California, United States of America-
In an upper-middle-class neighborhood in the style of the early 1990s.
The Morning sun slightly shines through a window curtain of horizontal blinders creating an outline of striped lines of light & shadow on a sleeping handsome teenager's face.
The bright sunlight seeping through the window blind's open cracks struck his eyes exactly, frying his retina through his eyelids, so he's forced to roll over, pulling the sheets covering his head in annoyance.
Just as he adjusts himself to re-enter the dreamscape, a ruff knocking comes from the outside bedroom door.
*Knock, knock!*
After no response to the knocking is heard, a loud:
*Bang!-Bang!*
Then A louder-
*BANG! BANG!*
From the lower part of the door frame, a frustrated kick on the door is heard!
*BANG-BOOM!*
"Get up!"
"Today's the day & you promised me!"
"You've got fifteen minutes...or else don't blame me, hmph!" The hurried young female voice said shouting outside the door before fading away into the distance.
On the bed, the covers have now come down reluctantly from over the youth's head & the Drowzee eyes opened up.
The young man now sporting a frowning face, & he can be seen ruffling his dark jet-black hair in frustration!
Nonetheless, he still rises out of bed revealing a tall lean-fit body wearing nothing other than brightly colored boxers shorts with elephant cartoon prints.
Yawning his way towards the hallway bathroom, which he finds is currently occupied!
Annoyed he quickly backhands thumps on The bathroom door in anger!
*Bang!Bang!Bang!*
And then he reprimanded the current occupant of the bathroom by saying:
"'YOU', wake 'ME' up to go, and you are not even dressed or ready yourself?
You're still In the bathroom, what's wrong?
What did you eat last night, huh?!"
Do you got the bubble guts?
Various annoying things were spewing out his mouth until-
Whoosh!
The old bathroom door swings open revealing a pretty young woman with a tilted head & a face full of mockery of the complaining boy in front of her.
"Who's not ready?"
"Hmph and my health is just fine music geek boy, so don't be so disgustingly crass early in the morning!"
She looks away and focus's forward on the bathroom mirror again before saying:
"I'm just doing some last-minute touch-ups, go head & jump in the shower, nobody is stopping you! It's not like I haven't seen it all before."
She said while doing her hair & makeup, already dressed up in a attire fit for socializing around the town.
But her words fall on dulled and deaf ears, as the youth Looks at the hair blow dryer in her hand with some trepidation, slowly backing up against the adjacent hallway wall before saying to her:
"Uh, I-I'll just wait my turn...& you haven't seen it in a long time!" He mumbled the latter part under his breath.
"...?"
Hmph, thinking he's being a shy boy now after all these years, she just scoffed at him dismissively, choosing to just ignore him & finished beautifying quickly, to give way to him to hit the showers.
...
-Sometime later-...
Inside a vehicle in the shape of a boxy style family Volvo sedan, the duo is both dressed well & heading down the road towards the agreed-upon destination.
The younger man suddenly asked the older female driver a question:
"Why are we leaving so much earlier than we needed to?"
" Is this what the so-called 'Rock Stars' should do huh?!" The young man complained in a sardonic tone about today's happenings while enduring another yawn.
"My Roth isn't like those other troubled rock singers! He's a hard-working artist, and focused even on an early Saturday morning he-."
The young man's stare of Deadpan eyes with a blank face meets her eyes interrupting her nonsense talking with just this doubt-filled gaze that's suppressing what hyperbolic words she had in her throat from being spoken out loud.
"O-Okay, Okay, Plus maybe, we have plans to go to the midday movies and see some flicks at the mall later."
"They are playing the new film "Lovely Woman" starring Gulia Robertson & he promised to take me to see it, so it's best to free up early, so then the rest of the day will be for us after official business is done."
"Sigh, So it 'WAS' your idea, wasn't it." He said Tiredly.
"Yeah, so what!" She shrugs.
"You uncovered the secret conspiracy between us lovers, are you happy now?"
He just shakes his head in response.
"Anyway during the try-out, don't waste time fooling around & don't phone it in either Vincent, I warning you, give your best!"
"I've seen what you can do at those boring classical concerts I was forced to sit through with Mom!" She Said seriously.
...
That's right, Vincent Levi, that's my name now.
A high school orchestra student, marching band member, accomplished guitarist & pianist trained since a young age.
However, I am now forced by my 'sister' to use these talents to audition as a temporary substitute in a local garage rock band; whose lead singer she just happens to be dating currently!
I'm a bit dissatisfied with her blatant Conflict of interest! She, my sister, sold me out to help outsiders without asking me first, so I say to her:
"Nobody forced you to come to my performances." Vincent mumbled in response to the accusation.
