The Way Back Adventure

“We cordially invite you to join us in a music festival dedicated to the preservation of the arts in New England,” Erin, the lead singer of The Way Back, reads the tiny card with a magnifying glass.  She grins at the others.  “Oh my God, we’re being invited to perform at a music festival!”

            Dave, Erin’s boyfriend and the drummer of the band (in that order), tries to take the card from her but she holds it above his head.  “C’mon, you’re just repeating what you already read!  Let’s hear the rest.”

            Kristi, who’s the bass player, gets the card while Erin’s distracted.  She squints to read the tiny writing.  “The festival, called the Festival Dedicated to Preserving the Arts in New England, is held in quaint little Picnic Topple-tree, Vermont, and will feature performers such as The Way Back.  Fa… Furt… #$&!” she swears as she starts to stutter over the words.  She hands it to Dave in frustration.

            “Furthermore,” Dave over enunciates the word, trying to be helpful.  Kristi just glowers in a corner.  He shrugs and continues.  “Furthermore, you should attend this festival, as it is dedicated to preserving the arts in New England.

            Ian, the lead guitarist, well, only guitarist, mumbles something.  He had been sitting on the couch playing his guitar as they read it.  The others look at him blankly for a minute.  He mumbles again.  “OH!  Yeah, they seem to be very dedicated to preserving the arts in New England,” Erin replies.  “But that’s good, right?”

            “Yeah,” Dave says with another shrug.  “You guys wanna do it?”

            “When does it say this &$* festival is?” Kristi says.  She’s tired of fuming by herself and not getting any attention.

            Erin takes the card away from Dave, who hangs his head in defeat.  “Uh, at our convenience, actually.”

            Ian mumbles.  “Yeah, that is convenient,” Dave agrees.

            Erin sits down on the couch, knocking Ian into a sour note.  He grimaces painfully and resolves it so it sounds pretty to him.  “Hmmm… this seems a little… strange, don’t you think?”

            “How so?” Kristi asks.  “We’re playing somewhere other than the $%* Sad… why complain?”

            “This seems a little like someone’s trying to lead us somewhere, actually.  For some other reason than preserving the arts in New England,” Dave automatically agrees with Erin.

            Ian takes the card and glances over it.  He points down at the very bottom of it.  Erin takes it back and reads:  “This is not a trick.  This is a real gig.”

            “See?” Kristi says eagerly.  “%$#!”

            “Okay,” Erin instantly cheers up.  “If the card says it’s okay, it must be.  When do we leave?”

            Dave looks down at Ian’s watch.  “How about now?  No better time than the present.”

            Erin hops up from the couch.  “Okay!  Lemme get the directions online!”  she rushes upstairs to the computer.  The others follow for lack of anything better to do.  She signs on and navigates to .  “Hmmm.”

            “What?” Dave asks.  “Are you all right?  Need me to get you anything?”

            “Maybe a new computer.  This one’s screwed up,” Erin says. “It says that there’s no such thing as Picnic Topple-tree, Vermont.”

            Ian mumbles adamantly.  “I know, I know… if we’re supposed to be playing there, it has to exist,” Erin says.  “So… what now?”

            Kristi grins. “I have a %$#* idea.  You have a map of the US?”

            Erin gets one for her.  They all lean over it.  Kristi traces Massachusetts with her middle finger (force of habit).  “See, what we do is just cross Mass till we get under Vermont.  Then we go north till we find Picnic Topple-tree.  *&#$^ It’s gotta be up there somewhere.”

            The rest of the band nods, impressed with their new route.  “Where do we start heading north?”  Dave asks.

            Ian mumbles and points to a tiny speck on the map.  It says North Adams, MA.  Kristi pats him on the back.  “Good thinking.  It ^%*& does say NORTH in its name.”

            With a plan in mind, The Way Back goes to pack their equipment in Dave’s large, Twinkie-esque van.  Then, with tiny invitation in hand, they try to start their journey.

            “WAAAAAAAAAAAAAIT!!!!” a voice screams.  The van squeals to a halt as Amy, Dave’s younger sister, stands in their path with her acoustic guitar in hand.  “You’re not going anywhere without me!  You need me!”

            Not wanting to argue, Ian slides the van door open and lets Amy climb in.  “YAYAYAYAYAYAY!  This is gonna be so much fun!”