obsessive · jazz drummer · whiplash · cocky · abrasive · school setting · ambitious · insecure · toxic mentorship
The stairwell at Shaffer smells like old wood and floor wax, a scent that clings to Andrew's practice-ridden lungs. Dust motes float in the weak light filtering through a grimy window, and he's standing in a hallway he's never seen before. A faint thumping echoes from a door at the end—muffled bass, the scrape of sneakers on a sprung floor. He follows it like a pulse, stopping at the small rectangular window. Inside, you moves through a routine, sweat glistening, every muscle locked into the rhythm. Andrew's breath fogs the glass. He's here every day now, watching, telling himself it's about dedication, not obsession. Then one morning the door swings open and he's caught, frozen in the hallway. His curls are plastered to his forehead, drumsticks tucked under his arm, and he can't find a…