It Started that Night

Part 17

10.12am Thursday morning and Dex was still asleep. This was unheard of for him, usually the commotion of the bus parking woke him, the sound of the reversing alarm was etched into his dreams. But not this morning. The bus had arrived in Essex and parked at 6am but it was quiet, no one was stirring yet. Dex was a morning person, he rarely slept past 7am and if he woke up, he had to get up, he wasn't the kind of person to just lie in bed, he felt like it was a waste of his life. Dex had recently started running, he loved nothing more than to hit the street at 7am, the cold, crisp morning air of even the warmest cities filled his lungs and made him feel alive. He had given up smoking not too long ago and he felt like it was some kind of compensation for his lungs. He was giving something back to them for years of abuse. It was also a good way to see the places he visited. The streets were pretty quiet at that time, he didn't need security, it was just him and the road. It cleared his mind and gave him alone time to think and he could really see the cities properly. Sometimes he got lost, but he didn't mind that, sometimes that added to the fun. But not today, today he had missed his morning run. He had missed breakfast, he had missed lobby call!

As he began to stir he was confused by the silence, he felt around on the bed beside him for his phone. Lifting it to within an inch of his eyes he squinted to see the time, he could barely make out the numbers, his eyes hadn't quite adjusted to being awake yet. It looked like it said 10.15am but it couldn't be, he looked again. "Jesus! Is it really 10.15am!" he said to himself. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, looking at his phone one last time. It was definitely 10.15am! Pulling back the covers he reached for his shorts on the floor and pulled them on. He got up out of bed and looked down the bus, it was empty, everyone was gone, all of the bunk curtains were pulled back and he could see that they were all empty. He leaned over his bunk and pulled back the outside curtain. Outside seemed quiet too, he could see the back of a stage in the distance, lots of buses and vans were parked closely and a few people dressed in black were walking around. He was backstage at a festival. His brain kicked in and he remembered they were in Essex to play the Summer Rocks festival tomorrow. He pulled the curtain back across and stood back up. Grabbing his hoody he made his way to the door, walking through the bus it was evident that there was absolutely no one on the bus! Why had no one woken him?

He pushed the door open and the sunlight hit him, it was so bright! He put his arm up to shield his eyes as he walked down the steps. He had no idea where everyone was so he headed towards the stage. There were people running around looking busy, getting everything ready for the festival. Caterers were setting up their food pitches, stagehands dressed all in black were setting up the lighting and sound cables that trailed off the stage, there were other tour buses parked in rows next to Craze's bus. As he got closer to the stage it got much busier, there were a lot of people gathered around the stage, both bands and crews. Dex scanned the crowds for his band and crew but couldn't see anyone; he didn't have his contacts in! He pulled out his phone and dialled Zach's number.

"Hey sleeping beauty!" said Zach as he answered the call.

"Where the fuck are you, man?" asked Dex. "Instrumental sound check, dude," replied Zach.

"Why did no one wake me?" asked Dex.

"You didn't need to be here for this so Mac said to let you sleep," said Zach.

"Oh," replied Dex. "Where are you guys?" Dex asked.

"Far side of main stage," replied Zach. "But go chill on the bus dude, enjoy the peace!" said Zach. "You're not needed until 11.30am," he added.

"Okay, thanks man," replied Dex. He turned and made his way back to the bus.

Sitting down in the seating area on the bus, the quiet was blissful. He pulled his phone from his pocket:

16 new messages

Dex scrolled through the messages, ignoring most. As he got to the last few he was disappointed that there was still nothing from Millie. Maybe she wasn't interested after all.

Dex wrote out a text to her. His finger hovered over the send button but he couldn't bring himself to send it, he put his phone back in his pocket to avoid temptation. He grabbed his sunglasses from his bunk and climbed down off the bus again. He didn't want to be alone this morning, he was thinking too much and he could feel himself entering his depressive state. He needed to stay busy, so we went to find the guys.

Approaching the stage he could see Zach, Jesse and CJ sat in the front row seats at the far side of the stage. He walked across to meet them, as he got closer Jesse spotted him.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty," Jesse laughed. Dex rolled his eyes. He was often teased by the band about his good looks. He had perfect skin, almost baby-faced, girls always commented on his looks giving the other guys plenty of ammunition.

Dex sat down in the bleachers with the rest of the band and crew, as Mac handed out bacon sandwiches.

"Oh yes, Mac!" said Zach, grabbing a

sandwich from the tray and shoving half of it in his mouth. They watched as other bands rehearsed and sound checked their instruments on the main stage. The sun was already warm, it was going to be a lovely day. The atmosphere at a festival was always so much better when the weather was good. It put everyone, bands and fans, in a much better mood. Dex hoped the weather was this good when they played tomorrow evening.

"What time does this thing start, Mac?" asked Jesse.

Mac looked down at the folded paperwork in his hand. "Uhh... campers are let in at 5pm this evening, there are a few acts on tonight but it kicks off officially at 2.30pm tomorrow. You're on the main stage at 7pm," explained Mac.

"Okay, cool," Jesse replied. "I'm totally stoked for this one. This place is rad!" he added.

The guys sat there all day, eating, drinking and watching the other bands in between their own sound checks and rehearsals. Dex looked around him, his best friends were all laughing and having fun, it was times like this he felt grateful to be living the life he was. Life was good.

He hadn't even checked his phone all day.