Chapter Text
Jynkky was determined to have a good year. He was starting fresh at a new school after all.
Last year had been a bit of a disaster at his old school.
Thankfully, he’d passed the 4th grade by doing well on tests, but his decorum left a lot to be desired.
It wasn’t his fault that he just couldn’t sit still and focus for 8 hours straight! And he understood the material quickly, that should have bene enough, right?
Well, according to the parent-teacher conference that had been called after his week in a new class had been an absolute train wreck, it was not.
Luckily his father had been in town, a rare few days in between long haul drives in his rig, to attend. It had been a lot of the principal and teacher listing bad behavior, his father nodding along, them insisting that change had to happen quickly if Jynkky had any hope of thriving in his new setting, and then a sincere heart to heart in the hall.
“You’re a good, smart, kind kid. I’m sure they’ll see that. Do your best Jynkky. It is enough.” His father had said with a thin smile visible through a thick beard, “You’ll be alright.”
As they left the school in the truck, currently detached from a load, his dad cranked the volume on the stereo, the sweet sounds of Iron Maiden filling the space. Jynkky bobbed his head along to the beat as his father belted out the lyrics in heavily accented English.
Reaching out, he tapped the rhythm out on the dashboard, having memorized every pulse of the drums. There were little indents in the black plastic from him doing this every time.
“Listened to this one a lot?” His dad asked as the song faded out.
“Absolutely!” Jynkky grinned.
“Then I better take it with me, make you try something different.”
Now, Jynkky pouted, “But I like this one!”
“Then you’ll like this, too.” The man popped open the center console and dug around at a stop sign for a different tape, passing it over to his son.
Jynkky read the band name, “Megadeth, hm. I like the skeleton.”
“You’ll like more than just the skeleton,” He winked at his son, “Trust me. When I get back, we’ll listen together., and you’ll have to show me the drum patterns.”
“Can do.” Jynkky said, but he was saddened by the reminder that his father was going to be gone for a while.
“Good. Now then, promise me you’re going to try and pay attention in class. I know it’s hard, but you need to finish your studies, or you’ll end up doing this crap like your old man.”
Jynkky just groaned, he’d rather drive around all day than force himself to pay attention in class. At least then he could play his music in peace.
“Jynkky, I mean it. You can do anything, don’t do this.”
“Can I be a drummer?” Jynkky blurted out.
His father chuckled, “Sure, I figured you’d say that. Maybe after this haul we can look into getting you a kit, it’s going to pay out well.”
Jynkky knew what that meant. A well paying haul was an extra long haul, “Alright, thanks.”
“In the meantime, go to the library and get some books about it. I don’t know how to drum, and neither do you. But you’ll learn, I know you will. But!”
“But what?”
His father continued, “This relies on your report card coming in with good marks.”
Jynkky huffed, but he could tell his father would not budge, “Fine.”
Then, they pulled up to the house they lived in. It was his aunt’s house, his father’s sister agreeing to watch him while his father was gone.
Jynkky had never known any other home, his mother passed before he got the chance to really meet her, because he really didn’t remember being a baby. But that didn’t mean he liked it all that much.
There were six other kids that his aunt favored above him, mostly older than him and all absolute annoyances.
At least he got his own room, except for when he had to share with his dad which he didn’t mind at all. They’d stay up all night talking and laughing, watching foreign horror films without knowing the languages and making fun of the crappy effects and guessing what the conversations were.
Jynkky was slowly picking up some English from them, but not much of substance, mostly words like blood, guts, and gore.
Two of the younger cousins were in the yard playing, sticking their tongues out at Jynkky as he walked up to the front door with his dad. He stuck his tongue right back out at them, and threw the door open. Inside was just as chaotic, but with his father he was immune, floating through until they reached the spare bedroom at the back of the house.
The suitcase was already out on the bed, half packed. It was likely that his father would leave before sundown.
A large hand landed on his shoulder, squeezing gently, “Hey, I’ll be back before you know it.”
“I know.” Jynkky replied with a low sigh, shuffling his hands.
His dad got back to packing, folding up trousers and tossing them into the suitcase.
Jynkky went over to the little TV and turned it on, letting Dracula pick up where they left off. He plopped down onto the bed next to the suitcase, alternating between watching the film and his father.
“I’ve left some money with your aunt for you, it’s for lunches at school. Don’t go buying a bunch of junk, ok? I know you blew half of it on hot dogs last time.”
Jynkky looked strictly at the TV now, face flushing with guilt.
