It's Our Time to Shine
The Interview.
“How much did it cost?”, Quinn asked as we all left the restaurant and headed outside.
“What – the meal you mean?”
“Yeah.”
“$51”, Jepha responded. “And I put in an extra $4.”
“Good”, he said, trudging along through the crowded street where he was followed by the rest of us.
Bert, Quinn and Dan were all smoking now, something I’d never seem to notice before.
I really hadn’t seen them all smoking together, which was surreal considering the fact that I had been living with them for several months now.
During my time at The Hove Festival where I first met them, I’d been smoking myself, so watching them smoke now, really made me crave for a cigarette.
“Here’s the place” Jepha announced, stopping in front of a large building with more windows than I could count.
“You sure?”
“Positive. At least it’s the right address.”
“Okay, then what’re we waitin´ for?”, Quinn said, heading inside the large glass door.
Inside the building, the interior reminded me more of a highly sanitized hospital than an MTV office building as we kept on going further and further inside.
“Oh, hi! You must be The Used, am I correct?”, a friendly Japanese woman greeted, making us all introduce ourselves. “Would you like anything to drink? Or eat perhaps?”
“No, thank you. We just ate on the way”, Jepha said with a smile.
“Excellent. So we’re ready to start?”
“Yes, we are.”
“Then follow me”, she said with a flawless accent, guiding us to the elevator which took us to the 14th floor.
We all headed inside an office down the hall, before sitting down in the room’s couch.
The room wasn’t anything like the one I first saw when entering the building.
This one had dark green walls with posters of several bands hanging up against them, giving the impression of the rock attitude that this office building really had.
After all, it was holding a music channel inside of it.
“So, shall we get started?”, the interviewer asked, signalizing the camera man to get ready.
“Uhm, is it okay if I wait outside?”, I asked, hesitating.
“Oh, aren’t you participating in the interview?”
“No, I’m not really a part of the band.”
“Ahh, I see. Yes, I was starting to wonder when The Used had gotten a 5th member”, she smiled.
I felt myself sinking to the floor as I saw the interviewer looking at me with curious narrow eyes.
“Yeah, she’s not in the band”, Bert said. “Lina’s just, uhm…”
“A very good friend of ours!”, Jepha added, finishing Bert’s slightly awkward sentence.
“Oh, I get it. So she’s not going to be in the interview?”
“No, I guess she doesn’t want to”, he smiled before they all began looking at me for a final answer.
“Uhm, no. I’d rather not. I’m not a part of the band, so I don’t think it would be right. Is it okay if I just wait outside?”, I asked nervously.
“Yes, of course. If you want to, there is a waiting room down the hall to the right with a snack bar”, the interviewer suggested with a smile.
“Hey, here’s $20 – just in case”, Bert said before handing me the money.
“Thank you. But you don’t have to. I don’t think I’ll be needing it.”
“Oh, come on. My treat.”
“Okay”, I blushed.
“We’ll come and get you once the interview’s over, alright?”
“Yeah.”
“Sure you’ll be okay by yourself?”, Quinn then asked, looking at me as I was about to leave them.
“Yeah, of course”, I responded, giving him a smile.
“Okay, then. See you later”, he said before receiving a smile from all of them as I closed the door gently behind me.
I put the $20 in my pocket before I headed down the hall to the right to find the so-called waiting room.
It wasn’t as hard to find as I had expected it to be.
Even though I was lousy at searching, I found the room surprisingly fast as I entered it.
Inside, the room contained nothing but a snack bar and a small TV screen along with a sofa.
The TV was on, but the screen was all black as if it didn’t have any signal.
After a couple of minutes just sitting in the dark sofa with absolutely nothing to do, the craving for something to do made me want to spend the $20 I’d gotten from Bert.
So therefore, I went to the snack bar and scanned it from top to bottom while trying to find something decent to eat.
I failed. All there was to eat was chocolate bars and peanut bags.
I chose a chocolate bar whose brand I’d never heard of, but decided to try it – just for a change.
I got the $20 out of my pocket, stuck it in the slot and pushed the number for the chocolate bar, before seeing it fall down to the small shelf at the bottom with the rest of the change.
I took the bar and change, and sat down in the sofa again, putting the change back in my pocket and rip open the seal of the chocolate bar.
Then suddenly, the TV screen which only a few seconds ago had been black, now showed a picture and the sound was turned on.
I saw Bert, Quinn, Jepha and Dan all sitting on a couch I’d seen before.
Also, the woman, now sitting in a chair across form them holding a microphone, seemed familiar.
