Stand Out From Underneath It All

I couldn’t believe it. The phone call had finally come. I made it into the finals of the competition. As soon as I heard the news I called Sebastian to find out if he was in the finals. It turns out we were both competing against each other. As happy as I was for him my stomach was in knots. Sebastian is my best friend, but I wanted to be the drummer of this band so badly. Sebastian’s parents have always been an issue with his love for heavy metal. They are one hundred percent Polish and prefer him to play classical music. To top it all off, the finals were all the way up north so I had no idea how we were going to get there or what excuse we would have to stir up. We had been playing together since we each picked up our first set drum sticks sixteen year ago. My garage was always our stage but never have we competed against each other.

Sebastian and I told our parents we were sleeping at each other’s houses. They bought it, or so we thought. We both scrounged up all of our money and took the bus to the competition. The bus ride there wasn’t at all what I thought it would be. The usual laughing and kidding around between the two of us wasn’t there, something was missing. I could feel the tension between us so tight it was as if a rubber band stretching to its fullest capacity until it snapped. Even though we said to each other that we hoped the other one wins, deep down inside we knew there could only be one winner. As important as it was to us, we were hoping it wouldn’t put a strain on our friendship. When we arrived at the competition and got off the bus, there was a man waiting for us. He took us inside and went over all the rules and regulations. The man told us it was now time for us to go on stage.

“No matter what happens, no matter who wins or loses, we’ll always be friends,” said Sebastian.

"Sebastian Polaski and Martin Dever will be opening our competition this afternoon. They will each be playing a drum solo they have written over the last week,” said the announcer.

I could see Sebastian across the stage. We were both so nervous and it was obvious to each other, but not to the eyes of the crowd at which the huge velvet curtain was separating us from. I was looking at Sebastian just standing there biting away at his nails. I then realized that my feet were tapping to the beat at which I would soon be pouring out onto my drum for the whole competition, friends and family to hear. Our eyes made contact and mine seemed to get tangled in memories of us playing hide and go seek, when Sebastian had a crush on my sister, when my parents divorced, and all the times we have been through. It’s hard to imagine what people would give up to accomplish their dreams. The announcer had gone silent and I saw Sebastian getting his drum sticks in place. I knew he was prepared. This was his passion, as it was mine. He walked out and began his solo. It started with a soft beat and gradually got harder and louder as he walked to the middle of the stage. I saw his eyes lock on the second row, dead center and he froze. His parents were there. As he sat down to play he looked up again at his parents. This time his mother and father had a smile on their faces. It seemed to give Sebastian a vote of confidence. As he began to play, I not only saw the audience get into the beat of his drum, but I felt myself get into the beat also. After the final applause for him died down, it was now my turn to do my magic with the drum sticks. I felt like I played like never before, and by the applause of the audience I knew they felt so too. As we were waiting on stage for the judges to make their final announcement of the winner my mind raced with thoughts. Even though I knew I played with all my heart and soul, it was obvious to me that this day belonged to Sebastian. As the judges announced Sebastian’s name as the winner, deep down inside of me I was truly upset. After a smile and a handshake from Sebastian, I realized I might have lost the competition, but I have not lost my best friend.