‘Is that a serious question?’ Hennie prompts.
‘It is,’ I confirm. ‘We’ve got nothing but lobster. And five o’clock.’
‘Right,’ Hennie replies, looking crestfallen. ‘I’m afraid my lobster intel is minimal.’
‘Me too, I’ve got nothing,’ Josh says.
Owen’s eyes sweep across the group. ‘It’s not much, but you know Tantrum has that song? What’s it called, Ham? Something about a crustacean?’
‘Oh, yeah! “Big Crustacean”. An immortal banger.’
‘Sounds like a hit,’ Hen mutters.
‘They’re playing on the Kiss Stage today,’ Owen offers.
‘It’s something!’ I reply, grateful for the morsel of hope. At this point, I’ll take anything.
‘Our lead is “Big Crustacean”?’ Hennie asks with a grimace.
Elliot crosses his arms. ‘Looks like it’s all we have. Apart from a food truck that sells crab,’ he adds, throwing a teasing look my way.
‘No,’ I insist, suppressing the urge to give him playful nudge. Stop touching him!
‘Are they playing at five?’ I ask Owen.
He pulls out his phone to check the app and eventually shakes his head.
‘Nope, they’re on at six. Sorry, sweet,’ Owen said, shooting me a gentle smile which I can’t help but return. I can’t help but envy his ability to radiate positivity with such ease.
‘So, we just wait until six to see Tantrum?’ Elliot asks.
‘I guess we do,’ I say. ‘Unless anyone has any other ideas.’
‘Lovely, I was keen to see them anyway,’ Josh declares, accompanied by a beaming grin.
‘And until then?’ Elliot asks.
Josh loops an arm around his shoulder. ‘We enjoy the festivities that Crest Fest has to offer, my fine feathered friend.’
‘I’m sure there’s a lot we still haven’t seen,’ Hennie muses.
‘There’salwaysstuff you haven’t seen at Firecrest; it’s impossible to do it all. Part of the reason you keep coming back.’
The idea of waiting until six isn’t hugely appealing but we’ve run out of options. No one has any other ideas; we are officially stuck. In the meantime, if someone does overtake us and wins the tickets, I’ll have no choice but to admit defeat. As much as I wish I could have them for myself, the only other option is aimlessly wandering around the festival, wasting the others’ time and almost certainly coming up with nothing.
I look around my small circle and feel a pang of gratitude. I would rather spend my last day here with them, anyway.
We make a loose plan to wander around the festival and pursue anything that takes our fancy, whether it’s an area, stage or musician (provided it isn’t on the Firecrest stage, in which case I will pursue a different dream).
The drumstick remains unmentioned and stored safely in my backpack, but its very existence is what keeps Elliot and I tethered. And by extension, this whole group tethered. Saying that, it looks like Hennie has become very fast friends with Josh and Owen. But she always was the friendlier one.
Even with the drumstick stowed away, I stay close to Elliot’s side as we begin to weave through the slow-moving morning crowd. I hadn’t realised that I’d grown so accustomed to the feeling of him next to me; walking with him genuinely feels like second nature. He falls back into familiar habits like placing a hand on my shoulder or back to help me move through denser areas.
I’m trying my best to not think about the way Elliot’s eyes ran over the state of me this morning. As well as Hennie’s theory. And any unwelcome feelings that I might now have for him.
I’m starting to feel mentally fatigued from it all. But I address him anyway, determined to start the day with a regular conversation.
‘Good sleep?’
