The Fire in Our Souls

Best of Friends

It's funny. The moment you leave home, you want to go back. But when you are home, you long for the places you will go. You cannot live away from it, but you cannot live within it. And it seems you are always yearning for some place that doesn't exist. I feel that, I still do. I'm never completely at home anywhere. 

I lay on the bed one morning, the sun peeking through the curtains. Casper curls up next to me, his soft purrs sing to me as I read. From my favorite books to the greatest literature. "The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; love for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves." 

I let the world of Emily Bronte and Vonnegut drift me into solace, into peace. Their words bring me comfort in every moment. I let their voices take me, drift me to some other place, far away from here. Casper's whiskers tickle at my leg, shocking me back to the reality. I'm running short on funds and it isn't going to last much longer. 

~

I take my usual walk through the city, trying to find any job that is suitable and one that makes me not want to kill myself. Dive bars and diners aren't really something I'd be interested in. As I keep walking, looking through the adds in the paper for jobs in the area, I find myself in front of the Neumos. A "help wanted" sign hands in the window, "inquire within" in smaller writing below it. I pull the doors open to the large, indoor concert venue. The stage lit up at the very back, a bar towards the far side, a balcony above overlooking the stage and a private area with tables and chairs. "Oi, what can I do for you?" A man walks over, sizing me up as he does, broom in hand. "Hi, I um...saw your sign in the window." Gesturing to the help wanted sign in the window out front. "Sure. And?" 

"Well, I was hoping for a job. Anything you got." He nods, running his hands through his hair. "Got any experience in the music industry?" His face is harsh but I can see the softness in his eyes. "Not particularly. But I'm a fast learner and hard worker. I never get sick or run late. I can learn whatever it is you need me to." He smiles. "Well alright then. Consider yourself part of the Neumos family. Can you start today?" I nod, he turns on his heels. "Follow me. We got a big show coming up in two weeks. We could use all the hands we can get." I follow him to the backstage area. Rooms set apart and a large area of couches and tables. A group of people sit around the couches, chatting and drinking some beers. "Everyone, I want you to meet our newest recruit." He turns to me, giving me a nudge with his face. "Oh hi, yes....I'm Callie. Callie Hendricks." They go around the room and introduce themselves and what they do. There are stage managers and front managers, bartenders and merch workers, lighting and sound techs. Everyone seems chill and relaxed, just what I needed. "Alright, Liv and Luke should be here any minute. They'll teach you the ropes." Just ask he finishes, a loud crash emanates from the door in the back of the room. A young guy and girl trample over each other to get through the frame. "Speak of the devil." He turns, they stand just inside the door, both out of breath and slightly sweating. 

"Sorry Dave, Luke forgot his wallet so we had to run home. Then he decided it was a good idea to race here." She bends over, holding her side and trying to catch her breath. "Well, you're just in time to meet Callie. I just hired her." He smiles. "Well hey...Dave, you never hire people on the spot! It took me seven tries and a little bit of groveling to get you to hire me." He chuckles. "You're the best groveler. How could I say no?" She makes her way over to me, lending out a hand. "Hey, I'm Olivia but everyone calls me Liv. This is my twin brother Lucas but we call him Luke." 

"I'm Calista, but everyone calls me Callie." I shake her hand. "Wow, what a cool ass name. Way better than mine." Luke laughs shaking my hand and running his hands through his hair. He looks me up and down, my black ripped jeans, fake Doc Martens and oversized flannel. "Damn girl, look at you! You'll fit right in with this rowdy, rat pack." Luke walks over, high five-ing and greeting the group. "Alright, let's get to work." She leads me to the break room, handing me a t-shirt with a logo and venue name on it, "Crew Member" in big, white letters across the back. "Alright, here is a headset, it mainly just goes in one of your ears so we can all chat when it's showtime, make sure everyone is in place and things are running smooth." She takes me on a tour of the venue, showing me all the spots we stay in. "So what is your main job? Like what do you usually do during shows?" She picks up some equipment and puts it on top of some others. "I do a lot actually. Sometimes bartending if someone calls in, backstage stuff, show runner when people need something. Making sure the band is all set up and everything is in place. Sometimes merch, sometimes I work the doors and check ID's and tickets. I do it all really." I nod, taking it all in. I've always wanted to work in a place like this. 

