Encore

6 The Tour Bus

I am very, very torn about this. I know, I know, I said that since this whole thing probably isn't real I should just go for it. I even packed my bags and put a leather jacket on! But guess who spent the whole night reading up issues of Firepop? Savannah Jones.

From all those issues since 1972 right up to the recent one, I have found out a lot about tours. Let me just clarify that I'm not exactly anticipating on all the crazy activities on the road. Diana has always said I'm a very uptight child. What can I do? I was homeschooled. I rarely meet my parents. I graduated earlier than most at my age. I am smart, and I know it. 

But it's time to let Savannah out of the conformity of being a visionary upper class white child. Savannah needs to go out and explore, right? Right. I can do this. Virgin Vendetta is a new band and it's their first tour, so I'm sure it'll be alright. 

PIN PIN

I look up to see an old blue bus pull up in front of me. I'm on the sidewalks in front of the Firepop office with a bag full of clothes, papers, pencils and a lot of references. By references, I mean Firepop magazines. 

"Are ya just gonna daydream there like a hobo or are ya hoppin' in Fiona?" Lexie says, sticking her head out of the window. I cringe and ask, "Who's Fiona?"

She points at the bus door and there, written in spray paint, is 'FIONA'. Beside it is, 'V V '75'. The door opens, splitting the name 'Fiona' into two. And there, standing by the steps, is Asher Verbeck. I walk towards the door with my heavy bag and stop when I realise that Ash wouldn't make way for me.

"You do know I am a guest on this trip, right?" I ask, my nervousness overtaking my confidence. Ash laughs bitterly. He moves closer towards me and says very softly, "Let's make this clear. This band is about setting things straight. We're out to send a message to the world. We don't do shit to impress you music writers."

I nod and gulp, "Yeah, I heard about the puke story."

Ash's death glare drops and he smiles. He grabs my shoulder and drags me in the bus. The door closes behind us and I watch as the Firepop building disappears from my sight. So there I go. On the road. With a rock band. On tour.

Oh boy.

 xxxxx

Seated in the front row is Lexie, taking a big space for her humongous bag and papers. A few rows back is Lance, drumming on the seat in front while humming a tune. He smiles at me and motions at the empty seat beside him. The left side of the row is Dawn who is sleeping and taking up all the seats. Ash sits a few rows behind her, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in. Finally, on the backseat, is Billie. He's just sitting there with a leather jacket on, quite similar to mine. I scan the bus again and finalise on my chosen seat. Beside Billie.

I dump my bag first, and then proceed to sit beside the brown-haired guy. His bag is smaller than mine, which absolutely baffles me. What can he possibly fit in there? An underwear or two?

"I'm a light traveler." He says, noticing my gaze on his bag. I say, "Yeah, well then that makes me a heavyweight traveler!" That was a horrible joke. I should stop trying so hard. He laughs at my sorry attempt, though. I smile at his pity laugh.

As the bus moves, Lexie stands up from her seat and faces the rest of the band, including me. She pulls out a paper from her bag and reads it out, "From Fresno, home of the Virgin Vendetta, Fiona the Bus will take us on the Virgin Anthem Tour to...Reno, Nevada!"

Dawn claps her hands and Lance cheers from his seat. What a crowd we have here. Ash moans, "What about Vegas?" Lexie throws the paper at his face and say, "Study the route, you meathead."