Life as A Rockstar

Chapter One

“What time is the gig again?” Debby, a girl in my English class asks, leaning over in her seat so the top of her breasts are exposed.

“Seven.” I say, thinking about how excited I am to play with my band tonight.

“Come Back Addict is totally gonna kill!” Another girl named Amanda says.

“Hopefully.” I laugh to myself.

            Class begins, and I sit there, my mind drifting off. I’m nervous, I know there will be a huge crowd tonight. Thanks to all our fans we are well known around Seattle, but after senior year ends, the guys and I plan on heading to Hollywood where the real record companies are.

            The school day ends and I head home. Brad, our guitarist, is bringing his girlfriend to our gig tonight. They haven’t been dating long, but you can definitely tell that he has fallen hard for her. The rest of the guys and I are single.

            I get home to my house, where my dad is passed out drunk on the couch, as always. My mom bailed on us when I was five, so it’s just me really. I finish up some homework and around 5 I head to the theatre we are preforming. The guys show up not too long after me, and we tune and make sure everything is set up and ready for tonight.

            Janette, Brad’s girlfriend, arrives around 6:30, with another girl.

“Guys this is Claire my friend.” Janette introduces her. I can’t help but stare at her. You look at Janette, dressed all ‘punk rock’ like, and then there is Claire, who is dressed in skinny jeans, boots, an overlarge sweater, and her dirty blond hair in a messy bun. They are like complete opposites.

“It’s nice to meet you.” I say, holding out my hand, wanting to have an excuse to look into her ocean blue eyes.

“You too.” She almost whispers. I’m still stunned by her beauty.

            They go to get front row seats, while the guys and I get our instruments on, and talk.

“So Noel, I saw the way you looked at Claire.” Our drummer, Nate, teases, hitting my arm.

“Shut up Nate!” I blush.

“Guys look he is blushing!” Jack, our bass player shouts.

            Normally I’m not nervous before a performance, but knowing that Claire is out there, I just hope to make a good impression. The curtains lift at 7, and the speakers fill the whole theatre as we play our first song. I glance at Claire, watching as she sways to the beat, as Janette goes crazy dancing and air drumming.

            We slow it down about half way through to a song that I personally wrote, named “Goodbye Baby”, as I sing the lines ‘I thought I knew you, but as it turns out the time we had wasn’t enough. I don’t want to say goodbye baby…’ I look at Claire, and wink. I watch as she blushes and looks down at the ground. My heart races like it never has before.

            The show ends, the guys and I walk back stage, panting and drenched in sweat. About 15 minutes later, Janette and Claire get back stage by us. I watch as Claire stares at the ground, her right hand clutching to her left elbow.

“You guys were awesome!” Janette says, kissing Brad.

“It was really good.” Claire says, I’m so glad she liked it.

“So what’s the plan? Head to Jack’s?” Brad questions.

“Sounds good.” Everyone says, but I watch as Claire walks to Janette and says something.

“You guys go, I’ll meet you there; I have to bring Claire home.” Janette tells me, my heart sinks.

“I can do that for you if you want.” I blurt, without thinking.

            Thankfully, nobody found it too weird, but the guys know that I like her. So Janette is going to the party and I’m bringing Claire home in my car.

“So where do you live?” I ask, as we get into my car.

“Just drive down this road for a while and I’ll tell you when to turn.” Claire says.

“You know, I think that is the most I’ve ever heard you say.” I smiles, Claire looks at me and blushes.

“Yeah…” Claire mumbles.

“So tell me about yourself.” I smile, wanting to get to know her.

“Um, I don’t know. I’m 17, I go to East Riverside High School, and I’m in 12th grade.” Claire starts.

“Wait I go to school there, how have I never seen you before?” I question.

“Well in case you haven’t noticed I’m kinda shy.” Claire states and we both laugh.

            Once I get to Claire’s I don’t want her to go yet, but I can’t stop her. She thanks me and I nod, then I watch as she gets into her house. I still can’t believe I’ve never seen her in school, I’ll have to look for her on Monday. I drive off to the party.

            Basically all we do at the ‘after party’ is play video games and eat, the guys drink but I don’t. I’ve seen my father, and I don’t want to end up like him.

“So the guys have been telling me you have a little something for Claire?” Janette questions, as she stands next to me.

“She is something special.” I state, not knowing what to say.

“Here is her number, so if she asks how you got it, just say it was me with my evil plans of the future.” Janette tells me, handing me a piece of paper.