Today was the day. The day she had been waiting for her entire life. She had reached her first destination for her first show on her first tour. That's a lot of firsts. So, naturally, she was nervous.
It wasn't like she'd never performed before, she'd just never sold out an entire arena in an entirely new place before. This wasn't like her normal, more intimate gigs back home. This is the real thing. The life that every rising star dreams of, and it was perfect. Well, it would've been perfect if it weren't for her tour partner. Country music star Morgan Wallen. According to his manager, he's a total hot head. So, there wasn't very high expectations for kindness before meeting him.
Evie's POV:
"Evie! We need to head down to the venue for the first meet and greet in 10, don't make us late!" Hattie shouted from her connecting hotel room
Hattie has been my manager since I was 13 years old, and at this point, I'm pretty sure she knows me better than I know myself. I thought about my future as I got ready, where this tour may take my career, where I'll be in five years, if all the money and time I spent on this passion will go to waste if I eventually decide singing is just a hobby like Mama always said. A million thoughts swarmed my head, completely taking over my mind. It wasn't until Hattie walked in that I snapped out of my trance.
"I just got off the phone with Morgan's manger, he's giving her a hard time about dinner later, I have a bad feeling about you two... you're sounding a little too much alike." She chuckled
"Ha Ha Ha" I replied, sarcastically
"Anyway, just to give you today's rundown: We'll leave soon and take the bus to the venue, we should have about an hour to get set up and comfortable before people start pilin' in for the meet and greet. You'll be sittin' on a panel with security on all sides for safety and one by one the fans will come up and talk to you, have you sign things, and take pictures. For efficiency reasons, the manager of the venue asks for a maximum of 5 minutes with each fan. That should take a couple hours. Then, we'll head back to the hotel, freshen up, and then head to dinner with Morgan and Leslie."
"Woah, you really got it all planned, huh?"
"That's my job girl"
I eventually finished getting ready and Hattie and I headed to the venue. Upon arrival, we were greeted with hundreds of fans waiting outside. I waved and smiled to cover up the fear that took over my body when I saw the amount of people outside. I couldn't help but think about the fact that I was this nervous for a couple hundred people, and I would be preforming for a couple thousand in a few days.
I talked to every supporter individually for about five minutes each. I tried my hardest to stay under five minutes out of respect for the venue manager, but it was so hard to end such interesting conversations with these people. It's so crazy to think about how a year ago, I was a small town girl living just outside the big city of Nashville, Tennessee, busting my ass bartending for creepy, old, white men dreaming of becoming a country star. As much as I hoped it would happen for me someday, the feedback from my family often had me losing hope. But, here I am, selling out arenas, working alongside one of the biggest country singers in the world.
The meet and greet ended after a couple of hours, and it was time to get ready for dinner tonight. I was really nervous to meet Morgan, because from what I've heard he isn't very friendly, which isn't exactly a super great thing to hear about somebody who you'll be touring with for the next 11 months. I got ready as fast as possible while being mentally drained from the day's events. Eventually, I was ready to go so I grabbed Hattie, "How do I look?"
"Perfect, cutie," she winked
"Ready?"
She nodded and we were out the door on our way to the steakhouse. We walked out of the hotel doors and caught a cab, trying not to draw attention towards us by taking the tour bus. It was only a couple of blocks down anyway. The cab pulled up in front of the restaurant and Hattie and I got out. I stood in front of the big double doors and took a deep breath, trying to prepare myself for what's to come. Hattie opened the door and led the way, I followed.
