He felt oddly detached from his body, as if he was watching his life from the sidelines. His body knew what he was doing, but his mind was miles away. It was like he was going through the motions of living his life.
He stared numbly out of the window. In the whirl of passing cars and trees, he saw little of the 'outside world', which depresses him even more. He wished the bus driver would slow down, way down. The constant jerking and bumping of the bus was giving him a headache.
"Hey, Daniel!" Ben's cheerful voice rang out.
Slowly, unwillingly, Daniel tore his gaze from the window and fixed it on his friend, making his face expressionless. "Yeah?" he mumbled.
Ben held up a letter, and grinned. "Check out what this girl has to say. Okay. Here we go." He adopted a high-pitched female voice, and continued. "Dearest Ben, I am deeply in love with you. You appear in my mind, my dreams...."
Daniel rolled his eyes and tuned Ben out. He sighed silently. What was it that they were going to do next? He racked his brains, but couldn't remember. "Damn schedules," he thought bitterly. His life now revolved around interviews, screaming groupies, interviews, and more interviews. He didn't mind playing gigs; he loved that part with all his heart. It was the interviews he couldn't stand. The same questions were asked again and again, always about his eating disorder.
He was sick of it all, but what could he do? Playing music almost made it all seem worthwhile. Almost, but not quite.
"Hey, Johnsy?" Ben was calling Daniel's name, and waving a hand in front of his face.
Daniel looked up into Ben's concerned face. "Yeah?" he said again.
"Were you listening to me?"
"Ben," he said. "What are we gonna do next?"
Still concerned, Ben replied, "Interview with — "
Daniel didn't need to hear the rest. Interview. That damned word. A soft moan escaped his lips. He buried his face in his hands, wondering desperately when was all this going to end. He felt a soft touch on his shoulder. For the second time, he looked up.
"Johnsy, are you alright?" Ben asked worriedly.
Chris was next to him, looking equally worried. Daniel felt a sudden sob rising from the pit of his stomach, threatening to suffocate him if he didn't let it out.
So he did.
To Be Continued
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