Josh's Destiny

Chapter 1

The crowd roared their approval when the band took the stage. They screamed louder when the band left the stage, calling for one more encore, wanting the show to go on and on. After three encores, though, the band was tired, and the promoters were getting antsy about time allotment. The band had done one encore too many as it was.

The dressing rooms were full of people, all waiting to meet Greta Van Fleet. When the band made their appearance, the noise level in the rooms grew. Everyone wanted to meet them, bask in their success, touch them, and be their best friend.

Josh Kiszka, Jake Kiszka, Sam Kiszka, and Danny Wagner took it all in stride. They had been playing music for a long time, and now they were enjoying their success. They had just played Madison Square Garden, and it had been a blast.

Josh Kiszka, the lead singer for the band, grabbed a beer and threw himself onto an overstuffed couch. He talked with people in the music industry, gave a few limited interviews, and talked with numerous lucky enough fans to get backstage. But man, was he tired! The Garden had been spectacular, no doubt, and he looked forward to playing it again, but for now, he just wanted to have some peace and sleep.

Josh motioned to his twin brother. Jake came over, and they huddled together in a corner.

"What?" asked Jake.

"I think I'm gonna split, go back to the hotel early, get some sleep."

"Carl won't like that, Josh. We're supposed to go to a late supper and go over..."

"Yeah, setlists and upcoming venues and which interviews to do, I know. But I don't feel like it, Jake. I'm twenty-four years old, and I know when I need rest."

"Your call, man, but you're in for a lecture in the morning."

"Make my apologizes, okay?"

Jake looked closely at his brother for a few minutes, then asked, "Hey, Josh, are you okay? I mean, you'd tell me if you were sick, right?"

"I'm not sick, Jake. I'm just a bit tired, and I don't feel like partying tonight, that's all. Why do you ask?"

"Because this isn't the first time you've done this."

"Can't a guy be tired after work? Just because our work happens to be rock n' roll doesn't mean I have limitless energy. Geez."

"Okay, okay, don't get whiny on me."

"I'm outta here." Josh took advantage of an opening in the crowd and slipped out a side door. He found himself in a back hallway and followed it to a service entrance, which led to an alley. Greta Van Fleet was becoming very popular, but not everyone recognized them yet, and Josh took advantage of that fact.

He walked quickly up the alley to the main street and then slipped out onto the sidewalk. Madison Square Garden was on his right, so he turned left and began walking. He had gone a few blocks, enjoying the night, when he came upon a small diner. He stopped and peered in.

The diner was semi-busy but not so crowded he'd have to wait. Besides, all he wanted was hot tea. His throat was a bit sore. Three encores were too much. He walked in and took a seat in a back booth. A tired-looking waitress came over and gave him a menu.

She disappeared to see to her other tables, and it was fifteen minutes before another waitress appeared. When she came up to Josh, he would make some sarcastic remark about hell freezing over, but when he saw her face, he was almost stunned.

She smiled a brilliant smile. "Hi, welcome to Tom's Place. Sorry to be so long. It's been one of those nights. What will you have?"

Josh could not stop staring. She was the most beautiful girl he had seen in quite some time, and he had seen a lot of girls. She had long reddish-gold hair swept back from her heart-shaped face in a ponytail. Her green eyes sparkled like wet emeralds. She had a pert little nose and a full, sumptuous mouth. Combined with her dynamite figure, Josh was well and truly smitten.