...And I Am Going Home

Oliver 12

The next day, the band got together and took the train to the city where Kal, Rheanna's friend, was performing. The band occasionally performed in this city, but Cody and Darren always preferred booking local places if they could due to Cody's work schedule. The venue Kal was performing in was an lgbtq bar; a line of people queued up for the entrance, getting IDed by the door staff and waiting for space as the bar was apparently at total capacity.

"Shit," Darren cursed. "Are we even going to make it inside?"

"There's a sneaky route around the back," said Zeke.

"Kal's going to meet us there and sneak us in," explained Rheanna.

Oliver frowned at this, wondering if the bar staff knew about this and were okay with it. There were rules in place for establishments to have maximum capacity numbers for a reason. And then he thought about how packed it would be, how he wouldn't be sat at a table and safe from the crowd like normal, but likely packed like a sardine in a horde of drunk people. In preparation, Oliver popped a mint into his mouth.

They headed through an alleyway and found the secluded back of the bar, where all the bins and recycling were kept. Leaning against a wall near the back door was someone smoking a vape with a choppy cut hairstyle like someone had taken scissors and cut at random points whilst still somehow looking aesthetic and intentionally messy, a few strands placed back with an array of colourful hair clips. They wore loose-fitting clothing, an oversized t-shirt and harem pants, their arms inked with patchwork style tattoos of anatomical drawings of plants and animals as if their skin was a school science textbook.

"Kal!" Zeke waved, running over bombarded them with a tackling hug, and lifted them off the ground with enthusiasm.

"Hello," said Kal with a strained voice as Zeke squeezed them, then gave everyone else a nod in greeting.

"Good to see you again, sweetie," said Rheanna, giving Kal a peck on the cheek once Zeke released them back to the ground.

"Glad you could all make it," said Kal.

"So, what are the chances this is another of Rheanna and Zeke's conquests?" Kara whispered to Darren, Oliver overhearing.

Darren shrugged. "I wouldn't be surprised."

Rheanna gave some quick introductions.

"So, I heard tonight is technically my audition to the band?" said Kal, looking to Darren. It seemed that Rheanna must have told them that Darren was the leader of the band, the one most hesitant in replacing his best friend.

"Uh, yeah," replied Darren, folding his arms. "We're just looking for a temporary member to fill a position whilst our friend is away."

"Ah yeah, I heard. I'm fine with temporary, never settled down with a band, tried but it never works. Everyone always has different levels of commitment and ambition." Kal took one last puff from their vape, candyfloss flavour, which seemed counterintuitive to the whole punk vibe they were giving off with their appearance. "Well, I've got some time before the performance if you want to ask any questions. It's one thing if I perform well enough for you, but if we don't get along on a personal level, that'll kill the music."

Kal ushered everyone inside the bar, and Oliver was relieved when they bypassed a staff member Kal explained that their friends were here, the staff member nodding and then smiling at them. The weight of guilt of potentially sneaking in and being an inconvenience was lifted from Oliver's mind.

They luckily found a free table, though it was quite a squeeze, so half of their group had to stand or rest against a nearby pillar. Fortunately, Oliver landed a seat so he wasn't near any strangers and had a viewpoint of most of the room. There weren't as many people in yet as he had imagined, which Kal explained was because they left enough room for the band to set up before packing everyone in the mosh pit. They had about twenty minutes before Oliver's nightmare began, and he would fight off anyone who tried to steal his seat where it was safe.