We all walked into the music hall.
"Cool."
"Could do in a pinch." I said, looking all around. I lifted my head.
| Stars fadin',
but I linger on still craving your kiss and I'm longin' to linger the dawn so dream a little dream of me |
My voice echoed. "Wicked!" I laughed, and looked as everyone stared at me. "What?"
"That's cool." Jamie yelled, her voice echoing.
We stood there and yelled like maniacs, the sounds reverberating all around us.
"So, who's first?" I asked when we stopped our spastic fit.
"I don't know." the others shrugged.
"Then you go first." I said, dropping off the high stage and sauntering over to a seat. The girls followed, and soon we were all slouching in the first row.
Hanson warmed up, and started through the scads of songs they play. I won't go into detail. It was boring. Hanson, you know?
Towards lunch time the guys hopped from the stage all bright, but tired at the same time.
"That was good!" Jessica gushed.
I rolled my eyes and dropped behind the pack to where Taylor was lagging. "Okay. You missed that C note in 'Weird'..." I ragged on him, and he gave me the evil eye.
"Leave me alone." he muttered and slouched on.
"Hey!" I stopped, stunned. "Sorry. I was joking. Ever heard of a joke, Jordan Taylor Hanson?"
He shrugged and followed the others. I caught up with him and grabbed his arm. "Why are you PSMing all over the place? You did good."
He shrugged again, and swiped his hand through his hair. "I'm tired." he whispered, eyes half closed.
"Really?" I asked, even though I could see he was tired.
He nodded. I pulled him into the row of seats next to us, and we sat down.
"You lovers coming?" Jamie yelled at us.
"Later. After we procreate!" I joked back. I turned to Tay, who was slouched back, eyes shut. "You okay? Not doing any drugs on me, are you?" I asked.
He shook his head.
"Tell me?" I asked softly.
He sighed and pulled his head up to glance at me and dropped it back. "When we first started, it was way cool. Touring, seeing the world, making people happy and so on. We were full of energy, ready to do it." I nodded, understanding. "But now it's like everything's the same and boring. Interviews with people who ask the same half-assed questions. The same concerts with screaming girls. Going to awards ceremonies. It's all..." he searched for the word.
"Shitty?" I volunteered.
"Yeah, for lack of words." he sighed again. "These people are hypocrites. One day, a magazine will be praising you for your talent, and dissing you the next. I don't know them, but it hurts, because they assume they know us."
I nodded, watching my hands play games in my lap. "Done?" I asked.
"Yeah."
"Well, I know how you feel. It happens to all of us. People say 'Wouldn't it be great to be famous and have all that money?'. But they never think of the cost. Sure, we're rich. Sure, everyone knows our name, and sure! everyone says they love us. But we have no life. We follow the plans of others, singing on cue like a canary. We don't have a social life. Your friend's 16th birthday? Can't go because you've got to cut the ribbon to a brand new bell tower. You send a card full of money; regretting it. It's sad." I sat back, looking over at him through my eyes.
"Yeah." he said again.
"People are always around, ready to praise and criticise you about anything. I once remember being bashed for not wearing my black Docs when I wore a black shirt and pants. I mean, hello! I thought lime green Docs would be cool."
Taylor shifted his head and looked over at me. "Yeah."
"Basically, what I do is say 'Stuff you! I'm my own me!' to the world. I don't care. With my attitude, I may not last long, but I will keep what I've got. My family, friends, life."
"Amen to that." he muttered.
"Yeah." We sat in silence, eyeing the large strobe lights mounted on the high ceiling. I giggled.
"What?"
"I was thinking about a time when I was being interviewed. I was flicking a pen through my fingers and it flew out of my hand, and whacked the interviewer in the face. He had a big black mark down his face."
Taylor chuckled.
I dug into my pants and pulled out some Extra. "Want some?" I offered.
"Sure." he grabbed a piece.
I popped mine in my mouth, and chewed. Someone grabbed me from behind and my gum nearly paid a visit to my lungs as I choked. Taylor whacked me on the back and I brought my ABC Extra up.
"Sorry." Zac leaned over, eyeing me cautiously.
I gasped.
"Your turn." he said, and meandered back up the aisle.
When I had recovered, I shoved my gum back in my mouth, and went behind stage to grab my gear.