Along with this, I recognized the guys’ clothes as being the same ones they were wearing today.
Then it hit me; the interview they were having right now was being shown live on the screen that I was looking at.
I sat glued to the TV screen, listening to what they all were saying as the interviewer began asking them different kinds of questions.
“I’m sitting here with The Used, the American Utah based rock band that now are touring the world this summer, and we here in Osaka are so lucky to have them here today. Guys, how are you all enjoying Japan so far?”
“It’s been great. I mean, we’ve toured here before – back in 2005, I think. And just being able to come back is amazing”, I saw Bert answer.
“Yeah”, Jepha agreed, before seeing him continue. “I’ve been in love with Japan ever since I first came here, and the culture and the people just make you want to come back.”
“That’s good to hear! Have you all been able to settle in after the arrival in Osaka when thinking of jetlag and so on?”
“Totally. We’re so used to traveling around the world, visiting new places and countries, so we’ve gotten used to adapting to new time zones while flying all the time”, Quinn answered as I saw him taking a sip out of a mineral water bottle on the screen.
I took a bit of my chocolate bar before continuing to watch the interview on the TV screen.
“If you don’t mind me asking – the girl that came with you guys, is she a girlfriend of any of you guys? I’m sure the fans would like to know”, I could hear the interviewer ask, making me choke on my bar.
“Uhm…”, Bert began as he scratched the back of his neck with a smile.
I was now anxiously waiting for him to answer.
“You’ll just have to wait and see”, he continued, looking into the camera with a very suspicious smile.
“Is there something you’re not telling the fans, Bert?”, the interviewer then asked, cocking her right eyebrow humorous.
“Maybe, maybe not”, he smiled. “But seriously, she’s been touring with us for months now during the entire summer, and it’s just been great gettin´ to know her.”
“Yeah”, Jepha agreed. “Lina’s an awesome person and a kickass girl, and that’s all there is to it.”
“Oh, so her name is Lina? That’s an unusual name?”
“Yeah, she’s Norwegian. And pretty damn fine too”, Quinn said grinning before blowing it all off with a sweet smile.
I was still fixated on the TV screen, nibbling on my chocolate bar as I kept on listening to what the guys were saying.
“So Lina is, if I’m not mistaking here now, guys, The Used’s unofficial roadie?”, the interviewer asked, not being able to hold back her smile.
“You could say so, yeah”, Bert answered.
“… With certain benefits for some of us”, Jepha added while laughing into the camera.
“Okay…”, the interviewer said, beginning to laugh herself along with the rest of the guys. “I think we can establish that Lina isn’t like any other roadies, especially as far as The Used are concerned. So I guess we’ll change the subject now before it gets too heated up here.”
“That’s how we roll”, Dan said with a grin while getting agreeable nods from Quinn.
“Unfortunately, people, that’s all we had time for right now. But, guys – you’re playing a show tonight, correct?”
“Yeah, we are. 7:30 pm at Nippon Budokan. Everyone should come and see us. We promise you it’s gonna be one hell of a show, so be there!”, Bert said enthusiastically into the camera.
And that’s all I bothered listening to at that point.
All I hoped for now was that any of the people back home didn’t get to see that interview.
I had tried so hard during all these months to keep my friendship with the guys as private as possible, telling my friends and family not to share the countless videos I had sent them online during the summer.
My blog with the entry of Bert and the photo of us had I also deleted.
I posted another entry, telling my readers that it was just a joke – the photo of him and I was just one hell of a good job on PhotoShop.
The comments that followed saying ‘Haha, I knew it’, ‘I didn’t believe you in the first place’ and ‘How could you end up getting to meet Bert’, just made me cringe in irritation.
But I kept my cool.
I couldn’t risk letting anyone from the outside know the truth.
If anyone found out about it, my entire private life would become public property and nothing would ever be the same.
I had spoken to the guys about it and they all completely understood my situation.
They swore on not telling anyone about any of this, and for that, I was forever grateful.
Now, I took yet another bite of my chocolate bar and hoped for the world that the interview would be over soon.
The thought of it being aired and possibly reaching Norway was nerve-wrecking.
Of course, the chance of an MTV interview in Japan with The Used being aired in Norway was almost impossible.
But still, the chance was there and I wasn’t willing to take it…
“What – the meal you mean?”
“Yeah.”
“$51”, Jepha responded. “And I put in an extra $4.”
“Good”, he said, trudging along through the crowded street where he was followed by the rest of us.
Bert, Quinn and Dan were all smoking now, something I’d never seem to notice before.
