The sunset over Malibu beach was stunning, but Riona O'Neill paid it absolutely no attention. She sat on the sand, reading through a thick pile of paper, a look of intense concentration on her face. Anybody watching would have admired the view - the fading light turning her spiky red hair a flaming crimson as the sky darkened over the horizon. She didn't look up until it had become too dark to continue her reading, at which point she sighed, marked her place in the file before squeezing it back into her bag, and stood up. Glancing over the ocean, she smiled wistfully. It was just her luck to be attending a conference in such a beautiful place, but to have no time to enjoy her surroundings. that was why she'd chosen to spend the evening on the beach - if she had to read a lot of complicated articles, then she'd do it where she chose.

A brief look down at her watch told her that it was still only 7pm. She had plenty of time to change her clothes and meet her colleagues at the club they'd mentioned earlier. not that she would. Sleazy clubs and unheard-of rock bands weren't her style. Besides, what on earth would her mother say? It had been difficult enough to persuade her that this trip to Los Angeles was necessary, let alone that socialising was expected. even at the age of twenty-two, Riona was still considered a little girl by her parents. No doubt they'd be calling her mobile phone soon, checking up on her, as usual. As if on cue, the phone in her pocket rang, the song playing surprisingly loudly in the deserted area. Hurriedly, she pressed the button to accept the call.

"Hi, mom."
"Had a good day, Riona?"
Since they were separatede by several thousand miles, Riona felt safe in rolling her eyes at that question. It had only been three hours since they'd last spoken, and she'd spent almost all of that time reading on the beach. If her mother had actually been there, Riona knew that she'd have been confined to the conference centre and her hotel room. Fortunately for her sanity, that wasn't the case.
"Mom, tomorrow's going to be really busy, so I'll call you when I get the time, ok?"
"Are you sure you'll remember, dear?"
"Yes, mom. Talk to you tomorrow. Bye."
"Bye, Riona..." Before her mother could protest any more, Riona ended the call. She'd learnt by experience - it really was for the best.

Slowly, she walked along the road to the bus stop, intending to head back to her hotel. Maybe she would go out that evening - she'd found out about the local theatres earlier that day. If she could get a ticket, she'd watch a play. It didn't really matter what. The rest of the reading could almost certainly wait until tomorrow.

"Riona, you really should have come with us last night." Jade, a bubbly blonde colleague, enthused. "The band was absolutely brilliant."
Riona smiled - she didn't know Jade that well, but guessed that showing any enthusiasm whatsoever would result in her being dragged along to the club tonight. Fortunately, she was saved from replying by the doors to the conference hall opening, and both women filed in to take their seats. Another day of tedious lectures and note-taking awaited them. It was almost like being a student again, apart from having to wear a suit. Once seated, Riona kicked off her formal shoes with a sigh of relief.

During the lunch break, she found time to call home, where her mother was on the verge of becoming frantic with worry. When she dropped the phone back in her bag, Jade was waiting for her.
"I just found out they're playing again tonight. You have to come with us."
"I don't know, Jade."
"But Riona, you have to. You never come out with us. What could it hurt?"
"Maybe..."
"I'm not taking no for an answer."

The afternoon passed in much the same vein as the morning, with Riona taking copious notes. Unfortunately, when she glanced over them at the end of the day, they made no sense whatsoever, and weren't even related to what she'd heard.
"I must be losing my mind."
Before she could escape, an arm wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her firmly in the opposite direction to the one she'd been heading in.
"This way, Riona."
She just managed to suppress the groan before it escaped her lips. She had no wish to be dolled up by Jade and the dark-haired girl she didn't recognise, before heading out to somewhere she didn't really want to go.

"I'm not wearing that. Absolutely not."
"It'll look great on you."
"It barely covers my butt. No."
The offending skirt was tossed onto a growing heap of clothes on the floor. To Jade's intense frustration, Riona flatly refused to wear anything even remotely revealing, claiming that it made her feel uncomfortable.
"Are you sure that's what you want?"
"Very sure."
"And I can't persuade you to wear some make-up?"
"Definitely not."
"Then let's go."

It wasn't far to the club, but nobody in this city seemed to walk anywhere, which meant they had to get a taxi. Riona wasn't certain that her companions were capable of walking in their skyscraper heels anyway. The bouncer looked at her ID suspiciously, but eventually waved her in. She found Jade and Sal at the bar (at least she'd found out the other woman's name), where they'd taken the liberty of ordering her a drink. She eyed the green concoction as though it was poisonous, but took a sip anyway. It wasn't as bad as she'd feared.
"You coming to dance?"
"No, I'll just stay here for now."

Riona perched on a bar stool as the others pushed their way onto the crowded dance floor. She liked dancing, when there was space to move. Here, there definitely wasn't. From her vantage point, she had a clear view of the stage, where five men were setting up the equipment. Maybe they were the band. One, at the front of the stage, seemed to look her straight in the eyes, and she could feel the blush developing on her dace. He couldn't, of course, see it, but that didn't help. She looked away, embarrassed. Riona wasn't sure why it bothered her so much, but she felt as though he'd noticed that she didn't really belong here. She didn't look back at the stage until they started to play. The man who had looked in her direction earlier was the singer, and once again he appeared to be studying her. They were, to her surprise, much better than she'd been expecting, and Riona found herself enjoying the show.