Midnight Heat - Josh Kiszka

Chapter 3

Silence filled the bus as Annie's face continued to heat with embarrassment.

"ONE SONG?" Sam exclaimed. "WHAT?"

"It's been a rough couple years." Annie said, shifting her gaze to Grace.

Grace flattened her lips and patted Annie's leg.

"Well what song was it?" Mullet man asked.

"Uh. You're the One." Annie stammered.

Grace feigned a smile. "It's a good song." Grace shrugged.

Annie stood. "I have to go say hi to the fire department. Excuse me."

Annie ran out of the bus as fast as she could. She felt like an idiot. How in the world did Grace manage to get the band of the only song she had the strength to listen to? What happens if they play it? Would she have a full mental breakdown?

She sighed as she saw Pops' truck in his usual spot right beside her car. The old man was probably making himself a coffee. Annie traveled up the hill to see.

Opening the door, Annie yelled. "Pops?"

"Hey sweetheart." Pops said cheerfully. "I'm making me a cup for the night." He lifted his travel mug up in gesture that he was going to make that one cup last.

"You know you can always make more." Annie said hugging the old man.

"But this is the good stuff. You make the whole pot and leave me some. It feels special." Pops grinned. "Come on now. Let's go get this fire lit."

Annie and Pops headed down the hill toward the blocked off area that was designated for the fire. She didn't really understand how they got the fire to burn the way they did. All she knew is that the team of five firefighters, including Pops, all came down a couple nights before and set it up. Later that night, they'd extinguish it. Then the same for two more days.

Annie took a look around her. The amount of people who came this year was astounding. Probably 150 people. They all sat around the scattered hay bales and drank their beer. Laughed, joked around. Something Annie craved.

"I'll start this thing up for ya." Pops said, patting Annie on the back.

"Attention everyone! Attention" he yelled.

His voice boomed across the field as party-goers turned their attention. "We're about to get this thing going here. So let's all take a moment to remember why we're here. Fire safety is no joke. Please never burn trash. Please let us at the department know if you're hosting a bonfire so we can deter any accidents. Now, let's all thank miss Annie for having us here for the third year in a row."

The crowed cheered. Annie blushed and nodded.

"Let's get this lit. Charlie!" He beckoned for a much younger man to him. He handed him a book of matches.

The two men started striking the matches and lighting different points of the pit. After all the points were lit, the crowd cheered once more.

"Everyone have a fun and safe time. Don't drive home under the influence. Myself or one of the boys will take you home." Pops said.

Grace popped out of nowhere it seemed to chime in. "Everyone! Before we go back to our fun, I'd like to introduce our entertainment, the boys from Greta Van Fleet."

The crowd was mostly unimpressed, but cheered anyway. Annie clapped and smiled. She looked at the band on the "stage" Pops had built. They were more put together than she would've guessed. They actually had amps and a microphone. This might actually be a hit.

Mullet-man tapped the microphone. "Hi everyone. I'm Josh and we're Greta Van Fleet. I hope you enjoy our music."

They started a slow-ish jam that Annie, of course hadn't heard. Annie walked toward the stage and sat on the ground to fully take in the experience. Maybe a guy would come sit next to her.