Star Struck

by Jamie Campbell

I knocked off right on five o’clock and not a second later. My afternoon had gone surprisingly well. Considering how nothing went right all morning, it was a nice change.

  I hurried home and pulled off my uniform, instantly feeling less greasy and meat-orientated. I dived into the shower and dressed in the outfit I picked out a week ago. A green dress that matched Cole’s eyes. Now I had seen them up close, I knew it was the perfect color match.

  My heart was pounding with excitement at seeing Cole again. It would be with thousands of other girls, but it didn’t matter. Cole and I shared a little secret, even if I couldn’t tell anyone, at least I knew about it.

  I spritzed on a few sprays of the expensive perfume I got from my grandmother for Christmas and put on some brightly colored bracelets. Checking the mirror one last time, I looked passable. It was a huge improvement from my Burger Nation uniform, anyway.

  I waited by the door for Dallas and ran out the moment she pulled up.

  “Hey, you look nice,” she exclaimed as I closed the door. She hit the accelerator, her excitement in overdrive too. “I love that color.”

  “Thanks. You look awesome too.” She was wearing black skinny jeans with a sparkly pink top. Her hair was gelled with glitter, she looked like a cute human disco ball.

  “Awesome is my middle name,” she replied, cranking up the volume on her stereo. We listened to our favorite Two Dimension songs the entire way to the stadium, singing at the top of our lungs. To think we were going to hear them live shortly only upped my anticipation by a thousand percent.

  Dallas had to park the car almost a mile away from the venue. There were vehicles and people everywhere. It looked like every person in Meadowbrook had turned up to see the guys. I didn’t blame them, it was the most exciting thing to happen in our sleepy town for a very long time.

  We joined the queue to get through security where our water bottles were taken away from us. Apparently bottles were considered a weapon and we were the most dangerous criminals around. Yeah, right.

  The next queue was to get into the stadium itself. We joined the end and shuffled along with all the others.

  “Two Dimension are in this building somewhere,” Dallas started. “Can you believe how close we are to them? I wonder if they’re watching us now, like on the security cameras or something.”

  I looked around, trying to see any sign of cameras. There was only one in the corner of the ceiling that I could see. “I think they have better things to do than watch us line up.”

  Dallas humphed. “They love their fans, I’m sure they’d want to make sure we were all okay out here.” I didn’t exactly agree but I wasn’t going to argue with her. “Oh, I forgot to tell you, I saw one of them today. I saw Cole Newton.”

  “You did?”

  “Yeah, I saw him slip out the back door of his hotel. Me and a bunch of other girls ran after him but he just disappeared. We couldn’t find him anywhere.”

  I had to suppress a giggle. I knew exactly where poor Cole had been hiding. If I told Dallas, she probably wouldn’t believe me. She would probably accuse me of making it up so I could beat her story. I never did that kind of thing but she accused me of it quite frequently.

  “I only saw him for a few seconds, but I totally feel like we had a connection,” Dallas continued relentlessly. “If he would just have stopped to talk to me, I know he would have felt it too.”

  I nodded, like it was the most believable thing in the world. “Totally.”

  We continued our shuffling until we were at the door and pointed in the direction of our seats. The first thing I noticed was how high up we were. Our seats were definitely in the nosebleed section.

  “Twenty-two, here we are.” Dallas flopped into her seat, I did the same next to her. From our vantage point at the very back, we could see the entire stadium. Nearly all the seats were already filled, everyone eager not to miss out on the beginning of the show.

  Someone across the room started a Mexican wave. I hated it when people did that. No, I did not want to stand up and wave my arms around like an idiot every minute or so. And no, I didn’t want to attract all the disapproving looks if I didn’t do it. When it came around, I obligingly stood and waved. I refused to shout a ‘woo’ too though, that was crossing the line.

  A hum of excitement was buzzing in the stadium, even after the stupid Mexican wave grew boring and everyone stopped. With every rustle of the stage curtain, a scream would ring out. The anticipation was palpable, you could almost run your hands through the atmosphere.

