Performance #2
Location: Curling Blue High School Prom Fundraiser
Date: February 27, 2005

We don't have T-shirts made in time for our next performance, so we decide to go with black t-shirts and jeans. Principal Ankrum greenlit us to play prom, but she said we also have to play at the fundraiser, which is our official debut as Walking on Starlight. I still don't have a fancy dress, but Amber's promised me to go with me to look for something for prom. At least us playing prom proves our homecoming show was a success...even if Principal Ankrum now has to clear our setlists for when we perform at school.

I start to pull my hair back in a ponytail until Amber shakes her head. "No, no, girl. You gotta leave that hair down for this performance. You pull it back like that and you end up looking like you're gonna play in an orchestra."

"But that's what I'm used to."

"Yeah, I know, and now you gotta stand out." She pulls the ponytail holder straight out of my hair and wraps it around her wrist. "I will give this back when I see fit." And I just shake my head and sigh. I hate my hair when it's down. I got the same Jennifer Aniston cut as all my friends at Hilliard New Rome, and it's the best thing I've tried, but I still can't get my hair right. I'm not sure why.

At least August has kept staring at me all night. Come on, dude. I'm not gonna be the one to ask you to be my boyfriend. You gotta man up and do it. That's how it's supposed to be done, right? Ugh, why do I feel like that's more trouble than it's worth? How many dates do I have to go on before we're official?

We duck our heads into the cafeteria, where the spaghetti dinner fundraiser is being held. Dad's set up our sound board and everything looks good to go...with the one major caveat that there's no stage to stand on, so we're literally set up in a corner. It's the most jank setup I've ever seen for a band, but what can you do? At this rate, everybody will be able to hear us, because we're going to overpower the room like the windows are hopefully made of Memorex, and nobody will see us, because you can't unless you're standing up.

"You're all set up, but the balance is gonna sound off to all of you," Dad says to us. "Just do your best, okay?"

"Okay," we all agree, and then we go to help out our fellow students. The spaghetti dinner is a well known tradition at Curling Blue High. It happens every year, and the junior class serves spaghetti to anybody who will come for dinner, which historically has just been a lot of parents. The lunch ladies are the ones who actually make the spaghetti, which takes a lot of pressure off of us but doesn't exactly contribute to the quality of the spaghetti.

As people come in, they are seated at the lunchroom tables, and we run back and forth, taking them spaghetti and drinks and utensils and whatever else they might need. All of us in Walking On Starlight are on the first shift, so that we can play for them after our hour is up. It flies by, which is great because I seriously think I worked up a sweat running around with styrofoam plates and cups.

The school's administration won't let us play American Idiot at school functions, so we've learned a new song by a band called Theater of Tragedy, which they cleared. Principal Ankrum asked if we could learn some older, more wholesome music, perhaps Twist and Shout by the Beatles. I made August wait until we left her office to flip her off.

We decide to start with that song. The original singers are a man with a low voice and a girl singing the chorus; August ramps up his charisma before putting his own spin on the vocals.

He tries to see, although he can't
He tries, but doesn't understand
He calls on a different phone line
No one that he knows
An out of focus acquaintance
Speaking in a silent parlance
"Remember me", breaks the silence
A recurring line again

I make sure that my keys are good to go, and I join in as well.

He's looking for something
Can't see that he's stranded
He's just going somewhere
He just can't stand this feeling no more

As August sings the next verse, I glance out at the crowd. Only half the people are paying attention, which isn't helping my confidence. The acoustics in this room are crap. Amber isn't even mic'd up because her drums are so loud; Dad even mentioned buying her a drum shield in the future. I have to trust that everybody else can hear a better mix than I can.

He feels the blood run through his veins
Tries to get up, be young again
His face in the bathroom mirror
Someone looks at him
His undisputed kind of self-love
Weaker than it used to be like
"Don't forget me", breaks the silence
A different life begins

I start noticing people leaving in the back. Some people have cross looks on their faces. Crap. I knew August should have announced who we were first, but he just wanted to jump right into it without any warning. I need to start speaking up more around him. How will anybody know who we are as a band if we're not introduced first?

When we finish the song, I take over, since we're playing Bring Me To Life first. Thankfully I know how to color a crowd. "Thank you guys, we are Walking On Starlight! I'm Emmaline Wheaton, and yes, I am the daughter of Mikey Wheaton from The Hatboxes. Hi Dad!" I wave to where Dad is standing by the sound board. He waves back. That gets some laughs from the thinning crowd.

"We are all juniors here at Curling Blue High and we've been invited to play for you. We're just getting started as a band, and we hope that you'll continue to support the junior class with their fundraiser!" And then I start playing the beginning to Bring Me To Life before August can complain.

"What was that all about?" August asks as we start teardown for the night, long after every plate of spaghetti has been served.

I do what I've wanted to do all night: I hug him. He seems genuinely in shock. "I wanted to take a load off your shoulders," I say to him. "You do so much for the band, but you don't have to do everything. I promise."

He blushes when I pull away, and I kiss him, quickly. For someone with a lot of charisma, I figured he would be a better kisser, but he really does keep things simple. "Thank you. It's okay if you make the announcements. Just..let me know first, okay?"

I grin, and kiss him on the cheek again. "I promise, again."