Drum Roll

Three Minutes And Twenty-Four Seconds Off Stage

Will it be enough time to ask the question?

CJ McRae
Short Shorts
Published in
3 min readOct 18, 2023

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Photo by andrew welch on Unsplash

Jimmy knew exactly how long he had to walk off the stage, make his way to the far corner of the bar, ask his question, and be back on stage in time to start the final verse.

11 minutes, 36 seconds

It was a typical Wednesday set. The band was late getting started by seventeen minutes and fifteen seconds.

It was all William’s fault. He had gotten hung up in the red wine aisle of the liquor store for eleven minutes and thirty-six seconds trying to decide between two equally mediocre Malbecs.

He liked to bring his own bottle to the gig.

William had the PA system, and the band couldn’t pull off an acoustic set that could compete with the low roar caused by the ‘buy one, get one’ special on Coors Light.

42 minutes, 12 seconds

By the time William arrived, the rest of the band had already set up and were off looking for other ways to occupy their time.

Thumper and Pete were out by the dumpsters smoking “cigarettes.”

Dave was annoyed, as usual, and on to his third shot of tequila.

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CJ McRae
Short Shorts

I'm a writer, musician, and a dad. I play the trumpet. I write creative nonfiction and short fiction about cooking, food, and the curiosities of life.