Owen had been officially kicked out of the band, which I knew he was not too happy about. And poor Cooper was also gone. I wasn’t sure what to think about that. He was the whole reason the band ever got to play at the Wild Bill’s in the first place. It didn’t seem right to push him out because he broke his arm. Rainier and the Go-Aways was a far cry from The Band. Adding members, changingmembers.
“Are you listening to me?” Sarah asked, pulling me from mymusings.
“Uh,huh.”
“And you don’t mind if I take over your room when you head back toschool?”
“Uh–Wait,what?”
“I knew you weren’tlistening.”
I sat down on my bed and looked at her. “Sorry, Sarah. I just have a lot onmymind.”
“I know. But I’m anxious about what’s going on withtheband.”
“You're anxious abouteverything.”
“Yeah, but sometimes you're clueless about girls. I’m watching as Jenny is sinking her talons deeper and deeper and you don’t seem torealize.”
“I’m not completely dense. I see it, but what am I supposed to do? It’ll be a moot point in a couple ofweeks.”
“If yousayso.”
“What’s that supposedtomean?”
She lifted a brow at me. “It just means you’re putting an awful lot of energy into something that you say you’re walkingawayfrom.”
“Whatever. I gotta getgoing.”
I slung my backpack containing my cords and pedals over my shoulder and reached for my guitar as I moved toward the stairs. I didn’t say another word as I left thehouse.
The Imperial was somuch nicer than Wild Bill’s. Not only did they have a real stage instead of the makeshift platform, but they also had a professional sound system and lighting. As we went through our setup and soundcheck, it was tough not to fall into the mindset that we were a legit band playing there. I fought my mind as it imagined what it would be like to do this allthetime.
Jenny was positively beaming as we hung out waiting for the show to start. Matt and Carter were huddled together at a table talking furiously about something. I wasn’t getting involved. I planned to enjoy the atmosphere while wewaited.
Besides the stage and equipment, The Imperial also had a reputation for being a place where the best bands played. They had a college night every Thursday, which meant we were skipping our usual teen night performance at Wild Bill’s. The pit where everyone would stand to listen was bigger and would fit morepeople.
The energy waspalpable.
Tap,tap,tap.
As the crowd started to thicken, I couldn’t stop myself from the anxious movement that came before aperformance.
“Hey, Rainier,” Jenny said as we walked toward the stage. We were opening for another local band with a fierce following. She pulled out a flask from her pocket. “Wanna sip? I’m so nervous I feel like I’m goingtohurl.”
I knew that feeling. I had felt that way the first few shows I’d done, but for some reason, I didn’t feel that tonight. I didn’t grab the container from her for multiplereasons.
“No, thanks.” I grabbed my guitar and walked over to the mic. The lights here were much brighter than I was accustomed to and I couldn’t see the crowd very well, even though I knew they were outthere.
“Thanks for coming out tonight,” I said into the microphone wondering how many people were out there that hadn’t heard us play before. “We’re Rainier and the Go-Aways.”
The sound of cheers was about what we were used to at Wild Bill’s, which was a slight disappointment since there were more people here. I tried not to dwell on that. It just meant I would have to work harder to winthemover.
We played through our set. Matt on drums, Carter on bass, Jenny on violin, and me on guitar and vocals. The combination of covers and originals was perfect, and I could sense the change in the crowd the longer they listened tousplay.
When we finished playing our last song, the cheers were much louder than when we first walked up on the stage. It felt good to know we played well enough to gain their applause and whistles. I looked back at the other bandmates to see their reaction. The look of awe on their faces only fed my high. Jenny came running over and hugged me while we were still on stage. Her face so close to mine, I could smell the lingering alcohol on herbreath.
For some reason, the hug made me feel guilty. I wondered if Michelle was in the crowd and what she might think about the display. It was irrational, but I couldn't shake the feeling. I pushed Jenny away. Maybe a little too hard, because hurt quickly flashed in her eyes before she smiled and hugged the other twobandmates.
