TALES FROM THE DRYER
Episode IV

Now, most people would be rather worked up and a little anxious starting a new job and all. But not Seth. He had a different attitude; he could care less. Sure, he wanted to do well enough to continue holding the job; he didn't want to get fired. But beyond this, Seth wanted nothing more than to maintain the status quo as it were. And he also saw little need in befriending any of his co-workers. Again, he was polite and was never hateful. Rather, he kept everyone at hand's length, which suited him just fine.

Over time, most of his co-workers gave up trying to be friends with him. And, in the end, this attitude provided both positives and negatives for Seth.I say "most of his co-workers" because one did see passed Seth's introversion. In fact, his withdrawing was intriguing. This co-worker happened to be one year older than Seth and had seen him around school, though he knew nothing at all about Seth other than he dressed like he was coming and going to funerals all day. Black was the theme of Seth's wardrobe. But this co-worker saw it all as more of a defense mechanism and decided that he would break through that wall that Seth had built between him and everyone else. This co-worker happened to be named Steve.

Why? What did Steve see in Seth? Maybe, without wanting to admit it, he saw a little bit of himself. And Steve had done a pretty good job of pushing people out of his own life as well. Steve would never just go up to someone and start a conversation and smile and be overly friendly. That was not in his personality. Besides, that would only have turned Seth's stomach and the two would never have become friends. No, Steve's approach was to throw in the occasional "hi" and "what's up?" from time to time, while continuing to ignore Seth if he saw him in the halls of their school. This allowed the two to feel each other out and within three months the two were actually having real conversations. It didn't take long for those conversations to turn to music. This, as it turned out, would be one of the positives mentioned beforehand.

And what exactly where the negatives? Well, beyond alienating many potential friends, it also lost Seth any hopes of dating a pretty little brunette at work that he immediately fell head over heels for on his first day. But his own pride wouldn't allow him to break character for her and while he and Steve grew closer, the little brunette (who happened to be named Wendi) grew more and more distant, which Seth would regret later. This regret came on many levels for Seth and will be revealed as more of this story unfolds.

But that is future-speak, and we are mainly concerned with the here and now. And here and now is where Seth and Steve found themselves talking music. And guitars. And an idea was born.