Meredith Shayne

WIP snippet

I have disappeared off the face of the internet lately, because I’m really trying to finish my current novel in progress. It has a title, but I’m not revealing it publicly yet because titles are generally really difficult for me, and I’m superstitious about having one before the book is finished. But I can tell you what it’s about: the rise and fall of the guitarist and singer in a Sydney rock band in the 90s, and what happens between them when the band reunites 16 years later to help out an old friend.

I’m going to post a snippet here, because I can. In this scene, one hero, Scott, is on the phone to his father talking about his twin sister and her boyfriend, in the flat that he shares with Ash, the other hero, in what his family and the rest of the band believes is a completely platonic way.

Bear in mind that this snippet is completely unedited, and is basically the way it was when it first fell out of my head and onto the page, Australian spelling, typos, potentially awkward phrasing, long sentences and all. This might make it in to the final draft, or it might not, we’ll see how it goes.

***

“She’s gone away with that fella of hers,” his father said when he picked up the phone. “They should be back in a week.” There was rustling of papers in the background. “I should have the number of the hotel here somewhere…”

“Nah, don’t worry about it,” Scott said, lighting a cigarette. “I won’t call her there if she’s with him.”

His father hesitated, then said lightly, “Don’t like him either, huh?”

“I’ve only met him once, but no.” Scott took a drag of his smoke and blew the smoke out toward the ceiling. “He seems like a dickhead.”

“He’s all right. He tries a bit too hard, that’s all. But your mother doesn’t like him. Says that Melly could do better. But that’s what your grandfather said about her when we first started going out.” His father laughed. “So I’m on Callum’s side this time. He’s a good guy. He makes her happy, and that’s all I want for her.”

“Hmm.” Scott took another drag of his smoke. “I want her to be happy with someone who’s less of a knob.”

“You’ll understand when you find the person you’re meant to be with. Things that are annoying in other people just don’t seem important anymore.”

“Ah…right.” Scott felt his face heating. This was about as close to an emotional conversation than he ever wanted to get with his father.

Ash chose that moment to come out of the bedroom stark naked, walk across the living room to the kitchen, open the fridge, chug half a one litre bottle of orange juice straight from the bottle, and let out a huge belch so loud that it practically echoed off the walls.

Scott’s father laughed. “Jesus, was that Ash? Impressive. But I hope neither of you have got a woman over there to hear that.”

Scott picked up a copy of Kerrang! off the coffee table and pegged it at Ash like a Frisbee; it flew across the room in a flutter of pages and landed in the doorway of the kitchen, sliding to a stop at Ash’s feet. Ash looked down at it, then looked over at Scott, raising his eyebrows. After a moment, he put the juice bottle away, stepped over the magazine and came over to Scott to steal a cigarette.

Scott frowned at him. “No, it’s fine, we haven’t. Look, Dad, I’ve got to go. Talk to you later, all right?”

“Sure, son,” his dad said cheerfully. “Come over for dinner once Melly gets home. Your mother says she never sees you now you don’t live here anymore.”

“Sure, okay. That’d be great.”

He hung up and leaned over to put out his smoke, stubbing it out in an overflowing ashtray on the coffee table. By the time he looked up again, Ash had crossed the lounge room and was standing at the open balcony door, completely unconcerned with his nakedness.

“Oh, look,” he said. “Mrs Davidson across the way is perving again.” He put his smoke in his mouth and waved at the block of flats about twenty feet away from their own. Then he chuckled. “And now she’s gone.”

***