"What?!" She exclaimed loudly in the car.
"Oh Yes, they 'DID' force me!" She says with mashing teeth!
"Since you first started your obsession with the music career at age 4, I had been dragged into recitations, practice rehearsals, recitals, all when I could have been hanging out with my friends at the mall, or going to the beach!
But no-no-no, back then I'm listening to Beethoven for the X time, While My friends are attending concerts, and listening to the newest song by First Lady Madonna!
"What about me?"
I always have to sit through performance after a performance as I'm waiting for you to be done cause I'm responsible for bringing you home from practice at that time, & when I'm waiting for you, I'm so bored till I fall asleep at each of your sessions!
It's so prevalent in my life, that I'm Rocking out to Mozart's music scores in my dreams!" She groaned out loud in frustration.
Vincent flinched as this seem to have touched her exposed nerve.
He also knows that his 'predecessors' time in studying music had affected others in his family, so he didn't refute her outburst lecture.
" So, now 'I'M' forcing 'YOU' to help 'ME'...& your future brother-in-law!" She said through clenched teeth.
Vincent frowns at this latter statement & says quickly:
"You've dated this guy for less than 7 months, I sure as hell won't be calling that dude my 'brother-in-law'!"
"Why not?!" She asked Teasingly amused by his reaction.
" It's just a matter of time before he pops the big question to me!"
"You might not know it Vincent, but to others, your older sister is very charming!" She said with some pride while tossing her long hair back in an exaggerated fashion!
Vincent made a throwing up gesture, and ignored her not so humble bragging flex & reiterated his stance:
"Anyway, he's no brother in law of mine, unless...uh-"
"Unless what?" Asked Vincent's sister, puzzled at his abrupt halt mid-sentence while she was driving.
Vincent looks at her with a strange gaze then lowers his stare to her abdominal region, before saying slightly worried:
"Unless...y-you, you aren't knocked up are you-"
!
*WHOOSH!*
The car swerves to the side as her hands lost control of the steering wheel bearing, as she used her soft balled-up fists and pummeled Vincent who was in the passenger seat!
!
"WHOA! WHOA!! WHOA!!!
Vincent, calls out loudly, Holding his hands pressed backward against the seat bracing for any impact!
"What?! How could you think, we haven't even-" flustered she said some things incoherently.
"-W-what are you doing? Control, watch the road!"
"LOOK AT THE ROAD!!" Vincent's scream seemed to pull this irrational driver back to her senses!
*Sound of breaks, and tires screeching!*
The car comes to a halt & frightened labored breathing on both sides in silence until a honk from the rear car awoke them & the stopped car began driving again!
The car ride evened out again & they continued fussing:
" Okay, just drive regularly alright, calm down!" Said Vincent in a calming tone!
"I-I know how to drive Vincent!" She replied as she scoffs at Vincent's defensive posture in his passenger seat.
"Also, how could I be...p-pregnant?! Huh!"
"Your mind, you better get it out the gutter!" She said angrily.
Vincent just put both hands in the air in defeat, not wishing to entangle this landmine topic at all for fear of the consequences!
All the while his dodgy eyes watched her every move driving in anxiety and finally said:
" Well okay, until then, don't mention brother-in-law to me again!"
"You are only a few years older than me, don't fall into a shotgun wedding situation with this guy with unreasonable expectations in the music industry!"
Vincent waves his hands to stop the incoming interruption from her & said firmly:
"Also, don't tell me mistakes can't happen, it's the 90's now, things sorta just happen regardless of our wishes sometimes."
" Your future is still undecided right, so uh, just so you know be careful because um, be safe,...about stuff." Said Vincent carefully but clumsily.
Blushing she just hums back in response, with her hands-on 10 & 2 gripping the steering wheel firmly.
The car falls into an awkward silence...
...
-Sometime Later-
Vincent suddenly spoke, asking:
"So what's the deal with this band again?"
I asked to recover the atmosphere, Changing the previous subject, and to forget how I almost reincarnated 'again', vowing never to let this short fuse woman drive me anywhere in the future if it is possible.
Having calmed down now, she said:
"They have been formed for almost a year and a half, except for the drummer, they are all previous high school friends, it was going well for a while.
I'm not sure what the reason is, but they began fighting over something, they refused to tell even me what it was all about.
Since the infighting became too hot, it caused the former lead guitarist to leave the band without notice!
All the hard work done from before for this considerable opportunity in front of a famous organizations festival, to have our own live concert session on one of the opening stages of the festival might be ruined!
