The Fire in Our Souls

Danger Around Every Corner

Throughout the week, I've been following Liz and Luke around, learning the ropes of the venue and business. I caved and downloaded City Lights' newest album, and it's pretty catchy. I find myself singing along to the words, listening to them while I get ready and when I walk home from work. I can't get over the words, how real they seem, how much they apply to me. 

"I wanna go, I wanna go. Run from this panic / I need the unknown. / I've had enough, I've had enough. / Run from Atlantic, away from this home." 

I did that, I left, I ran but in a good way. It was freeing, it was something I needed to do for myself. Discover the world, this life. I feel like he's speaking to me with this, each word just burned into my soul. Music has always been my outlet, something for me to hold onto in the worst times. When he screamed all night long, through thrashing hands and broken glass, music was the thing that was there. 

At work on Friday, it's the big night. It's a sold out show and now that I actually know who the band is, I'm just a little overexcited. I grab my headphones and plug them in while I organize some wires and wrap them up. I feel a tap on my shoulder and pull my headphones out as I turn. I see Luke standing behind me. "What's up? You look way too suspish..." He chuckles, grabbing my arm and pulling me into the back. "Okay, so the guy who Liz was with for a bit, the one she won't talk about, he's in the band remember?" I nod, trying to follow. "So, they haven't really seen each other sense, but Liz has this face...I call it 'fire eyes'" he uses air quotes when he says it, making me laugh. "So, you'll know this face when you see it. And I have a feeling, it's going to happen the second she sees him. She wanted me to stay in the back and help out with the band but Uncle Dave wants me to work front of house." I nod, finally understanding the point. "I'll work backstage, not a big deal." He smiles, hugging me and lifting me up. "You're the best Cal." He struts off to the front, I finish on the wires and head to the back. There's one shorter guy, fiddling with some camera equipment. "Wow, you have so much stuff. This is insane." I walk up next to him, admiring his very expensive camera. "Thanks! I do some shots of the band and work on production stuff so I have to make sure everything is working." He looks over, giving me a grin and putting his camera down. "I'm Jordan, nice to meet you." He holds out his hand to shake mine. "Callie." 

"Cool, so you work here?" He checks some more stuff while we talk. "Yeah, I was looking for a job and this seemed super cool. So I walked in and Dave hired me on the spot." He sits his camera down and walks over to get a drink from the food table. He hands me a Pepsi but I hold up my iced coffee, that now seems to be almost water. "We've played here a bunch, started out as one of our biggest shows here, Dave's a great guy. He really supports us and music so it's always fun to be here. Feels so much like home." We chat some more about where the band came from, they all grew up around Seattle and met in high school. They formed a band and Jordan was their tech guy, doing photoshoots and videos for their label. Fearless Records signed them while they were all in college so they all had to quit school and go on the road. In the midst of our conversation, his phone rings. 

"What's up?..yeah...okay, be right there." He hangs up and slides his phone into his pocket. "The guys are here so I gotta help set up." He heads to the door, nodding back at me on his way out. I grab some popcorn and put it in a plastic cup. Might as well eat now, who knows when I'll be able to. As I head back out, I run into someone, dropping the popcorn all over the floor. 

~

"Oh shit." I drop down, picking up each stray piece of popcorn on the floor. "Shit, I'm so sorry I didn't even see you." The voice says, squatting down in front of me, helping me put the popcorn back into the cup. "Not a big deal. If the worst thing to happen today is tainted popcorn, then I guess I'm lucky." He reaches for the same piece of popcorn and I finally look up at him. He holds out his hand to help me up. "Thanks." I toss the plastic cup into the trash can nearby, avoiding his gaze. We stand there for a minute, not talking when a clash of bangs enter the hallway. "Oh fuck, sorry, outta the way!!" Big guys carry in parts of a drum set and amps, I slide to the side and move down the hallway, saying "sorry" again as I rush past him. I run right into Liz, who was supposed to be occupied in front of house and the bar. I grab her arm, pulling her away from where the band is filing in. "Wait, whaaa-" She spins on her heels as our arms interlock.