"So you'll be like my apprentice. Someone who is my right hand man. Luke and I have always done that. We've worked here since we were fourteen. Our parents loved this place so when we were able to, Uncle Dave gave us jobs." 

"Oh, Dave is your Uncle?" She laughs. "Kind of? Not by blood but he and my dad were best friends since they were kids. So he's basically like our uncle. He's a great guy. My dad always had him around like part of the family." I notice the way she talks about her parents, using past tenses. I decided not to ask, seemed to personal to bring up right now seeing as we just met. "So my job entails a lot and I've been doing it alone for a while. Luke helps much of the time but he also gets lost in the crowd during shows and enjoys hanging out with everyone so I end up doing most of the things on my own once the show starts. How about for the upcoming show, you manage some backstage stuff with me and then we can work on other stuff as we go?" I nod, she hands me a wristlet of keys and a lanyard. "The show on Friday is a big one so you might need to come in everyday with me to learn the ropes before then. Get acquainted with everyone and learn where everything is." She smiles, I smile back. "Sounds great! I'm pumped. Who's playing Friday?" She stands up straight, like I've almost offended her. 

"You heard of City Lights?" I shake my head, she chuckles. "They're a pretty popular band around here. Started in Seattle and now they tour around the world. They've had maybe two headliners so far but they're pretty big. They've toured with All Time Low, Mayday Parade, even did Warped Tour and some overseas festivals. They're awesome!" She turns back to the lighting board we're looking at, fiddling with some knobs to check the lights. "You a fan?" She gives me a side glance. "They're great and all, I had a fling with one of the guys and it didn't end well. Kinda ruined them for me." She turns back to the lights, ordering some guy to change some dim bulbs. "What a douche nozzle would give you up?" She laughs so much she snorts, making her and I almost tumble to the ground. We fall into each other, forcing ourselves to keep standing. Once we both contain ourselves she looks at me and grins. "You know.." slinging her arm around my shoulders, "I think we're going to be great friends." She keeps her arm there, mine slung around her waist as we walk to the back office. "Lighting is all set, alcohol is stocked on the shelves, merch table is set up so when they get here we can hang everything. We can work on backstage stuff but I think Callie has learned enough for one day." Dave nods and smiles from behind his desk. "See you tomorrow!" He turns back to his paperwork which covers his desk. I follow Liv to the lounge area where everyone was sitting before. Luke stands in the doorway, leaning against it. 

"Grab your shit. You...are coming with us." She walks over, standing beside Luke in the door. I grab my bad and sling it over my shoulder. I follow them out the back doors and down the alley. Liv takes out a joint, lighting it up and passing it to Luke. "So," blowing out a puff. "Where are you from?" We walk slow, down the alley covered in puddles from the days rain. "Originally, south California." 

"No shit, have you met anyone? Like anyone famous?" Luke swoons, passing the joint to me. "Nah, I wasn't near any of the cool spots. More suburban area, I mainly just hung out at friends." I take a long inhale and pass it to Liv. "So, how'd you end up here?" I knew it was bound to come up eventually. There's no point in hiding it. "I left home. My parents...weren't the greatest. So, I packed up my shit, bought a bus ticket and got off here. I'm staying at a motel just outside of the city. It's run by this great, older guy Henry." We finish off the joint and head to a restaurant down the street from the venue. "So, how'd you guys end up here?" We order some fries and settle into the booth. 

"Well, our parents died a few years back, car accident. So we moved in with our Uncle Dave. We've been trying to find a place for us but everything is so expensive here. Luke and I have always been inseparable so it makes sense to get a place together." As the fries come, Liv stuffs a handful into Lukes mouth, making us all crack up laughing in the booth. It feels nice to have people to be around..friends.