“Jynkky? Do you have anything you’d like to say about that?”
“Hot dogs taste better than the school food.” He muttered.
“The school food is well balanced… But you’re right that hot dogs taste better. I should know, have had quite a few!” His father laughed, patting his round belly. Then he dug in his pockets, eventually pulling out a handful of euros, “Here, this can be your junk food fund. Once it’s gone, it’s gone, so spend wisely.”
Now Jynkky ws in a good mood, accepting the cash greedily then going in for a hug, “Thanks!”
His dad picked him up with a grunt, setting him back down quickly, “You’re growing too fast, kid.”
Jynkky poked his dad’s stomach, then his own, pressing into soft flesh. He’d never been a thin kid, and didn’t really care how he looked. His blonde hair always stuck up from static and his cousins made sure he knew he was pretty weird looking. But so was his dad, and his dad was the greatest man alive, so he’d be proud to look like him.
“I think I need to grow faster. Maybe get a beard too!” Jynkky announced with a grin.
“No beards until after you graduate, plus girls don’t like them, too scratchy. Your mother always made me shave.” He rubbed his thick beard thoughtfully, “Once it’s time, I’ll show you how to keep your cheeks smooth. No beard.”
“Yeah, mom wouldn’t like that I guess.” Jynkky pouted, not sure how to feel about the comment. It was still a bit of a touchy subject. Sometimes, his father could joke about her, other times he broke down just at the thought of his wife.
His dad patted his round cheek, “She would not.” Then, he got back to packing and Jynnky just watched the film. Before he knew it, he heard the suitcase zip up.
“It’s time for me to go. Walk me out?”
Jynkky did that, and after one more bear hug, he waved as the truck backed out of the driveway.
From behind him, his aunt patted him on the back, “Come on now, it’s time for you to do your homework.”
He joined the other cousins at the dining room table with his books and didn’t leave until it was mealtime to ensure he could take a large portion of whatever stew was currently simmering.
Dinner was always a battle, and somehow there was never enough for everyone no matter how big a batch the woman cooked was. Then again, Jynkky wasn’t satisfied until he’d had three or four plates, so his perspective on ‘enough’ was a tad warped.
After the meal, he helped tidy up and his aunt cornered him, “Your father told me about the conference, and that I am to ensure that you excel this year.”
“Uh, yeah. I’ll be doing my best.” Jynkky replied nervously, not liking where this was going.
“Good, because I don’t have time to hover over you like some drill sergeant. Make sure the pots are put away.” And with that, she left. Without supervision, the other cousins quickly dispersed, leaving Jynkky with the bulk of the clean up in the kitchen.
He knew the cousins picked up slack elsewhere, he’d never had to sweep or do laundry that wasn’t his own, but this was still massively frustrating. Why couldn’t she stick around for a few more minutes. As if to mock him, an older cousin had actually dropped a clean dish back into the dirty water before bailing.
Whatever, he put his headphones on and pressed play on the new tape as he cleaned.
Oh yeah. This was fantastic. So good, in fact, that he snuck his tape player into school the next day.
Upon arrival, there was a new development in the classroom. His teacher stopped him as he walked in, “I’ve moved your seat to the back corner of the room there. If you are ever finished with work early, I want you to feel free to go into the reading nook and find something interesting. So long as you keep up with assignments, I will not stop you.”
Jynkky could not believe his luck. Not only was he going to be in the back of the class, he’d be able to have free reign of the library. He also decided to push it, leaving his bag right by the corner so when the time came, he could sneak his music.
“Thank you, Miss Laine.” He said with a smile, rushing over to his new place and setting up shop, setting his notebook and colored pencils out, preferring to take notes in rainbow than grey.
A minute later, another boy sat beside him.
Jynkky knew his name from roll call the day prior, but that was it. The boy had not spoken up once, nor approached anyone.
With the other side of him devoid of a desk, Jynkky figured he’d have to make do, and make a new friend fast.
“Hey, you’re Turo right?”
The taller boy peeked out from behind thick brown bangs, nodding slightly.
“I’m Jynkky, and we’re going to be friends now.” He held out his hand to shake on it.
Turo hesitated, staring down in his lap like he’d dropped a cookie or something.
“Come on, don’t make me have to befriend the ghost next to me.”
“Ghost?” Turo asked, voice low, still refusing to look over.
Jynkky took this as an opportunity to make conversation, “Oh yeah, she’s a real live wire over here. The spirit of, uh, the old math books that were thrown out. Always yelling about completing problems and solving for variables. You’d not want to leave me alone with that horror, would you?”