  Time seemed to slow down as we waited. The warm up act were okay but they knew what we were really there for. They did their thing and left us waiting again.

  Finally, the lights dimmed. A scream so loud my eardrums practically shattered rang out. My hands flew up to cover the side of my head to drown it out.

  The music started and my heart was pounding along with the beats. The drum started off slowly and then built up, speeding faster and faster as the excitement levels went through the roof.

  The curtain dropped to the floor and there they stood – Two Dimension. Everyone jumped up from their seats, clapping and screaming. I had to admit, I did the same. It was pretty hard to play it cool when your crushes were standing there right in front of you.

  They played their first song, although I doubt most of us actually heard it. It was called Somewhere for the two of us, one of my favorites. It was all about a guy taking his girlfriend somewhere they could be alone and be themselves. Considering I spent so much time pretending to be normal, I could relate to the lyrics.

  Song after song, they didn’t disappoint. My butt never touched my seat again. I danced in my place, singing along to all the songs like I didn’t care who was watching. The guys were just ants from our perspective but the big screens at the front of the stadium made up for it. I could see each of their beautiful faces.

  I had never been happier in my life. I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming everything. Two Dimension, the band I had been in love with for over a year, were actually there in the flesh. I was actually seeing them with my own eyes. I couldn’t believe it.

  About halfway through, the band stopped and the house lights came on, lighting up the entire stadium – even us in the back.

  Nick, one of the guys, spoke first. “How’s everybody from Meadowbrook doing tonight?” My eardrums shattered again. “I take it that means you’re enjoying the show?” He held a hand up to his ear, like he couldn’t hear the thousands of screaming girls.

  Luke went next. “I have to say, this audience is the best looking audience I’ve ever seen. You ladies are hot!” This time I was prepared, I immediately covered my ears.

  Cole stepped forward and my heart started thundering again. I couldn’t believe I had spent all afternoon with him in a supply closet. I seriously must be dreaming, perhaps that didn’t happen?

  “We need a volunteer from the audience to help us sing the next song. I need everyone to stand.” He didn’t need to say that, every person under the age of thirty was doing it already. Something told me he didn’t want a volunteer from one of the chaperone dads, they were the only ones still seated.

  He nodded, scanning the crowds before continuing. “Okay, now I’m going to say some things. If they apply to you, stay standing. If they don’t apply, then sit down. Got it?” Another scream. “Okay. Sit down if you don’t live in Meadowbrook.”

  About half the audience sat down, including the girl next to me. She wasn’t too pleased about being out of the running. But it wasn’t like they would pick anyone from way up here anyway, the guys wouldn’t even be able to see us.

  “Okay, sit down if you don’t have brown hair.” Another half sat down. I was still standing but Dallas was out of the competition. “Now sit down if you don’t work at a fast food restaurant.”

  That cut out most of the audience, especially considering many of the people were under working age. I was the only one in my section still standing. I had never bee
n more grateful for my job before.

  Cole continued. “Sit down if you don’t have blue eyes.”

  I had to think, my eyes were definitely blue last time I noticed. I kept standing but half the people sat down again. There were only about a couple of dozen people left. If only they could see me way up the back. I knew I had no shot of being the volunteer, even if I was the last one standing.

  “Okay, we’re getting down to the line now. Sit down if your name doesn’t start with M.”

  Cole was being eerily specific about his descriptions. There were only three of us left. It was stupid to think he was throwing the conditions of standing so they applied to me. Right? He probably didn’t even remember me, it was just a coincidence.

  “Okay, now sit down if you don’t have a little sister and don’t live with only your father,” Cole finished and the other two girls sat down. I was literally the only one left standing in the entire stadium. The guys looked around the audience, trying to spot someone.

  I wanted to wave, to draw their attention to me, but I was frozen in place. I didn’t want a few thousand people looking at me, I would be mortified. I almost sat down again with the thought.

  Cole’s head filled the screens as his eyes darted all over the place. “Where is Melrose Morgan?”

  CHAPTER 4