Punching the wall wasn't one of the smartest idea's I'd ever had, in fact it was probably one of the most idiotic. It caught the attention of several others in the room though, putting them more on edge than they probably already were. I returned their stares with a glare of my own, resulting in them averting their eyes from me instantly, unnerved by the don't mess with me attitude I was putting across right now.
Waiting had never been something I'd been particularly good at and impatience was a quality that described me very well, though, not usually to the extent where I became violent like right now.
"Ami, sit down," Finn hissed quietly at my side, looking up at me with pleading eyes from his chair. I sighed and checked that I hadn't dented the wall before slouching into the chair between my brother and Ky. It probably wouldn't make the best impression had I been liable for property damage by the people who held the key to my future happiness in their hands.
I shuffled around in the seat trying to find a comfortable position before finally resting my head against my brother's broad shoulder, one leg over the other in front of me. I stayed in that position momentarily before my leg began to shake incessantly, a habit I'd developed over the years when I was nervous about something.
The click of heels approaching caused everyone to sit up in their chairs, anticipating the next name that would be called. An audible intake of breath came from everyone in the room, including myself though I wished it hadn't, I didn't like that something had the ability to have me so on edge when I was usually so composed. It was very rare that I could be caught of guard or made uncomfortable these days.
The perky blonde woman entered the room for the third time since we'd been waiting, clipboard in hand, pen tucked behind her ear, black frames perching on the end of her nose, looking the height of sophisticated as she held the power of knowing who was next over us.
After an agonising minute of her silently scanning her papers she began to speak, "Can group number 348…" I slumped back in my seat, I was fully aware that our group number began with 349 so I zoned out, as did most other people in the room at the number that didn't match their own. One group of guys however, stood up, the nerves on their faces showing how young they were compared to most of the other people in the room.
After another ten minutes of number calling and groups leaving passed, I was on the verge of having a breakdown.
"I can't take it anymore," I announced, standing up and beginning to pace in front of the three boys who were trying to hide their nerves.
"Leigh, stop pacing you're making us all more nervous," Jase pleaded from next to Finn. I shook my head in violent disagreement.
"No, I can't take it anymore, why would they tell you to be here at least fifteen minutes before the time you're scheduled for, incase they're running ahead when we've been waiting nearly an hour and this room is still as bloody busy as before!"
"Leigh, just calm-"
"Don't tell me to calm down!" I interrupted my bandmate, glaring. "We've been here for an hour, and I'm not the most patient of people as you know. I'm so nervous I don't think I could even stomach cookie dough right now and the whole of flipping Phoenix knows how much cookie dough I can eat even in the most ridiculous circumstances. And if whoever is creating that incessant tapping noise doesn't quit it soon I am going to castrate them and cut of their fingers so they can never tap again!" The volume increased as I spoke and the immediate ceasing of the tapping showed I seemed angry enough to scare one of the many guys seated around the room. I sighed calming a little now that the noise had stopped, that was one thing less on the list of things that were irritating me right now.
Finn opened his mouth to speak but closed it again immediately when the click of heels heading toward the room could be heard again. I turned to face it, the anticipation building in the room for who she would call. I didn't think I'd be able to take it if I had to wait any longer, nor did my bandmates appear to be looking forward to dealing with my nervous wrath for any longer.
The blonde appeared again, adjusting the frames on her nose as she peered down at the clipboard. Her voice pierced the silence, "Could group number 3496, Genuine Counterfeit please follow me." at her clipped tone I took a cautious step forward. All eyes were on the boys and I as they stood up and we made our way across the room. The woman scanned us in vague interest before turning on her heel and heading out of the room.
We sped up, following her as we passed through a corridor, instruments sounded from the various doors around us until they had been fully closed, the silence they left in their absence was unnerving as I fell into step with the other boys who had previously been just behind me.
