Crimson Blue Snow

Part IV- "One step closer"

Part IV- "One step closer"

 A new day has come. Amadea was doing her standard activities when she heard the now-familiar sound of the motorbike. She grabbed her jacket and walked out, greeting Beata with a nod.

 Beata: "If you're free today I want us to go somewhere, wherever you want. Yesterday's conversation ended too soon and I found it very interesting." Amadea: "I'd have to tell my parents and get ready..." Beata (wink): "I'll wait."

 They went to a nearby river. Beata: "How are you doing today?" Amadea: "Same as yesterday. I'm used to it, it's nothing new." Beata: "I'd like you to get a little better. At least a little bit. I didn't want to bother you too much yesterday, I wanna talk with someone because everything bore the hell out of me... These friends of mine are married or have fiancés, I feel like a third wheel, we don't have topics to talk about. I spend time here and there with my brother and his band, just to have some company. Dude, when you get over the 25th they're annoying you with questions about boys, getting married, kids and stuff. So I'm sick of everyone. I see you're in a similar situation." Amadea: "Yes, and I agree with you. I must warn you that I am a terrible conversationalist." Beata (laughs): "Hey, talk to me about the music, about the universe, whatever you want and whatever you are interested in, just to finally have a conversation with someone other than asking me when I'm going to get married or pick-up lines from guys I really don't care about." Amadea (smiles): "Okay, don't be that I didn't warn you... I'm a morbid person who's very philosophical and I know to talk without stopping." Beata (joyous): "Well, that's what suits me! (both laughed) Now that I mention music- what are you listening to? From what I've heard, it looks like gothic metal, maybe a symphonic..." Amadea: "Symphonic most, and then other subgenres. I like diversity, I listen more to female vocals for pratice and I love bands with male singers as well, I tell you there are all kinds of subgenres. I listen to other genres of music sometimes, less than metal and hard-rock, but there are all kinds of things. You?" Beata: "I am more like some heavy and thrash metal, but I like all sorts of things. It would be boring to listen to only one thing, there's so much music in the world that it would be an injustice to limit yourself. What was the song you sang before the end? You've probably forgotten, I know it's stupid to ask, but..." Amadea (checking her phone): "I have a list of what I've been listening to recently, now I'll see what it was. (pause) "Within Temptation- Ice Queen". One of the first sympho-metal songs I learned to sing." Beata: "I'm embarrassed to ask you, but..." Amadea: "Do you want me to sing for you?" Beata (smile): "You read my mind. Please, I want to hear it again."

 Amadea sang her a song, and Beata listened to her almost breathlessly. Without a word she nodded her head so Amadea started singing another song, this time with an even greater vocal range and a different singing technique. In the end, she sang to her a gentle gothic metal song that mesmerised Beata. She didn't just LIKE her voice anymore - she LOVED it. Afterwards, they talked for hours about various topics, intrigued each other. They got along in many things, at the same time having their own authentic personality that suited each other, and they knew that friendship would continue.

 On their way home they arranged for Amadea to come to Beata's during the weekend, so they were both looking forward to a reunion.

 The weekend's here. They went to the place where Michel's band had a rehearsal, while Beata shouted from the door: "Where the hell are you, Mishko, are you boring these friends of yours? What's my brother babbling to you now?" Michelle (nervous): "I told you not to call me Mishko. It's good to see you, too, I missed you so much. (sarcastically, notice Amadea) And who's your friend? (hand-shakes with her) I'm Michelle, (looks grumpily at Beata) not Mishko or Mickey. Michelle." Amadea (shy): "I am Amadea." Michelle: "Sit down, we'll practice. I find it strange that you've found company, Beata." Beata: "And what a company. (looks at Amadea smiling)" Michelle (approaches Amadea): "Band fan, I guess? Or maybe you saw someone in the band and... (cough)... and fell in love with him? Don't worry, little girl, we don't mind, it doesn't bother us, it even suits us."

 Amadea smiles with her palm-covered lips, Beata rolled her eyes, and then they look at each other. Beata (brings the microphone to Amadea): "If you blow his head off with the "high C", I'll be eternally grateful to you." Amadea (smiles): "I'll try."