I really hadn’t seen them all smoking together, which was surreal considering the fact that I had been living with them for several months now.
During my time at The Hove Festival where I first met them, I’d been smoking myself, so watching them smoke now, really made me crave for a cigarette.
“Here’s the place” Jepha announced, stopping in front of a large building with more windows than I could count.
“You sure?”
“Positive. At least it’s the right address.”
“Okay, then what’re we waitin´ for?”, Quinn said, heading inside the large glass door.
Inside the building, the interior reminded me more of a highly sanitized hospital than an MTV office building as we kept on going further and further inside.
“Oh, hi! You must be The Used, am I correct?”, a friendly Japanese woman greeted, making us all introduce ourselves. “Would you like anything to drink? Or eat perhaps?”
“No, thank you. We just ate on the way”, Jepha said with a smile.
“Excellent. So we’re ready to start?”
“Yes, we are.”
“Then follow me”, she said with a flawless accent, guiding us to the elevator which took us to the 14th floor.
We all headed inside an office down the hall, before sitting down in the room’s couch.
The room wasn’t anything like the one I first saw when entering the building.
This one had dark green walls with posters of several bands hanging up against them, giving the impression of the rock attitude that this office building really had.
After all, it was holding a music channel inside of it.
“So, shall we get started?”, the interviewer asked, signalizing the camera man to get ready.
“Uhm, is it okay if I wait outside?”, I asked, hesitating.
“Oh, aren’t you participating in the interview?”
“No, I’m not really a part of the band.”
“Ahh, I see. Yes, I was starting to wonder when The Used had gotten a 5th member”, she smiled.
I felt myself sinking to the floor as I saw the interviewer looking at me with curious narrow eyes.
“Yeah, she’s not in the band”, Bert said. “Lina’s just, uhm…”
“A very good friend of ours!”, Jepha added, finishing Bert’s slightly awkward sentence.
“Oh, I get it. So she’s not going to be in the interview?”
“No, I guess she doesn’t want to”, he smiled before they all began looking at me for a final answer.
“Uhm, no. I’d rather not. I’m not a part of the band, so I don’t think it would be right. Is it okay if I just wait outside?”, I asked nervously.
“Yes, of course. If you want to, there is a waiting room down the hall to the right with a snack bar”, the interviewer suggested with a smile.
“Hey, here’s $20 – just in case”, Bert said before handing me the money.
“Thank you. But you don’t have to. I don’t think I’ll be needing it.”
“Oh, come on. My treat.”
“Okay”, I blushed.
“We’ll come and get you once the interview’s over, alright?”
“Yeah.”
“Sure you’ll be okay by yourself?”, Quinn then asked, looking at me as I was about to leave them.
“Yeah, of course”, I responded, giving him a smile.
“Okay, then. See you later”, he said before receiving a smile from all of them as I closed the door gently behind me.
I put the $20 in my pocket before I headed down the hall to the right to find the so-called waiting room.
It wasn’t as hard to find as I had expected it to be.
Even though I was lousy at searching, I found the room surprisingly fast as I entered it.
Inside, the room contained nothing but a snack bar and a small TV screen along with a sofa.
The TV was on, but the screen was all black as if it didn’t have any signal.
After a couple of minutes just sitting in the dark sofa with absolutely nothing to do, the craving for something to do made me want to spend the $20 I’d gotten from Bert.
So therefore, I went to the snack bar and scanned it from top to bottom while trying to find something decent to eat.
I failed. All there was to eat was chocolate bars and peanut bags.
I chose a chocolate bar whose brand I’d never heard of, but decided to try it – just for a change.
I got the $20 out of my pocket, stuck it in the slot and pushed the number for the chocolate bar, before seeing it fall down to the small shelf at the bottom with the rest of the change.
I took the bar and change, and sat down in the sofa again, putting the change back in my pocket and rip open the seal of the chocolate bar.
Then suddenly, the TV screen which only a few seconds ago had been black, now showed a picture and the sound was turned on.
I saw Bert, Quinn, Jepha and Dan all sitting on a couch I’d seen before.
Also, the woman, now sitting in a chair across form them holding a microphone, seemed familiar.
Along with this, I recognized the guys’ clothes as being the same ones they were wearing today.
Then it hit me; the interview they were having right now was being shown live on the screen that I was looking at.
I sat glued to the TV screen, listening to what they all were saying as the interviewer began asking them different kinds of questions.
“I’m sitting here with The Used, the American Utah based rock band that now are touring the world this summer, and we here in Osaka are so lucky to have them here today. Guys, how are you all enjoying Japan so far?”
