Chapter Four

Saturday never seemed to come. I woke up that morning tired, but pumped for the festival. I slipped on my brother’s old Metallica t-shirt. It was too big on me, but it reminded me of him. Derrick was away from home at college. I missed him. Something awful hit me. Derrick wouldn’t be home to see me at my first real concert.

All morning, the girls and I packed our things in Amanda’s mom’s Dodge caravan. I felt sad, yet excited at the same time. Derrick has always supported me and the band, and now he wouldn’t even be here to see us.

“Hey, Alice,” Amy whispered to me as we carried one of Avril’s drums to the van, “can I ask you something?”

“Sure. What is it?”

“I noticed Avril looking at you on Tuesday.”

“Yeah, I saw her too. What about it?”

“Well, if you don’t know what’s going on, maybe you should talk to her.”

“What? Why?”

“There’s something she needs to confess. Just ask her and be a good friend.”

“A,” Avril called to me from inside the garage, “can you help me with the costumes?”

“Sure.” As long as you stop looking at my chest, I thought grimly. I walked with her into the house through the kitchen, and upstairs to my room. “I put the tote in my closet,” I told her as I opened my closet door.

The outfits were neatly folded inside the tote, each labeled with the name of its wearer. Since no one else was around, I figured now was as good a time as any to confront her. “Avril, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, A. Ask away.”

“Well, you see, I sort of noticed you looking at me on Tuesday. You know, at my chest. And my butt.” I could feel my face get warm.

Avril was silent, looking at the white carpet that was my floor. She glanced at me after a moment, smiling weakly. “Yeah, I couldn’t help but notice how good you look. Better than me. I’m so jealous.”

She didn’t sound jealous. “That’s a lie. Both you and I know it.”

There was another awkward silence. “You’ll think I’m weird,” she whispered.

“You can tell me anything, Avril.”

She took a deep breath, then looked at me again. “I only just noticed last Saturday. It’s like…” she laughed, like she was unsure of herself. “I think I have a crush on you.”

I gasped. So it wasn’t just me.

“I know. I’m such a freak. I’m sorry, Alice.”

“Relax, Avril,” I smiled. “I think I like you too.”

“Do you think ¾”

“Avril! Alice!” Amanda’s voice came from downstairs. “Come on! We’re leaving!”

I looked at Avril, waiting for her to finish her sentence.

“Can we talk later?” she asked me.

I nodded. As I bent down to get the tote, so did Avril. My hand brushed against hers. I felt my face get hot again. “Um…” I mumbled. “Sorry.”

“No, it was my fault.” Her cheeks were flushed too.

We decided to each take a side, putting our hands under the handles. Then we carried the tote outside to the van.

“That was heavy,” I gasped, trying to avoid questioning glances from the girls.

“Get in already!” Amanda rolled her eyes from the front seat. “We’re going to be late for check in!”

There were only six seats, minus the driver’s seat, in the van. Mrs. Day, Amanda’s mom, was our driver. I knew I’d be out of a seat if I didn’t beat Avril to the seats. I closed the trunk and ran to the side. The sliding door was open. As I stuck my head inside, I saw Avril beat me. There were no empty seats. “Where am I supposed to sit?”

“Sit on someone’s lap,” Amanda suggested.

“I looked for the closest person to the door. Go figure it would be Avril. I sighed and sat on her lap. Ana closed the door as I turned to face Avril. I smiled, and she smiled back shyly.

“Go, Mom, go. We’re gonna be late!” Amanda ordered her mother. I’d never seen her so frantic. I figured it must have been the two Monsters she downed as we were packing the van.

It took six minutes to get to Oak Tree Park. On the way there, I leaned back against Avril. I knew the only person who would take another look at us would be Amy. After all, she’d been the one to speak up about Avril.

When we arrived at the park, I was the first to get out of the van. I looked around the decorated park, amazed. The fountain had a blue light installed in it, which I knew would have a neat effect once it got dark. There were red streamers everywhere. The stage had HELL in huge, red, glittering letters on the roof. The background of the stage was made to look like flames. A fire pit in the middle of a large circle of food vendors was ready for a bonfire, complete with logs placed around the pit.

