Zac raised an eyebrow at Loren's reply, still grinning. "Oh yeah? We'll see how long that lasts," He replied, twirling his drumstick in one hand as he pressed play with the other. The drums broke in straight away, and so did he. He couldn't help but start singing along, projecting his voice over his drumming. We watched Loren play along, her fingers sliding up and down the frets as easily as his own.
Drumming came to him so easily now, he didn't have to think about it anymore. He just lost himself in the music for those few minutes. He didn't care what anyone thought of him. He didn't think about what had happened to him, or what would happen to him. He simply focused on the music playing and the drum patterns he created. It was his one escape, his greatest passion. Guitar was the only thing that came close, and even that didn't offer the escapism that drumming did. It was the one time that he could forget the dark shadows that whispered in the back of his mind. It was worth the pain that sometimes came when he overdone it. It was worth his parents' reminders that he could very well screw up his back. Hell, the school had a healer. She could surely fix him up if anything went wrong.
He fueled all of his energy into the drumming, not being afraid to overdo it. As the music finished, he added one final improvised drum pattern, before throwing his hands, still gripping the drumsticks, into the air in triumph. He burst into laughter for no particular reason. Drumming just gave him an endorphin rush like no other. Chocolate, sugar, exhaustion, laughter- nothing could compare. He glanced up at Loren and the laughter just got worse.
The uncontrollable laughter reminded him of the time the doctor had prescribed him sleeping pills a few weeks after arriving at his current foster home. The nightmares had been strong, often happening several times a night. As a result, he had been left exhausted during the day. The doctor thought that sleeping pills and anti-depression medication would help. Neither had worked. When he took the sleeping pill at night, he had found himself trapped in the realm of nightmares, unable to escape them. The anti-depression meds hadn't exactly worked either. He had suffered exhaustion and paranoia, exactly as he had before taking them. However, a few hours later, he had suffered an endorphin rush and had been laughing without stop for fifteen minutes, before being hyperactive for hours after. The doctor had suggested keeping up the course of meds, hoping that the effect would start to kick in when his body was used to the drugs. The sleeping pills continued to lock him in the nightmaares, and while the laughing fit had been a once off, the hyperactivity had continued until the doctor had taken him off of the drugs. He still had a container of sleeping pills in his bedside locker for extreme insomnia.
Once he had recovered, he grinned at Loren. "Readier than me, eh? Not possible when it comes to drumming." He winked at her, still grinning, a little out of breath. "I don't need drugs or alcohol. Give me two drumsticks and I'm happy," He remarked, tapping out a few patterns on the drum set in front of him.
Chris glared at his alarm clock. His hand reached out to slap it a few times. He still wasn't a morning person. His hand fished around on his bedside table, looking for a timetable. He eventually found it and held it over his face, seeing when his classes were. He only had one class today, and that wasn't until 12:15. Chris scanned his timetable, delighted to find that he had no classes on Friday.
He climbed out of bed, crossing the room to his bathroom. He showered, before heading back to his wardrobe. He stared at it for a moment or two, before deciding on an outfit. He wanted to get outside, and check out the sports facilities, see if they had improved or changed anything since his time, even if it was only five years ago. As he was lacing up his Converse, he stared at his hands. They bore no trace of the cuts from the day before, even though there should have been scarring. He needed to talk to Amy, badly. He needed to thank her. He needed to find out what was wrong with her.
He shook off the dark thoughts beginning to impose on his good mood and headed downstairs. He was hungry, and stopped briefly in the canteen to grab something to eat. There was a blonde head on the table a little distance away, but Chris decided not to interfere. While he ate, he observed the students- but carefully. He thought he would look a fool if he had his sunglasses on inside, but he was still careful not to be recognized. That would make things awkward. Once he was finished, he dropped the bowl back up to the servers and headed outside.
It was still early, but boy, it got bright quickly. Chris pulled on his aviators as he passed the pool, not wanting to be blinded by the reflection of the sun on the water. There wasn't many people outside at this time. Despite his reluctance to get up, Chris liked being outside early. The air was still clean and pure, not yet tainted by cigarette smoke. In Cali, it got bright early, without getting too hot. It was the perfect time just for a walk. Chris grinned as he strolled, enjoying himself.