Fluorescents

9

"I'm looking through you while you're looking through your phone."

Shay's ringtone plays shortly after she receives the text and I see Alex's name pop up on the screen before she pulls it closer to her and uses her body to muffle the noise. I step away from her as she brings the phone away from her body and answers the call. As I move myself back I finally step behind the curtain that separates the lounge area and the bunks while she makes her way to the buses door. I hear her body shuffle and I watch behind the curtain as her phone brightens her face and she gazes towards me.

" Can you take any bloody longer?" His Scottish accent rings through the phone. I mentally praise him for being impatient as she reverts her attention away from where I'm standing and brings the phone to her ear before stepping outside.

What was that all about? She seemed to hate him earlier and now she's talking to him as if nothing happened between them on the bus. I don't want to be nosey but my curiosity is nagging at me. Doesn't she have a boyfriend? I could have easily assumed that they were just friends but the way he reacted towards her earlier has me thinking otherwise. Do they have a thing? Is that the reason why she's here? If she hates him so much like shes shown me why would she have agreed to spend two months touring with him? She did tell me her boyfriend was in one of the bands but I still can't help but feel like that's not the only connection she has towards this tour. My mind reels with possibilities but later than I would have liked I finally calm down and focus on what is important. My life and my job. Other people's drama is not something I want to get involved in right now. Especially work drama, that's the worst kind.

When I finally am calm I gaze out the window to see Jack talking with what looks like the bus drivers. I step into my slippers and put on a hoodie before making my way out of the bus. I gaze around the deserted area that seems to be about one forth of a mile away from the small highway. When I reach them Jack has a shocked expression to see me that later turns into worry.

" What's wrong?" I ask and he steps away from the bus drivers before making his way towards me.

" Nothing." He states with an unconvincing smile plastered on his face. I give him a challenging look and he quickly realizes that my stubborn behavior is going to keep him from hiding whatever he is planning on hiding.

" One of the band mates got a little 'Car Sick'" he uses air quotes around car sick and I roll my eyes before pulling out my phone to look at the time. 2:30.

" How much more time till we get there?" I step towards one of the drivers as I cross my arms over my chest. I'm beyond frustrated and it's too late. I'm not going to waste my time being polite and courteous at these hours.

" about a five hour drive." One of the drivers with a southern accent says and my mouth hangs open in shock. This can't be happening to me.

" five hours." I scoff rudely, letting my manners fly away. I'm too stressed and too tired." This can't be real." I groan and rub at my temples. By the time the "car sick" band mate gets better and we depart it'll more than likely be 3. We were suppose to originally be there by 5, the latest 6 but now with this shift in time we'll be lucky to get there by 7:30.

As I stand in my place and pull at my hair shuffling is heard from a door on the side of the gas station. A small restroom sign hangs on top of it and I watch as two familiar people exit from the bathroom. My mouth hangs wide open in shock as they step out. I hold back all my possible comments and watch as they make their way towards us.

" Hey, sweetheart." Alex sing songs as he quickly snakes one of his arms around Shays waist. She almost instantly pulls away before giving him a deadly and clearly annoyed glare. What is up between the two of them? She seems to hate him yet she's always hanging around him. It would be different if she were me and had to work for him but she freely tagged along to be around him.

He gives me a wide smirk and shifts back in forth in his spot. He seems excited and amused with the fact that I'm angry. I roll my eyes at him, not allowing my fear of getting fired in the way this time. He's obviously the 'car sick' band mate that's holding us back from leaving. My blood begins to boil and I pace around in small circles as he gazes at me with a devilish grin. Thanks to him were going to be late and I will get blamed. My first job as an actual stage manager will go down the drain and I'll ultimately get fired for his idiocy.

" You couldn't have just waited till we got to the hotel." I scoff in a loud voice. He is taken aback by my rough tone and steps away from me as if my words were to physically harm him but he quickly recovers and continues his what seems like excited behavior. Shay on the other hand seems shocked and embarrassed " here you have poor Shay babying you while you throw up because you don't know how to handle your liquor" I lecture him before turning to give Shay a fake sympathetic look. A guilty expression imprints her face and I can tell she is grateful for my silence. Once I turn away from her and look at Alex he has a smirk on his lips that extends widely. I roll my eyes again before stepping away from him and turning around. I need to clear my head and ignore him. He wants me to be angry. That's why he seems to be so excited with the fact that he's driving me nuts. But I can't let him get what he wants. Being angry and yelling at him won't get us to reverse time or move any quicker. " Ok." I sigh to myself before turning back around and instead of going towards the hateful man going towards the group of professional men that I can trust more. " Let's get going." I say and they all nod their heads before throwing away their cigarettes and energy drinks. I briskly make my way towards the bus and they all follow behind me. When we're finally in the bus I pull out my phone and gaze down at the time. 2:37. I've saved us some time but not enough. My anxiety of having to wait for when the bus begins to move gets to me so I reach for my headphones in my hoodie's pocket and connect them to my phone before putting on a song. Unfortunately before I can pay attention to the song and let it consume me a shy and awkward Shay enters the bus. I pull one of the buds from my ear as she opens her mouth to speak.

" Hey." She says softly as she makes her way towards me. By now I'm laying on the couch, desperately waiting for the bus to make any movement at all. I look up at her and a sympathetic look crosses her face. " It's not what you think." She says and I quickly interrupt her.

" Yeah I know he wasn't sick from the liquor." I state almost barbarically. By now I'm aware that he wasn't actually sick from the liquor and in fact was in the bathroom with Shay, doing other things. I only told Alex that so I wouldn't openly embarrass Shay in front of the bus drivers. She nods her head and I begin to speak. " Don't you have a boyfriend though?" I ask and her brows furrow. I know I shouldn't be judging her due to the fact that we barely met and I'm not aware of her relationships but I can't help but feel bad for the guy. He brought her out on this tour only so she could go off and hook up with someone from the other band. Not to mention I have the right to know since they did cause me to waste precious time and possibly even caused me to lose my job. I push the tragic thought to the side and gaze back at Shay who by now seems confused.

" What are you talking about?" She asks. She doesn't have a boyfriend? I do recall her telling me that she was dating someone from one the bands. " I do have a boyfriend." She says and soon enough we both share a confused tone and expression. Is Alex her boyfriend? Why would she want to be with someone as dreadful as him.

"Then why were you hooking up with Alex?" I ask and she quickly covers her mouth in order to stifle her loud laughs. What am I missing? Why else would they be in the bathroom together?

" What?" She asks before continuing to laugh. I'm more confused than before and I'm just waiting for her to continue on and explain to me what exactly is going on between the two of them.

But before I can ask the bus begins to move and I let out a relieved sigh. The confusion from Shay and Alex is still nagging at my mind but at least something is going my way. Now all I need to do is pray that traffic won't pick up and that we get to the hotel before rush hour. Unfortunately seconds after I let out my relieved sigh and breathe I regain my stress when I feel the bus come to a sudden halt.