I'm with the Band

I'm with the band chapter four

Chapter 4

When I awake, the bus is moving. We mus've hit the road sometime in the wee hours of the morning. I'm the first up, everyone else still trapped in the strange world of sleep. I crawl out of my bunk that I share with Maddi who is still snoring softly. Snoring, even heavy breathing had always bothered me, when I first joined the backups I thought that I would go mad, but you get used to it eventually. Eventually, I'm not quite there yet. 

I stumble into the bathroom and gasp when I see my reflection. I look terrible, the make-up caked on from last night's show I left on and now is smudged beyond repair. I don't even know how I slept like this. Grimacing, I set to work, turning on the tap and scrubbing my face until the layers of make-up have swirled down the drain in a sparkly rainbow and my face has turned red. Satisfied that the mess was gone, I step out of the tiny bathroom and head to the kitchen.

I guess I wasn't the first one up after all when I come upon Caroline, looking terrible and nursing the biggest cup of coffee I'd ever seen.

" Morning," she said blandly, not looking up. Although Caroline was like a mother to me, she was still only about twenty-five.

" Morning," I replied slowly. A little too much champagne last night Caroline? I think, smirking.

" What are you smiling about?" She asked suspiciously. I shake my head.

" Nothing," I lie. Caroline sighed and took a big gulp out of her giant mug.

I grab a cup for myself and pour a small amount of coffee for myself, the rest of the cup I fill with sugar, creamer, chocolate sauce and whipped cream. What I wouldn't give for a coffee run to Starbucks right now. One of the downsides of constant travel.

Caroline holds up her huge mug to me and I fill it up all the way. She snatches it back and takes a long, greedy drag of the stuff. No thank you? I see how it is Caroline. After taking a few sips of my sugary concoction, I head to the fridge and pull out the eggs and the biggest frying pan that we have. I count up all the eggs and calculate how many people would be eating breakfast in the RV today if everyone only had one egg. 

There was me, Caroline, Maddi, Violet, Charlie, Summer, Jenna (ugh), Taylor and Tyler the only boys in the group who happened to be twins, and the two fill-ins Gemma and Sephanie, although I guess Gemma is no longer a fill-in since I got promoted. That's eleven people and we only had nine eggs. I guess that me and someone else  could just have toast or cereal instead.

I first pour some Froot Loops for myself before frying up all the eggs. The smell wakes them up and pretty soon, the kitchen is full of dancers milling around, waiting for breakfast.

Once the eggs were served and everyone was seated, Charlie spoke up.

" Okay everybody, today is an all travel day. Tomorrow we land in Las Vegas, we have one day of full practice and set up, then on Saturday, we have dress rehearsal and then the show. Next we'll be off to Denver. When this all ends in August we'll end up in New York and then head to Canada for a couple more shows until we're done," Charlie announces.

" Wow, that's like, a lot of traveling and dancing," Summer says, intimedated. This is her first year with Formerly Lucky.

" Yeah, yeah it is, so get used to it," Jenna answers bitterly.

" Shut up Jenna," Taylor shoots. I finish my now soggy cereal before anything starts up and go back to the bunks to get dressed. Even with the door closed, I can still hear their petty bickering. Another downside of being stuck on the road living with ten other people. Once I'm dressed in a comfy tank top and leggings, I hear a knock on the door.

" Come in," I say. Charlie walks in, looking pissed.

" I swear to god if those two don't shut up I'm going to sock both of them in the jaw," she said frustrated, but when her green eyes met mine, her gaze softened." Sorry, I know that they're our teammates and all, but its just a little frustrating when all Jenna wants to do is pick fights with the others," Charlie says softly. I nod, agreeing with her.

" Listen, Sophia, you're going to have to learn like, five new routines in one day, are you going to be able to handle that?"

" Charlie, please," I say confidently, " I could learn five new routines in five minutes if I wanted to, don't worry, I've got this." She nods, looking relieved.

" But you know being a lead dancer there are more, complicated moves, and you'll have to actually work close up with the band members."

" I understand, but I have you and Caroline. Trust me, I'll be fine." Charlie smiles at me and leaves, since Jenna and Taylor have seemed to calm down.

But I can't shake the slight feeling of uneasiness I feel. Will I be able to learn five new routines in one day? I can't say for certain.