 She sang without music, but that was enough to shut Michel up. Michelle (after a few seconds off when she finished): "Why didn't you immediately say you came for the singer's place in the band, instead of me embarrassing myself here? I thought all kinds of things and... Beata, you turkey, why didn't you just say you brought her here for that? Amanda..." Amadea: "Amadea." Michelle: "Yes, Amadea... As far as voice capabilities go, you're getting in the final round. As for the style... There's a lot of work to be done... I'm not going to look like I say you're not pretty or whatever, just..." Amadea: "I'm not attractive enough and my style of dress doesn't fit." Michelle: "Kind of." Beata (grabs his collar): "You really want someone to beat the hell out of you, huh?" Amadea (trying to get her away from Michel): "Don't, he's right. We knew that from the beginning. We just came in like that, I wasn't planning on getting in the band. Please don't argue about it, you're family." Beata (lets him go): "Okay. I don't want to beat you, but you'll be sorry anyway. The hardest hit to a man is when he realizes he made a mistake and he could have avoided that mistake, and you missed an opportunity." The band's drummer: "Michelle, come on, don't quibble - there's nothing wrong with her and we're missing the singer, what more do you need?" The bass player: "Personally, nothing bothers me about her, can we just start doing something as soon as possible?" Michelle (calmer): "Beata, I appreciate you trying to help me, but I said no." Beata (sneering): "Okay. No fighting, no beatings. You made the choice, it's the final decision. Amadea's right, we're family and we don't have to fight, but I don't like your actions at all. While you do the instrumental covers of other bands, I will assemble my band." Michelle (surprised): "What are you going to do? You think it goes so easily?"
Amadea: "Beata, there's no need for that, I'm just one person, don't bother looking for three or four more people so I could be a vocalist in a band... It's not that important. Here, I tried it like you wanted, but that's what it is." Beata (to Amadea): "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." Michelle: "I don't know what's gotten into you these days, so I guess you'll stop fooling around soon. Do what you want, too bad for this girl you're going to bother. (to Amadea) Good luck with her and her fixed ideas." Beata: "Good luck to you, me and her will be fine, don't worry. (they're leaving)"

 Outside; Amadea: "You shouldn't have done that, he's your brother. Don't ruin it for something irrelevant." Beata: "Why do males put so much on appearance and we women like some turkeys accept everything to visually please them as much as possible? If men say they like curves, some will give thousands of euros to "put on" silicone if they don't already have a natural constitution to match it. They like a thin waist? There are drastic diets that can lead her to illness, even to death, but that's less important than HIM. Is her wrinkles bothering him? There's Botox to rejuvenate her, and for preferences in color and hair length there's a hairdresser to please both the one who likes black-haired and the one who likes blondes. Not to mention waxes and various treatments! And after all that, they still complain about women doing it all because they like "natural girls"! Well, son, not all people are naturally born attractive. (looks in Amadea) See how far you've come trying to get away from the ones for whom you weren't enough of this or that? I spit on that system of theirs, both them and their system can go and fu..." Amadea (soothes her): "Take it easy. There are exceptions to that, and sometimes it's a quiet rivalry between women, although I agree with what you said. A lot of women fall apart for things like that, they literally lose themselves in that idea of perfection. I don't care about being attractive to some guy, but I do know that I need an attractive look for what has nothing to do with appearance! Why does that damn look infiltrate all spheres of life?! (hits her arm, Beata runs to stop her) This civilization is broken. We continue to base it more on raw impulses than to equally incorporate reason and empathy." Beata: "It's going to be your message through music, that certain things that happen every day lead to all sorts of problems, it's going to be music with a lot of social and philosophical themes. While my brother is working on "Iron Maiden" and "Metallica" covers we're going to make our own music." Amadea: "I love both bands, and the original is the original." Beata: "That's how we're going to be the original. We won't be as popular as them, for sure, but we'll have something of our own. And I'm sure my brother will be easily defeated, he'll regret rejecting you. It's time to call a few numbers and create a new band. It's yours to come up with a name, later the logo, the lyrics you already have, and I'll take care of the other members."