Summer in Waldorf
Chapter 2: Mosh Pit Virgin
By:Kerri Vicious
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The instant I saw Benji walk back onstage with four other guys; the atmosphere of the club seemed to go through a metamorphosis. Most everyone stopped what they were doing and crowded around the stage. This caused me to grow very interested. They must be good if this many people came out tonight just to hear them.
A guy that must be Benji’s brother, possibly twin because they looked so much alike, stepped up to the mic that stood center stage and grinned, “Hey guys,” a bunch of masculine whoops and feminine screeches interrupted him for a second. As soon as they died down, he continued, “I’m psyched you’ve all chosen to come out here tonight and support us rather than doing something else.”
“Yo, bro, they didn’t come to hear you babble.” Benji butted in playfully, “They came here to rock!” He then turned and looked out at everyone, “I’m right, right you punk ass losers?!” That prompted several ‘hell yeah’s’ from the crowd and a wolf-whistle or two.
“And that’s exactly what we’re gonna do tonight.” The guy with the bass guitar stated, adding his two cents. “Rock everyone’s fucking socks off!”
“Ready guys?” Benji’s brother asked his bandmates before signaling to the drummer who counted off with three drum beats before they launched into a song.
When they started playing, the energy level of the room shot way up. People were jumping around acting crazy and singing the words to the song being played. Even though I didn’t know any of the words, the tune grabbed my attention and refused to let go. I couldn’t help but throw myself into the fray, moshing along with the best of them.
It wasn’t long before my body tired out though, not being used to that much jumping and bouncing around. I had to fight my way through people to make it to the bar in the back where Brett was sitting with our drinks, Allison on the stool next to him. Allison was grinning at me as I walked up and plopped down on a stool next to Brett.
“I take it you like them.” Allison noted.
All I could do was nod, still having not caught my breath. Brett shoved my Sunkist in my hands and said, “Here, take a few swallows. Girl, you look like you’re about to pass out.”
I did as told, grateful for the cool liquid as it went down my dry throat. “Thanks.”
“So, what do you think?” Allison asked.
“Well,” I began, “so far they kick ass. What’s their name?”
“Good Charlotte.” Brett answered.
“Okay, Good Charlotte… I’ll have to remember that.” I liked it; the name had a nice ring to it and rolled neatly off my tongue. They had long since launched into a new song and I sat there with Brett and Allison to enjoy the music from a safe distance.
As I relaxed and drank my drink, I took in the band members one by one observing them as they played. They all seemed perfectly at ease with the environment; almost as if that was all they knew. Like they were born to perform.
The drummer was so engrossed in the instrument that a look of pure concentration was painted on his face, tongue cutely sticking out of one side of his mouth and eyes locked on his pair of wooden drumsticks as he expertly kept the tempo going at a crazy yet steady pace. He didn’t seem to notice the crowd in from of him only paying mind to his drum set.
On another part of the stage but not far from the drummer was the bassist. Bleached blonde hair and a hoop in one ear, he looked content with everything going on around him seeming to just soak in the crowd and use their energy to fuel his own. His foot kept time with the rhythm of the drums to stay in sync with the rest of the band and play his bass guitar without missing a note.
Opposite the bassist was a tall guy who was so skinny he almost looked anorexic. He had messy, yet stylish, black hair that hung down almost past his pierced ears. Also pierced with a gold stud was his bottom lip. He bounced up and down as he strummed his guitar, occasionally shooting a shy, yet confidant, smile at the crowd.
The lead singer stood front center stage, singing into the mic stand that was positioned in front of him as if he were making love to it. Sometimes he’d remove the microphone from the stand and move around a little, sticking his hand in the crowd to high five people even. His singing was incredible, I wondered if he sounded anything like his brother when he talked. Or, even, if Benji could sing like that.
And then there was Benji. A total firecracker, he was everywhere. It made me wonder if it was really caffeine that ran through his veins instead of blood. When he wasn’t doing backup vocals for his brother, he was jumping around or crowd surfing. The first time he jumped into the crowd, I cringed, expecting him to fall flat on the ground. But the eager audience helped him “surf” back to the stage each time he did it.
It looked like fun, but I wasn’t about to try it. Knowing my luck the moment I tossed my body on top of the crowd instead of catching me people would move aside and I’d fall and break my back, spending the rest of the summer in a hospital. I’d rather play it safe and enjoy it through watching others participate.
The music ended all too soon and I looked on disappointed as they said their goodbyes to everyone and left the stage through a door located to the side of the stage, all lugging their instruments with them. The crowd slowly dissipated, being that the music that brought them together was now gone. A few people still hung around here and there though, just socializing and goofing off.
Looking over at my brother and sister-in-law I frowned. They were talking to each other in low voices, occasionally kissing. I was once again reminded of my unfortunate single status. All my friends who have boyfriends always tell me how lucky I am to be single, that I have more “freedoms” than them. That may be so, but I’m not that kind of girl. I believe in giving my heart to only one guy. Granted, sometimes as I have learned, you have to kiss many toads to find that one prince.
