Drum Solo

Here Comes Sticks
On an unknown island somewhere within the adventurous seas of, an immense gathering of people had gathered around in a circle as their attention was captivated by the phenomenon going on in the center of a plaza. A couple outside the circle looked puzzled by the development as they wondered what all the fuss was about and approached the group, politely tapping one of the gentleman in the back who was wearing a bright orange shirt and had a camera in his hand.

"Excuse me but what's the commotion about?"

The man who they had tapped looked over his shoulder with a puzzled look before he smiled widely.

"What, have you guys been living under a rock? That famous drum artist called Sticks is performing right now!"

The man and woman raised their eyebrows. Drum Artist? Sticks? They weren't music fanatics but they still listened to top songs recorded by famous singers and musicians. That said, they had never heard of this "Sticks" before.

"I've never heard of a drum artist performing by himself before. He must be really good" The woman who was standing next to her man praised.

The camera wielding man looked offended that they hadn't heard of him as he stepped to the side to allow them a better view.

"Man, you guys have been missing out. Here, check it out" He welcomed them to step forward.

Blinking at the man's invitation, the couple hesitated for a second before they shrugged and walked forward to see what the fuss was all about. They had to squeeze through a few more people but they eventually made it to the front where they were treated to a rather fascinating sight as their jaws dropped and their eyes widened in amazement.

A young man who was wearing a white shirt along with a beanie on top of his head was currently putting on a show as he was surrounded by several trash bins and was drumming on them with his drum sticks at an insane speed. His technique and finesse were breath taking as he hit every trash bin and began producing a catchy and up tempo beat, getting the crowd to clap and cheer along as the couple from earlier were speechless.

"Wow!" The woman gasped as she applauded his brilliant performance "He's fantastic!"

Her man agreed as he nodded "No doubt. I can't believe I've never heard of him before. I'm surprised he's not already in some famous band"

Tony Gray, otherwise known as "Sticks", smirked when he saw the fascinated looks of the crowd before him. If they loved what he was doing now, they'd start pissing their pants when they got a load of his next bag of tricks.

Hitting a few trash bins on the side, Gray began to twirl his drum sticks in his hands and then threw them into the air as he jumped into the air and back flipped, catching them mid-air as he spun around. The crowd held their collective breaths at the showcase of athleticism as Gray slammed his drum sticks into the ground when he landed, causing a shockwave of air pressure to be emitted from the floor that spread out in all direction before converging in the middle of the plaza and exploded in the air, spelling the words "I hope you enjoyed the show". Gray brought his drum sticks to his side and bowed before the crowd as a moment of silence passed before everyone erupted into a volley of cheers and roars.

"Holy shit, what was that!"

"That was insane! Do it again!"

"Encore! Encore!"

The praise and adoration didn't stop as Gray stood up and smiled joyfully at the happiness he had created for those who were watching his performance. There was nothing that filled Gray's heart more than to see others enjoy what he did for a living and he thanked them several times over in a humble manner. Those joyful emotions soon turned to exasperation however when he was bombarded by a large group of young village girls.

"You were amazing! I'm like your biggest fan!" One girl with brown hair said with a huge smile.

"Can I get a photo? My friends won't believe I got a photo with you" An orange haired girl wearing a skirt asked with a hopeful expression.

"Uhm, may I shake your hand? If it's not too much trouble" A rather shy girl with glasses and raven hair requested.

Gray was left both speechless and unable to cope with the attention from the opposite sex as she sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and tried to find some way to get out of this situation. At talented as he was, woman were just something he couldn't handle.

Before he could do anything however, the sound of marching alerted Gray's senses as someone in the crowd looked behind and shouted with a surprised expression.

"It's the Marines!"

The crowd that was focused on Gray began to scatter away at the mention of the Marines who had arrived at the plaza with at least a several dozen soldiers as they were led by a rather tall man wearing a naval uniform who stopped to address the crowd.

"I want everyone in this crowd to disperse immediately! You are all disrupting the public sanctity of this island and will be severely punished by the law if you do not cease and desist!" The man shouted with an intimidating glare as the crowd of gathered people slowly backed away, clearly fearful of this man's authority.

The navy officer smirked at the reaction; after being promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander, all it took was one mean look and everyone scattered like cockroaches. However, he still had one pressing issue to deal with as pointed towards Gray who looked apathetic to the appearance of the Marines.

"And you, Sticks!" The lieutenant commander spat with disgust "We've received reports from several other marine branches of your disruptive behavior and your refusal to listen to Marine demands. This isn't even mentioning the physical and property damage you've caused when avoiding capture. We've issued several warnings and given you many chances but it seems those were just foolish on our part as you continue to spread your useless and nonsensical music across the seas!"

Gray's eyebrows twitched at the mention of his drumming being regarded as "useless" and "nonsensical" but the navy lieutenant didn't notice and continued rambling on.

"For your transgressions, we demand you surrender at once otherwise we will consider your actions no different from those of a Pirate and will come down on you with the full force of the Marines. Do I make myself clear!" The lieutenant shouted, raising his hand into the air as the gathered marines surrounded Gray within the Plaza and aimed their guns at him.

"Hehe, what are you going to do now? You've got nowhere to run and you surely won't be stupid enough to become a wanted criminal over something as stupid as drumming right?"