Rainier
I’d been watchingthe front door of The Imperial all evening. I knew Carter was waiting for Avery to show up, and for some reason, I’d expected Michelle to stroll in beside her. So when Avery walked into the club alone, I wasdisappointed.
Avery looked edgier than usual in a skin-tight red dress and dark makeup. Somehow I knew Michelle had a handinit.
Tap,tap,tap.
I tried not to focus on the fact Michelle wasn’t there and thought about the set for the evening. Carter had said there might be a scout in the audience, and sure enough, a guy was hanging out near the bar who stuck out like a sore thumb. It was a combination of things that weren’t that odd on their own, the nice suit, the confidence, the constant talking on the phone in a bar. Those things combined, however, made it obvious the guy didn'tbelonghere.
“I’m playing the song,” I said, walking overtoMatt.
“What?”
“My song, I think we should play it.” I tipped my head in the direction of the guy at the bar. “If you think the song is good enough to get his attention, let’sdoit.”
“Are youserious,man?”
“Let’s just make sure Carter and Jenny know what’sgoingon.”
We scrambled to find our bandmates before we were supposed to go on stage to fill them in. We decided to play it last in hopes of it beingheard.
My nerves were working overtime with the prospect of bearing my soul the way I had the other night in the garage. Only this time, instead of being in front of my closest friends, it would be in front of a couple of hundred people. The one bright side to it was Michelle wouldn’t be in the audience tohearit.
Before I knew it, we were on stage. In the excitement of the evening and our last minute changes, I messed up a few notes on our covers. Jenny shot me a look every time, which meant it hadn’t gone unnoticed, but hopefully, it wasn’t clear to themasses.
When the time came to play the final song, I felt an unnatural calm come over my body. Everything came into focus as I hit the first note. The rest of the band came in with perfect timing, despite our lack of practicing together. I’d played the song so many times, my fingersstayedtrue.
You were the sun,I wastherain
That’s how it feltanyway
How could I know we were theblooms
Unfortunately,despite the accuracy of my playing, I couldn’t prevent my voice from cracking once again. I’d thought I would be okay singing that evening. I was wrong. I missed Michelle, and that came out in every word of the song. At least I wouldn’t have to play or sing anything else when wefinishedit.
When the crowd started cheering, I wasted no time in packing my gear and loading it in my car. I didn’t stop to talk with my bandmates. I didn’t linger to see if the talent scout said anything to us. I got the hell out of there and didn’tlookback.
Once I got home, I was happy to see Sarah was still awake and waiting for me. And even more thrilled when I realized my folks were alreadyasleep.
“How did it go?” Sarah asked as soon as she saw mecomein.
“I playedmysong.”
“I know,” she said before biting her bottom lip and making a face. Sarah glanced down at the phone in her lap. “One of my friends was at the show tonight and posted avideo.”
“What?” I practically ran over to where my sister wassitting.
“It was amazing, Rainier. Hearing you play it downstairs and then seeing it performed with the Go-Aways is like night and day. It blewmeaway.”
“Yeah?”
“Uh, huh.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I really hope Michelleseesit.”
“I hope she doesn’t. I took the leap of faith you suggested, and it couldn’t have gone worse.I’mdone.”
“I don’t think you are. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have played that songtonight.”
“There was a guy from some record label in the audience. That’s the only reason I suggested wedoit.”