A tap on my shoulder startled me out of my thoughts, causing me to jump slightly. I whirled around in my stool; hand over my wildly beating heart, to come face to face with Benji. Well, face to chest. I had to tilt my head up to see his face since I was sitting.
“Don’t do that!” I grimaced, taking a few deep calming breaths.
He chuckled, “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”
I sighed after swallowing another sip of my drink, “That’s okay.”
Benji pointed to a still oblivious-to-the-rest-of-the-world Brett and Allison, and commented “Seems like those two will be out of it for a while, figured I’d keep you company.”
I rolled my eyes at the two and then shot Benji a smile, “That’s nice of you.”
“So, Eve, you’re here for the whole summer?” Benji asked, sitting down next to me.
“Yeah,” I answered, nodding. “All summer.”
“Dang,” Benji said, looking perplexed, “Brett and Allison must be really special.”
“Why do you say that?” I asked, curious, “Of course they are special to me. Brett’s my blood after all and Allison’s almost like a sister.”
“Waldorf’s not exactly the most happening city in Maryland.” He explained.
“Doesn’t matter.” I shrugged, “I only came with them in mind. And what do you mean ‘not happening’? Tonight this place looked pretty happening to me. You guys brought down the house."
"Really?" Benji asked, looking pleasantly surprised.
"Well, yeah!" I exclaimed, "You guys are good."
"Thanks." he flashed me a big smile, "We hope to make it big some day..."
"I'm sure you will.” my attention turned to his spiky hair for a moment and I couldn’t help but blurt out, “How do you do that?”
“Do what?” he asked, “My hair?” When I nodded he continued, “Lots and lots of hair gel. Like?”
“It’s definitely…” I had to pause to search for the right word, “unique.”
“That’s him alright.” I heard Brett reply, “Unique.”
“About time you crashed back down to Earth.” Benji commented, “You know, it’s not polite to suck face in a public place.”
Allison giggled, “You’re just sore because you don’t have a girlfriend.”
“He’s not the only one annoyed by it.” I pretended to gag.
The guy that I assumed was Benji’s brother had walked over at this point and was standing near us listening in on the conversation, a beer in one hand and the other hand resting comfortably in his jeans pocket.
“Poor little Evelyn.” Brett smirked, messing up my hair with his hand. I swatted him away and pouted, fixing my hair back the way it was. My first name in its entirety was almost as worst as being called ‘kiddo’. He knew I hated it too but typical big brother thinks it’s his job to irk me sometimes.
“Shove it with the ‘little’ bro,” I glared at him half-serious, “I’m only five years younger than you, you know.”
He shook his head smiling, “You’re stuck with it, no matter what you’ll always be my baby sister.”
“I may be younger but you know what?” I asked him in a teasing tone, “I’m definitely more mature than you.”
It was then that Benji’s look-a-like decided to speak up, his eyes trained on me, “She remind you of anyone Benj?” I decided he did sound somewhat like Benji, there was only a slight difference in their voices.
Benji cracked up, “Definitely.”
I blinked at them, obviously confused, ”Who?”
“Our sister Sarah.” Benji’s brother answered me, “You act just like her.”
“Um… I’ll take that as a compliment, I guess.” I replied. "You are..."
"Oh! Sorry." he apologized, "Where has my mind run off to? I'm Joel."
"Hi Joel." I smiled, "I'm Evelyn. But call me that and you die," I shot my brother a look before continuing, "I prefer Eve."
"I guess a Garden of Eden joke would be out of line then." Joel joked.
Just then Allison yawned and ran a hand through her hair, "Well, I'm beat."
"We suck that much?" Joel asked, poking fun at her and trying to make her feel guilty.
"No, No!" Allison was quick to reply, "You guys were good. It's just that I didn't get any sleep last night. Work's been a bitch lately."
Brett looked at her concerned, "Ready to go?"
"Yeah... kind of." she admitted, "But if Eve's having fun I'll stay."
"Actually I'm a little tired myself." I said, tapping my fingernails on the polished wooden table, "If you want to go I'll ride with you."
"I was planning on staying a little while longer. You girls mind?" my brother asked.
"Not at all sweetie." Allison said to Brett, standing up and giving him a quick peck on the lips. I stood as well, waiting on her to lead the way back outside. "Have fun. "We'll see you at the apartment later."
I hugged Brett, "Bye. See you later." And next turned to Benji and Joel, "Nice meeting ya'll. You guys made my first day in Waldorf a total blast. Hope to hear you play again soon."
And with that Allison and I left the club, making our way back to her car to hop back in and head to the apartment to get some much needed rest. On the ride there my eyes started feeling awfully heavy and I had to fight to keep them open. Everything was one big haze as I drifted back and forth between unconsciousness and consciousness.
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to be continued? Please review!