“It’s been great. I mean, we’ve toured here before – back in 2005, I think. And just being able to come back is amazing”, I saw Bert answer.
“Yeah”, Jepha agreed, before seeing him continue. “I’ve been in love with Japan ever since I first came here, and the culture and the people just make you want to come back.”
“That’s good to hear! Have you all been able to settle in after the arrival in Osaka when thinking of jetlag and so on?”
“Totally. We’re so used to traveling around the world, visiting new places and countries, so we’ve gotten used to adapting to new time zones while flying all the time”, Quinn answered as I saw him taking a sip out of a mineral water bottle on the screen.
I took a bit of my chocolate bar before continuing to watch the interview on the TV screen.
“If you don’t mind me asking – the girl that came with you guys, is she a girlfriend of any of you guys? I’m sure the fans would like to know”, I could hear the interviewer ask, making me choke on my bar.
“Uhm…”, Bert began as he scratched the back of his neck with a smile.
I was now anxiously waiting for him to answer.
“You’ll just have to wait and see”, he continued, looking into the camera with a very suspicious smile.
“Is there something you’re not telling the fans, Bert?”, the interviewer then asked, cocking her right eyebrow humorous.
“Maybe, maybe not”, he smiled. “But seriously, she’s been touring with us for months now during the entire summer, and it’s just been great gettin´ to know her.”
“Yeah”, Jepha agreed. “Lina’s an awesome person and a kickass girl, and that’s all there is to it.”
“Oh, so her name is Lina? That’s an unusual name?”
“Yeah, she’s Norwegian. And pretty damn fine too”, Quinn said grinning before blowing it all off with a sweet smile.
I was still fixated on the TV screen, nibbling on my chocolate bar as I kept on listening to what the guys were saying.
“So Lina is, if I’m not mistaking here now, guys, The Used’s unofficial roadie?”, the interviewer asked, not being able to hold back her smile.
“You could say so, yeah”, Bert answered.
“… With certain benefits for some of us”, Jepha added while laughing into the camera.
“Okay…”, the interviewer said, beginning to laugh herself along with the rest of the guys. “I think we can establish that Lina isn’t like any other roadies, especially as far as The Used are concerned. So I guess we’ll change the subject now before it gets too heated up here.”
“That’s how we roll”, Dan said with a grin while getting agreeable nods from Quinn.
“Unfortunately, people, that’s all we had time for right now. But, guys – you’re playing a show tonight, correct?”
“Yeah, we are. 7:30 pm at Nippon Budokan. Everyone should come and see us. We promise you it’s gonna be one hell of a show, so be there!”, Bert said enthusiastically into the camera.
And that’s all I bothered listening to at that point.
All I hoped for now was that any of the people back home didn’t get to see that interview.
I had tried so hard during all these months to keep my friendship with the guys as private as possible, telling my friends and family not to share the countless videos I had sent them online during the summer.
My blog with the entry of Bert and the photo of us had I also deleted.
I posted another entry, telling my readers that it was just a joke – the photo of him and I was just one hell of a good job on PhotoShop.
The comments that followed saying ‘Haha, I knew it’, ‘I didn’t believe you in the first place’ and ‘How could you end up getting to meet Bert’, just made me cringe in irritation.
But I kept my cool.
I couldn’t risk letting anyone from the outside know the truth.
If anyone found out about it, my entire private life would become public property and nothing would ever be the same.
I had spoken to the guys about it and they all completely understood my situation.
They swore on not telling anyone about any of this, and for that, I was forever grateful.
Now, I took yet another bite of my chocolate bar and hoped for the world that the interview would be over soon.
The thought of it being aired and possibly reaching Norway was nerve-wrecking.
Of course, the chance of an MTV interview in Japan with The Used being aired in Norway was almost impossible.
But still, the chance was there and I wasn’t willing to take it…
♠ ♠ ♠
whoa, so sorry for the last update, guys.but it's the summer holiday now, so i guess you're all out enjoying it.
at least you should. (:
i've decided to only update maybe every other week now.
there's no use in doing it more often, really.
hope it's okay for all of you. ;D
this sequel, 'It's Our Time To Shine', has been up for over 6 months now.
guys, that's half a year! thank you so much for reading this story.
it means so much to me. so thank you from the bottom of my heart. <3
and also, today is a very special day for me.
it's exactly one year ago today since I saw The Used live.
ugh, it's weird 'cause it feels like only yesterday when I
waited for 12 hours and met Jepha backstage.
still, 062708 was the best day of my life and I'll never forget it. (: <3
xo,
lina.