Hey?
Zooble at the blank screen. They had been trying to figure out what to say for over a week. Gangle had texted them after she had left the record store. It was just her saying who she was and making sure she had got the right number. Zooble responded with a thumbs up, much to the dismay of GQ, and hadn't texted or talked to her since. They figured out when their next show was going to be, but they didn't know how to start a conversation without sounding like an asshole. Usually they didn't care, but the idea of hurting her feelings made them wince slightly. They had enjoyed talking to Gangle at the record store. Music and art were Zoobles' soft spots, they had this surreal connection to them. They were allowed to make anything they wanted, and people loved it, even if it looked wrong or sounded weird. They found solace in the oddities they created. It made them feel less like an oddity; less alone at the very least.
Maybe we can talk more about art and music. Zooble thought to themselves, staring at the blank screen once more. After much deliberation they decided to send a simple,
Hey.
They stared at their phone, impatience consuming their body.
“She's probably busy, stop being a creep.” Zooble said aloud to no one but themself, before putting their headphones on and listening to an older song. They laid on their bed and stared at the ceiling, it had various band posters push pinned into it. They figured no one was going to inspect the ceiling for damages, plus they ran out of tape when they were decorating their dorm, so it made sense to just go ahead and do it. Besides the various posters their room was fairly empty. They had their guitar and their bass set in the corner, they kept their drum kit elsewhere because it was too big, and a filled CD stand next to a stack of CD binders and a crate that held a few miscellaneous vinyls, EP's, cassettes and 8 track tapes. They also kept their Walkman and CD Walkman in the crate. On the opposite end of their dorm was their desk. It was riddled with various art supplies, a singular lamp, and homework they had yet to do. They rarely ever went to class, they had Pomni tell them what got assigned in freehand draw, and everything else was posted online. Professor Kinger was the only professor Zooble had that absolutely refused to use the internet, they had asked him about it before and he had said that he knew about all the dangers that lurked within the “devious devices”. Zooble wrote him off as some crazy old man who thought the internet was going to steal their souls, and stopped going to his class after day one. Apparently they had a project due next week, But Zooble had no desire to actually do it, they had already forgotten what the prompt was. They had been more focused on drawing designs for work, their sketch pad was filled with half-assed and abandoned drawings, some of them were turned into full fledged tattoos, most remained skeletal beings on a page. It was sad in a way, that so much time would be abandoned and never see the light of day again, but that was the life of an artist they supposed.
Zoobles phone buzzed and they were pulled away from their sketchbook, setting it back down on the chair beside their bed. They groaned at the text they had just received. They were happy Gangle responded but a simple,
Hey
Didn't give them much to work with. To be fair, that's exactly what they had said, so they couldn't exactly blame her. As Zooble was trying to come up with an excuse for why they had texted her in the first place, three dots appeared on their screen, bouncing up and down, making two seconds feel like an eternity.
What's up?
What's up, what's up. I can work with ‘What's up?’ Zooble thought as they stared at their phone.
Not much, I found out when my next show is.
It wasn't why Zooble had texted her, but the only reason Gangle gave them her number was because she wanted to go to a concert, she wasn't concerned with getting to know Zooble, even though Zooble really wished she was, she seemed cool.
Hell yeah! Give me a date and place and I'll do my best to make it.
It's at the record store tomorrow, we're playing in the downstairs area at 8.
THERE'S A DOWNSTAIRS AREA!?
Zooble chuckles at the text. Of course GQ didn't tell her about the downstairs area. All the music was held in the main floor so most people didn't know about the downstairs area, Zooble only knew because they used to work there before they got their tattooing gig a few months back. The entire summer was full of stocking shelves, sorting music alphabetically by genre, and talking to GQ about life. GQ had become a friend, despite the fact she was 28. She was the only person Zooble could open up to about life, how they felt about everyone and everything. She was the one that inspired Zooble to join a band, she was the first person to hold their CDs, and she was the only person that ever heard Zooble play their music. Not the thrashy, heavy drums they played on stage, but the actual music that Zooble wrote when they were alone in their dorm, away from the judgment that was the world. She was the only person that Zooble trusted, unconditionally. So when Zooble said they needed a place to play, she was more than happy to let them. Saying “it'll get people in the door, so why not?”, but Zooble knew damn well it was because they had asked.
Yeah, don't worry though, there's no music down there.
Oh, darn. What's down there then?
Just a few shelves filled with books on music history and band history.
What! That's so cool! I love reading about bands inspirations and how they came about.
Zooble couldn't help but exhale at the response. Of course Gangle liked reading about the history of music.
Yeah, you seem like the nerdy type.
What's that supposed to mean?
Shit. Had that come off as a jab?
You seemed to know a lot about music, GQ was impressed by it, so you've gotta know your stuff.
Zooble held their breath, hoping they didn't mess up before they even had the chance to try.
Oh yeah. Like I said, if you respect the art, you should respect the artist, or vice versa. Unless they do some weird shit, that's different.
Yeah, I get that
Zooble chuckled. The three dots reappeared on the screen and then disappeared, then reappeared again.
I don't work on Sundays, so I should be able to make it tomorrow.
Zooble hadn't even thought about the fact that Gangle could have a job, then again anyone buying that many CDs has to have money to spare.
You work? Where?
I'm the manager at Spudsys.
Didn't you just move here, how are you already a manager.
I was a manager back home, I requested a transfer and I was approved, thankfully.
That was pretty cool of them.
Yeah.
Zooble could feel the conversation dying out, but they had really wanted to talk to Gangle about something besides their band. They wanted to actually get to know her, but they didn't know how, they were never the one to reach out first. They learned at a young age that reaching out gets you hurt, especially when they don't understand what you're talking about or who you are at heart. Zooble started wracking their brain, trying to think of a conversational topic, then it dawned on them.
