GTFO of My Head

Chapter 11

Phone calls were made. Short explanations were given. Lists were provided. Plans were made.

In the interim while Brady was doing interviews and she waited for her friend Sabine, Maddie followed his hairdresser and make-up artist back to the dressing room. Jessie produced a box of wigs and they spent a while trying different looks before deciding on one that was a mix of bubblegum pink and black which they agreed to style into bouncing wavy pig tails.

When the woman brought out a zip lock bag of hair pins, Maddie stopped her.

"I usually have my hair shorter, like quite short back and sides," she explained, bringing up a picture from earlier in the year, the last time she'd had it cut and coloured. "I don't know if you have time....?"

"Yeah we have time. Brady does his own stage make up, and the other guys really need nothing. I mean...no one is looking at them am I right?" Jessie smirked as she stashed the bag of pins and pulled out grooming clippers and a pair of scissors. "We can colour it when you come off stage. I learned the hard way that when you colour, especially with dark colours, and then send someone out under those lights and they get sweaty the next thing you know you look like Rudy Giuiliani outside that...what was it a landscaping company?"

The woman continued to prattle on as she clipped and shaved Maddie's hair, bringing it closer to her scalp on the sides, neat at the back of her neck and then cleaned up the top, giving it a little shape and texture so that once it was finished only a couple of hairpins were required to keep it under the wig.

Before the wig went on though, eyelashes went on, then primer, foundation, powder and just a little blush. Then, as Jessie began to develop a smoky eye design, Sabine texted to say that she was in the alley with the things that Maddie had asked her to bring. Slipping through crew that was still setting up and the band members who were just hanging out, Maddie met Sabine at the back entrance and took the bag with shaking hands.

"Are you really going on stage with him?" Sabine gushed as Maddie peered into the bag to ensure the contents included everything she'd asked her friend to retrieve from her apartment.

"I guess so," Maddie replied, reassured that everything she needed was indeed in the bag.

"So are you gonna get with him again?" Sabine hissed as a member of the black clad crew ambled by with arm loads of heavy cable. Maddie shook her head.

"This isn't...no. No it's not about that," she insisted. Sabine narrowed her green eyes at her. Maddie sighed. "I don't even know why I'm doing this...I mean other than it will kind of look good on my curriculum vitae," she added. Sabine raised an eyebrow but didn't argue.

"Well can you get me and the girls seats or what?" her friend asked and Maddie shrugged again.

"I don't know...I mean I hadn't even thought of asking. Let me ask and if I can get you on the list I will totally text you," she promised. Sabine pursed her lips and for a minute Maddie thought her friend was going to argue or ask to follow her into the backstage area but then Sabine just threw her arms around Maddie and squeezed her.

"Okay well, break a leg and have fun, okay? I know you'll do great. We've always said you should be singing those songs of yours," Sabine insisted. Maddie ducked her head to the side and blinked multiple eyes to try and hold back the tears that now threatened to fall. She told herself it was just nerves. That the whole situation was overwhelming and even just seeing Brady again had frayed her nerves. But as she inhaled she felt the tightness in her chest only get worse.

"Thanks for doing this for me Sabz, I appreciate it. I promise I'll let you know about the tickets," she wheezed. Sabine nodded and began to turn away before she stopped and turned back.