Chapter 3

After a successful "jam session", we had a song recorded and ready for the public to hear. Our new manager, Paul, uploaded it to the internet. Next, to my surprise, he told us we would be performing that song live in one week, along with a few covers from other artists to get us used to being on stage. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach, but I was also excited to finally perform an original song for an audience. I looked at Ashley to see how she felt about it, and she returned my glance with a wide confident smile. Seeing her calm attitude eased my nerves somewhat. The more I thought about it, the less frightened I became. Besides, it would most likely be a fairly small crowd so there would be nothing to worry about.

"Let’s rehearse!" I said, impatient to perfect our performance. Ashley nodded her approval and I scooped up my guitar from its stand heading towards the sound booth.

Several hours and countless runs through the song later, we decided to call it a day. It went like this every day until our big debut, hours of singing the same song over and over and fixing any small imperfections. By the end of the week we were satisfied that we could perform it at our best. The day before our concert we had one last dress rehearsal wearing the outfits we picked out for the stage. Then before I knew it, it was time.

Waiting backstage for our cue, a small crew of people bustled around Ashley and I, tucking a loose strand of hair back into place, touching up our make-up, and checking to make sure my guitar was properly tuned. During this process I had been getting myself hyped up for the show, but at the same time a strange calm had come over me. All in all it was a very odd feeling.

A man wearing a headset rushed by shouting "5 minutes! Places everyone!" We were then told to stand just off the side of the stage and wait until we had been introduced to walk out. Our back-up band came up to us briefly before the show to encourage us before heading out onto the stage to take their place. I slipped my guitar’s strap over my shoulder and adjusted it so that it rested comfortably against my stomach. I lightly strummed it, feeling the familiar vibration of sound resonate from its back. I smiled, realizing I was finally ready to go out there and give the audience an unforgettable show. I turned to Ashley and raised my hand for a high-five. Soon after, our names were announced and the audience clapped as we made our way into the spotlight. We greatly appreciated the warm welcome and smiled and waved to the crowd. With the lights in my eyes, I couldn’t really see the size of the audience, only the first few rows so I waved in general. I took a subtle deep breath to calm the slight nerves that began to come up. I glanced slightly behind me at the drummer to give me the cue to begin playing at the right time. He gave me a slight nod and I turned back around and started the song, putting everything I had into making the audience feel the emotion in the notes. I glanced up as the lights shifted, barely moving but just enough that I could now see the entire audience. It was much larger than I had expected. It stretched out on the floor far past the edge of the stage, and a balcony that ran around the edge of the seating area was also filled. I froze in panic, abruptly cutting off the sound of my guitar. Ashley’s singing stuttered to a stop and the band slowly died down, all shooting me worried glances. Heart racing, I scanned the audience with wide-eyes, my gaze finally coming full circle to rest on Ashley who immediately made a frantic motion trying to get me to continue playing. I began to hyperventilate and my eyes flickered back to the audience, many of which I noticed were leaning towards each other and whispering then giving me confused looks. Suddenly my previously frozen muscles began to work again and I bolted off the stage leaving Ashley, the band, and the audience dumbfounded and wondering what my problem was. I began to ask myself the same thing as I sprinted through the hallways, trying to get as much distance as possible between me and the stage.

Reviews

[Sarah Jane]

OMGOSH! Cliffhanger much? Just like the first two chapters I started gettign excited near the middle, you just have that edge I guess. you you caught me off gaurd, I was expecting them to rock it, to blow the stage away. My eyes literally wideened when I got to the freezing up part, I started reading faster and thinking NO NO NOOO :O
Very nice, way to leave me wanting more.