Front Row

by Rebekah N Bryan

  "I thought he did, but I can't be sure. Now Will's—his I'm sure about."

  Chapter 9: Chicago Again

  Saturdays at the bank tended to be busy, making the four-hour shifts bearable and almost enjoyable some days. Without doing laundry, I had to settle for a somewhat-cleanish pair of pants I picked up off my bedroom floor, but I would remedy the laundry situation at my parents' house. Haley and Kim had both gone home for the weekend, so I was alone in the apartment for the day. After a nap, I alternated between blasting the Face Rake CD and the latest Out of Towners CD while doing a few chores and a little homework. While picking up my room, I found the Face Rake T-shirt Malcolm had given me hiding halfway under my bed. The black T-shirt had a white graphic of the four guys' silhouettes standing in a line and the band name underneath it in a messy handwriting font. It smelled like smoke from the bar. I pulled it on, loaded my laundry into the car, and left for my parents'.

  Coming in through the front door, I shouted hello to my parents and thundered down the stairs to do laundry. Loud music poured out of my brother's room as I walked by. I loaded the washer and retreated to my bedroom, through the disco ball beaded curtain that hung in front of the door, and flopped down on my bed. Since I had to stay for lunch and finish doing my laundry the next day, I calculated how early I would have to leave to get to Chicago for the show. With the show starting at 7, and I knew I didn't want to miss a second of Face Rake's set, and with a two-hour drive to get down there, I'd be cutting it close. I rolled off my bed and went back upstairs to double-check the show time online and email the girls about departure plans. I stopped short in the doorway when I saw my dad on the computer.

  "Hi Rach." He didn't avert his eyes from the video game on the computer screen. Some sort of knight was having an epic sword fight with a lady elf next to a river.

  "Hi, can I use that? I just need to check something and send an email quick." His fantasy game didn't look too important to me.

  "I have to find a good stopping point, and then you can get on the com."

  I rolled my eyes and wandered to the kitchen to talk to my mom while I waited.

  "Hi Rach, what'd you do last night?"

  "I went to a concert." I sat down with my knees on the kitchen chair and leaned on the table, tracing my fingers over the flower pattern on the tablecloth to avoid the judging glare that would follow.

  "Another Out of Towners concert?"

  "No, this one was a Face Rake show. In Milwaukee. No big deal."

  "Never heard of them. They sound like death metal."

  "They're not. They opened for The Out of Towners. That's how I know them."

  "Ah that makes sense. Didn't you have to work this morning?"

  "Yeah, but I wasn't out that late." In this case, two o'clock didn't seem that late even though my shift at the bank started at 8:30. I didn't bother mentioning that I didn't get to see any of the show.

  My dad came into the kitchen. "OK, you're up."

  I popped up off the chair and away from my mother's judging eyes and retreated into the computer room. Upon bringing up The Out of Towners' site, I saw that in fact, the show did start at seven o'clock. I shot off an email to Haley, Shelly, and Alex to see when they wanted to leave. While I waited for a response, I clicked the link for Face Rake's site and looked for some contact information. To my surprise and delight, they had email addresses for all four band members and a general email address for the whole band. My heart pounded a little faster as I copied Taj's email address into the "To" field and composed a message.

  Hey Taj,

  This is Rachel, one of your fans from Milwaukee. I don't know if you'll check your email before the show tomorrow, but I just wanted to say I had a lot of fun last night. Thanks for letting us crash your breakfast and for giving us a ride there and back. Oh, and tell Malcolm and Jesse thanks for the free merch. Even though we couldn't get into the show, it sounded great from outside, and I really enjoyed hanging out with all you guys. I'll see you tomorrow night in Chicago!

  —Rachel

  Oh crap. Once I hit send, I forgot my intent for sending him an email in the first place. I opened a new compose box and typed again.

  Taj—

  Sorry for the multiple emails. I forgot I actually had a question for you, too. How long is your set tomorrow? I'm hoping we'll get down there in time to see the whole thing, but I'm hoping to at least catch some of it. Thanks! See ya.

