Jenn’s eyes settle on me. “And you are?” She looks down at her tablet, like maybe she’s missed something.
Oh, God.“I’m Vee. Virginia. I thought I was—”
“She’s with us,” Logan interrupts, and Jenn’s eyebrow twitches. “I mean, we just figured—since we have an extra bunk and all.”
Jared’s head snaps up from his phone. “You don’t get to just bring whoever you want on the bus.”
“She’s our songwriter, too—” Cam tries to interject.
“This is our bus—not yours,” Jared says.
It’s over.And I’m surprised by how disappointed I am, because three days ago, I wanted to run.
Jenn glances at Cam and then Logan, before looking at me. “Are you together?”
“Yes,” Logan says, as I shake my head no.What is he doing?
“What the fu—” Cam mutters.
Jenn’s shrewd eyes dart around again, from me to Logan to Cam before landing on me again. “You can stay.”
“Really?”Why would they want me here?
“Don’t argue, Vee,” Anders mutters, shaking his head, like I’m an idiot.
Jared looks at Jenn, who nods. He shoves his phone back in his pocket and makes his way out of the bus. The two cameramen waiting outside take his place next to Jenn, who is now, officially, my favorite person on this bus.
“Like Logan said, you guys have an extra bunk.” The way Jenn is tapping her stylus on her tablet so quickly, it sounds like a drum cadence. “It won’t hurt anything.” She points her stylus at me. “You’ll have to sign all the same releases as the bands.”
“Of course.” I’m nodding like a crazy person, relieved—and surprised—I’m not getting booted off this bus on day three.But am I really staying?Maybe, if I just give it some time—even a city or two—I can fix this. Make it worth it. Figuring out how to turn “unofficial groupie” into something resume-worthy seems easier than calling my mother and asking for a plane ticket.Thatwould mean admitting how gullible I had been. How desperate I was to not go home for the summer.
Jenn introduces us to our camera guys, Tad and Dave, and goes over the itinerary for the first week, telling the guys how they’ll have to tape at least one “confessional” interview each day, answering questions from production crew or her assistants, Kaley and Priya.
Ten minutes later, Jenn leaves us in the bus lounge.
Jenn gave us a lot of information, but all I have is questions. “So where are all the other girlfriends, if they’re allowed?”
Reese grunts in amusement. “Mine’s in storage.”
“There’s Jaclyn,” Logan says.
“Jaclyn’s in the band.”
Anders has gone back to lightly tapping his drum. “This is a music tour, Vee. Who wants to bring a girlfriend along?” Then he turns apologetic. “No offense.”
“I’m not arealgirlfriend, you can’t offend me.” But he’s right.God, does this mean I’m on a bus withtensingle guys?I look at Logan, still holding on to my arm.Nine.I let out a deep breath and force myself not to obsess over this. I should be relieved. “I’m not leaving.” And I think I’m telling myself, more than them.
***
The real madness starts in the afternoon, when the crew starts filing off of their bus. There are twelve full-time camera guys—two assigned to each bus—and all day they’ve been pulling the guys away to do interviews. When they aren’t getting ready for their first show, they’re talking into thin air, responding to questions and trying to act natural. They’re pretty much nailing it, except for one overly anxious drummer. Anders is the absolute worst at acting natural. He’s one of the biggest attention-whores I’ve ever met, but once he gets in front of a camera his body goes rigid. Every sentence that comes out of his mouth sounds like it’s been mixed in a blender. Maybe I’m not part of the actual publicity team, but I know I can fix this.He’s going to be my pet project; my pièce de résistance as an aspiring publicist.
CAM
It’s hard to breathe when the camera is pointed at me like a firing squad rifle.
“You all went to high school together, right?” Priya prompts me.
“Right, well, except—”