The audience area was set up, too. There was a large space in front of the area reserved for a mosh pit. The seats were colored according to the theme. The right side had blue seats, but the left side had red seats.

There was even extra entertainment. A bunch of vendors with carnival games were set up around the food circle. I saw a ton of different games, everything from a kissing booth to a lucky ducks game with devil-horned ducks.

“Hey, guys, did you see the park?” I asked the group.

“Yeah, looks great,” Alicia responded from the trunk. “Can you help us unload?”

Whoops. I’d been so busy looking around at the park that I hadn’t noticed we were already checked in and were unloading. Our equipment was being put on a large cart, which would take it to the stage. There, the employees would unload it and get it set up right before our portion of the concert.

“Sorry!” I apologized, rushing to the back of the van. I grabbed Autumn’s guitar case and set it on the cart. “Autumn, do you have the order?”

“Not yet,” she admitted. “I’m almost done.”

“When are we playing?”

“Second,” Amy answered. “We’re after Johnny Appleseed.”

“What time do we need to be in the dressing room?” I asked, grabbing the tote of clothing.”

“We’re on at seven forty-five. We should all be in the dressing room by six-thirty.”

I nodded. “Got it everyone? Oh, and Autumn? I want the song order done by then.”

She saluted me. “You got it.”

We finished loading the cart and walked to the left side of the audience, each sitting in a red chair. It was no surprise to see Avril sitting next to me.

“How long do we have before we need to be back here?” I asked Amy.

“It’s eleven-thirty right now, so about seven hours.”

“Where will everyone be at?” I asked. “You know, in case of an emergency.”

“We have cell phones,” Alicia pointed out.

I sighed. “Fine. I’ll admit it. I’m guilty as charged of being curious.”

We all laughed. I knew they thought I was a gossip. I guess I sort of was. After all, I always wanted to know what was buzzing around at school.

“Well,” Amy began, “Alicia and I are going on a double date.” She beamed proudly.

“With who?” I pressed.

Alicia grinned. “Beth Walters, the hottie from last Saturday.”

“Awesome!” Amanda congratulated. “I’ve heard she’s a good kisser.”

“The best,” Alicia exclaimed. “She’s got an amazing tongue!”

“Ew!” Alicia squealed. “TMI! TMI!” She covered her ears, squeezed her eyes shut, and squirmed in her seat. When she calmed down, she said, “Oh, by the way, I’ll be at the library. I volunteered to help with the children’s summer reading program. This really cute guy, Brian Ellis, is volunteering too.”

“Oh my God, he is so hot!” I sighed. “Ana, you’ve got to let me know if you hook him.”

“Will do,” she saluted me.

Autumn cleared her throat. “I’m getting a tattoo today.”

“What?!” we all shouted at the same time.

She laughed. “This guy I know named Tom Mason likes me, and for our third date, we’re getting tattoos.”

“Autumn, you never told us you were seeing someone!”

“I didn’t know how serious it would get. But last night, when I was at his house, he introduced me to his parents and called me his girlfriend!”

“What kind of tattoo are you getting?” Alicia asked.

“I’m getting a butterfly. I was just chasing after this monarch that he wanted a picture of at Riverdale Park one Sunday. We sort of collided and now we’re dating.” She blushed.

Ana nudged Autumn. “Is he getting one too?”

“Yeah. He’s getting a black A, for my name.” She looked so happy. She must really like him, I thought.

“What are you gonna do, A?” Alicia smiled at me.

“I’m not really sure,” I admitted.

“You could come with me,” Amanda invited. “My mom and I are getting our nails done, then we’re going to lunch, and stopping at the bookstore on our way back.”

“Sounds fun, but I’d hate to intrude. Besides, I’m burning a hole in my pocket. I think I might check out the clearance sale at Hot Topic.”

“No fair!” Ana wailed.

“You’ve got Brian,” Amy pointed out.