  —Rachel

  While I waited for his reply that I doubted would come, a new email from Haley popped up in my inbox. Thank goodness for my speedy friends.

  "I can leave whenever. If the show starts at 7, we should probably leave by 5 at the latest," read the email.

  Alex's reply came right after that. "I want to get down there earlier if we can. Can anyone leave by 3?"

  I surfed around and checked some other websites while awaiting Shelly's response. When it came, she said, "I work until 5, but I can leave right after that. I don't want to be out too late, though."

  "Me neither," Haley's reply said right away.

  I hit reply and formulated a plan.

  I don't think I can leave by 3, but I can definitely leave by 5 when you're ready, Shelly. Why don't you and I drive down later, and Haley and Alex can leave earlier. Then we'll have two cars down there in case Alex and I want to stay later. Does that work?

  I had a feeling with Face Rake and The Out of Towners all together, there was a good chance that Alex would want to stay later, as would I. I didn't want to miss out on anything in case another version of the Florida post-concert activities happened. All three girls agreed with my plan, just as my brother appeared in the doorway, demanding his turn on the computer. I was about to log off before a new bold message at the top of my inbox caught my eye. It was from Taj. My heart jumped into my throat.

  "Give me a second." My eyes never left the screen as my palms began to sweat.

  "You had an hour!"

  "Just one more minute. I promise!"

  Hey Rachel—

  Of course I remember you. And don't worry, you can email me as many times as you want! We go on at 7 and play until 7:40. I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow. Peace.

  —Taj

  My brother hovered as my cheeks colored and a giddy smile broke out on my face. "What are you so happy about? Is it a dude?"

  Normally, I would've told my brother about it, but I didn't think there was anything to tell except a little crush. "No, I'm just excited for The Out of Towners concert tomorrow. That's all." I relinquished the computer, switched out my laundry, and collapsed on my bed to daydream.

  ***

  The fatigue from not enough sleep Friday night set in full force Sunday morning during church. I struggled to keep my eyes open as the pastor, who happened to be my father, preached about having no other gods except for the one true God. I wondered whether he was speaking right to me regarding my Out of Towners obsession, but I shook off the feeling as I planned what to wear for the show that night. I wanted to look older in the hopes of not getting carded in case any of the guys wanted to do bar hopping. Since it was pretty chilly out, I decided that my long-sleeved red shirt would be a classy, mature option. It wasn't that revealing, but if I only buttoned half of the buttons, it would work.

  During our family lunch around the kitchen table, I was still thinking about the logistics of that night when my mom asked how school was going.

  "Um…" I stalled, not able to lie, but not wanting to share the whole truth. "It's OK. I had a little bit of an altercation with one of my groups, but things have been going a lot better since that. That's the only class I'm kind of worried about right now." I hoped my use of the big word altercation scored me some points.

  "What kind of altercation?" asked my mom.

  "I just missed a few team meetings, and they got mad about it and kicked me out of the group. But it's fine now. The class is easy; and if I do well the rest of the semester, I'll still pass. Business law is a little rough,
too, but that's another story. As long as I keep up with the readings, I think that one will be fine, too."

  My diversion didn't work. "Why did you miss team meetings?"

  She knew the answer, but she wasn't going to be satisfied until I said it. "They scheduled the meetings when I said I was going to be gone. I had those Out of Towners concerts those nights. I was free other times, but they didn't move the meetings."

  My dad was the one who finally blew up. "You can't keep going to these concerts if they're interfering with your school work. All we ask of you is to do your best, and this is not your best. We're paying for school, and you're just wasting it by not showing up and doing your job. There's no way you're going to that concert tonight. You're staying right here and doing homework."

  I raised my voice to match his. "I am not skipping this concert. I'm not missing any class to go, so what's the point of skipping the concert? I did my homework yesterday, and even if I didn't, it's all at my apartment! I just won't go to anymore concerts during the week. It's fine."

  "You're darn right you're not going to anymore concerts during the week. This is a school night, which means you're not going to this one either."

  "I already bought tickets to this one!" I started to panic. They couldn't take this away from me. "I already told Shelly I would drive her down! I don't want her to have to drive to Chicago all by herself!"

