric, putting him right around Caleb’s age. After exchanging some casual small talk,

"So... are you two dating now, Eric?" Caleb asked, gesturing toward Emma.

"What? No, I literally just met her this afternoon," Eric answered honestly.

"Yeah... not yet. We’re just friends for now, right?" Emma interjected.

"Not yet?" Kevin repeated, his face hardening. It seemed like the guy physically couldn’t smile, and whenever he tried, it honestly looked terrifying.

Emma realized she had just blurted out exactly what was hidden in her heart, and she quickly turned her head to look the other way. Eric, who noticed her reaction and felt a sudden wave of embarrassment himself, immediately took action, free𝑤ebnovel.com

"Anyway, I’m all done with my food. I should probably get going. I still have a ton of stuff to pick up at the convenience store," Eric said, standing up.

"Wait, hold on a second," Emma said, grabbing Eric’s forearm and pulling him right back down into the seat.

"What’s wrong?" Eric asked, completely bewildered as he sat back down.

"I’ll come with you," Emma declared.

"Uh... no, that’s fine. I can handle it myself," Eric replied.

Completely brushing Eric’s objections aside, Emma turned to Kevin and told him she was heading out for a bit with Eric, asking her brother to wait at the restaurant for a while. Then, she prompted Eric to stand up. Eric shot a desperate look over at Caleb, praying his cousin would bail him out, but Caleb just flashed a thumbs-up and nodded along with a massive grin. Meanwhile, Kevin just sat there silently, staring straight ahead and casually finishing his meal.

Emma pulled a resigned Eric out of the restaurant, and they walked down the sidewalk toward a convenience store at the end of the block. Eric gently pried his arm from Emma’s grip and walked side-by-side with her.

"What are you even doing out this late anyway?" Eric asked.

"Getting food with my brother. We don’t have school tomorrow, plus we were starving and too lazy to order DoorDash," Emma replied casually.

"Oh, right. No school tomorrow?" Eric asked.

"Yeah, it’s actually summer break since I’m going into the 12th grade, but I had a school thing earlier today, which is why I’m still in my uniform," Emma explained.

Eric took a proper look at what he was wearing just a white t-shirt under a jacket, jeans, and sneakers. His own hair was a bit messy, and he wasn’t trying to impress anyone, but her natural, effortless beauty was undeniable. Eric’s face flushed slightly, and he quickly looked straight ahead, forcing any distracting thoughts out of his mind.

Once they reached the end of the block, they stepped into the convenience store. Eric immediately started grabbing essentials: a toothbrush, toothpaste, body wash, detergent, snacks, a six-pack of soda, and even some underwear. Emma watched him pile the items into his basket before finally speaking up.

"Did you move to this city without bringing anything at all? Wait, did you run away from home?" Emma asked bluntly.

Hearing her question, Eric didn’t give a verbal answer. He just gave a quiet nod, his expression shifting instantly. Emma realized she had stepped on a sensitive topic and didn’t press him any further. Instead, she grabbed two bags of chips and tossed them into his basket.

"Buy these for me, haha," Emma teased.

"Oh... sure," Eric smiled.

They walked up to the register, paid for everything, and headed back out into the night to walk back to the restaurant. When they arrived, they caught Caleb and Kevin stepping outside.

"Sorry man, I gotta bounce. My girl just got off her shift at the hospital and she’s on her way back to the apartment. Keep in touch, alright?" Caleb told Eric.

"Got it. Get home safe," Eric replied.

Caleb immediately took off, leaving Eric, Kevin, and Emma behind. Kevin turned to look at Eric.

"I’m gonna head out too... Emma, you coming?" Kevin asked his sister.

"Uh... yeah, obviously," Emma said, stepping over to Kevin’s side. She turned back to lock eyes with Eric. "See you tomorrow, don’t forget to text me," Emma said, waving her hand.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," Eric smiled, waving back.

"Later, Ric. I’m hitting the road," Kevin said, raising a hand.

Eric nodded and smiled as the two siblings hopped onto a motorcycle parked in front of the restaurant and buckled their helmets. They pulled out into traffic, and Emma turned around to wave one last time, which Eric returned.

Once Kevin’s motorcycle disappeared around the corner, Eric turned and walked back toward his grandfather’s building just a short distance away. He looked into his shopping bags one more time, making sure he hadn’t forgotten a single thing.

***

After getting back to his place, he dropped all his shopping bags onto the kitchen counter, sat down at the dining table, and pulled out his smartphone. He immediately started setting up creator accounts on the two streaming platforms he had picked out earlier. Once the registration was complete, he glanced over at the guitar resting on the lounge chair.

"Alright, let’s do this," Eric thought. freёwebnovel.com

He walked over to grab his guitar and his handwritten draft from the table, then headed to the elevator to go down to the third floor. Stepping into the recording studio, "click"—he flipped on the lights. A massive grin spread across his face as he took in the studio layout.

He walked straight into the soundproof glass booth opposite the control room and pulled up a stool. He sat down, placing his lyric sheet on a music stand, and rigged his smartphone onto a microphone mount hanging down from above.

After adjusting the camera angle to focus strictly on his guitar and torso, keeping his face completely out of the frame, he hit record. He jumped straight into the track, pouring his soul into the five-minute melody. When he finished, he played the footage back.

Not entirely satisfied with the take, he decided to do it again. It took him seven more tries to get a performance he actually liked, but looking at the playback, his face had accidentally slipped into the frame, forcing him to reconsider.

"Hmm... I really don’t want my face out there just yet," Eric thought.

He paused to think for a moment, then stepped out of the booth and headed upstairs. A few minutes later, he came back down wearing a pair of non-prescription fashion glasses he had found among his grandfather’s things.

He ran through a few more takes until he finally captured the perfect recording. Without wasting any time, he uploaded the track to both streaming services.

"Yaaawn." A sudden wave of exhaustion hit him. He checked the time and caught himself off guard, it was already two in the morning. "Whoa... it’s late. Time for bed, at least the job is done," Eric said to himself.

He hurried out of the recording booth and ran back upstairs. He threw himself straight onto his bed and knocked out instantly, completely unaware that the video of him playing that brand-new track was about to change his life forever.