𝐅𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 • Randall Floyd

Chapter 10

GETTING to the Aerosmith concert was a dissociative experience for Willa.

Just the day before Jodi was picking her up from the airport. She spent the night and the next day—which was today—around midday they picked up Shavonne and Kaye then headed to Houston.

Willa was indifferent and Jodi was ambivalent, but if Shavonne had it her way, they wouldn't have been travelling to the arena until after dark. But to Kaye their initiative paid off.

When they arrived, they made it to the barricade and lined up perfectly in the middle while the rest of the audience piled around them. Willa stood furthest to the left with Shavonne next to her, then Kaye was next to Shavonne and on the furthest right was Jodi.

"Isn't this better—front and centre?" said Kaye.

"The only reason you want to be front and centre is so you can flash Steven Tyler," Shavonne remarked.

Willa and Jodi looked at each other knowingly from across the girls. Neither of them would be surprised if the back and forth ran this way for the rest of the show because it did throughout the heavy majority of the car ride there.

"I would never do that," Kaye scolded, clearly taking offence to the mere suggestion. "That goes against everything I stand for. I wanted to be here for the experience. But I guess the only downside of a VIP view is the three hour wait."

"Three hours?" Shavonne echoed while Jodi cried, "What?" and Willa groaned, "Ugh, I'm sitting down."

Willa turned around and sat down using the barricade as something to lean on.

"Have any of you ever been to a concert before?" Kaye asked and looked between them.

It wasn't until over two hours later that anyone from Lee High started piling in, or just Austin in general, and they came in droves.

Wooderson was able to get a kombi from someone he knew to hold nine, himself included. The eight consisted of Randall, Slater, Don, Pickford, Michelle, Cynthia—and per Cynthia and Randall's request—Mike and Tony.

By the time the lot of them had finally arrived, there were so many people they could barely see the front.

But Wooderson readily said, "It's all right," in his cool southern tone. "I got it under control."

Under control apparently meant shoving his way through the crowd with brief 'Excuse me's and on occasion: 'Sorry, we're looking for some friends.' There were complaints here and there but mostly people were high out of their minds or just simply delirious.

Once Wooderson settled for somewhere in the middle, Randall spotted the side of Jodi's face front row. He tapped Don and said, "Check it out. Looks like someone reserved us a few front row spots."

The boys looked at each other knowingly and beelined through the rest of the crowd, not without ushering the others who had no idea where they were going but obliged nonetheless. And eventually, Randall made it to Jodi.

He flicked her cheek with his finger and thumb, and her immediate shock softened. "Randall "Pink" Floyd as I live and breathe."

Just as he offered Kaye a smile who turned around at Jodi's words, he heard a vaguely familiar voice outcry, "Donny, what the hell?"

"How'd you find us?" Kaye asked.

"Two beautiful ladies such as yourselves? How could I miss you?" Randall replied.

Jodi rolled her eyes while Kaye only hummed doubtingly.

When a blonde surged from below behind Kaye, he pieced that the outcry belonged to her—Shavonne—as she wrapped her arms around Don who picked her up off the ground.