If I Could Fly

Chapter 5

Sam:

We arrived at the restaurant at quarter to nine. Ella should have known better than to write the address down on my hand. Luckily, I was there to save the day, and managed to decipher the faint ink lines on my hand. But the last letter was unintelligible, and two addresses came up for the different versions. Naturally, the one we decided to go to first wasn't the one the band was playing at.

After we had completely confused a lovely old man, and then crossed the whole city to find the right place, I was ready to go home.

The restaurant was very shabby on the outside. It had a red door, with an old fashioned door bell. I pulled it and stepped back. Nothing happened. 'Are you sure you copied the address down right?' I asked Ella. Ella goggled at me.

'Did I copy it right? Of course I did! The question is, did you?'

'Do you think I'd be stupid enough not to?'

'Are you sure? It looked pretty unintelligible to me.'

'Well that would have been because of your crappy handwriting then wouldn't it.'

'I was thinking maybe because you tried to scrub it off with soap!'

'Um, yeah well if you hadn't-.' I was cut short by the door opening. A man stood in the entrance. He was wearing a cowboy hat, and was smoking a cigar. He was short and stared up at us grumpily.

'Are you these so-called special guests then?' he grunted. I glanced at Ella and tried not to grin. Special guests. Nice.

'Hello, our names are Sam and Ella, and we were invited here to watch One Direction perform.' Said Ella, extending her hand for him to shake. He glanced at it and held the door for us. Though the door there was a dark passage, but I could see light at the end.

'Come on in then. We've waited long enough.' He said. I nudged past Ella and walked down the hall. she clattered after me in her gold heels, and caught hold of my arm. 'Is that the first time someone's not shaken your hand?' I asked, giggling. She rolled her eyes. We reached the end of the passage, and, the man pulled back a curtain.

'Welcome to Benny's.' he said, and waved us through. I gasped. The room we were in was large and round. There were tables scattered around, all a faded tone of rusty red. Each table had a jam jar containing long sprigs of lavender. The walls were panelled with long planks of wood. I followed them upwards with my eyes, and saw that they lead to beautifully high ceilings. There were single lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling at random intervals, making the room glow with an eerily golden light. I smiled.

Benny sat us down at a table, and I realised that at the back of the room, very dimly lit, was a stage. I guessed that that would be where they would play. Ella was craning her neck, looking up at the rafters.

'It smells really good in here.' Ella said. I sniffed and smiled. It smelt of rosemary.

'You nervous?' I asked her. She shrugged.

'There isn't really anything to be nervous about.'

I knew she was right, but at the same time my stomach felt tight. The light, the scent in the air and the low tone of people talking made me want to close my eyes and curl up. I felt a shiver run down my spine, and I wiggled my toes in my boots.

The lights above the stage suddenly brightened, and we turned towards it expectantly. 

Ella:

'And tonight, performing in our humble bar, are One Direction!' yelled Benny from the stage. Everyone clapped and hollered. All the tables were occupied, and there were people standing around the back, leaning on the wall. I was surprised to see that there were people of all ages present. I had expected the bar to be filled with screaming girls, but Benny had clearly been very careful in who he let in.