Hey you're in Prof. Kingers Freehand calls right?
Zooble anxiously waited for a reply.
Yeah, why?
Against their better judgment, Zooble decided to do something they never did. They were never going to be able to hold a conversation over text, they needed to see her in person if they wanted to make any progress.
Do you want to come over and work on the project together?
///
Gangle stared at her phone, completely confused.
Come over. Come over?
A sense of happiness, nervousness, and fear shot through her veins all at once.
“Huh?” was all she could say. Her phone slipped out of her hand and landed onto the ground with a clatter. She stared at it, unmoving. “Why?” She slowly stood up, picking her phone off the ground and looking at it once more to make sure she wasn't crazy. She started pacing around her room trying to sort out her thoughts, talking to no one but herself. “Why would Zooble invite me over? Pomni and Ragatha told me explicitly that they're a cold and distant person. They just wanted to talk about their band, or so I thought.” she paused and swivels on her heel to start walking the other way. “They have no obligation to be my friend, and they seem fun, I don't deserve friends like that, so why? Maybe Pomni put them up to it? Or Ragatha!” She snapped her head towards her door and marched out of it, knocking on her redheaded roommate's door. She opened it with a smile and waved.
“Oh hey Gangl-”
“Why is Zooble texting me?” Gangle interjected.
“What?”
“Why is Zooble texting me?” Gangle restated as she shoved her phone into Ragathas hands. She gave her a moment to read, confusion blatantly plastered along her face.
“Well I don't know, but it seems like they're trying to hang out with you.” Ragatha said as she handed the phone back to Gangle.
“But why?”
“What do you mean?”
“You and Pomni said that Zooble didn't like people.”
“No, we said Zooble doesn't like most people, and that it takes some time for them to warm up to people. This is a good thing.” She said pointing towards Gangle's phone. “it means they want to get to know you better.” Gangle stared at her phone for a second, it only showed her reflection, and smiled.
“Okay, thank you Ragatha.”
“Of course, now you might want to respond to them.” Gangle nodded her head, and texted Zooble back. Before she could even put her phone in her pocket, it buzzed.
“That was fast.” Ragatha said, her eyes a little wider than normal.
“Really, they've been texting that fast the entire time.” Ragatha looked even more confused than before, but didn't say whatever she was thinking.
“Alright.”
“They said I can come over now, so I guess I'll go do that.” Ragatha flashed a smile and waved as Gangle ran into her room to grab her sketchbook before she left. She locked the dorm on the way out and walked down the hall till she reached Pomnis dorm, and knocked. Pomni opened the door.
“Oh hey Gangle, what's up?”
“Zooble invited me over.”
“Really? Did they say why?”
“They said they wanted to work on the Freehand project.”
“Oh alright, you should show me when you're done, I just finished mine so.” Pomni smiled.
“Oh yeah, for sure.” Pomni let Gangle into the dorm and closed the door behind her.
“Zoobles door is straight down the hall. Make sure you knock or you might get a phone thrown at your head.” Pomni chuckled nervously as though she was speaking from experience.
“Will do! Thank you.” Gangle walked down towards the door and knocked.
“Yeah gimme a sec.” A monotone voice said behind the door. “Yeah what's up Pom- oh it's you, hey Gangle.” Zooble said as they opened their door. Gangle smiled and put up her hand in greeting.
“Hey Zooble, ready to draw?”
“Oh yeah, come on in” Zooble held the door open and gestured with their hand. As Zooble closed the door, Gangle walked into their room and started admiring their room. They have way more posters on the walls, and their art desk is actually put together. Zooble sat down on their bed.
“I like your room.” Gangle said simply.
“Thank you, so do I.” Gangle chuckled at the joke.
“Very music themed.”
“Are you surprised?”
“Not at all.” Gangle looked over at Zooble who was just looking at Gangle with a neutral expression. An all too familiar silence filled the air, but neither one of them broke eye contact. Gangle flashed a quick smile before awkwardly holding her sketchbook up. “You ready to draw?”
“Oh uh, yeah.” Zooble grabbed their sketchbook off the chair and sat back down. Gangle sat on the floor across from Zoobles bed. “What are you sitting over there for?”
“Hm?”
“You don't have to sit over there, you can sit next to me, if you want, you can also put on some music if you want.” Zooble motioned to their music corner.
“Oh uhm, are you sure?”
“Yeah.” Zooble shrugged nonchalantly. Gangle stood up and placed their sketchbook next to Zooble. They scanned their CD's and smiled at the various artists and genres.
“Looks like I'm not the only one with eclectic music tastes.” Gangle commented.
“Nope. All music deserves to be heard. Even if I don't personally like it, you'll find a little bit of everything in there.”
“Makes sense. Can I go through the binders?”
“Yeah go ahead.” Zooble started sketching something random, they still didn't know what the prompt was. “Hey Gangle.”
“Yeah?”
“What was the prompt again?”
“Pretty vague, just draw something that reminds you of comfort.’”
“That's not too bad.” They looked down at their little doodle, it was a guitar, and it gave them an idea, so they flipped the page and started sketching. Gangle walked over to their CD player, and hit play. Zooble smiled as the all too familiar sound filled the room. “Bikini Kill? I didn't take you for the type.”
“Type for what, riot grrrll music?”
“Yeah, then again your CD collection at the store surprised me.”
“Well” She paused. “I'm full of surprises.”
“I'm starting to realize that.” Zooble said with a small smile as Gangle sat down next to them.
“Now let's get to drawing!” Gangle exclaimed.