That's why this gig that's unlike the others is so important, much more than those open mic coffee shops, pay to play small festivals, or the previous one night club substitute for the house band in small club venues, as well as all the other small-time one-time jobs they have ever done before, all pale in comparison!
This time It's a real chance to get noticed by a big group of fans and music company scouts.
But this bad timing of the band members' internal breakdown in negotiations threatens them from being seen & booking more gigs temporarily as practice or even possibly being pulled out from this big-time scheduled opportunity!
So they quickly searched for a short-term replacement with no good results until now.
She then looks over at her brother Vincent, who's calm again with his backhand rested on his cheek & head on the glass looking out at the passing scenery under the sunlight and looking very handsome at this moment.
She smirks while looking at his quiet profile and says:
" Things 'Were' looking pretty bad."
"That is Until I suddenly remembered the natural talented all-rounder, who was a classically trained musician of many instruments that we had in the family!
"An obsessed with musical savant, who plays for countless hours on different instruments keeping me up at night!" She says with annoyance in her tone as she looks at Vincent and said finally.
"So you'll do this favor and we are even Steven & I will forget about-"
Just as she was about to speak, she received a death stare from her little brother!
So She cleverly made a zipping the mouth & locking key motion on her lips & then threw away her imaginary key out the moving car's open window!
...
The former Vincent Left behind some black history material for myself!
It's by this way of sibling style blackmail, that Vincent is recommended By his sister to fill in a vacancy for her lovers' garage rock band for a live show!
But little does she or anyone else know that this Vincent isn't the same music dork that they once knew before.
But I'm a new soul who woke up with a second chance in the form of a youthful & healthy body of a 17 years old Vincent Levi!
As for the former Vincent, who sadly had an accident in a place where no one's eyes were present, his soul has already passed on!
However, his muscle recall & memory synapses still retained all the information needed to understand my current situation, my refined musical talents, & also the who's who around me.
Looking towards the triumphantly humming character in the driving seat, who's 'my' elder sister Laurel Levi.
Incidentally, my second chance was in around about way caused by the old faulty hairdryer of this blackmailing made stupid by love sister, that short-circuited when he went to unplug it as she always forgot to do so when she finished drying her hair.
But I'll never tell Laurel or anyone about this ever!
It's my personal secret to keep till the death of me!
No need for Laurel's and the family's grief over Vincent's departure or for me being invited by those alphabet boys in black suits for afternoon 'Tea' or 'a cup of coffee!
Only to end up in someone's laboratory, as they are trying to splice me up to get answers from my brain about time & space that I don't even have!
I involuntary Shudder at the thought of this, with a cold sweat now accumulated on my brows unknowingly.
"Vinny, you okay?" Laurel asked knowing that maybe the pressure she added just now is maybe too much for him probably by seeing his condition suddenly deteriorate!
Vincent was originally a very introverted person. When he was very, anywhere the instruments weren't in front of him in the past he became withdrawn and kept to himself, almost to the point of being autistic. over the years he's grown out of it somewhat, being able to communicate normally and make connections but not to the standard of an outgoing person like herself.
Even though the last two months & a half he's been vastly better, more open, hard-working than before, but sure enough, people don't change so easily she thought to herself in worry.
Part of the reason she wanted him to join this band even temporarily is to help him too, get out of his shell.
"Don't be nervous, I was just playing around with you, just do your best I won't be mad either way or tell about-
An evil eye Stare of Vincent interrupts her "comforting" talk.
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Laurel's Motions that her mouth is shut. But Laurel smiles slyly.
...
I smile back naturally, not believing what this made stupid by love hormones sister won't do for love, my history is Not safe in her hands unless I even the playing field going forward!
Anyway, I, as the new Vincent have decided (was forced) to fulfill her small request since my second chance was directly or indirectly caused by her, and her being a sloppy and messy person, with a habit of hoarding with useless things.
But I won't find fault with her like my predecessor.
It's not like I've got nothing to do anyway, I'm not so sure about what I should be doing actually...
Endless opportunity is also a burden.
Like having too many channels to pick from on cable tv, or streaming services menus in the future.
I could spend an hour sifting through options, only to rewatch comfort shows that you favor all over again.
But with the historical trajectory knowledge, I retained crossing over, plus the skills that are known in my past life & the inherited skills in this new life;
I'm confused.
What's the best way to effectively manage them all to the fullest extent of their potential without too many regrets left behind me.
Vincent ponders silently, gazing at the sunny California morning scenes as they fade in the passenger side-view mirror, deliberating seriously his future path.