Live, Laugh, Luke

Chapter 2

This is a great moment, when you see, however distant, the goal of your wandering. The thing which has been living in your imagination suddenly become part of the tangible world. It matters not how many ranges, rivers or parching dusty ways may lie between you; it is yours now for ever.

-Freya Stark

Freya's POV

The worst thing about working at a bar the night before a concert is the lack of sleep. I finished up work at 2:30 and by the time I got home, it was after 3. Then I had to be up by 7:30 so I could get to the venue by 9 to be one of the first in line. Armed with an extra strong cup of coffee, I approach the venue. Sure enough, there's already a line about 20 people long leaning against the doors but I don't bother with them, knowing they're most likely the sound check group. When the boundaries are finally put up, I find myself first in line for the regular pit group.

"Cool necklace"

I look up from where I'm sat on the ground to see the girl behind me in line smiling down at me.

"Thanks," I say with a smile reflexively raising my hand to touch the picks hanging from a chain. I'd started it over a year ago when I'd somehow managed to catch the guitarist's pick from Imagine Dragons and now I had 3 different ones from different concerts. It wasn't the easiest thing to collect.

I end up talking with the girls in line behind me who freak when they find out I'm American. I laugh as I assure them I'm not just here for the concert. I divert the conversation back to them and I fall silent as they begin discussing the band. There was only so many times you can explain your life to complete strangers. Time seems to cycle through periods of moving fast and slow, only leaving line to go to the bathroom or to get something to eat inside the arena. The line continues to grow and eventually the soundcheck people are brought into the arena. The volume only rises when this happens and a couple minutes later there's a scream as the opener band comes out to perform an acoustic set. I can't help but smile, swaying along to the music and lyrics I don't know.

When they head back in, I can tell we're finally getting close to being let in. I can see the people from the soundcheck come out of the arena and are lined up against the wall just inside. The girls beside me are practically vibrating with excitement and I can't help but feel excited for them. I remember the excitement of seeing your favorite band in person for the first time. Don't get me wrong, I still got excited at concerts, but it's more because of the atmosphere. The excitement and love from the people around seems to seep into every inch of me. It was like my own personal drug. I see the girls inside being allowed back in and it looks like a mob. I hastily get to my feet before we're allowed in so I don't get trampled when our line turns into a stampede also. I pull out my ticket and shake the stiffness out of my shoulders. I knew this would be a battle not to get run over. I was at the front of the line and I wasn't the biggest girl. I'd been to enough shows though to know the best way through is to brace yourself for shoving and to walk quickly to prevent the security from grabbing you and holding you back. The security guy who'd been in charge of our line comes back and I flash him a smile. That's another thing I'd learned. Treat the security nicely and they'll treat you nicely. I'd once had a concert paramedic drive me home after the show because we'd been chatting for 6 hours in line.

"Alright ladies, we're about to let you in. Ten at a time. You're going to walk slowly" he says, deliberately accentuating the word slowly. Yea, that will last all of 20 seconds. Until a buildup at the door causes the groups of 10 to grow to mob proportions of girls trying to force their way ahead of others. And then once in and past the first round of security, some people will try to start running which will cause the inevitable stampede.Our line is finally opened up and I powerwalk to the first ticket scanner, breathing a sigh of relief as it scans cleanly the first time and I'm ussured through. As I speedily make my way towards the stage, I quickly take in the inside of the arena. Once inside the pit area I break into a jog to avoid the stampede behind me as I quickly move into an empty squished spot in the third row. While front row is ideal, I knew that wouldn't be possible without the soundcheck tickets and I'd accepted that.