Rum and Coke

Ellie began strumming on her guitar on a couch in the green room as soon as she got back in from the third round. She didn’t feel like being social. She just wanted to get lost in the music.

“Hey, that’s Sad but True, isn’t it?” a random teenage girl asked her.

“What?” Ellieasked grumbled.

“The song you’re playing,” the girl said slowly, pointing to Ellie’s fingers, which were still dancing over the fret board. “It’s Metallica’s Sad But True, right?”

Ellie looked over at her fingers and, sure enough, they were playing Metallica. “I guess I am. That’s odd, I haven’t played it in years.” She mused with a light chuckle.

The girl gave Ellie an odd look. “You don’t realize what you’re playing? How does that work?”

Ellie laughed. “Most of the time, I do. But, when I go off in my own little world, my fingers do all the talking.”

“Oh, I see. I’m Kay, mind if I ask you a few quick questions? I sort of work for the label and they wanted me to interview as many bands as I could.”

“No, go right ahead,” Ellie replied as she propped her guitar against the couch. “And I’m Ellie.”

“Ok, so first question: what band are you with and what do you play?”

“I’m the lead guitarist and vocalist in Stereotypical Youth.”

“Really? That’s you? Damn, you have a set of lungs on you! I listened to your second song, and damn, I was blown away. What was it called again?” Kay said, instantly becoming excited.

“Pigs on Wallstreet,” Ellie replied with a smile. “Yea, that song completely started out as a joke and turned into one of our most popular songs back in the NYC.”

“Oh, so you and your band are from New York?”

“Yea, the accent should give it away.”

“How big is your fanbase? Did they support you when you told them that you were auditioning? What did your family think of your decision?”

“Whoa, one at a time. Our fanbase is very…odd.”

“Do explain.”

“Well, our first couple of shows were in bars and we didn’t really accumulate fans until we entered our school’s battle of the bands our sophomore year. Everyone was pissed at what we were playing since we’re not mainstream at all, we’re more of an unclassifiable type. We joke that our sole mission in life is piss off as many people that we can. Our fans are just the people who turned their back on mainstream and listened to our lyrics.”

“Yes, that is odd. What about your family? Were they supportive of you guys coming all the way out here? ”

“All of our families are very supportive in what we do. Our rhythm guitarist’s aunt even let us crash at her place for a few days before we got our own place to rent.”

“That’s nice of her. And how did you find out about the contest?”

“I’m not quite sure, actually. I just remember that we were watching movies at my house and Bailey announced that Avenged Sevenfold is having a reunion tour and that they were auditioning opening acts.”

Kay nodded .“Do you feel you have a shot at winning?”

“I think we have as much as a chance as the next guy.” Ellie replied confidently, “I mean, even if we don’t win, I’m confident enough in my band to know that, someday, we’ll be tearing up large venues and pissing everyone off enough so that they’ll take action. Like I said, that’s essentially, this band’s main goal in life- to piss people off and cause riots and protests.”

“Well, that’s all the questions I have. Thank you so much for talking. I wish you and your band the best of luck.” Kay replied sweetly before pressing stop on her recorder. “I can’t wait to hear more from you guys.”

“It was no problem,” Ellie said as the other girl stood up.

“Ellie, what the fuck was that about?” Ryan asked as he sat next to his twin.

Ellie smirked over at him and kissed his cheek. “I think I just sweet talked our way in. Now, bow down and praise me. You know you wanna.” She said, winking her eye.

He let out a deep chuckle and slung his arms around her shoulder. “Oh, Merciful Ellie! I am deeply indebted to you!” he said sarcastically. “Whoa, when did that get there?” he asked, his ADD showing through.

Ellie looked over to where he was pointing to see a large TV that was playing old Avenged Sevenfold music videos. She smiled when “Brompton Cocktail” came on. It was by far one of her favorites.

“Elle, how come you never told us that your mom knew the band? We could have cut through all this red tape.”

“What are you talking about?”

He extended his hand and pointed at the woman in the video. “Unless your mom has a twin she never told you about, that’s her.”

Ellie’s jaw went slack. She didn’t know how many times that she’s seen this video before, but this is the first time that she made a connection between the woman in the video and her mother. Which is pretty ridiculous when you actually think about it; they look identical except for the fact that the woman in the video is much younger and a little slimmer.

“Ellie?”

“I- I didn’t know,” She replied, mesmerized by the younger version of her mother. The woman in the video was flaunting her way around the screen with a seductive smirk on her face. “But I’m going to find out.” Ellie added, grabbing her guitar and carrying it outside with her as she quickly dialed her uncle’s number.

“Hey, it’s Kale. Leave a message at the beep and I’ll get back to you ASAP.”

Of course the only person who can help me won’t pick up the damn phone! Ellie hung up and tried three more times, only to end up with the same result. “Would you mind telling me why this family is built on secrets and lies?! Call me back when you have the answer.” She seethed into his voicemailbox.