olympia, washington
late 1990
aprils bedroom window was almost too perfect to not sneak out of. the distance from the ground to the window was barely a foot high, and her cherry docs hit the ground almost delicately. she cringed slightly as she heard the crunch of leaves in the wake of her footsteps. she got flashes of deja vu each time she slipped out of her room, and it always felt like a race between her dad and brother sam as to who would catch her first this time. her camera bag was slung over her shoulder, and she kept a firm grip on it, cradling it like a mother with a child.
april's friend cherry had landed the job at the venue two months prior to that night, and she loved it. each time she would call cherry up on the phone, april would be sure to get all the details of what characters she'd come across. cherry was a masterful storyteller, never missing a detail, and expressively waving her hands with each word.
putting the key into the door and sliding in, april let out the breath she had been holding. turning the key into the ignition, it was a matter of seconds before the engine roared alive and she sped off, the city awaiting her. she flicked through the few casette tapes she had tucked in little places around the car. suicidal tendencies, mudhoney, black flag, circle jerks. her eyes fell upon a dead kennedy's album and she popped the tape into the player, the thump of the bass rumbling through the car as california uber allies began to play.
as the momentum of the song sped up and broke into a mesh of drums, guitar and vocals, so did the speed of her fathers car, and soon enough she was doing 60 in a 40. as she pulled up to the venue, the music was already ringing out from inside. she sauntered in with the confident exterior she always exuded in public.
"looking good, april." the bouncer, jimmy spoke. if april had to pick one word to describe jimmy, it would be greaseball. or maybe sleazebag. he had been trying to make a move on her for years; well back to when she was just sixteen years old.
"tell me something i don't know." she smiled sourly, retrieving her fake id from the inside of her jean pocket.
jimmy barely glanced at april's id before sending her in with a wink. it made her stomach lurch in disgust. fucking dirty old man. she thought to herself. she didn't, however, let the queasiness she felt in her stomach affect her facade, and she strutted in with the same aura of untouchableness she always put on.
cherry was working the bar as usual, but she sometimes helped bands unload their equipment before sound check. april strutted over to her redhead friend who let out an excited screech as april neared.
"happy eighteen years, bitch!" cherry pulled her into a hug from over the bar, planting a red lipstick kiss on her right cheek. "jimmy didn't give you any shit?" cherry asked, pursing her lips as she reffered to the bouncer, notorious for being handsy sometimes, and an all around douche.
"the usual-- doesn't bother me too much anymore." she shrugged, though she knew it was a lie.
"someone oughta set pencil dick straight before i do-- cuz i don't wanna lose my job." cherry replied, picking up a pack of marlboro reds and taking one out with her teeth.
april retrieved her lighter from her back pocket, along with a ten dollar bill. she lit cherry's cigarette and slid the money toward her.
"vodka?" cherry asked.
"you know it." april replied with a grin.
cherry slid the bill back to her friend before pouring her a shot of titos. "keep your fuckin' money, you know don't gotta pay for shit while i'm working at the bar. on top of that, it's your birthday-- eighteen is an important ass year."
"you're too good to me, red." april replied, knocking back the shot effortlessly. cherry didn't hesitate before pouring another one (and one for herself) and the two girls knocked them back in sync.
"i think i'm gonna go dance, you wanna join?" april asked cherry with a grin.
"wish i could, but i gotta hold down the fort." cherry replied, gesturing to the bar she stood behind. april nodded. "but hey, i can get you backstage after the band finishes-- just meet me back here after the show."
april sauntered over to the lively crowd around the stage, and began to nod her head along to the music, letting her hair move wildly. the thump of the bass, crash of the drum kit, and ring of the guitar reverberated, and seemed to surround her whole being. and before she knew it, the last song had ended and she was making her way back over to cherry.
cherry served the last person sitting at the bar-- a man with sandy blonde locks and scruffy stubble. he was clad in a mudhoney shirt and baggy jeans, and despite the bags under his eyes, he spoke to cherry with a warm smile. when cherry caught a glimpse of april from behind the blonde, she grinned and waved her over.
"april! i want you to introduce you to kurt!" cherry exclaimed, motioning toward the blonde on the bar stool. he stuck up a hand and waved at her.
"hey, nice to meet you." he spoke. he sounded almost bashful.
"you too," she replied with a smile.
she plopped down on a bar stool next to him as cherry and kurt resumed their conversation.
"i'm telling you, if you just let me talk to my bosses i could do a great pitch for nirvana. it'd be sick if you guys played here." cherry spoke enthusiastically.
"i'd have to talk to the rest of the band-- i usually make decisions with krist and dave." kurt replied.
"well, dave's somewhere around here, right?"
"yeah, backstage, last time i checked."
"alright, lets head back then." cherry let her hair down from the ponytail it was in and tossed the towel she had been holding on the bar.
taking april by the hand, cherry led her and kurt backstage, where april first saw the long haired guy. his hair was passed his shoulders and was brown, with the tips showing signs of an old bleach job. he had tattoos along his arms and on his fingers, one of which currently was holding a cigarette, and the other, a beer. cherry skipped over to him, pulling kurt along. april followed behind.
april spaced out for a moment as the three conversed over the possibility of their band playing. they seemed to have come to an agreement by the time cherry plopped down on the couch, pulling april down beside her, and dave stationed himself of her other side soon after.
"so," she turned to dave. "what's your role, pretty boy?" she asked, although she did have an idea, based on his toned arms.
"drums." he replied. "i play drums."
"hm." she began, taking a drink that cherry handed her. "well, are you any good?" she asked him, taking a swig from the cup.
"i guess. i'd like to think so, at least." he replied, taking a drag of his cigarette before ashing it out.
she took another swig, then almost choked as a tall, lean figure burst into the room.
"april!" sam exclaimed, marching over to her. without thinking, she shot up and sprinted out of the room, leaving behind a slip of paper that had dropped out of her hand.
dave picked up the torn piece of lined paper that clearly came from the notepad on the table across from them. their was a phone number in messy ink scrawl. over top of the phone number, there was a name.
april.
he tucked the piece of paper in his pocket.