Chasing the Lovely You

Chapter 2:

Cats POV:

      We all hopped into the car, Stella in the drivers seat, Hannah next to her, and me in the back.  I reached ahead of both of them to crank up the volume on whatever song was playing.  It was my only way to numb the nervousness running throughout my body. The car vibrated with each bass note and shrilled with each high one. After one hour of nearly blasting my ear drums out we arrived at the Dallas Museum of Art. It was a large gray building with an abstract orange iron sculpture in the front. There were cars lined up and down all of the streets. Seeing all of these cars and imagining the large crowd made me extremely nervous. There was supposed to be three other bands playing, but I was the only "soloist".

 Stella parked us in the first available spot she could find. It was nearly three blocks down from the museum. We hopped out of the car and I struggled to remain calm. I inhaled sharply and then exhaled slowly. Inhale. Exhale. I tried to keep a rhythm to my breathing, picturing it like a slow steady beat to a Beatles song.

After arriving at the museum door, a volunteer asked me if i was Cat Burnette. I nodded and he lead me to backstage. 

"How did you know it was me"? I asked the tall bald headed man.

He replied, " They told me to look for a small, beautiful girl with freckles".

I blushed at his compliment and laughed slightly to myself.  The man walked away and confidence rushed through my body. I tried to pep myself up.

"This is your biggest performance yet. Stay calm. You look great now just get up there and sing your heart out".  Another volunteer in a bright neon green shirt came up to me and said 

"You're on in 5"

        I nodded to her and politely thanked her. Each minute passed more slowly than the next, but finally I heard the band before me announce my name. A guitar and piano were set up on stage. I looked out towards the crowd and saw nothing but a single bright spot light. I walked up to the mic and said with my slight country accent

"How are yall doing tonight?" The crowd roared with responses. 

        "I'm gonna start with singing one of my own songs. I like to call " Welcome home" . I walked back and grabbed the guitar, quickly checking to see if it was tuned or not. I swung it over my shoulder and started playing, the lyrics flowing from my mouth like water out of a spile. My voice sounded smooth like honey, almost calming. The crowd swayed to the beat and smiled. 

        It got to my last song on the set. The night had gone very well. The crowd was lively and very responsive so I thought I would try something new. I had been writing a new, faster paced song. I decided to try it out. 

" okay guys, this is my last song for the night" the crowd looked sad as I adjusted my eyes to the bright lights. " This song is sort of special to me, and it's my first time singing it, so I hope y'all like it.  This is called "the lovely you". 

        My hands started moving up and down the neck of my guitar, my fingers curling in positions that had been engraved in my brain since I was 10. The guitar and my voice melded together to form some a type of sound that was fairly new to me. It was mature and fun. I took my hands off my guitar and started clapping trying to get the crowd to catch along. All of a sudden there were thousands of hands clapping. It sounded like ocean waves hitting the shore and drums beating. My heart matched their claps and then, the song was over. I thanked them and walked off as the crowd roared with applause.

        Hannah and Stella ran up to me wraping their arms around me and embracing me. They praised me and told me how well I did.

" You looked so beautiful and comfortable up there" Hannah said. Stella nodded and then added,

"You sounded amazing". I thanked both of them and gave them another hug. Stella pulled out her camera and showed me some of the pictures she took.  There was one imparticular where I was bending down, and wrapping one arm around my waist. My mouth was agape and I looked somewhat...

beautiful. I didn't look ordinary or plain, I looked like I belonged up there. A large hand landed on my shoulder and I turned my gaze to the tall figure standing behind me. There stood a man in a black button down and trousers. He wore a beanie, that hid most of his hair but still allowed some brunette curls to fall out. He wore a pair of ray bans to hide his eyes.