A glance to my right showed that Finn appeared even more nervous than I did. His breathing was unsteady and I could see small beads of sweat forming on his forehead just below his dark messy hair. He looked at me smiling but it didn't reach his emerald eyes, he had the most to lose if this didn't go the way we had been hoping for, after all, it was the second time he'd tried. The look on his face three summers previously had never been this nervous, though maybe in my naivety as a fourteen year old I hadn't seen what was so obvious to me now.
When the woman reached an open door at the end of the corridor she stopped, turning around to face us, waving us into the room like she were herding cows to the slaughter, except our lives weren't at risk in that room, our dreams however, were a different matter all together. I glanced around the boys and took a deep breath, my ever present stage smirk gracing my face.
Game faces everyone, it said. The boys nodded, the terrified expressions dropping from their faces and being replaced by the cocky expressions we wore in front of a crowd. Only someone close enough to us could tell that we were faking, and that was exactly what we needed, confidence worked wonders on these high status recording companies.
"Welcome Genuine Counterfeit," a man greeted as we passed through the doorway. The room we'd come into was large. Far too large for the fact that it contained just a single desk surrounded by four people. The man on the far left had been the one to greet us and his face seemed to hold a genuinely warm smile which I returned slightly when we stopped just in front of the desk, the door shutting behind us with a low thump.
"My name is Terry Callaghan and I'm the current owner and company executive of the EVI records group," he introduced.
Terry appeared to be in his late forties' and very much fit my idea of a high powered company executive in his grey suit and glasses. Behind the desk with him were two men and a woman. The men both appeared to be a similar age to Terry but both had unwelcoming expressions on their faces as they looked us up and down, making me squirm uncomfortably. However, the woman was much younger only looking to be in her late twenty's, but her maroon blazer and slicked back brunette hair made her look much older, and gave her an air of professionalism that the two scowling men seemed to lack.
"You know, most bands include headshot's and photographs when they send of a demo, I wasn't quite sure what to expect when you got here," Terry continued.
"We're not most bands," I stated, false confidence filling my voice and making it sound as smooth as silk.
"I can see that," he nodded, looking at our jean and t-shirt clad forms. It had concerned Jase when everyone else in the waiting room seemed to be dressed far less casually. I'd waved it off though, dressing up had never been our thing, we wore what we wanted and I didn't see why that should have to change when the label had already made their decision on the three bands that would compete to get signed this year.
"I don't think that what we wear affects our music," I spoke, a defence mechanism against the amused snort coming from one of the grumpy men. "If we're good then wearing jeans isn't going to change how we sound, just like if we were bad, dressing us up in fancy clothes wouldn't make us any better."
The boys looked wary at my blunt statement, my impulsiveness and defensive attitude when it came to my band had gotten us in trouble many times before.
"I didn't catch your name Miss…" Terry trailed off, awaiting my answer.
"Leigh, Leigh Rivers," I introduced, deciding against using my full name for now.
"Well Miss Rivers, boys, my colleagues and I," he gestured to the others at the table, "have concluded that your music is something we'd love to have at EVI, and I'm personally very impressed with the attitude you seem to have toward music."
This was it, I felt Finn's hand slip into mine as my heart started to race, keeping me calm so that I wouldn't demand they get on with giving us an answer. Terry had turned to the young woman next to him who was tapping her pen against the desk, smiling in our direction.
"I knew I had a good feeling about them," She answered Terry's questioning gaze.
My hand tightened around Finn's.
"You guys understand that we can only choose three bands right?" She asked. I could feel the colour fading in my face as she spoke, I hoped desperately that this wasn't going where it seemed to be heading. We all nodded in response.
"We would like Genuine Counterfeit to be one of those three bands," Terry finished.
I stopped breathing, shock was etched into every inch of my face.
We did it. We'd made it into the contest.
I was shocked out of my trance by Finn lifting me in a hug. I returned the pressure, laughing at both Jase and Ky who were jumping up and down next to us in celebration.
