I Believe in Miracles / Ramones

Chapter 4

I have been to a lot of concerts before but never had I seen one from the side of the stage. It was incredible and so exciting. They did amazing too and I couldn't help but feel really proud of them.

"So how were we?" Dee Dee asked after we all gathered backstage.

"You were incredible! That was an amazing show I'm really impressed!" I said, excitement present in my voice.

I then handed each of them a bottle of water and checked their timetable to find out what tomorrow has in store for me and the guys.

"Are we done for the day?" Johnny asked.

"Yep." I said, my eyes and mind still fixated on the timetable. There was another show tomorrow.

When I finally looked up from the timetable, I found that Johnny and Tommy had already left. Dee Dee sat on the couch, pitching his bass. Joey was lying on the other couch, seemingly struggling to stay awake, as his eyes kept shutting.

Myself? I just awkwardly stood in the middle of the room, not really knowing what to do. I know that Dee Dee said I should consider them as friends but it was still a little weird, the whole work situation with them being my boss, technically.

"Have you ever pitched a bass?" Dee Dee asked, breaking the silence.

"Actually no... I'm a musical instruments virgin, I've only ever held a guitar to be honest..." I admitted.

He then tapped onto the place next to him, "Come here, I'll show you!"
I smiled, being really happy about the nice gesture and sat down next to him.

"Okay so the most important thing is you have to know which direction to spin it. It's too high? Spin it away from you. Too low? Spin it towards you. Just like that!" he explained and then showed me.

"How do you know if it's too high or too low?" I asked, being genuinely interested in all of that. I was an idiot when it came to instruments.

He smiled, "Well you usually hear it. There are a few other techniques to it but most of the time it's just an issue of the correct hearing. You usually get a sense for the perfect tune after a few years of playing. Some get it sooner, some get it later."

"This is so impressive! I'm so fascinated by people who know how to play one or more instruments. It's such a great talent to have." I gushed, still being completely amazed.

"I take that as a compliment thank you, Rains. I do have my flaws though," he laughed "For example, I can't sing and play bass at the same time. Actually, I was supposed to be the lead singer but singing and playing bass didn't work. So Joey does the singing now and I play bass. Joey was supposed to play the drums. Tommy wasn't even supposed to be musically involved in the band... It's complicated."

"Oh wow... that does sound complicated indeed," I laughed as well.

Dee Dee tried really hard to get me involved in their history and life and I could not express how grateful I was for that. Starting a new job is such a pain in the ass because it always starts out so awkwardly but not this time. He was nice and welcoming to me from the get go.

"Joey are you asleep?" he asked and walked over to the other couch.
After Joey didn't react, he turned around to face me, "We need to somehow convince him to wake up and get him to the hotel. That couch is going to kill his back."

I nodded and got over to the other couch. "Joey please wake up... we need to get back to the hotel..."

The whole waking up thing took me back to this morning. I hope the process runs as smoothly as earlier.

Repeating the same tactic I used this morning, I softly pat on his upper arm, awaiting a reaction of any sort.

"Hey man wake up, let's go." Dee Dee added as he walked up next to me and softly nudged Joeys right arm.

"I'm awake..." he mumbled and finally opened his eyes. Me and Dee Dee both looked at him with content smiles spread across our faces.

"Let's get going then, I'll give you a ride." I said and took my bag.

They both followed me to my car and watching Joey climb into the front seat, made me realise that I probably needed to get a bigger car. It's not like I ever drove someone around who was 6'6 though. It's not like I've ever known someone who was that tall before.

Dee Dee climbed into the back seat and put his legs up so he was practically laying there.

"Hey Dee Dee I don't mind you making yourself comfortable back there but please... please don't fall asleep." I begged him. I was sick of waking people up.

He laughed and saluted me with his right hand, "I promise."

Joey sat next to me, his hands around his knees trying hard to fit his legs better into my small car.

I felt really bad for him. "You know I'm really sorry... My car is way too small..."

He let out a chuckle, "The smallest car I've ever been in, to be exact. It's all good, though. It should be accommodated to the driver and it seems to fit you perfectly."

"Well yeah I'm kind of small..." I said with a smile.

"You did a really good job today, Ellie. We've had several managers trying to work for us for a day and it never worked out. Either they tapped out or we didn't want them anymore. Most of them were so unneccessarily rude and condescending. You've got a lot of patience and remained calm all the time though and I admire that. That's what makes a good manager." he then remarked with a genuine smile.

Wow. I was speechless for a second until I could break out in a wide smile and thank him.

"Thank you so much Joey. I am so glad to hear this, it really means a lot. Thank you."

I also couldn't help but notice that he called me Ellie. He remembered that I mentioned my nickname the other day.

"I second that." Dee Dee spoke up from the back of the car.

"Thanks Dee Dee." I said, smiling at him through the rear-view mirror. He just nodded grinned back at me.

I then took them back to their hotel rooms and we said our good nights before I got back into my car and went straight home.