Carpe Aestatem (original)

Chapter 36

Avery

"Okay, ladies, it's showtime." I heard Mark say after he checked his phone.

I grabbed my bass and hunted for the monogrammed guitar strap my aunt gave me when I turned fourteen, which also worked for basses as well. Did I accidentally leave it in Ljubljana? I checked my little concert bag- with extra cables, picks and the case for my in-ears. Shit. I left the strap in Ljubljana. How did I forget to pack it? "Hey Nace?" I asked.

"Yes, Avery?"

"Do you by any chance have an extra guitar strap? I left mine back in Ljubljana."

"I'll ask Jan. I think he has one."

This was really bad. Why did I leave my favorite strap back in Slovenia? If I don't bring it for Zagreb next weekend, I'm toast. "Avery! I've go one!" Jan said, rushing the strap to me.

"Thanks, Jan."

I fixed my in-ears (they matched my AirPods case- glittery and navy blue) got the strap on my bass and followed Olivia onstage. The crowd went wild. Did they all hear of us because of the video we posted or were they hyped to see us just because we're opening for Joker Out? "Good evening Umag!" Jenna said into her mic.

The crowd started screaming. "Are you pumped to see Joker Out?"

The crowd started cheering again. "On the drums, give it up for Sam Wellesley!"

Sam drummed out a little beat and waved. "Give it up for Olivia Moore on the guitar!"

Olivia played a little bit of 'Dopamin'. I still had to figure out what I wanted to play. "On the bass and backing vocals, give a warm welcome to Avery Hughes!"

I played the bass solo for 'Zitti e Buoni', like how Vic does it. I stepped to my mic. "And give it up for our lead singer and guitarist, Jenna Cooper!" I said.

Jenna played a part of a demo that we want to record. "So, we're going to play a few songs for you tonight, how does that sound?"

The crowd cheered. Jenna tuned her guitar. "First up tonight is one of my favorite songs of all time, by Måneskin. If you can't tell, I'm an Indie rock type of person. I think you might have heard of this song, 'I Wanna Be Your Slave'. Enjoy."

Sam tapped her drumsticks, played her bass drum and Jenna began to sing.

I wanna be your slave, I wanna be your master
I wanna make your heartbeat run like rollercoasters
I wanna be a good boy, I wanna be a gangster
'Cause you could be the beauty and I could be the monster

I love you since this morning, not just for aesthetic
I wanna touch your body, so fucking electric
I know you're scared of me, you say that Ɩ'm too eccentric
I'm crying all my tears, and that's fucking pathetic

I wanna make you hungry, then I wanna feed ya
I wanna paint your face, like you're my Mona Lisa
I wanna be a champion, I wanna be a loser
I'll even be a clown 'cause I just wanna amuse ya

I wanna be your sex toy, I wanna be your teacher
I wanna be your sinner, wanna be a preacher
I wanna make you love me, then I wanna leave ya
'Cause, baby, Ɩ'm your David, and you're my Goliath

Uh-huh
Hmm, uh-huh

Because I'm the devil, who's searching for redemption
And I'm a lawyer, who's searching for redemption
And I'm a killer, who's searching for redemption
I'm a motherfucking monster, who's searching for redemption

And I'm a bad guy, who's searching for redemption
And I'm a blonde girl, who's searching for redemption
And I'm a freak that is searching for redemption
I'm a motherfucking monster who's searching for redemption

I wanna be your slave, I wanna be your master
I wanna make your heartbeat run like rollercoasters
I wanna be a good boy, I wanna be a gangster
'Cause you can be the beauty and I could be the monster

I wanna make you quiet, I wanna make you nervous
I wanna set you free, but I'm too fucking jealous
I wanna pull your strings, like you're my telecaster
And if you want to use me, I could be your puppet

'Cause I'm the devil, who's searching for redemption
And I'm a lawyer, who's searching for redemption
And I'm a killer, who's searching for redemption
I'm a motherfucking monster who's searching for redemption

Ɩ wanna be your slave, Ɩ wanna be your master

The crowd clapped so loud that I could hear it in my in-ears. "Next up tonight is...for all you Taylor Swift fans, we're playing 'Anti Hero'."

And then we got to my selection ('I Wrote A Song') and then we got to Olivia. For this one, Olivia had to sing it because it was one of the songs that Kris's dad wrote. "Hi everyone, I'm Olivia."

The crowd cheered. "So a thing you may not know about me is that I'm half Slovenian, and I know the language. Tonight, for our final song, we're singing 'Led S Sevra' by Big Foot Mama."

Olivia began to sing it, and when it was over, I felt like I was about to cry. "Thank you Umag! Are you ready for Joker Out now?" I said when Olivia got back to her spot on the stage.

The crowd cheered. And we walked offstage. "Avery! You did it!" Nace said the moment I got off the stage. "You sounded like a pro."

Bojan got us all in for a huddle. "Girls, what I heard up there was ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL. I am so so proud of you four. You killed it."

"Break a leg!"

"Thanks, Avery." Kris said as he followed Jan up to the stage.

We were all checking our phones when Jenna squealed. "Jenna? What is it?" Olivia asked.

Sam, Olivia and I ran over to Jenna. "MY BROTHER QUALIFIED FOR INTERNATIONALS!"

"When is it?"

"July! In London!"

"Does that mean..."

"I CAN SEE MY FAMILY!"

"When is the competition?"

"July 20."

"That's when we're in London! I have to ask if we can get three tickets for the London gig for my family."