The Stalkers' Guide To Roadtrips

Before

                                                “Been dreaming of this since a child,

                                                                I’m on top of the world.”

 

382 Days Before

The coffee shop doors open with the ring of a bell and Rosie storms into the room with a scowl on her face. Her red curls are bouncing furiously and her strides are surprisingly long for someone so short.

“Have you heard the news!” she says, angrily slamming a piece of paper down on the table.

“What news?” I ask cautiously.

Although being known for being bubbly and friendly, Rosie is also known for being strangely violent when she’s annoyed about something. It is clear that today is one of those days when I want to avoid her as much as I possibly can. It was El who arranged the meeting today though, so the least I can do is wait for her to turn up before making up an excuse to leave.

“You mean you seriously haven’t heard?”

“Heard what?”

“Just look at the piece of paper.”

I pull the sheet towards me cautiously, based on Rosie’s mood whatever is on the other side is not good news. I flip it over and quickly scan the page.

“What’s the problem?” I ask confused, “these are tour dates for Blakely! We can finally go see them live, why on earth are you frustrated about this?”

“Look again,” Rosie orders, “look closer at those dates.”

I do so as soon as she tells me to, focusing on the dates as she said. Quickly cogs start to turn in my mind and I process why on earth we have a problem, suddenly I am as angry as Rosie is about this.

“Screw them!” I exclaim.

“I happily would,” Rosie replies suggestively before focusing on the situation in hand, “I mean seriously though, all their UK dates are on weekdays, in the middle of exam season. That has to be deliberate.”

“Either that or we just have really bad luck,” I say.

Because a weekday night would not usually be a problem, we would somehow convince our parents to let us go, probably by begging them but there is no way that we can go during exam season. As the teachers are constantly reminding us, A-Levels are an insanely important part of our lives and so the chances of my parents letting us go are practically impossible.

“Why are there no weekend dates?” I ask confused, “seriously, no weekends at all.”

“Well there’s one,” Rosie tells me pointing to a date in Cardiff, “but it’s on a Sunday.”

To say that I am frustrated is an understatement, Blakely announcing tour dates had been something the three of us had been looking forward to for months, we had narrowly missed out on getting tickets for their last tour and were desperate to see them live before we all went off to university in just over a year’s time.

And now that plan was ruined.

Just as I am about to voice my frustration even further, the bell on the door rings again and I look up to see El walk through the door.

Rosie Matson’s frustration was clear when she walked through the door, Elise Clifford is her opposite. She is collected, her walk slow and calm. I can only presume that she is yet to see the tour dates.