Crush

Ten

When Tess went out for breakfast the next morning, Will, Lizzie and Maddie were all sitting around the table, tucking into bacon, eggs and toast.

"About time you got up," Will said, shovelling a forkful of bacon into his mouth.

"How long have you been here?" Tess asked, sitting down across from Maddie, who was sipping on what Tess assumed to be a cup of tea.

"Long enough for Will to be on his third helping," Lizzie said.

"I've got a big day ahead," Will said, mopping up the last of his eggs with a piece of toast.

"Sorry about the concert, Lizzie," Tess said. She poured herself some cornflakes, shook over some sugar, drowned it all in milk and dug in.

"Don't get her started," Will said, pushing his chair back and taking his breakfast dishes into the kitchen.

"I can't believe I drove all that way, just for the concert to be cancelled," Lizzie said.

"I told you not to get her started," Will called from the kitchen.

Tess ignored him and asked, "Do you know why?"

Lizzie shrugged. "One of the band members was sick or something apparently."

"Who were you going to see?" Maddie asked.

"Three's Company," Lizzie replied.

Maddie coughed.

"Are you alright?" Tess asked.

"Tea went down the wrong way," Maddie croaked, patting her chest with her hand.

"Are they rescheduling?" Tess asked Lizzie.

"I don't know. They just said the rest of their tour is cancelled until further notice."

"Wow. Sounds serious."

"Yeah. A couple of people on the fan site have said that they think they've broken up."

"Really?"

"Yeah, but who knows. I do know though, that no-one's seen Indiana Rose for a couple of weeks. She wasn't at the signing either." Lizzie leaned in and whispered, "There's even a rumour going around that she's gone to rehab."

Maddie coughed again. Tess glanced at her and Maddie was looking into her tea cup as if there was something in there making her cough.

"I thought they were a clean band?" Tess asked, fishing the last of the cornflakes from her bowl and tipping it up to drain the last of the milk. Which she would never normally do except Gran wasn't there to chastise her.

"Publicity," Will said. He leaned on the door frame, his arms crossed over his chest. "I bet they have to put on more concerts when they release new dates, all because of the speculation on why they cancelled this time. They're trying to ramp up sales."

"Whatever," Lizzie said, waving him away. "I'm not surprised though. From what I heard, there's been trouble for a while."

"What sort of trouble?" Tess asked.

Lizzie shrugged and said, "It's all rumours of course, but their last album didn't sell as well as the first one."

"So?" Tess said.

"So, wouldn't you be unhappy if you were a popular band and you weren't selling your songs?"

"I guess so," Tess replied, though she really had no idea.

"You seem to know a lot about the band," Maddie said. She seemed to have gotten over her coughing fit.

"Lizzie's their number one fan," Will said.

"And the unofficial president of the unofficial fan club," Tess said.

Lizzie nodded and added, "I saw them on YouTube before they were famous."

"Really?" Maddie seemed a bit more interested now that she wasn't choking on tea.

"Yep. They only had a few hundred views on their videos when I first saw them, and then, out of nowhere, they just took off." Lizzie shot her hand in the air to emphasise the point.

"Wow, I never knew that," Maddie said.

"I'm not saying I deserve a cut of their profits or anything, but I can't help thinking that me sharing their videos and songs so much might have helped them get to where they are today."

Will laughed. "Did we tell you she's delusional?" He stepped over to the table, swiped the last piece of bacon from the tray and said, "I better get out there and start mowing before it gets too hot. I'll catch you all later."

Lizzie ignored him and continued. "I just think that bands need to reward their fans by, you know, not cancelling concerts out of the blue with no explanations."

"Maybe they just didn't want to play the music," Maddie said.

"Why?" Lizzie asked. "That's what people want to hear."

"But if they didn't sell their last album," Maddie said, shifting on her chair. "Then maybe it was because people didn't like that music. And maybe the band didn't either."

Lizzie thought about that for a moment and said, "It shouldn't matter. Bands shouldn't annoy their fans like that."

"But shouldn't bands reward fans with great music? And if they don't think it's great music, why would they play it?"

"They shouldn't have recorded it in the first place and asked people to pay for it," Lizzie said simply.

"I guess so," Maddie replied.

"And don't you think it would be nice of them to actually reply to their fans on twitter and facebook or wherever once in a while instead of their agent or publicist or whoever does it?"

Maddie poked at the egg on her plate and there was an awkward silence, so Tess asked Lizzie, "Speaking of publicity, is your dad still going to put something in the paper for the festival?"

"I think so," Lizzie replied. She took a long drink of her orange juice. "I mean, he hasn't said anything, but he's done it every year. He's got some fancy photographer coming up to take some photos for the anniversary feature he's been talking about for months, so he's been a bit distracted."

"Can you ask him? We really need to do something special this year."

"I guess I could take some photos on my phone and see if he'll put them in with the article," Lizzie said. Tess didn't think Lizzie understood the gravity of the situation, but before she could explain any further, Gran bustled in and started clearing away the dishes.

"I want to get started on those cakes soon," she said, piling cups into plates and ferrying them into the kitchen. "Are you able to help today, Maddie?"

Maddie nodded. "I can help out for a few hours this morning, but I'm busy this afternoon."

Lizzie stood up and piled glasses and cutlery on a tray. "I have all day so I can help with whatever you need."

"You can help with the cupcakes," Tess said. She ferried the cereal boxes into the kitchen and offloaded them onto the bench. "We might get the afternoon off if we all get in and do them."

"Great," Lizzie said, taking the tray into the kitchen and stacking the glasses on the sink. "Can't wait."

As Tess filled up the sink and started washing the dishes, Gran began ferrying out the un-iced cupcakes. "I hope you've got your baking hat on Maddie," Tess heard her say. "We've got a lot more of these to do, and only a few days to do them."

Tess smiled. Even though she'd normally be the first to volunteer to be outside, she was looking forward to spending the morning with Maddie and Lizzie.