How Did This Happen?

Julie E. Miller

2003

Prologue

I sat in the meeting room, bored out of my mind. I wish for once that people would tell me stuff that I actually didn't know. No, instead my life is full of stupid people talking about stupid things that in twenty years will have no stupid meaning.

Figures.

People today can be so stupid. I mean, let's take the case of Lauren Hollister, biggest prep in my high school graduating class. I went off to college and started as a sophomore and when I go home one weekend and to the local grocery store, find she's working the cash register. Is that what most people today have to look forward to? A lifetime of running produce and canned good bar codes over a conveyor belt? Thanks, but no thanks. I think I'll take the better route here.

Though, I have to admit, seeing her working there with no future did kind of make me want to laugh. I mean, all throughout high school, she'd made fun of me for being smart or the clothes I wore or the way I lived my life…and look where she was. She worked nine to five, wearing a bright purple polo shirt as a uniform and asking if it would be cash, charge, or check. I made sure to flaunt my brains that day.

Don't think I'm full of myself. I'm honestly not. I'm just brutally honest and aware of who I am. I'm not going to pretend to be stupid, when I know I'm not. I'm not going to be cruel to people when I know I am no better off than they are. I'm not going to label a person just because they don't wear name brand clothes. That's not who I am and its not who I'll ever be.

So anyways…back to this meeting.

I didn't want to be there and I think my body language made it obvious. I was slumped in my seat and biting at a fingernail. I looked at the man who was talking to me, going on and on about my grades and raving about how I could graduate when I turned twenty-one.

Whatever.

Sometimes I just wish I was average. Sometimes I wish I hadn't scored a 1570 on my SATs. Sometimes I wish my parents hadn't made me start taking college courses when I was just a sophomore in high school.

Too late now.

"So what are you telling me?" I asked the dean.

"What I'm telling you is that you've been offered to help this band, Laura…" the dean said, shuffling through his papers. I winced at the name he'd called me that. Not even my parents called me that anymore. "They're called…" I bit back a smile. Boy he'd lost it. "They're called Fully Ignited…they just…"

"Started up," I finished. "Like five or six years ago. I know, I know."

"They actually asked for you specially. They'd seen some of your work and were rather impressed."

"Really?" I asked, surprised. This was a first. "They asked for me?"

"It seems they got a hold of your portfolio and decided that you would be good to help them publicize."

"How'd they get it?"

The dean shrugged. "I don't know. But I honestly think you should consider taking this summer internship. This could be good for you."

"What would I be doing exactly?"

"You'd be going on the Warped Tour with them. You'd be helping them get their name out. You'd just be promoting the band and getting paid for it."

I felt myself begin to smile. "I'd be at Warped Tour all summer?"

He nodded. "You'd have to share a bus with the band, but I'm sure that would be no big deal."

I let out a laugh. "Okay, okay. I guess I'll take it."

The old man smiled. "I'll get ahold of Rachel and tell her that you'll be joining the other girl out there next week."

I stood up, shook his hand, and left his office.

This was too surreal.

Here I was, eighteen, and I had what was going to be the job of a lifetime. Maybe this summer would actually amount to something. Who knew?

All I knew about Fully Ignited was that the guys had started up in high school and had become rather popular on some local college stations. I hadn't had the chance to see them live yet, but I'd heard some of their stuff on a demo that my roommate had. It wasn't bad at all and I knew that if this all worked out, I could very well land an even bigger tour the next year.

I walked back to my dorm and saw the message button flashing on my machine. I shut the door behind me and headed towards it, pushing the red button. The first two were my roommate, Cayla's, boyfriend. The last was for me though.

"Hey Dies…it's Parker. Give me a call, would you? I hear you told mom that you had to meet with the dean. Let's just say that she's a total wreck now. Let me know what happened, would you?"

I laughed and picked up my phone, dialing my brother up. He was at another school halfway across the state, but we still talked quite frequently. Growing up, we'd fought often, but the distance that was put between us when he went to college had made things a lot easier for us all.

"Parker," he said, picking up the phone.

"Hey," I replied, going to my desk and connecting to my Internet.

"Hey, how'd it go? I was hoping you'd call soon. If mom called me one more time and asked me if you were hiding something, I was gonna kill myself."

I laughed. "I'm not in trouble if that's what you mean."

"Then what did he wanna see you about?"

"Some summer job," I said.

"What is it?"

"They asked me to be a co-publicist for some band on the Warped Tour."

"It's the chance of a lifetime, Dies!" Parker exclaimed.

"I know. I know."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I'm not stupid, Parker. I took it."

"Who's the band?"

"Fully Ignited," I said. "Don't really know who they are. But we'll see."

"Hey—that's…"

"Look, I gotta go, Park. I better call mom."

"Dies…that's…"

"See ya," I said, and hung up.

You know, looking back on it, I should have listened to my brother at that moment in time.

Little did I know, things were going to get interesting.

REAL interesting.

I'm so incredibly dumb.