The Direction of Zadie

Chapter 3 - S.O.S

Zadies POV:

The first thing I noticed was that the venue was pretty huge. Normally, the boys played at some run down restaurant or a party or something small like that. But this place was alive, people dancing and laughing and shouting. A bigger stage was set up on the far wall and a large dance floor sat directly in front of it, people already occupying it.

Chloe, Erin and I sat down at a table further off into the room, preferring to stay away from the grinding bodies. Usually, we’d be backstage, but tonight was important for them, so we’d figure we should let them go.

Chloe ordered some mozzarella sticks and fries as we waited for King the Kid to take the stage. Strange enough, I was the calmest out of all of us, which was a change, because usually I’d be the one who was shaking with nerves. But tonight, it was surprisingly Erin.

“You alright?” Chloe asked, laughing at the scared expression on her face.

“Yeah, fine. This place is just…” she trailed off.

“Huge?” I finished, looking around the crowded room. It really was huge, and it was an uncomfortable feeling for me.  I really didn’t like crowds, ever since I got trampled during our high school football games. We’d just won state, and everybody in the student section had rushed out onto the field. I had been in the band, so I was already on the field. Everybody was screaming and sprinting and jumping and celebrating, and there were so many people. I got knocked over by somebody running towards the middle of the field, and I’m pretty sure I broke a few fingers while people ran over me. That was my sophomore year, and crowds have freaked me out since.

The waitress’s arrival drug me out of my thoughts. I gave her a friendly smile as she set a glass of water down in front of me, and she returned it.

“Do you by chance know when the band is starting?” Erin asked as her hand tapped anxiously against the table.

“In about an hour. You guys should stick around, I’ve heard good things about them.” she answered, smiling once more before walking away.

Some of my unease melted away after that comment. If people were saying good things about them, it meant something, right?

“That’s it. I’m going back there.” Erin declared, standing up from her stool and tugging on her hair determinedly.

“Er, they’re going to be fine. Did you hear her? She said she’s heard good things about them. That’s already a sign.” Chloe tried calming her down, and eventually Erin relaxed and sat back down.

“Fine, I guess you’re right. I’m just worried about them.” she sighed, stiring the ice around the bottom of her empty glass. I was curious about what had gotten into her tonight, because she usually wasn’t this stressed out about one gig. The boys had done tons of smaller concerts, if you could even call them concerts, and she’d never really thought too much into it. Why was she so freaked out now?

“Have some faith in them. They can do this.” Chloe replied.

The conversation slowly changed as we sat and watched the night crowds trickle in. Larger groups of people were showing up, and my own nausea grew as the numbers did.

Looking up at the stage, I remembered the first time Ricky, David and Jose had played for us. We’d all known they each had some sort of musical talent, but it was amazing to watch it come together, for them to come together.

We’d been sitting in Rickys parents’ garage in the dead of summer. He’d dragged his drums down from his room, and amps were scattered around the concrete floor. Chloe, Erin and I had been laughing as we’d watched them argue about the simplest things, like where each one of them should stand.