Crescendo

Chapter 5

DAY FOUR

DANTE

"Dante! Dante! DANTE!"

The shrill cries of hysterical teenage girls reverberate throughout the room. Some of them jump up and down, their sneakered feet squeaking on the floor, while others excitedly clap their hands or hold up elaborately decorated signs. Signs whose marker-inscribed phrases of adoration range from the simple "Dante, We Love You!" to "SKY! I'LL HAVE YOUR BABIES!" in sparkly glitter. Whatever their celebration method, each and every one of the girls has ecstatic expressions on their innocent faces as if they are beholding the heavens, with Apollo and the great Greek gods smiling down upon them.

The Dante boys sit onstage in front of the adolescent crowd while on the set of a news television show, Rock It Loud. All of them are playing their parts of benevolent rock stars, beaming and/or waving at the girls. Apparently, from the fans' awe-stricken faces, this is enough to make any young girl's heart flutter.

But those looks of adulation bother Turner. Once the band became "famous," everything changed for them. They went from being an LA underground rock band to rock idols instead. With girls throwing themselves at them, obviously Christian in particular, and sometimes Sky too. Thankfully, for the most part, Turner manages to avoid the attention of being "crushed on"—but it doesn't make it any less uncomfortable.

A perky blonde newscaster sits next to them. While she's too professional to fall to pieces, her eager demeanor is a dead giveaway she's equally excited.

"We're thrilled to have you on the show with us," she says to the band before turning to the camera to address the at-home viewers. "Hello everyone. I'm Tammy. This is Rock It Loud News, and today our special guests are the boys of Dante's Inferno! The top rock band in the country!"

This announcement incites more amped shouts from the studio audience. Tammy switches her attention back to the band.

"Sooo," she begins, TV chipper, "how are you, boys? It's so nice of you to drop by when you're in the middle of touring. How is it?"

"Yeah, that's right. It's terrific, Tammy. We're havin' a lot of fun," Sky says graciously.

"Oh really? Well, what's your favorite—or your least favorite—part about being on tour, Sky?" Tammy asks.

Snooze! All the time, every interview, it's the same questions: over and over. It's like the newscasters have all taken classes on how to interview guests, and the only material they learned is how to ask stilted questions repeatedly.

Sky takes it in stride though. He pretends to ponder for a moment, twirling his mic around his fingers. "Umm—performing is obviously my favorite, but least...Oh man! You know what it is? I forgot to bring my favorite snuggie with me this time."

"Your snuggie?"

"Yeah. Cheetah print, super comfy. I meant to bring it with me on the tour bus but I forgot to pack it. I'm upset about it, to be honest."

"Oh, good grief. He has been talking about this ever since we left the parking lot," Turner says. Usually, he stays as quiet as possible, but Sky somehow brings him out of his shell every time.

"I told you. We'll buy you a new one." Turner comforts him.

"It's not the same," Sky says sadly.

Everyone laughs. Tammy recovers first, steering the conversation. "Back to our earlier discussion. Alex, what's your favorite and least favorite part about being on tour?"

"Um, yeah. I think, what I like best is getting to go to so many different cities. My least is not getting to work out as much. No, wait. My absolute least favorite is Christian's snoring—and seeing him in his pink, Hello Kitty boxers."