The arena was incredible. It was bigger than I had imagined. He guys busied themselves with getting the stage set up for rehearsals. They were talking, joking, laughing. I was wandering around, dreading returning to the bus. The next day would be my first day of school. Oh joy! <Note the sarcasm.
"Baby Girl! Come here!" Jack called me. I made my way to the stage. Deciding against embarrassing myself by attempting to hoist myself up onto the stage I stayed on the ground in front of it.
"What do you need?"
"What would you say to singing a song with us tonight?" My eyes got wide.
"Really?!"
"Yeah." Alex said as the others nodded. "As long as you know the lyrics to any of the songs on the setlist." I nodded and thought about the songs on the setlist.
"The only one I know all the lyrics to is Time-bomb."
"Then you'll sing that one with us." Alex said with a grin. "Now get up here so we can practice it." With some help from Zack I got up onto the stage. They started playing and Alex started singing. I joined him at the chorus and then sang the second verse by myself. He joined me at the chorus and sang the first part of the next verse alone then I joined him at the 'got your heart in my hands' part and hit the last note as high as I could. Every time I'd listened to that song I thought it would sound cool if there was a second voice who hit that note higher than Alex did and held it out as he started singing the last chorus. I joined him on the chorus and we ended together.
"That was fucking awesome!" Alex exclaimed when the song was over. I blushed and hid my face in my hands.
"It wasn't that good." I mumbled.
"Are you kidding? That was amazing, baby girl." Jack said, running over and wrapping me in a hug. After that I sat to the side of the stage and listened to them as they finished rehearsal.
Before I knew it it was time for the concert. Time-bomb was one of the last songs which on one hand was kind of nice, but on the other hand that just meant more time for me to work myself into a panic. I'd never sung in front of a crowd. I was starting to feel like I was going to throw up.
"Wow, you guys are incredible!" Alex said. Everyone screamed and Alex laughed. "So, tonight we have a very special guest coming to sing the next song with us." He looked at Jack, who looked at me and gestured for me to come out. I was handed a mic by one of the crew and then I ran out and jumped on Zack's back. He stumbled a bit, but stayed upright. The crowd was very confused by my presence. Without another word to the crowd they started playing. I danced around for a bit and then got back on Zack's back.
"Got your heart in my hands like a time bomb tickin. We should knoooooow better but we won't let gooooooooooo!" We finished the song and everyone cheered.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Annalise Barakat!" Alex said in his mic. Jack grabbed his and looked at me.
"That's my baby girl!" He yelled. I grinned.
"That's my dad!" I shouted back. The smile on Jack's face when I said that was priceless. I hopped off Zack and ran over to give Jack a hug. "I love you, Dad."
"Love you too, baby girl!" He responded and kissed the top of my head. I pushed myself up onto my tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. I gave Alex a kiss too and then Zack before running behind the drum kit to give Rian one too. Then I blew a kiss to the crowd and ran off stage.
"Annalise Barakat!" Alex said again and started clapping for me. The crowd joined in. I couldn't believe they actually liked me. It was crazy.
They finished their set and then came backstage sweaty and smelly, but laughing and happy. Once they were all cleaned up we went to TacoBell to celebrate the beginning of tour.
"That was so much fun!" I told while we were sitting in a booth in TacoBell. "I understand why you guys like it so much!"
"It never gets old." Alex agreed. We ate tacos and burritos and talked about the concert for close to an hour before heading to the bus. Everyone headed for their bunks. I was so sure that I would fall asleep almost instantly when we finally got back to the bus. Unfortunately that was not the case. So I changed into my pajamas and decided to read until I felt tired enough to go to sleep. I had left my book in the kitchen part of the bus, so being as quiet as possible I walked through the bunk area and into the kitchen. I was shocked to find Zack sitting at the table with a book in front of him.
"Can't sleep? He asked me. I nodded. "Feel free to join me." I grabbed my book off the corner and sat down opposite him at the table. We read in silence for awhile until I asked,
"Aren't you tired from playing the concert?" He shrugged.
"Not really. I'm pretty used to it at this point that it doesn't tire me as much anymore."
"Huh. What are you reading?"
"Caliban's War. You?"
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." We fell into silence again. We sat and read until almost two and then he went bed. I went to my bunk which was above Jack's, but I was awake until almost four. And then at seven I was up for the day with everyone else. When I went to get showered a and saw my appearance it was painfully obvious that I hadn't slept well. I had bags under my eyes and I kept yawning. I would need coffee to get through the day, that much was certain. I got showered, dressed, dried my hair and applied makeup. I still looked tired. I made myself drink a cup of coffee and then I set to the dreaded task of school. Bleh.