Accidents Happen

33. AMERICA!

We landed with a bump at LAX. The flight had been pretty cool in first class. It was only the second time I'd ever flown and I was far too excited to sleep. There were proper reclining chairs and actually nice plane food. Dan and I played games and watched films for the ten hours, then took it in turns to whoop everyone's asses at card games. There was the four boys, their manager Dick, the sound guy, a camera guy and even a hairdresser. This was a big trip for them. They'd been trying to make it out here for a while and this would be the first time they'd be doing their own headline gigs. And with Ben and his gang here too it felt just like being home (although they'd been in economy class and I spent most of the journey looking back at him and giving him sarcastic waves).

And I'd forgotten just how warm this place could be. I'd grown up in the south, but not this far south. The moment we stepped off the plane I became a sweaty mess. But it felt nice to be here, surrounded by so many familiar things. The road signs, the fast food places, the accent, even the smells.

We were shipped off to the hotel to dump bags in taxis and then whisked to their record company for a meeting in a massive American style tourbus. Which was probably the most exciting bus I'd ever been in. It was equipped with a living room downstairs next to a fully functioning kitchen with microwave and fridge. And then up the stairs were two rows of bunk beds, a little bathroom and a second living area with giant television and more games and films than I'd ever seen.

I could hear Kyle whooping downstairs at the apparent discovery of alcohol in the fridge. Dan shook his head and laughed before claiming his bunk by dumping his backpack on it.

'Do you want this one?' He asked, pointing underneath his. I nodded. Ben and his bandmates were travelling with us in their own minibus, but for this journey to the swanky offices of Virgin Media they pilled into our bus.

'Hows it feel to be home?' Ben asked as we drove down the boulevard. I was staring out the window, spotting familiar shops I hadn't seen in almost three years. The entire time I'd been in England I'd never been homesick once. But now I was. I knew we'd be passing through Mississippi at some point over the six weeks and I wondered if I had the heart to go see my parents. Had I left it too late to repair the tears in our family?

'Tiring!' I laughed through a yawn. The flight had taken it out of me and I'd hoped to be able to sleep in the hotel for a while. But I didn't want to miss a moment. So instead I opted for a quick nap leaning against Dan.

'We're here.' He whispered, gently shaking my arm. I could only have been asleep moments. 'Come on sleepy head.' We'd stopped moving and Dan and I were the last on the bus. He stood up first and offered me his hand. It was getting harder to hoist myself up from sitting position. 'We'll grab some food in a bit and have an early night if you want?'

'I've gotta show you some real American food.'

'Yes you do!' He agreed. I'd been on his turf and how it was my turn to show him my culture. Although California was so far turning out to be a lot different to my home state where nothing ever happened and all we had were farms and mountains.

Ben, Ralph and I went for a little explore around the building as the Bastille boys had their meeting. We talked about things we were looking forward to while we were here, which I hadn't really thought about as I'd only made my mind up less than twenty four hours ago.

'Definitely the food.' Ben said.

'Obviously.' I winked.

We strolled around sipping milkshakes and eating fries, doing typical tourist photos with buildings and even got a taxi to the Hollywood sign. I felt bad for not doing all this with Dan, but we'd have our chance another day, if the schedule allowed it.

By the time we arrived back at the hotel to meet the rest of the group, I was exhausted and ready for my bed. I greeted Dan in the lobby with a massive smile and we travelled up to our room. I hadn't thought this far ahead as he opened the door to reveal just one bed. It reminded me of the second day after I'd moved in and we had to share a hotel room in Manchester. We both laughed to ourselves and I collapsed down on the bed and was out like a light.