I looked over to the table and saw the pleased smiles on Terry and the woman's faces, they had just given us the answer that could change our lives forever, that was something I was hugely grateful for. The other two men were talking between themselves, sending us disgusted looks at the fuss we were making but right now it was the last thing on my mind. I was too overjoyed to care.
I brought my attention back to the boys. Finn placed me back on the ground and went to hug the boys before they formed a group hug around me, sending me into fits of laughter.
"Well," Spoke Terry, "On behalf of Miss Lawson, the company and I, I would like to formally welcome you to EVI records. We'll be in touch soon to arrange a meeting about your contracts but in the meantime we have a couple of hundred other bands to see so have a nice day."
I smiled at Terry and Miss Lawson, mouthing a thank you to the both of them as we were guided out of the room by the blonde woman from before.
After being ushered from the building we emerged into the warm summer sun of California. It was like a dream, we were finally going to be able to do something bigger, make an impact on the world.
I jumped in shock before doubling over in laughter when Jase screamed from next to me, "We just got signed mother fuckers!" The boys began to laugh as we just stood their taking in what just happened. It didn't seem real, we'd had this day planned for months but I don't think any of us honestly ever thought about what we would do if we got a yes. Now I just couldn't wait to get started.
"Four!" the boys shouted in unison as I downed yet another shot of Vodka. Wiping my hand across my mouth I gave a triumphant smirk at the boy sat opposite me.
"Get on with it then, it's not even a competition yet!" I laughed, Ky's look of confidence did nothing to mess with my own, I'd never been beaten at drinking by any of these boys and I wasn't about to start loosing now, especially after the day we'd had. The surrounding drunken crowd quietened in anticipation, though only to the level of the music that was pumping some dance club remix out of a speaker somewhere on the beach.
Jase began to pour out the clear liquid into five shot glasses in front of Ky, who gulped down at them in response.
"Giving up yet?" I smirked.
"Never."
"Three! Two! One! Go!" the crowd chanted, starting Ky's mad rush to down the shots as fast as possible. He threw the liquid down his throat, wincing as it burned him and wiping the escaping drops from around his mouth. When he slammed the last glass onto the table the group cheered once again, calling "Five!" in response to what I would now have to down to beat him.
Jase began to pour out the shots again, lining them up in front of me this time. When the five were full I leaned over the table, pulling a spare glass from Ky's lineup and filling it myself. I began without waiting for the countdown, finishing in what seemed like a mere five seconds. The look on Ky's face was priceless and I let out a laugh in response.
"Whats wrong? That all you've got or are you going to embarrass yourself more?"
"I'm not even close to being done," He replied with determination, "I'm not stopping till you puke and I can still take another ten shots!" The crowd that had gathered around us at the beach party 'oohed' in response to Ky's proclamation. Jase however frowned at him, clearly remembering that last time Ky had broken at just four shots in a row, and was likely throw up at any point now. He glanced at me, hoping I'd give up and let Ky win for once. I shook my head as vigorously as the alcohol in my system would allow me to without throwing up. If that silly twat wanted to challenge me to drinking games every time we went to a party then I would gladly accept. He'd learn sooner or later that he'd never beat me.
"Let's go," he challenged, starting on his 6 shot row.
Ky threw up just 2 turns later on his first shot.
Dusting off the sand from my jeans I stood up and tried to steady myself. Seeing that Jase was sorting out the now delirious and vomit-covered Ky I began to walk away from the centre of the party. The music still pumping through the night air, void of chill in the middle of a California summer night.
We weren't from California. Finn, Ky, Jase and I had driven up here to go to our meeting at the record label, and to spend a few weeks of our summer with Mitchell, the adopted brother of Finn and I, and his model wife Nicola, whom he'd moved in with almost four years ago.
Sauntering unsteadily across the sand I headed toward the water where I took a seat, just out of the reach of the waves lapping at the sand, the throbbing beat of the music dulled after I walked far enough.
