Heart Of A Star

Chapter Eleven - Natalie

The crowd outside the stadium was a rowdy one. A group of women standing by the entrance immediately caught the guys' attention. Security was telling one woman that she had to put something on over her translucent white t-shirt, and as we walked past, it was apparent that the only thing keeping her from being completely revealed was the '7 Year Coma' logo splashed across the front of the shirt.  

We had arrived early enough to make sure that we saw the opening band, though usually we skipped the opener altogether. This particular band, Lull, happened to have a few hits here in the States, which made them appealing enough to other fans to come early. Callie and I had been listening to their albums for some time now, and she was psyched about seeing them play live. I'd never told my friends, but I'd seen them twice in England, back before they were famous. I'd also been practicing their songs on my guitar for a while now. If they continued in the direction they were headed, they had a chance at being a headlining act someday.

The lead singer of Lull was also the younger brother to Lucas Mason of Coma, and though the bands had two completely separate sounds, the talent and promise was evident in Lull. They weren't the caliber of Coma yet, and they were far more Americanized, but I'd been taking the time over the years to learn their songs, and quite enjoyed playing them on my guitar.

Our tickets were ripped one by one as we funneled through the front gates to the arena. Once inside, we followed the signs to the front access, closest to the stage. My friends were buzzing with excitement as we shuffled along the aisles, after having to show our tickets yet again to one of two guards at the front entrance.

It was already hard to hear each other, as other fans were already starting to get rowdy. "I can't believe how much of the stage we can see!" Callie had been the first to get to her seat, her blonde hair bouncing along with her. "I can actually see the logo on the drum set." She snapped a few pictures on her phone, sending them immediately to friends back home.

"Who needs a beer?" Ray-Ray was anxious to join the rowdy fans.

I glanced at my watch. The opening act, Lull, was due on in about ten minutes. "I'll go with you." I offered, pushing past the fans that had already filled our row. I was hoping we'd get a chance to smooth things over a bit between us.

We moved toward the exits near the front of the side stage. Ray-Ray was clearly mesmerized being so close to the stage, his eyes wandering past the stage crew to sneak a glance at the instruments that were set up and waiting to be played.

Just as we were about to push our way into the crowded hallway, I heard Sammi's voice call my name. I stopped and turned suddenly, causing Ray-Ray to nearly collide into me.

Sammi stood near the entrance to the back stage area, talking into the mouthpiece of her headset, waving me over to her. She held up a finger as we approached her, so that she could finish the heated discussion she was having. "Look, I realize that's a bit unreasonable, but your job tonight is to make the band happy. So find a way to make it happen!" She slid the mouthpiece up and away from her face before giving me a quick hug and explaining, "Your brother is in one hell of a mood tonight. I might just fire him myself."

I laughed somewhat uneasily as I stole a glance at Ray-Ray, who suddenly looked very impressed, if not a little confused. "Sammi, this is my friend Ray-Ray. Ray-Ray, this is Sammi, my longtime friend, the one who got us the lovely hotel rooms that we're staying in."

Ray-Ray, eyes wide, extended his hand to greet Sammi, who smiled as she shook his hand, but then quickly snapped the mouth piece back into place. "Well you've got about four minutes to fix that, don't you? I don't care if it costs twenty-thousand, just get them onstage happy!" She apologized profusely before she turned and disappeared through the door that led backstage.