More Than This

Chapter 1: Meeting the Band Member

Chapter 1: Meeting the Band Member

I can hardly force my eyelids open, feeling the urge to use the restroom. I turn around to check my phone before attempting to move the rest of my body:

13 missed calls and 53 texts from Sarah; not surprised.

The time reads 3:37 AM and I can't help but wonder why she'd text so early.

Just then, the picture I took of her a few years back pops up. Her dirty blonde hair is brushed to the left side with a pink rose attached to the top right side and I read "Sarah" that's printed clearly on top. I slide my finger once again and put the phone to my ear to listen to her screaming on the other side of the line.

"Yay! Miss Sleepy Head is up!" sarcasm fills her voice and I assume she isn't so pleased with my personal definition of "nap time".

"Shut up," I mumble. "Whadya want right now?" Surprisingly remembering her birthday as I am still half asleep, I add, "Happy birthday by the way!"

"Uh..aren't you going to the Meet and Greet? And thank you!" Her voice sounds uncertain before it swiftly switches to high-pitch.

"At 4 AM?! What, they don't even sleep?"

"No, silly! You need to be ready by 4! I'm almost there! We've got three hours and we gotta be there by 7 to tour around the city before the concert!"

"Sarah, who goes touring and shopping at 7 AM? The malls aren't even open by then."

"Well, of course we aren't going to malls so early! We're gonna tour around first! We also need to settle at the hotel and make sure we look flawless before the concert! Come on, Kate; it'll be fun!"

"Wait, hotel? I thought we were staying for just one day..." She didn't mention a hotel, and I don't quite know what my parents would think about that.

"Hopefully not! Dad just changed his mind last month, but I forgot to tell you. Can you stay there for one night? If that's okay with your parents."

"Umm, I don't know, Sal. They don't even know I'm leaving to Houston today. I'll see what I can do. By the way, how much time I got?"

"It'll be so fun if you can! Try your best! And I'll be at your house in about 30 minutes."

"30 minutes?! I gotta eat, shower, and get dressed, Sal! Can you wait a bit for me when you get here?"

"I'll try. Hope Mom doesn't get mad--you know how she's like--but hurry! You got 29 minutes now, ha!" I can totally feel defeated right at this point. And I'm absolutely being sarcastic.

"Ooh, yes! I could've gotten out of bed in that minute, loser! But you'll pay for me looking like crap today later." I hang up and rush out of my cozy bunk.

29 minutes? I better hurry!

Precisely 33 busy minutes later, apart from finding matching shoes and fixing my unkempt, damp hair, I am ready for a crazy day with a crazy girl. I urgently bolt back to my bedroom and force the door open, hustling through my endless shoe collection to find my comfy, black converse. Perfect. I quickly slip on my All-Stars to go with my blue skinny jeans and plain black tank top. Within a couple of minutes I had brushed back my long, black, wavy hair--leaving it to freely fall--and am now heading out the front door. Her mom is mad, alright. But let's face it, she always is.

****

After a couple of stops and restroom breaks along the tiring trip, we finally make it to the city were the concert of "The World's Biggest Boy-band" will be held for the night. We can already tell the fans are ready to see the boys, having to push ourselves through them everywhere we go. And the fact that even the sound-check isn't until like 5 more hours frightens me more.