#vancam

“What about your acoustic, then? Giving up on music? Thought you found your ‘destiny’ or whatever. Isn’t that what you kept saying the other day?” another voice asked, emptying his pockets for another round. “Or have you given up already? Thought we -”

“It’s all just banter and you know it,” Benji chipped in, but just shrugged again.

“Maybe, and maybe not”.

***

He opened the curtains, allowing the sun to wash over his bedroom. A surprisingly sunny day for North Wales, he chuckled to himself, picking up the night before’s leftovers. The burnt joints and empty plastic cups quickly found themselves in the bin, while lyrics and chord sheets were neatly hidden away in his drawer. In the light of day, the night before seemed oddly overwhelming. A late night open mic night that turned into a house party that clearly left its mark on his room wasn’t unusual; early morning parties before gig days, however, were.

Glancing in the mirror, he ran his fingers through his hair. He didn’t look any different, except perhaps the bags under his eyes.They weren’t the important part, though, he thought to himself, his fingers toying with the hem of his jumper. He still had some concealer left in the bottom drawer, and for a moment he contemplated the idea, before shrugging it off. It wouldn’t make that much of a difference anyway.

And with that, he pulled his jumper over his head, tossing it in the corner. Inspection time. While some might find bruises appealing, he wasn’t quite sure that was the look he was going for. Although two years in, he still wasn’t quite sure what look he waslooking for, he did set some ground rules. No hickeys, for example, was one of the first ones he set. Ironically, the idea of him having a sex life seemed to turn them off.

Once he made sure he was ready to go, he pulled out the little black box from the space underneath his bed. Everything he needed was there; usually, his trusty tripod, camera and laptop were all safely hidden away. It was only on show days like this that he’d quickly set them up, making sure everyone knew it was his ‘work time’. After all, the last thing he needed was surprises. Although there’s probably audience for that too.

With his fly undone and his hand lazily playing with his jeans, he put on his performer smile and clicked on go. After all, some of his usual viewers were already waiting, and they were getting impatient.