  "Too bad."

  "Can't Shelly go with the other girls?" asked my mom.

  "No, they're already heading down there now." It was two o'clock, so the timing of it all was a slight exaggeration, but by the time the argument was over, it would be three o'clock. "Shelly doesn't get out of work until 5. And it's Haley's birthday!"

  My dad frowned. "This is the last one. If you fail any classes because of this, you're cut off. You're paying for tuition next semester. Remember that when you're at that concert tonight."

  "I won't fail anything. I'm going to work hard the rest of the semester. I promise." I wasn't as sure as I'd made myself sound, but if working more hours and paying for tuition was what it was going to come down to, then so be it. I wasn't going to miss this show. I moved my dinner around on my plate but didn't eat much after that. Even though I had a long night ahead of me with drinks involved, and I would need a full stomach, I just didn't have the appetite for it.

  I made it through the rest of the day with no further confrontations; changed into a camisole, red shirt straight out of the dryer, and some jeans; and barreled out the door with a duffel bag on one shoulder and Santa's jolly freakin' bag of laundry on the other shoulder. I was on my way pick Shelly up, and then, on to Chicago. The traffic going into the city was horrible as usual, and I wore my molars down from gritting my teeth. I hoped we would make it in time to at least catch the tail end of the Face Rake set. This show was held at a larger venue than the previous show, and it was in the heart of downtown. When we exited, I almost turned the wrong way on a one-way street; careened into a parking structure on two wheels, where we coughed up $14 to park; and hurried into the venue. We found Haley and Alex in the back, tripping over their own feet and hanging on each other while belly laughing with their eyes closed. Each had a drink in their hands, which I suspected was spiked with something.

  I approached Alex as some of her beverage splashed onto the floor. "How the heck did you get a drink without a wristband?"

  Alex opened her purse to show us a dozen tiny bottles of liquor inside. "Haley bought these at a liquor store on the way down! Shhhhh." She put her finger up to her lips while stumbling around. "Happy birthday, friend!" She slung her free arm around Haley's shoulders.

  Shelly and I went to the bar to get sodas and try to catch up on the alcohol intake, and I turned my attention to the stage while we waited. I checked my watch—7:20. We had only missed about half of their set. Not too shabby considering how much traffic we had to fight through on the way. Shelly and I took our Cokes back to Alex to spike them. I watched Face Rake's last couple songs and then migrated to the back area behind a wall where the merch tables were. When the guys came back, wiping their sweaty faces with white hand towels, Alex and I hugged each of them, and then I introduced Shelly and Haley and told them that Haley was the birthday girl today.

  "Twenty-first birthday!" She raised her glass, which was now all ice.

  Jesse high-fived her. "Shots for the birthday girl! I'll be right back." She started telling him she and Shelly weren't staying long, but he was halfway to the bar by then.

  Taj sidled up next to me. "You missed the set, didn't you?"

  I avoided his dark brown eyes and leaned my elbow on the elevated bar table where their cash box sat. "I tried to get here in time. We caught the last three songs. Alex saw the whole thing."

  "Sort of," she said.

  Jesse reappeared with two shots in his hand, and he handed one to Haley. "What are you guys doing after the show?"

  "What is it?" Haley held the shot glass at arm's length.

  Jesse flashed a devilish grin. "Don't worry about it, birthday girl. Cheers!" He clinked her shot glass and threw the liquid back into his mouth. Then he repeated his earlier question. "What are you guys doing after the show?"

  "Well, these guys are headed home." I gestured to Haley and Shelly. "But Alex and I may hang out for a while."

  "Could I convince you guys to stay if I give you these?" He reached into the back pocket of his ripped up and patched jeans and held up a handful of VIP passes. "They're for the VIP bar upstairs. We were thinking about checking it out after the show, and they gave us some extra passes to give to guests if we wanted. I know The Out of Towners will be there."

  Haley's eyes glittered. "I think we can stay for a little longer." We each snatched up one of the VIP stickers and affixed them to our clothes.

  When The Out of Towners took the stage, Alex stuck her arm up in the air and whooped. She grabbed Haley by the arm and dragged her back to the other side of the wall to the concert area. Shelly followed, but then stopped when she noticed I wasn't behind her.

