Fly Away [Before You Exit]

One

It was 8:00 AM when I woke up to the sound of blink-182.

I groaned as I rolled over to my nightstand, reaching out and feeling for my vibrating phone. God, I need to change my ringtone. As I made a mental notes, the phone continued to buzz. I annoyingly smack the nightstand until I felt the vibrating rectangular device at my fingertips. My eyes pried opened as I stared at the blurry phone screen.

Letting out another huff, I grabbed my glasses sitting on the edge of my nightstand. Instead of grabbing my glasses, they fall to the floor with a clatter.

I rolled over, the bed sheets engulfing me. I fumbled for my glasses and hastily put them on. I tapped the bright green button on my phone screen to stop Matt Skiba from singing.

"Hello," I grumbled into the speaker. I let out a stifled yawn as I rubbed my eyes, my glasses falling onto my bed. Stupid glasses. I didn't even bother to put them back on.

"STACY!" The voice on the other line shouted, I cringed. It was my friend Kimberly. She was visiting from Virginia, like every year.

Clearly, she was very excited.

"Are you ready yet?" She continued, her voice bright and welcoming. The sun was shining bright, the sun rays peeking out of my curtains. I felt like haven't slept in days, I guess I went to bed late. Was it because of my summer homework? Or was it because I was binge-watching on Netflix? I don't know.

"I just got up," I murmured.

"Well, go get ready. I'll be there in 15 minutes," she said before hanging up.

I dropped my phone, watching it land onto my comforter. I sat up and stared at my bedroom wall. Posters and other wall decals were hung all around my room. My eyelids soon felt heavy. As soon as they closed, I realized something.

"SHIT," I exclaimed as my eyes opened wide. Yanking the covers, I leaped out of my bed and ran into the bathroom.

Today was the annual music convention Kim and I were dying to go to. We've been waiting for years for them to have the event close to where I live. Small bands from across the nation come together and perform at this convention. Not only there were bands performing, you had the chance to win a trip with the featured band on their American tour.

The featured band this year was named Before You Exit, a band from Florida. Kim and I have been liking this band for quite awhile now. We actually met them a couple times a long time ago, probably three years ago. But we can't wait to see them again.

After I brushed my teeth and washed my face, I shifted into my closet. Everything was blurry, I laughed at myself as I mentally slapped myself to get myself together.

I went back into my bathroom to put on my contacts. Then I marched back into my closet. What am I suppose to wear? I grabbed whatever looked comfortable.

From the outside, I looked like one of those cartoons throwing their clothes over their shoulders and onto the floor. My white cropped tank, black skater skirt, and bra fell to the floor. As I was changing, the same blink-182 song was screaming from my phone. I ignored it and continued to get ready, I knew it was Kim. After I finished applying my makeup, I grabbed my purse and an oversize red flannel. I hastily put it on and ran down the stairs. My mom was already downstairs wearing her robe and pouring coffee into a cup.

"Hi, Mom," I said hurriedly as I searched for my black military boots in the garage, "I'm going now."

"Do you want anything to eat?" She asked and I shook my head.

"Kim's bringing me something," I replied quickly before running to her and kissing her cheek.

"Bye, Mom," I waved her when I reached our front door. Then I heard a car honking. Kim was sitting in the driver seat of her dad's white Toyota and waving frantically. I hoped into the passenger seat and Kim handed me a bag of Dunkin' Donuts and a coffee cup.

"Thanks," I said as I took the bag and opened it, pulling out a cinnamon raisin bagel.

---

"You take a left at that light behind us, not this one!"

"How am I suppose to fucking know? I don't live here."

After some technical difficulties with Kim's phone GPS and delaying traffic, we managed to get a parking space at a nearby hotel that was walking distance from the convention center.

"Do you have the tickets?" I asked Kim, she always forgets things and it bothers me a lot. I mean, doesn't it bother everyone?

She nodded and pulled them out, "We need to pick up our real tickets from Will Call."

"Where's Will Call?"

"I don't know."

We arrived in front of the convention center and damn, it was crowded. There was so many people in line, or that's what I think they're doing. I look left and right of me, girls our age were dressed in crazy outfits. Some were dressed in steampunk costumes and some were dressed in all black, mimicking their favorite emo bands. I looked down at my black skirt and Doc Martins. I peered at Kimberly's outfit from the corner of my eye. She was wearing a gray tank, denim jacket, and a striped maxi skirt. Perched on the top of her head was a pair of vintage sunglasses.

There was a couple of staff standing around, I asked for Will Call and a man pointed to the doors of the convention center.

So much for crowd control.

We pushed our way into the entrance and waited to get our tickets. When we got to the front counter, the woman at the desk asked for our names.

"Kimberly Brooks and Stacy Elliot," Kim said in a crisp tone. The woman nodded and typed a few words onto her keyboard, two tickets printing from the printer next to her.

"Do you know where the end of the line is?" Kim asked the woman. She looked up at Kim as she handed her our freshly-printed passes.

"No, but you can ask one of the staff that are walking around the building."

After thanking her, we went outside to find a staff member. He was tall, young, and wore a pair of Ray Bans.

"Just follow that path down the building and you should see a fountain, there should be the end of the line," he answered in a polite voice, almost too polite. I looked down at his name tag: Ryan. He directed us towards the pathway and gave us a huge smile. I grabbed Kim's hand and followed her through the crowd, but the end of the line was nowhere to be found.

"Stacy, when does the convention open?"

I looked down at the program the woman at the front counter gave me.

"They said the doors open at 10:00," I read.

"Well, hurry up," she said yanking my arm. I stumbled behind her. We found a crowd of people standing around with no one behind them. Assuming that it was the end of the line, we began to stand and wait.

Five minutes later, a woman in her mid-thirties walked up to us and said, "You guys know this isn't the end of the line, right?"

We stood there silent. Then it was I who broke the silence.

"Thanks," I muttered and pulled Kim out of the line.

We walked back and forth, looking and looking. But as clueless as we are, we couldn't find it.

"Can we stop for five minutes?" Kim said before plopping down onto a concrete block, "We've been walking for nearly two hours and we still haven't found the line."

I huffed, I was beginning to lose my patience, "What the fuck is wrong with this staff?"

I sat down next to her and watched as the people in line move slowly. To our surprise, the same woman before came up to us again.

"I found the end of the line, I had to ask five staff members and only one of them showed me the actual way to it," the woman gave us a thumbs-up and told us to follow her.

At last, we found the end and I nearly dropped down to my knees, I'm already exhausted. Two hours later and we're finally getting something done here. Just minutes in, the line begins to move fairly quickly. Kim grabs my arm and shakes it wildly, a large smile on her face.