Sitting and watching the waves I began to think. There were so many things in my life that meant I was where I was now and not on the other side of the country thinking that the best summer I could have was sitting by a pool with a group of my girl friends, going to parties with the hottest guys in school. I shuddered at that thought.
There was one major thing that had contributed to where I was right now.
I'd never known my real parents, they'd been killed in a car accident just weeks after I was born. After that I got put into foster care and for six years I changed houses almost every day of the week, being unable to settle in with any of the families I'd been sent to.
I'd finally been adopted by Steve and Sarah Rivers when I was eight years old. They were the nicest couple I'd spoken to about adoption from the first moment I met them. They told me about how they would love to adopt me and how their daughter Tara and their sons Mitchell and Finn were excited to meet me.
In the early days I was especially intrigued by Finn. Sarah had told me they'd adopted him a couple of years before and I'd never been fostered by anyone with other adopted children, so the concept was very new.
From the moment we'd met we had been instant friends. Though Finn was a year older it didn't matter, we understood how one an other thought, we were inseparable. The only member of the River's family to ever try to join in with that was Mitchell.
By the time I'd moved in Tara was seventeen and barely home, but Mitchell had been thirteen and fascinated by everything Finn and I did, I think it was around that time that he decided to go into child psychology.
Due to Mitchell being older he knew more than us and we looked up to him because of that. When I was ten he showed Finn and I rock music for the first time.
I'd never forget that moment.
When Mitchell pulled the first vinyl I'd ever seen from it's sleeve and played it. I don't think I could ever be happier or more in awe than I was in that moment.
It was because of that day that Finn and I decided to start playing instruments, the drums for Finn and the guitar for me.
At fourteen Finn had joined a band with some friends from school, meaning that at just fifteen Finn had his first attempt at the EVI records contest. Claiming to be sixteen to meet the minimum age requirement for the contest, the band packed up and headed for California, me in tow to pretend we were only going to visit Mitchell for the summer.
That summer had been one of the best times of our lives, we'd had a taste of true freedom. It was all perfect till the day everything went down. To this day no-one outside the old band and I knew why Taken Revenge had been rejected from the contest, and it was inclined to stay that way.
As much as I hated that summer for how it ended, I loved it for what it began.
After our return from California cracks began to form in the band, caused by the pressures that the summer had put on the boys, resulting in the split of the band just two months after our return.
That's when Finn decided to start again. He recruited Jase, someone he'd only known vaguely from sharing classes at that point, to play the guitar. Then came Ky, someone Finn had found irritating up until the point he discovered he could play bass. There they were, the reformed Taken Revenge, the name which Finn's ex-bandmates had kindly allowed him to keep on account of him creating it in the first place, but something was still missing.
I didn't join until later, after what I refer to as 'The shower incident', Finn and the others had begged me for months until I finally agreed. The band was complete then.
A few weeks ago we'd finally changed the name to something of our own and now here we were, drunk on a beach with the chance of a lifetime finally being ours.
"Ami!" I heard Finn call. I turned and saw him running across the beach, barely a stumble in his stride despite how much I knew he'd drunk earlier. "Why'd you wonder so far down the beach?" he asked.
"I didn't go that far," I stated, I couldn't have walked that far away from the party could I? A glance around, looking for where the table I'd been doing shots with Ky on was, showed that I'd walked a lot further than I'd first thought. Finn laughed at my shocked expression.
"I thought it must have been a mistake," Finn smiled, helping me up as I brushed the clinging sand from my jeans. "You hate it down this end of the beach."
My head snapped up at that comment and I looked up towards the houses on the beach front. Sure enough, there it was. The villa that caused me to despise this end of the beach with a passion. I looked back to Finn and my face paled.
"Ami, are you-" he started to speak. Though he didn't have time to finish his question as I promptly emptied my stomach onto the sand in between our feet. "okay."