  "I'll, um. Catch up with you in a bit." I shot her a finger gun with the arm that wasn't resting on the table, and I cursed myself for being so darn awkward. Her eyes clicked in Taj's direction, who was still at my elbow, and a small smile tugged at the sides of her lips.

  "OK, don't miss the show."

  "I won't be long." I whipped the finger gun behind my back and clunked my other elbow down on the table behind me, knocking it against the cash box.

  "Are you trying to rob us or something?" Taj jabbed my ribs, and I wrapped my opposite arm around my middle, protecting the spot.

  "Maaaaybe. If that's what it takes to get your attention." Maybe I had drunk more than I thought. I couldn't remember where I had set my glass of spiked soda down.

  "You've already got it." He mumbled so that I couldn't be sure as to what he said, but my heart bounced inside my poked ribcage anyway.

  "I have to get another drink. I lost mine somewhere."

  "How are you getting drinks? Aren't you like 20? You need a wristband, youngin."

  I swatted at his arm. "Shh, don't tell anyone."

  "Here, I'll get you something. We get free drinks. What do you like?"

  I shrugged. "Something fruity?"

  Malcolm joined me when Taj disappeared behind the other side of the wall. "Hey, what's up? You know you're missing your favorite band. Well, second favorite band now." He flicked the collar of his T-shirt with his thumbs.

  "Oh you know, just spending some quality time with my new favorite band."

  "That's what I like to hear!" He high-fived me. Then, he leaned his head closer to mine, and his sleepy hazel eyes stared into mine. "So. You and Taj?"

  I squirmed.

  "You can tell me. I met my wife at a concert. She was cool as shit. Different from the girls I used to mess around with."

  I put both my hands up. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. I think we're getting a little ahead of ourselves."

  "Yeah, yeah, I'm just saying."
Some of his Brooklyn accent came through. He tilted his chin down so far that his thick, but groomed, eyebrows almost covered his eyes. "I'll leave you to it."

  A glass of red liquid appeared over my shoulder. I took it and rotated around to find Taj inches from my face. "Thank you." I took a sip before he could do anything else. "This is really good. What is it?"

  He chugged his own bottle of beer. "Sex on the beach. Standard chick drink."

  I checked for a hint of innuendo in his expression, but I didn't catch any. Then, I recalled Alex and Shelly's romp on the beach. I wondered if the Face Rake guys heard about that. "Do you guys talk to the Towners a lot?"

  "Sure. I mean, they're on their bus a lot of the time, but they're cool guys. We party with them sometimes and jam out when we have some downtime. They're talented dudes."

  I sipped my drink again and wished the alcohol would affect me quicker. "Do you talk about…girls? Your conquests or whatever?"

  "Our what?" Half of his mouth curved upwards, and he took another swig of beer. "Nah, we're not the gossiping types. Why, whose conquests did you want to know about?"

  I tittered and stuck my nose in my glass. "Oh, no one's. I'm just curious."

  The next Towners song began, and I let out a little gasp and grabbed Taj's forearm. "I gotta go. This is one of my favorites, and they never play it. See you after?"

  He let out a single chuckle. "Yeah, yeah, go see your Towners."

  I dropped my hand, and my fingers brushed his. His hand moved as a reflex, but mine was already at my side. My fingers almost formed a gun shape, but I resisted this time and waved. He returned the gesture with double finger guns, and I guffawed and covered my face in embarrassment. I still wore a stupid grin on my face when I met back up with my friends.

  The show was fun as usual, but Shelly and I never did catch up to Haley and Alex. Haley kept hanging on each of our arms, shouting about how much she loved the song or how much she loved Randy. Alex was all over the place, jamming to the music and sloshing her beverage over the floor and us. As for myself, I hadn't even been standing that long, but my body was sore and crampy. My joints ached, and the only thing I could attest it to was eating a small lunch and skipping dinner. I took another swig of my fruity drink, but that only added to my dehydration. If I was going to last the night, I was going to have to switch to water before I even got tipsy.