Time And I

Twenty-Six

"I don't know why you're so nervous," Darcy commented as I paced in front of her.

She sat against the wall by the women's bathroom, away from everyone else in the hall who was waiting for their turn to perform. We would have play right after intermission, which ended in ten minutes.

"You played great these past two shows. Why should this one be any different?"

Now she had a point. Thursday and Friday's shows were exceptional. We were the favorite act among many people. The variety show wound up becoming more of a dance show, as well as a sing-with-the-backing-track show, so live music was a nice mix in there with the few jugglers, comedians, and poets. It was our job to liven up the show and keep people engaged after a slower first half of repeats of the same thing.

But there were people in the audience that came to see me today. Amber came to the past two shows. How she could stomach sitting through the same acts three days in a row was a real testament to how much she cared about Darcy. But Jeanie and Rick promised to come. They said they'd wear clothes that would cause them to blend in, and since no one was talking about how Jeanie Snider was in the audience, she was doing a good job of keeping a low profile.

Along with her, Brody and a few others from the Clubhouse came. That included Petula, which included her boyfriend, as well as the rest of my new band. And Devon was there with Rena and his cousins. Even Buddy came to see the show tonight, even though I was sure he was there to support Darcy. But I liked to think part of him also came for me.

Since this was the show that Buddy came to see, a lot of his followers and fans were in the audience as well. That meant the people who I was most afraid to play in front of were actually here. I didn't think about which of them may have come the past two days, but since Buddy was a staple in the audience, it caused my fears to be far more prominent.

Darcy understood this as well. She may have hoped to calm me down with nonchalance and the reminder that I did an outstanding job for the past two days, but there was something different about this time. This time, I couldn't stop shaking.

"Take it," Darcy commanded, suddenly standing right in front of me. She slapped her phone into my hand and forced it up to my cheek. "Now, say hello."

"Hello?" I questioned.

"Mel?"

I glared at her, and she smirked as she leaned back against the wall.

"Mel, are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here."

"Why did Darcy call me?" Devon chuckled.

"Probably because I'm having a minor panic attack, and she doesn't want to deal with me anymore."

"You're what?" I heard him shuffling on the other line, and his voice suddenly came out clearer. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Just...nervous to play. In front of everyone."

"You did it the past two nights, right?"

"Yeah? So?"

"So, one more show, and you're done, right? If you can make it past this crowd, you can play anywhere. Don't let your final night scare you off. You've got this. I believe in you, Mel."

I felt my cheeks warm up, and Darcy cooed at me. I handed her the phone back, and she said a quick 'thank you' and 'goodbye' to Devon before dragging me down the hall to the backstage doors. The school's drum set was on stage, and the lights dimmed as we walked out. I sat on my stool and faced the crowd.

I could only see the first three rows. Sitting stage right in the second row was Devon. When the lights came up and everyone cheered, he cheered the loudest. Then again, it was only my group that was cheering. But I only focused on Devon. Even as Darcy played, I kept my eyes on him, not missing my cue to come in. I faced my drums and banged and crashed, playing all the right notes.