Weeping Angels

Part VI: Tequila, Tunes, And Mortification.

Kettu's mind wandered as he tuned his guitar. He should have been dead by now. He should have been drifting off into some unknown void that lay beyond this life, and yet, here he was, tuning his favourite red Stratocaster. He had come close to relieving himself of his existence in this world, but then along came that girl.

Nina.

She was interesting to be sure, an ex-suicidal on some kind of quixotic quest to save the world from suicidal people like himself. She was a walking paradox in Kettu’s mind. No one in his mind who felt the way he felt about life would ever want to, how did she put it again? Right, she saw the beauty in every day life and found a new reason for living.

Strong words for someone who thought they were born as the wrong species. So strong in fact, it had given Kettu a reason to stay alive until they met again. She had promised him to show him her technique for seeing what she saw before they departed that coffee shop, and handed him her phone number, which he still kept in his back pocket.

Maybe I should call her… Kettu began thinking to himself.

“Hey, earth to Big K! Kettu Kinson, come in!” A screaming voice shattered his thoughts and brought him rudely back into reality.

“What?!” Kettu snapped, glaring up at Jack Huston, who stood over him with a condescending grin on his face.

“Have you been listening to a damn word we’ve been saying? Once the van is loaded, we’re going to stop at Bar Six and get some liquor in us, seeing as it’s right across the street from la pluie. We’ll get our drink on and unload our equipment.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Kettu agreed as he set his Stratocaster into its case and shut the lid.

“Right! Let’s get ‘er done, boys!” Jack shouted out to the rest of the band. Kettu sat for a moment, trying to recover where his thoughts were before Jack barged in. Right, Nina. He’d told her about the gig, and wondered if she were going to drop by and watch him play. He then looked around at his band mates, who were now cracking their heads together and chanting like some kind of primal tribesman who had just scored a kill.

Juvenile bastards. Kettu scowled internally. Maybe he was jealous that he wasn’t included in their little pre-show ritual, but a large part of him did not want to be involved in any way whatsoever. Whatever brain cells those three didn’t kill with drugs or liquor were probably suffering a miserable death right now.

Kettu shook his head and lifted his guitar case off the ground, clasping it tightly in his hand as he made his way to the van.

Bar Six wasn’t crowded at all, and was far from a hopping party center. In fact, between the band members, the staff, and what looked to be a homeless man passed out at the end of the bar, the building was entirely empty, which suited Kettu just fine. He wasn’t a fan of crowds, unless they were willing to sit and listen to the music that was being played. And that was really the only exception.

“What can I get you boys?” A disenchanted voice asked from behind the bar. Kettu looked up to see a middle-aged man, his hands busied with cleaning out the interior of a beer mug.

“A shot of tequila for all the boys!” Phil thundered, pumping a fist into the air. Kettu wasn’t about to argue. He didn’t drink often, but when he did, he preferred the hard stuff, and if Phil was buying, it was all the better for him.

Within moments, the shot glasses were set down on the bar. Jack, Phil and Ben were practically salivating as the liquor poured, eyeing up the liquid like it was the key to eternal life.

“To Sanctus!” Phil hollered, raising the tiny glass high above his head.

Sanctus.

It had been what they named the band, Kettu couldn’t remember, but he thought that it had been some Latin word for safety or something, hardly the type of image that a hard rock band was willing to put up or live up to. The key seller of Sanctus’ name was the fact that it sounded cool to Jack, and the rest was pretty much self-writing history. Kettu and the other band members raised their glasses and tossed back the harsh fluid. This had become a traditional ritual that the members of Sanctus had made their own, and Kettu wondered what kind of significance drinking symbolized before a show. Was it an antiquated tradition of good luck, or were his band mates looking to take the edge off of their own anxieties? He shrugged off the question, knowing that he would never know the answer, and watched as the second round of shots were poured.

“Kettu?” Ben’s voice cut into his thoughts like a sharpened katana. The rocker stood in front of him, another shot glass in his outstretched hand. “You’ve been out of it all day, buddy, you feeling ok?”

Count on Ben to be the only one to notice anything wrong, Kettu thought to himself as he took the shot glass,

“I was just up really late the other night, once I get this show over with and some sleep, I’ll be fine.” Kettu said, and tossed back the second shot.

“Good to hear!” Ben slapped Kettu on the back, “So what kept you up? Hopefully not writing any more of those gothic suicide songs like our closer. Frankly, man, that shit scares the buh-jesus out of me.”

“Nah, it wasn’t that, I barely even practiced after I left the garage.”

“Oh?” Ben leaned forward, a sly grin on his face, “I sense someone, not something, was the reason you were up all night.”

“Holy shit!” Jack shouted, barging into the conversation, “Big K! Did you get laid?! Was it a chick? Please say it was, I have a fifty dollar bet with Phil!”

“Big K Got laid?!” Phil shouted in what sounded like shock, “God damn, after all these years of seeing him without a chick on his arm, I thought he was gay!”

“I didn’t get laid, I just had coffee with a new friend, and we got talking.” Kettu growled, this kind of attention was unwanted, and extremely probing. He could feel his cheeks growing hot with embarrassment and his chest tightening with prickly apprehension.

“I knew it! He’s gay! That fifty bucks is as good as mine!” Phil clapped his hands.

“The bet is still on, asshole!” Jack shouted back.

“I’m not gay!” Kettu exasperatedly groaned, “Have another drink, you Neanderthals.”

　

The la pluie lounge wasn’t anything like The Den, Kettu found himself thinking as he worked with wiring his amplifier box to his speakers. It was more like the conglomerate coffee shops with a more hipster style of décor. Everything from the tables to the upholstery of the chairs were advertised as being made with 100% recycled material, and the crowd seemed very out of place for the kind of music that Sanctus had to offer.

This was going to be a disaster. Kettu could feel it.

“This place really cramps my style,” Jack complained quietly to the others, “It’s so full of rich tight asses that it’s causing my shorts to tighten.”

“Money is money, quit complaining.” Ben said as he tapped on his drums, “I’m good to go, how about you guys?”

“Good to go.” Kettu said as he plugged in his Stratocaster to the amplifier.

“Ready to rock.” Jack said, microphone in hand.

“All systems go.” Phil remarked as he plucked a few bass chords.

“Good, I’ll let the manager know and we can get started.” Ben stood up from his drum set and wandered off.

“Hey, Kettu!” A voice cut through the murmur of the crowd. Kettu snapped his head around and saw a familiar face, smeared with blue and green paint. He blinked in surprise.

“Nina, what are you doing here?”

“You told me about the show, and your band. I looked into it and found out where you were playing, so I rushed over here from my art class to see you play.”

Kettu‘s expression was one of puzzlement and shock. Her leaving her class to come see him was stunning, even touching in some strange way.

“Wow, well, prepare to be disappointed, we suck.” Kettu said modestly.

“Phil! You bastard!” Jack shouted, pointing at Nina and Kettu, “You owe me fifty bucks!”

“Shit!” Phil cursed, kicking his amplifier.

“What are they talking about?” Nina raised an eyebrow.

“Never mind those two, they’re idiots.” Kettu said nervously.

“Alright, guys, get ready to go!” Ben said, jumping behind his drum set.

“Good luck out there.” Nina smiled at Kettu.

Kettu found himself smiling back.