Security tackled him in the elevator.

He remembered the smell of stale beer in the dive bar. The cheap guitar with the warped neck. The three people clapping. And the feeling—not sadness, not anger—but freedom . The moment he chose to walk away from a dream that wasn't his.

Access file: Childhood pet. Dog. Name: Barnaby. Cause of death: Hit-and-run. Oliver’s age: 7.