Page 11 of Little Monster
“That’s what she said,” Lucas mumbles, and Sebastian laughs from his seat at the drum set.
We’re doing a full playthrough first, just to get a feel for it, and then the producers said we’ll track instruments individually. I don’t understand about half of what they say, so I just keep nodding and waiting for someone to tell me when I’m supposed to play.
“Here we go,” Wes says.
Everyone gets ready. I adjust my grip on my bow and take a breath.
Then they’re counting us in, and the song starts with bass and drums. Michael nods his head as he plays, and Sebastian has a focused look on his face as he pounds out the first and third beats of the four-four rhythm on the kick drum.
Lucas and Dex come in next. Without meaning to, I watch Dex intently, drawn in by the way his fingers move across the strings. Dex glances up at me, and after meeting his gaze briefly, I turn quickly away.
My intro is coming up in six measures, five, four...
I lift my bow to the strings and home in on the notes the others are playing.
And then I join in, drawing the bow over the strings, letting my fingers move of their own volition. As soon as I start to play, my nerves melt away.
Compared to orchestral arrangements, this piece is child’s play, though I’d never say that to the band. The song is upbeat, energetic, and it’s easy to lose myself in it.
The song is only a few minutes long, much shorter than I’m used to. My solo is already coming up.
The bass and rhythm guitar fade out, which leaves me on violin, Dex on lead guitar, and Sebastian on the drums.
The guitar stops, and I crescendo into the solo. My eyes close. All I hear is my own playing and Sebastian’s consistent rhythm on the kick behind me.
I still have my eyes closed when Dex’s guitar comes back in, and then my playing decrescendos into silence, and I open my eyes to watch him play.
He’s concentrating, his eyes down on the frets, and I like watching the way his left hand moves up and down the neck of the guitar, his tendons flexing under his tattooed skin. Something about it makes me warm.
Those butterflies are back again. Not the nervous ones. Theotherones.
Pulling my attention away from him, I join in with the violin once more, and the bass and rhythm guitar pick up again soon after. We shift into the outro, and just like that, our first playthrough is complete.
A beat of silence passes, and then Sebastian lets out an energetic whoop.
“Fuck yeah! That violin sounds sosick!”
Lucas takes a step toward me and offers his fist for a bump, and I shyly return it, which makes his green eyes crinkle with a smile. “That’s pretty sweet,” he says.
Michael gives me a short applause. Then my gaze shifts to Dex. He’s wearing that same expression he had on his face the day he listened to me in the warm-up room: a bit of a lazy smirk, just twisted enough that I’m not sure if he’s smiling at me or laughing at me. It’s unsettling.
“All right,” Naomi says, calling my attention away from Dex. “Good first run. Let’s track drums now.”
Each instrument gets tracked individually, and the producers start layering the sounds over one another. We’re given headphones so we can hear the music as we play, and I’m not nearly as nervous when it’s time to track the violin.
“Just play it straight through,” Naomi says. “If you make a mistake, stop, and we’ll rerecord it.”
The music starts in my headphones: drums and bass, then rhythm and lead guitar. I’m the last to track, so everyone else has already recorded, and they’re lounging about on the stools now, all eyes on me.
I start to play, and everything is going great—until I turn and catch Dex staring at me.
His sideways smile has turned into a big beaming grin, and he’s leaning forward on his stool, his eyes laser focused on me. I keep playing, but my eyes are locked on his, and I can’t seem to look away. He flicks his lip ring again, and I completely mangle the measure I’m playing.
“Stop!” Wes calls.
My cheeks burn as I finally tear my eyes away from Dex and lower my violin.
What’s gotten into me? There’s no reason I should’ve messed that measure up.
