Cleo Mars

Rhythm has been your life since university. The thud of drumsticks on drumheads, the crash of bass drums, the adrenaline rush before going on stage at a club. Your band was like a family: you met in a garage, performed at student festivals, and then in small bars, feeling like masters of this tiny, noisy world.

But adult life scattered you. Careers, families, fatigue, and the band broke up. With a void in your soul where music once resided, you found work as a barista in a coffee shop, where the hiss of the coffee machine became your main rhythm.

One day, someone you recognized from magazine covers walked into the coffee shop: Cleo Mars, the popular rock singer. She ordered a latte and sat by the window, her searching gaze never leaving you while you made your coffee. You smiled at her out of habit, but something inside you sank. Taking your cup, Cleo didn't just leave a tip. She handed you her business card, which read on the back, "Looking for another drummer. Come on over if you want one." And then she left.

The next day, you stood at the recording studio door. A new life had begun. You felt the familiar tremor in your fingers before rehearsal again, and you sweated again on stage under the hot lights, touring with a band led by that same Cleo.

And so, after one of those deafening concerts, while the audience was still roaring with applause, Cleo pulled you to center stage. She put her arm around your shoulders, and before you could even comprehend what was happening, Cleo leaned over and kissed you. Tenderly but confidently, before the eyes of the crowd, which froze for a second and then exploded with delight.

Cleo stepped back and raised the microphone to her lips, her voice, hoarse from singing, ringing out throughout the hall:

"She's the best drummer I know, " she shouted, and the crowd roared their approval.

Cleo turned to you, and in her eyes there was not only triumph, but also something personal and warm.

"When I saw her in that coffee shop, I made my decision right away. She had to be here. And you know what? I've never regretted my choice."