by Fathiah Zarafi
Chapter 3
“You know, you did great just now.”
Sophia whipped her head around to stare at Hunter through the red strands billowing in her face. “Really?” she questioned skeptically. He blew a strand of curly brown hair out of his eyes before grinning down at her.
“Really,” he insisted, “for someone as small as you, your voice makes Whitney Houston crap her pants.”
A smile broke on her face followed by a bright blush on her cheeks. Hunter couldn’t help but laugh at her cute habit of blushing. “Shut up,” Sophia spluttered, trying in vain to settle down the redness of her cheeks. He grabbed her hands that were attached to her face and gently brought it down.
“Don’t cover it; I think it’s cute,” he remarked, only resulting in a deeper blush on Sophia’s face. A moment of awkward pause passed through them as Sophia tried to figure out what to say and Hunter was just amused at her silence.
“You were a monster on that guitar,” she finally commented. He threw her a loop-sided grin but immediately sobered up. “Yeah well, I’m not as good as Dylan,” he grumbled. Sophia smiled softly to herself as she remembered the day Dylan taught himself how to play the guitar. They were twelve back then and she had just learned to play the piano. Dylan wanted to beat her so he took his father’s guitar and started learning by himself.
”Hello, earth to Sophie, come in Sophie!”
Sophia broke from her trance by Hunter’s rapidly waving hand in front of her face. She blinked once, twice, before finally realizing that they had arrived at her house. She twirled around to face Hunter who was currently staring at her with a cocked eyebrow.
“Um, thank you for walking me home,” she thanked. Hunter grinned at her in reply. Before she knew what was happening, he had lean down and enveloped her in a quick hug.
“See you tomorrow, Red!” he hollered as he jogged down the street. Sophia closed her door dazedly, silently pondering on his abrupt show of affection.
*********************************************************************************
Sophia went to bed early that night, despite the fact that it was Friday. After long hours of tossing and turning on her small bed, sleep finally overtook her.
You don't have to believe me
But the way I, way I see it
Next time you point a finger I might have to bend it back
And break it, break it off
Next time you point a finger I’ll point you to the mirror
A hand shot out from underneath the thick covers and groped blindly at the side table for the noisy contraption. Sophia pushed her messy red hair away from her eyes before answering her cell phone.
”Unnh?” or at least excrete some kind of a noise.
“Sophia, I have the most awesome news in the history of the most awesome news!” Sophia was instantly wide awake once she heard that voice. She glanced at her digital clock and groaned out loud.
“Do you have to tell me at 2 in the morning, Dylan?” she complained.
“Yes, I do. We, my dear red-headed midget friend, have been booked for a gig!” he shouted through the phone.
Sophia shot up straight from her previous lying position and stared at the phone wide-eyed. “You’re kidding,” she whispered.
“No, I’m serious!” Dylan laughed “my uncle, the manager of that JamHard club heard us when we were practicing and told me we have to perform at his club!”
Sophia couldn’t contain herself anymore. She jumped on her soft bed and proceeded to do a little dance on it. Suddenly a comprehension dawned on her. She flopped down on her bed heavily and stared at the opposite wall in horror.
“Oh no, no, Dylan, I can’t!” she gasped out, “there’s—there’s too many people watching!”
“Sophia please,” Dylan pleaded “we can’t do this without you!”
“But what if I get stage fright and I forgot how to sing!” she choked out, her breaths starting to become heavier. Dylan automatically knew she was starting to panic.
“Hey, hey, calm down Soph. I’ll be there too, remember? Right on stage with you, standing next to you so there’s no need to panic okay.”
She nodded silently, taking deep calming breaths. “Okay, okay. I’ll do it if only you’d be there with me the whole time.”
“Of course,” he chuckled “I won’t be going anywhere.” Sophia couldn’t help but smile at his reassuring words. “Well I’ll see you—in a few more hours,” he continued.
“Yeah, sure, bye.”
As soon as Dylan hung up, Sophia fell back onto her bed a little breathless. Even though he had clearly stated that there was nothing to be worried about, the thought of performing in a club packed with people still sent shivers down her spine. And so starts the insomnia.
*********************************************************************************************
Dylan wiped his brows with the back of his hands while squinting his eyes against the glares of the sun. He was waiting for Sophia at the back alley of the club near the backstage door. It was six in the evening and he had waited for the girl for at least half an hour. Through scrunched up eyes, he could barely make out a red blur dashing towards him.
“Sorry—I’m late!” Sophia gasped out as she reached where Dylan stood. He eyed her from head to toe, from her red hair ironed straight to her black-and-white tank top and down to her bright yellow skinny jeans.
“Um, cool outfit,” he commented. Sophia breathlessly punched his shoulder before straightening up to touch her hair gingerly. “My mom forced me to straighten my hair,” she mumbled bashfully. Dylan unconsciously toyed with a strand of her red hair as he studied her “banana-pants”.
“And the pants?”
“I didn’t have that much to wear, okay!” she shrieked, walking to the backstage. Sophia suddenly lurched to a stop and twirled around to face Dylan.
“I’m so nervous,” she cried agitatedly. He drew Sophia into in his arms and lightly rubbed her back to soothe her. “It’s okay,” he comforted, “we can do this; together.”
She withdrew from his embrace, blushing evidently but quickly hid it by busying herself with her earpiece. Dylan was a little bit confused watching his best friend fumbling with the wires when he noticed the apples of her cheeks were painted red. Before he could ponder on though, the stage manager appeared from behind the curtains.
“Farro, Banks, upstage now!” the six-foot man hissed. The two teenagers quickly scrambled to their positions behind the curtain, joining the other three band members.
“You’re late, Red,” Hunter whispered. “Tell me something I don’t know,” she scoffed back at him.
“Guys, you’re on now!” the manager interrupted. Much to Dylan’s dismay, Hunter grabbed Sophia’s hand and led her to the stage where the crowd awaits. Sophia couldn’t help but grip his in return as she stepped onto the stage for the first time.
She released Hunter’s hand and strutted to the awaiting microphone in the middle of the stage. Sophia took a deep breath and glanced at Dylan briefly who smiled reassuringly back at her. She took the mic close to her lips and claimed proudly, “We are The Avenue.”
The crowd was cheering them on, singing along with them when a familiar song was sung. Dylan, Sophia, Hunter, Luke and Zach covered popular songs as well as those undiscovered tracks. My Hero, Use Somebody, Can’t Move On, Playing God were among the songs sung by Sophia that night.
As the band rounded up their final song for the night, every person present in the club screamed and cheered; some even demanded an encore. Sophia let the cheers sink in her as her mind started realizing and comprehend the situation. This was where she belonged, on the open stage.
******************************************************************************
Labels: It's Just You and Me Honey