Turo shook his head, “No, I suppose not.”
“So that’s why we’re friends now!”
Turo finally looked at him, “We are?”
“Sure, why not? We can get lunch together and all that.”
Turo smiled a bit, “Sure, we can do that.”
Jynkky beamed, patting Turo on the shoulder, “We absolutely will!”
Class passed stupidly slowly, but eventually Jynkky saw his window and escaped into the reading nook, slipping on his headphones as he browed the available novels.
Nothing caught his eye as there were no books about drumming, horror movies, or anything that looked remotely spooky, but he eventually settled on something with a dragon on the cover and sat on the carpet, cracking it open.
Things were going well, and eventually he was taken out of his focus by a tap on the shoulder. He took his headphones off and looked up.
It was Turo, “It’s lunch time, you don't want to be late do you?” the boy whispered.
Jynkky picked himself up off the floor, “Excellent!” and went into his backpack for money, only to realize his aunt hadn’t given him any in the morning, too busy getting the younger ones dressed.
He patted his pocket, and realized he’d left the cash from his dad in his other pants.
“Did you lose your lunch money?” Turo asked, watching intently.
“Crap. Something like that, left it at home. Well, you go get something to eat and I’ll sit with you.”
Turo held out a few bills, “Here, I have extra.”
Jynkky’s eyes widened, “Are you serious?”
“Yeah, you can just pay me back later. Or not. I don’t know.”
Jynkky noticed Turo’s hand start to pull back, so he took the money before the boy changed his mind, “Alright! Thanks a ton, Turo. You’re the best.”
“Really?”
Jynkky slung his bag onto his shoulder and made his way out of the room towards the cafeteria as he replied, “One hundred percent! Food is worth more than the money you spend on it, even if it’s the school crap. Dad says it’s balanced, but I’d rather just go to the hot dog stand.”
The walk went like this, Jynkky talking and Turo listening. Lunch was similar, and Jynkky only paused to eat his rather bland meal. But, he tried to be thankful, there was a very real chance that he would have just gone hungry instead.
During this pause, Turo was able to ask a question, “What were you listening to?”
This was the one question that could have snapped Jynkky out of his eating, stopping to reply, “Megadeth.”
“Mega… What? Is that an opera?”
Jynkky laughed, “Opera? No way. It’s metal!” He air drummed with his fork for emphasis.
“Metal… Is that even music?”
“Wait, Turo, have you never listened to metal?”
Turo shrugged, shrinking into himself, “No.”
Jynkky refused to let him go, “Well, let’s change that! Here,” He took out his headphones and without waiting for any response plonked them onto Turo’s head, the headband pushing his shaggy brown hair out of his face.
He pressed play on the tape deck, and watched as Turo absorbed the sweet sweet sounds of Dave Mustane.
“This is very different from what my family listens to!” Turo shouted over the music being pumped into his skull.
“Good different?” Jynkky shouted back.
“I don’t know!”
“Just keep listening!”
Some of the other students stared at the racket, but Jynkky could care less about the attention and Turo was too distracted by the blaring guitars to notice.
Turo did as he was told, and after a few more minutes, slipped the headphones off and silently passed them back to Jynkky.
Jynkky was full of excited energy, he’d never shared his music with a friend before. His legs bounced in anticipation of a response.
Turo just went back to his food, taking a small bite.
He couldn’t wait any longer, “Well? Did you like it?” Junkky asked.
“I have to think about it.” Turo replied.
“Think faster,” Jynkky grumbled.
Turo stopped eating, staring ahead blankly as he whispered, “I can’t. I’m sorry. I’ll try.”
Jynkky realized he must have struck a nerve, “Hey, don’t worry about it, take the time you need. Let me know tomorrow or something, ok?”
“I can do that, I guess.” Turo replied, gaze wandering around his plate now, “I’m not hungry anymore, do you want the rest?”
Gladly, Jynkky accepted, scraping the leftovers onto his own plate. Man, he really liked this guy, first he gave out money, now was offering food. “You’re an amazing friend, Turo.”
“Oh, uh. Thank you?”
“You know what, I want you to take this home, listen to it some more, and then get back to me. You need the full experience.” Jynkky pulled out the tape deck, offering his most prized possession to his best friend.
Turo accepted it gently, setting the chunky device in his lap.
Then, the class was called to return to the classroom for the second part of the days’ lesson.
