Never As It Seems

Chapter 3

Amber felt a massive sense of relief at not having to go into the VIP box. You never knew who would be in there and she would have felt self conscious about her lack of effort to dress for the occasion. As James led her through corridors and then out into a large open area, full of what seemed like endless wires and electrical equipment, she knew she would fit in here tonight far better than she would have fitted in upstairs. Her only regret, as she and her mother went in opposite directions, was that once again the quality time they had been planning was thwarted at the last second.

The first thing she noticed as she followed James into the backstage area was the noise. The concert hadn't started but the sound of the crowd was deafening and there was now a loop of music playing to increase the atmosphere. There were people running this way and that, everyone it seemed, on a mission.

They walked past a gap in the wall that separated the crowd from behind the stage all the time James seeming to be in search of someone. He stopped and turned back towards the gap. Amber followed taking in the site. There was a small group of maybe ten to fifteen fans standing at the barrier, trying to get a look into the private area. Two men were on Amber's side of the barrier seemingly to make sure it wasn't crossed. As she and James approached the men, she could hear them casually chatting to the girls on the other side.

"No really, you won't get a glimpse of them from here, and anyway they won't even be close to the stage until a few seconds before they appear on it." The girls didn't seem to believe the men who obviously were used to this kind of situation.

James called out as he approached the men. "Andy, I was hoping you'd be here." The taller of the two men, presumably Andy, turned around. He didn't reply. He just nodded and smiled.

"This is Amber. Matt wanted her to spend the gig backstage to see how it works and all. Would you take care of her for me? Show her the ropes?"

Andy turned to Amber and smiled. "Sure! Welcome to the mad house!"

Amber smiled and stepped forward as Andy gestured for her to come and stand beside him. As she did, she caught her first sight of the whole crowd. She stopped stunned for a moment and couldn't help but get caught up in the excited atmosphere. At that same moment, the lights went down, ominous sounding introduction music came over the speaker system and a huge cheer went up from the crowd. The girls just in front of her jumped and ran off toward wherever they were allocated to sit. Andy tapped her on the shoulder and pointed in the direction of the stage. They were to the side of it and could see from their vantage point, all that went on underneath. As she looked, there stood the four men she had met earlier. They looked excited, nervous and focussed all at the same time. Abruptly the music stopped and all of a sudden the four men shot up on a platform that rocketed them to the centre of the stage. The noise from the crowd reached fever pitch and as the music began and the first line of a very familiar song was projected across the thousands of people in front of them, it seemed that the hustle and bustle behind the stage came to a halt and everyone relaxed.

Amber's attention was directed back to Andy as he took her arm and led her away from the barrier, shouting into her ear.

"I'm afraid you'll just have to go with it tonight but I'll show you what I can."

"Okay!" She shouted back.

"Are you from the press?" he questioned, but she couldn't hear him.

"What?"

"Are you from the press?" He tried again but it was obvious Amber couldn't hear. "Hang on he said and pulled her through a door where, once it was closed, they were able to have a conversation.

"I asked if you were a Pap?"

She laughed nervously. "No!"

"So tell me..." He started as he motioned her into the room, which was obviously some kind of office with monitors showing different angles of the arena all around. "What have they sent you down to the abyss for if you're not a Journo?"