It was math, something Jynkky had no trouble with. He was prepared to return to his nook, but noticed first that Turo was writing down the wrong answer on his page.
“Dude, the answer isn’t seven.”
Turo’s shoulders dropped as he rubbed out the response with an eraser, “Oh.”
He then proceeded to write down six.
“It’s not six either.”
“Right, sorry.” Turo erased again, ripping the page in the process with a whimper.
“Look, how did you figure it was seven?” Jynkky asked, trying to diffuse the frustration.
Turo explained a rather backwards process for multiplication fully relying on memorization. Jynkky hated memorization, he’d rather learn the process and reasoning behind a problem than have some kind of template that could fail him if he was distracted.
“Nah, you can’t think about it like the numbers are just shapes. They represent a number of things, you know? It’s like, um, music! Sure, you know how songs have drum beats in them? They don’t all sound off at once, it happens over time and compiles until there are hundreds of them. And if the drummer plays faster, he fits more in the song.”
Turo stared down for a few seconds, “What does that have to do with three times three?”
“Ok, hear me out. Three beats in a second in a song. One second gives you how many beats?”
“Three.” Turo replied after a short pause.
“Exactly! But then if he plays three times as fast, that lets him do the same sequence three times in the same amount of time. So its three, plus three, plus three. Can you hear that?” Jynkky made a click with his tongue nine times rapidly.
Turo counted along on his fingers, “Nine.”
“There you go!” Jynkky said a little too loudly, earning a shush from the whole class.
For some reason, the teacher was smiling at them. Weird. Usually when this happened he was met with a frown, or sent out into the hall.
“The next one is, oh jeez these are big numbers.” Turo already sounded beat down from his small victory.
“Hey, numbers are just numbers. They don’t bite, unlike the ghost over here… Oh no, she’s getting closer! You need to keep at it, or she’s going to eat my fingers!”
Turo returned to the page, “Ten times four. Ok, I can do this. Four beats ten times…” It took him a while to count that high, but Jynkky was pleased when Turo eventually wrote down 40, “Is this right?”
“Oh yeah, you’ve got this buddy.”
Turo nodded, “Yeah, let me try another one.”
The end of the day came far too quickly for once, and Jynkky hesitated at the school gate with Turo as the other boy wheeled his bicycle out.
“You enjoy that tape, ok?”
“I’ll let you know what I think.”
“Cool.”
“Yeah.”
“Nice.”
They both stood there, procrastinating. Turo looked down at his watch, “I better get going so I’m not late.”
“Late for what?”
“Um, getting home. I’m supposed to start my homework at 3:15.” Turo explained.
“That’s weird. I just do mine whenever.”
“Really? That’s weird to me. My parents keep everyone on a schedule, it’s good for structure.”
Jynkky laughed at that concept, “Structure? Never heard of it!”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don't be! I’m sorry you’ve got to put up with that crap! Timing your day to the minute sounds terrible.”
Turo looked at his watch again, “I guess, but it’s what my parents like. It works for my brother, so it works for me too. I really need to go.”
“You’ve got a brother? That’s sick! I’ve got six cousins, but no siblings. Must be nice to have family so close to you, my cousins can tell I’ve got other parents and really like to remind me of that.” Jynkky said, rolling his eyes.
“I don’t know… My brother is really smart and plays piano. My parents said he’s going to be a doctor. We don’t know what I’m going to do, though I think they want me to be a doctor, too. But my grades have to get better for that.”
“Do you play piano with him? I really want to learn how to play drums!” Jynkky made a rolling sound with his lips like a snare.
Turo shook his head, “No, I don’t have enough time for the lessons, and he’d never let me touch his piano anyway. He’s… I don’t know.” Again he glanced at the watch, “I’m late.”
“Fine, fine, we’ll start towards your house. I’ll walk with you. Which way is it?”
Turo started pedaling, and even going as slow as he could Jynkky had to jog to keep up. After a few blocks, he was out of breath.
Turo hit the breaks, “Are you ok?”
Jynkky leaned over, trying to catch his breath, “Yeah, yeah. Fine. I think I’ll let you go home now. Find time in your schedule for the tape!”
“I will.”
“Promise?” Jynkky offered his hand again.
This time Turo took it, shaking firmly, “Promise.”
Then, he was back to pedaling, and Jynkky started back tracking, wishing he had his tape deck to give him something to listen to on the journey to his aunt’s house but knowing it was in good hands made this silence slightly less painful. From what it sounded like, Turo needed the music more than him today.